Let's make a statement.

I don't know what it is about this cooler weather, but all it makes me want to do is dress myself in comfy sweaters, scarves, and statement necklaces. I've been craving some beautiful statement necklaces and today I decided to top off my look with this dangly yellow piece. I'm not sure where it's from so don't ask me. My brother and sister-in-law got it for me for Christmas. Almost a year later and BAM I think I'm in love!! It's at the bib-perfect length too and although it has matching earrings--I hate being too matchy-matchy--it's still a gorgeous duo.

Annnnd these are some of my other favorites that I've been wanting yearning to purchase. Unfortunately, this doesn't always fit in with my shopping budget. But it's fun to dream, right?

Stunning, I know. This necklace is from an Etsy shop based in China so I'm sure it's not the best quality but you can't beat $8.00! I'm feeling an overhaul in my near future. Hopefully it's not a scam. Fingers crossed.

I'm in love with how Aztec-y this necklace is. And it's a darker gold so it will go with EVERYTHING. Francesca's sells this piece for a little more than I would like to spend but I have several things from their store so I know it will last for a while.

YES. Friiiinge. Such a Fall staple if you think about it. Forever 21 had some short and long versions but this one speaks to me. It's such a simple design with a huge impact on your outfit.

And who can resist these J.Crew necklaces. Personally, I have found it hard to buy anything from them unless I find buried treasure in their Sale section. Luckily, through a blog I follow, another person sells them at a reasonable rate. Check out Caroline G's shop and follow her on Facebook. She offers freebie deals around the holidays.

I love wearing green this time of year. Wearing a statement piece like this one can really make your outfit. You could even get away with wearing it with a slouchy tee.

Well would you look at that...I obviously have a slight obsession with gold. If you knew me in my earlier days, you'd know that I NEVER wore gold. And if I did, I definitely never mixed it with silver. And now look at me! I'm doing BOTH. 

Are there others out there that are with me on this? I'd love to know that you're bringing out some statement pieces; maybe even gold and silver mixed in a beautiful bib. What other statements are you willing to make??

Halloween bark

I'm ready to kick this Monday off with a bang! And what better way to do that than to let my inner fat kid out with a Halloween treat? One thing I've learned is that we ALL have an inner fat kid whether you want to admit it or not. And we may not want to over-indulge now that the holidays are upon us, but this treat doesn't seem to be the junkiest of the junk out there.

I got this recipe from Pinterest (no surprise there) and the blogger called it "Salted Caramel Candy Corn Bark" but she used Halloween-colored M&Ms. You can find her recipe here.

This is what I did.

INGREDIENTS

1 bag of waffle-shaped pretzels (I didn't use the whole bag, just however many fill up a baking pan.)
1 pkg of vanilla bark or candy coating (Kroger sells the candy coating in a microwavable container.)
1 pkg caramel bits (I could not find the bits--I think only certain stores sell them--but caramel candies               still work. It just takes a little longer to unwrap each one.)
1 bag of candy corn (I bought the variety bag--chocolate and regular candy corn as well as pumpkins--             and the regular bag so I would have extra to munch on.)

DIRECTIONS

Place your baking pan/cookie sheet on the counter and line it with wax paper. Line up the waffle pretzels to cover the entire space. Melt the caramel bits/pieces in a bowl and either spoon it over the pretzels or just pour it over. Since the caramel doesn't exactly "liquify" like other melted things, spooning it over the pretzels is a little more effective. Let that sit for about 5 minutes. Next, melt your vanilla bark and pour it over the entire thing. Pouring is fine in this instance. Let the bark sit for around one minute and then start placing the candy corn in random spots. You are more than welcome to add whatever kind of candy you want. After you have finished your masterpiece, put the pan in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. After the time has passed, remove the pan and begin pulling the now solid piece of bark from the wax paper and break it into pieces. I had problems with this. The caramel and wax paper were new enemies and it took a little more effort than I would have liked to separate the two. I even had to throw away a few pieces because I was not going to spend 15 minutes picking off each little piece.

The blogger broke down these steps with a few pictures. 

Iiii ended up with a picture of the aftermath and only a few pieces left. Either way, I'm definitely making this with like EVERY holiday.

