Baby It’s Cold Outside

Tags

anthropologie, apple cider, cinnamon, cold, cold weather, fairyl robin, free people, hot drinks, madewell, monogrammed mug, polka-dots, recipe, sweater, sweater weather

christine wears:
red dress | ann taylor loft
spotted snowfall sweater | madewell (similar here)
heels | fairyl robin by free people (similar in black beaded version here)
cat ring | madewell (available here)
flower necklace | borrowed from sis-in-law
‘C’ monogrammed mug | anthropologie (available here)

Winter season is almost upon us!  And by winter, I mean the weather has dropped below 70° and I get to break out my sweaters and the occasional scarf.  Who says SoCal doesn’t have seasons?  pfffft.  With my thin California skin, anything below 75° warrants a wardrobe change.  The nice thing about this cold(er) weather is the need for hot drinks to warm you up.  And nothing captures the fall mood better than a cup of hot spiced apple cider.  Here is an easy recipe made out of just 3 ingredients:

Needed: 4-5 cups apple juice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 3 ounces spiced rum (optional), cinnamon sticks and apple slices to garnish (optional).

Instructions: In a small pot, heat the apple juice, spices, and rum (if using) over low/medium heat.  Stir constantly while mixture is heating spices to blend into the juice.  Once liquid is hot, pour into mugs and garnish with apple slices and/or cinnamon sticks.  Serves about two cups.  Serve warm, preferably while wearing a fuzzy sweater.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Carving

Tags

cropped sweater, fall 2013, halloween, jack-o-lantern, me too bow flats, mike wazowski pumpkin carving, Mini Skirt, plaid skirt, pumpkins, statement necklace, wool skirt, zara asymmetrical skirt

alice wears:
cropped creme sweater | h&m
asymmetrical leather trim wool skirt | zara (similar)
pointed bow flats | me too via nords (similar, ultra splurge)
watch | michael kors (similar)
statement necklace | banana republic (similar on sale, digging this)
pumpkin | $2 at walmart

Carving Pumpkins requires delicate timing. Too early – and your pumpkin will rot before Hallow’s Eve. Too late – and the good pumpkins are gone (among other things). As you saw from last week, I chose to forgo buying a pumpkin at the Irvine Tanaka Pumpkin Farm because I was too hot to fully embrace the process. Choosing the latter (i.e. carving pumpkins too late) all 7 stores (e.g. CVS, Walgreens, Ralph’s, Target, Walmart, Trader Joe’s) were SOLD OUT of those cute pumpkin carving kits that include all the tools + stencils. Gah.

We did score a jumbo $2 pumpkin at Walmart, but since there are no kits ANYWHERE in suburbia, we decided to picked up a pack of spoons ($1.50) and a knife ($.96) and wing it. This proved difficult as many carving ideas I had would be difficult to carve with a cheapy knife. However, I have to admit, 2 hours later, I think we handled it pretty well. Who needs stencils!?

Home Improvement

Tags

ankle boots, Booties, boots, chores, DIY, dolce vita, dolce vita hilary, home improvement, house, madewell, painting, pencil skirt, plaid, red plaid, skirt

christine wears:
stud waisted skirt | coincidence and chance via uo
red plaid mens shirt | madewell (similar here)
ankle boots | dolce vita hilary (available here or splurge here)

As if I didn’t have enough going on with my hectic life already, my mom decides she wants to downsize and move to a smaller house.  (Is this her way of saying she’s trying to kick me out??)  This also means we have to fix up our house so people can want to live in it.  In other words, bathroom remodeling, changing carpets, fixing door knobs…the WORKS.  So for our first project we started out sanding and painting this balcony that I have never sat in before because it used to be covered in boxes.  (Did I mention that my mom is also a packrat?) So far, House Project 1 out of 234 complete…stay tuned for more borderline fab home improvement adventures!

Flu me once, Flu me twice

Tags

ankle boots, Booties, flu season, flu shot, H&M, health, influenza vaccine, lauren conrad, LC, nine west, pencil skirt, sick, skirt, target

It’s my favorite time of year!  FLU SEASON…said no one ever.

Just signing my life away.  NBD.

The 4 Stages of getting your Flu Shot:

Stage 1 – WAITING (impatiently)

Stage 2: DREADFUL ANTICIPATION

Stage 3: ABSOLUTE MIND NUMBING, BLINDING PAIN (I can’t fake this emotion guys, this is the real deal)

Stage 4: RELIEF (It’s OVA, stick a bandaid on it!)

christine wears:
pencil skirt | h&m (also available in black)
blouse | LC by lauren conrad
ankle boots | nine west (similar here)
square ring set | gorjana griffin (on sale!)
necklace | h&m

Last year, I got the flu.  And I got it bad.  So this year, in a preemptive effort to win this war before it even begins, I got a flu shot.  Last time I got a flu shot was maybe 7 years ago and I remembered it being relatively quick and painless.  So either the needles got bigger or I am turning more into a baby (I’m gonna tell myself the needles got bigger), but that flu shot was PAINFUL!  (cue to my lovely “needle face” photo >.<)  Or at least more painful than I remembered – all 5 seconds of it.  My arm is still sore 3 days later.  So for all my pain and suffering, I better not get sick or else you’ll have a sick AND angry person to deal with.  But I got my eye on you flu virus – there’s no flu-ing me twice this time around…

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo-Hoo

Tags

asymmetrical sweater, chanel, cross body bag, flounce skirt, helmut lang, pumpkin patch, zara flared skirt, zara pointed toe ankle strap heels, zara quilted skirt

alice wears:
quilted flounce skirt | zara
asymmetrical sweater | helmut lang via gilt (similar)
cross body bag | chanel
pointed-toe ankle strap heels | zara (love these)

Around this time last year, it was cold enough to wear cute layering sweaters, leggings and booties. Around this time last year, I was picking out my pumpkin to get ready for pumpkin pies and roasted seeds. Around this time this year, everywhere, it’s fall. But not in California. The pumpkin farms have sprung up all over town, but it still feels like summer. There’s nothing worse than going to the pumpkin farm when it is 80 degrees and sunny. Kids are running around, you’re sweating, the scarecrow’s moulting, the pumpkins are rotting… it’s just no good. At this rate, any pumpkin I picked up over the weekend would be moldy by now, just like this one:

And where are all these kids’ parents?!  Didn’t they realize they were ruining my photo shoot?

Guess I’ll be heading to Trader Joe’s to pick up my pumpkins this year…