fit for fall.

{boots: wallis, bag: marc jacobs, glasses: kate spade, shirt: american rag, jeans: topshop, sweater: roberto collina, lip gloss: clinique, nail polish: mac in dark angel}

A neutral palette is all well and good, but something unexpected, like a beautiful bright mustard sweater, or a fun purple nail can go a long way. The glasses have a slightly serious, I'm here for the book club kind of vibe, but the boots say I'm sassy.  Balance is good.

I love a pulled together layered look.  A fun print collared shirt and sweet sweater paired with your favorite jeans. It's fresh and effortless -  a no brainer.  It's a look fit for fall.  

A fall look is never complete with a bit of rouge on the lips. (ie: more sassiness.) However, a dramatic color might not be a look for every one, but a gloss certainly is.  As the weather gets cold and dry, a product with some heavy duty moisturizers is a must.  Clinique makes some seriously amazing moisturizing lip balms without sacrificing color.  Superbalm and Chubby Sticks are great as they have both natural and more dramatic color options.

I'm a p-i-m-p [kin] muffin.

 

Image via

Baking something with pumpkin is in my top five for my November To-Do list.  I have been craving something pumpkin-y for a while now, but I still wanted to stay true to my paleo diet. Lucky for me I didn’t have to look very far as there are many ah-mazing paleo sites and quite a few pumpkin recipes. I adapted mine from two recipes (here and here) to cater to both my semi-limited ingredients and my love for sweet.

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
(makes about 12 muffins)

½ cup of coconut flour

½ tsp of baking soda

½ tsp of baking powder

½ tsp of salt

2 tsp of cinnamon

2 tsp of all spice (or pumpkin pie spice)

1 can of organic pumpkin puree

4 eggs

2-3 tbsp of coconut oil (melted)

1/3 cup of honey and/or pure maple syrup (I used a combo)

2 tsp of vanilla

Handful of roughly chopped walnuts to top your muffins

...

             1.      Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C)

             2.     In a medium bowl, combine the coconut flour, spices, baking soda/powder and salt.

             3.     In another bowl, place the pumpkin puree then add the eggs one at a time, mixing   

         well after each egg. Add oil, honey/maple syrup, and vanilla and mix well

4.     Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and blend well. 

5.     Spoon into prepared muffin pan, filling each muffin 2/3 full. Top each muffin some

        of the roughly chopped walnuts.

6.     Bake for about 20-22 minutes.

Enjoy!

ps. How great is coconut flour?!  A big thank-you to my friend Jane for the gift. Too sweet.

With or without you.

{top: zara (no longer available), knit sweater: banana republic (no longer available), jeans: joe's jeans, necklace: forever 21, watch: michael kors}

Although I love fall, I’m always sad to see summer go. I get a bit sad saying goodbye to my favorite summer pieces, but I love saying hello! to fall sweaters and tights! (oh, and you too, scarves!)

It's bittersweet.  

This season, I’m carrying over some of my (can't live without you) summer favorites and attempting to incorporate them into my F/W wardrobe.  This time of year can get a bit dull and sometimes you just need a pop of color [or, a gold-dipped collar] to add something unexpected and fun to your look.   

Fall cleaning and one DIY.

It seems as though I'm on a bit of a fall cleaning kick.  Cleaning out my closet, organizing drawers...you know, all those really fun things you never really get around to doing because, well, they take time and you can usually find something better to do.   

I was finding my jewellery was slowly consuming itself and necklaces were at an all out war with each other.  I just couldn't take the chaos anymore. It was madness I tells ya!

1. I reorganized my necklaces to make them more visible and easy to access, bought some cheap hooks and stuck them to the inside door of my armoire.  Now I can easily chose which necklace to wear with my outfit.

2. I wanted to highlight my favorite pieces of jewellery and incorporate them into my decor.  Why keep these gorgeous gems hidden? Now I'm reminded of what I have and it makes it easier to choose the right pieces.

3.  My first DIY! I decided to change up my current (old) frames by adding a touch of gold. I bought some gold spray paint and sprayed the mat of one frame and the entire frame of another. A pretty update without costing a pretty penny. 

Reorganizing helps you assess what you already have and then gives you a better idea of things you need and/or want!
Happy spring fall cleaning!

My Current Love List

{flats: vera wang, sequin sweater: oasis, white silk top: prabal gurung, gray leather tote: proenza schouler, jeans: current/elliott, earrings: michael kors} 

I don't know about you, but I love an outfit that feels effortless yet pulled together.  There's something so classic about a pair of jeans, a beautiful white top or embellished sweater, and flats.  Easy breezy.  And my current love list.

I thought that in today's love list I would tip my hat to little miss Lauren Conrad. I'm not going to lie, I've been loving her since The Hills, but my love has changed from a teenage kind of obsession to a much more mature and sensible appreciation.  Her current clothing line, Paper Crown is full of great pieces and represents her truly classic style.  Any piece would make a welcome addition to any woman's closet.  Playing dress up has never been this fun!

I'm also loving her collaboration with Kristin Ess and Amy Nadine over at The Beauty Department.  Ahh-mazingness.  I'm always so excited to see what oh so pretty/genius ideas and advice they share next. One of my favorite daily reads!

Happy (early) weekend!

...

Love List by honeyoftheheart

Start Your Day Right [with a smoothie]

Smoothie goodness and paleo banana bread.

A smoothie is my go-to breakfast.  It's easy to make, quick, and it's also packed with lots of vitamins and nutrients.  Plus, it's the only breakfast item I've found that really keeps me full until my mid-morning snack and (sometimes) even until lunch.  Without my sweet smoothie, I'm busting out my lunch at 9am! (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Breakfast smoothie 

(makes 2 smoothies)

2-3 ice cubes

20 almonds (soak overnight ~ they blend up much easier)

1 banana

A handful of spinach and/or kale**

4-5 strawberries

1/2 cup of frozen blueberries

Sprinkle of cinnamon

1 cup of almond milk 

Optional:

Add a splash of vanilla or a squeeze of honey 

** remove the stems from the kale (the center ribs) to avoid a woody, not so nice, taste!

Blend all your ingredients in a hand blender until smooth and enjoy!

...

Don't feel like you need all these exact ingredients.  

What makes this smoothie so easy is that you can use any fresh berries or fruit you have available!