What holiday goodies are you planning on making this year??

high five for friday

A week of glorious picture-taking? BIG FAT FAIL. So I'll be changing up my high five for friday post with my five favorite things this week.

numero uno | side-braid

I've been trying to pull out this look at every outing. Hopefully I'm not wearing it out too much because I really love it. I was inspired to try it after seeing this look.

numero dos | ankle boots

Yes, I've said it in previous h54f posts, but I am seriously loving these ankle boots I got at Target. They go with every single piece of clothing in my closet. The best part is that all women's shoes are BOGO 50% off until Saturday. Should I go back and get another pair? Decisions, decisions.

numero tres | orange lipstick

I didn't really know this but apparently orange lipstick is IN for Fall. I think I have found the perfect shade. It's that amazing orange-ish red-ish, matte, long-lasting lipstick. I would wear it every time I wore makeup if I could. I mean, I guess I could if I really wanted. My sister is more fair-skinned than me and it's just as beautiful when she wears it. If anyone is interested, it's Kate Moss by Rimmel Matte Lipstick no. 109.

numero quatro | counting calories

I've jumped back on the bandwagon and began counting my calories again. I don't really have a set date of when I want to lose xx amount of weight. Just whenever it happens, it happens. I'm eating a low amount of calories right now and then after I'm down to my ideal weight, I'll bump it up but continue to work out so I can maintain that weight. Yay for healthy initiatives!

numero cinco | halloween makeup

I have been on the HUNT for killer makeup to go with my Halloween outfit. The problem? I can't make up my freakin' mind on what I want to be. I've been pinning the images like a mad woman so I can remember all of the options. So which one do you think I should go with??? Comment and help a sister out!

            

                    

 

I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for H54F. Visit her page to find out how you can do it too!

The reason I've been so absent

In the beginning of this blogging journey I told myself that I would try to write a post every single day--maybe not so much on the weekends but at least during the week. I feel like I kept up my part of the deal up until the last couple of weeks. If you remember, Jerry and I have been having infertility issues. I'm the type of person that when I get mad or upset, I am drowning in those emotions for a day and then my mind allows me to go back to "normal" if you want to call it that. So when we found out that Jerry couldn't produce sperm, we were devastated but then quickly went back to life. We didn't talk about it much because we had not decided what to do for the future.

Random thought but I promise it's related...Season 5 of Parenthood premiers tonight and over the weekend I just happened to remember that I was not caught up yet with the previous season. When I pulled up where I left off last, I still had ten episodes to go. I literally spent my entire Sunday afternoon and evening watching them all but one. With all that being said, if you've ever watched the show, you would know that ALL EPISODES are tear-jerkers. A lot of sad tears, some happy tears. But none the less, I found myself crying all the time. And they were all related to my life somehow. The sibling I could most relate to was Julia and her husband Joel. They had been trying to have a second child but found out that she could not have another due to scarring from her first pregnancy. So it was a little rough because I could feel her pain. They ended up adopting a little boy on the last episode but it got me thinking about our situation.

Monday night Jerry and I were talking in bed about what we should do for the future of our family. I keep going back and forth with the whole thing. Yes, I want to experience pregnancy but at the same time I think I'd be okay if we didn't have kids. But then I feel like we might regret it once we're 70 and still living with just the two of us. By then, I'm sure we'd have at least twelve cats. Then say if we decide we do want kids and we just adopt, would I regret not trying to get pregnant by other means? I change my mind every 0.5 seconds so I don't know what to do. Jerry keeps telling me to do what I want, but what if what I really want is to have a sperm donor? He does NOT want a donor so he'd probably hate me forever. And I don't want to do that to our marriage.

I guess I could always try being a surrogate mother. I could experience pregnancy, get paid to do it, and then be able to afford adoption, right? No. That's a horrible idea. I don't know how women handle being a surrogate mother. I know I would be under legal contract, but I just don't know how I would be able to give up that baby. Too much bonding in those nine months. Even if you were the emotionally strongest person in the world, giving up that surrogate child probably turns you into a depressed person!

Does anyone have suggestions on what we should do? I feel like we are leaning more towards adoption but we don't have the money to do it. Does someone have connections for making things go smoother in the process of adoption? I'd love to hear from you if you've been through this experience. I feel like trying to talk to a woman who has been blessed with children is hard to do because they've never been through this kind of heartache, you know?

So THIS has been the reason for me being so absent on the blog lately. TOO much thinking going on ;)

I promise that starting this weekend I will be doing more beauty-related posts. So get ready!

One last Summer fling

Yes I know Summer is over--blah blah blah--and that everyone's Fall decorations have long been draped from the mantles and hung from the front door. But I refuse to let go. I refuse to let go of the warm days with my windows rolled down and the wind blowing through my hair. I needed to bring some sun back in my life today so I decided to have one last fling.

I had plans to take pictures right after work today but we had groceries to buy so it was pushed out until later after the sun had already gone down. My apologies in advance for the crappy shots.

Another reason I'm a bad blogger tonight? I won't have any links for any of the items in the above pictures. I can tell you where they were purchased though.  All hope is not lost!

Nude wedges: Target
Gray skirt: originally Banana Republic; bought at Southern Thrift
Chambray shirt: Forever 21
Yellow sweater: J. Crew
Navy studded belt: Francesca's
Silver multi-chain necklace: Francesca's
Bag: H&M

You might could still find the chambray shirt, yellow sweater, and bag in stores because they were bought this year. But the rest were not. Good luck and happy hunting!!