Sweater Weather

Sweater (Dress) Weather- this dress is the most comfy dress. It's super great for when the weather is just starting to cool down cause it makes you feel cozy, but is still short-sleeved. 

Sweater Dress- Forever 21 (similar)

Black Ankle Boots- Gap

DIY: Hello Desk Decor

I've had the materials for this project for awhile now.. and have been so excited to make it! I have seen desk stands like this all over and think they are just darling- but most of them are pretty expensive! So I made my own and I absolutely love it. It looks so cute on my desk- I may make another one for my office desk cause it is just so cute and so easy/cheap to make! 

MATERIALS: 
-Wood block- i actually found a big strip of wood and just sawed a little block off... but I'm sure you could find blocks at a hardware store or craft store- OR you could use baking clay and form it into a block- then bake to harden
-Wire-i found this copper wire at Walmart for $1
-Pliers- this just helps in forming the wire letters
- Paint & Paintbrush- if you want to paint your wood block
-Masking tape- to aid in painting designs on your block
-Screw- i used a screw to add holes into my block where the wire fits in

1. I chose to color block a diagonal stripe on my wood- so using making tape, I just taped the design I wanted, then painted the block white.  

2. After it dried, I took the tape off and it looked like this! 

3. Form whatever word you want in the wire- I picked "hello," but really you can form whatever word you want! You could make a few different words and then swap them out every once in awhile for variety. Just make sure the wire is long on the two ends- because that is where it will insert into the wood. 

4. Center the wire onto the wood and place little marks where you need to drill holes. I used a screw to add holes into the wood and it worked really well. You don't have to make them too deep, but just deep enough for the wire to stay in them. 

5. Insert the wire into the holes and you are done! 

This was seriously so easy to make and it turned out super cute. This is the kind of thing I really like, but probably wouldn't buy myself- so making it was a great way for me to have one and not spend a lot of money. 

                                                                              xoxo

Fall Prints

Dress- H&M 

Wool Hat- Old Navy

Oxford Heels- Similar

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Hot Chocolate

Guys. Why have I never made my own hot chocolate before?? It is so incredibly easy and way cheaper than buying fancy flavored hot chocolate. AND you can make what ever the flavor you want! 

Don't get me wrong, I love my fair share of pumpkin treats during the Fall... but I honestly don't care for things that are too pumpkiny... or are fake pumpkin tasting. But I wanted to try to make pumpkin pie hot chocolate because it just sounds like it should be good, ya know? So I made my own hot chocolate from scratch and... it is delicious! Seriously so so good. 

For some reason, I can never finish a whole mug full of hot chocolate- like if I use a packet.. I can never drink that much- so half the cup goes to waste. The best part of making your own is that you can determine your own portions! (I guess I could do that anyway by just pouring in half the packet... but I'm never smart enough for that...) Anyway... I now have a hot chocolate mixture that I can just take a little bit at a time and I love it. Also, this would make a great Christmas present to give to your friends who you would like to get them something.. but don't really want to spend a lot of money.. we all have those friends. So make a big batch of hot chocolate, put it in a cute bag, tie a bow on it.. and there ya go. 

It only takes 2 ingredients to make your own hot chocolate! Cocoa and sugar. 

• Note: Obviously the type of cocoa you use is going to influence how your hot chocolate tastes... so just make sure you use a cocoa that you know you'll like.

I happened to already have this pumpkin pie spice, so I just used some of that to add flavor to the hot chocolate mix... but really use whatever you want- experiment with it! There are probably so many hot chocolate flavors that turn out delicious.

To be honest, I kinda just guessed on the measurements... but it turned out really great. You can adjust them to your liking though. For me, I just used a 2 to 1 ratio of sugar to cocoa. A standard mug of hot chocolate usually takes a few tbs worth of hot chocolate mix, so mixing together 2 tbs of sugar and 1 tbs of cocoa will definitely give you a single serving of hot chocolate! But you could make a few cups worth to save for those days you need to be cozy wrapped up in a throw blanket, drinking hot chocolate. For the pumpkin pie spice, I honestly just added in a bit at a time until I thought the taste was strong enough, but not too overpowering. Definitely error on adding less at first- you can always add more. 

This seriously took like 3 minutes to make- and it was delicious. So you should try it! 

Fall Break in Dallas

My family came to visit Ryan and I for part of their fall break. It was so much fun having them here in Dallas with us. Being Dallas newbies ourselves, we didn't really know what to do with them here- so we kinda explored Dallas together. So here are some fun places/things to do in Dallas, especially during the Fall. 

 1. Go to a pumpkin patch! Obviously this is a fall favorite. Dallas actually has a few pumpkin patches. I have not been to the Dallas Arboretum, but I have heard that it is the cutest during Fall. There is a cute pumpkin village made up of 75,000 pumpkins and gourds. If you don't feel like paying an entrance fee for a pumpkin patch, there are other patches around the area you can go and find nice pumpkins for carving or decorating your home! 

2. White Rock Lake: This has been our go-to place pretty much every weekend. Ryan will bike around the lake and I will run for a little bit. We rather enjoy it, because it is pretty much the only outdoorsy place we have found in Dallas so far. There is a rental place right by the lake, so with my family we rented paddle boards. This is a great summer activity, but it was also really nice for the Fall because the weather is perfect. 

3. Top Golf: Several Dallas locals have told us about Top Golf. My dad loves golf, so we decided with them here would be the perfect time to go! It was really fun! The best part is that you don't have to be good at golf at all. It's kinda like bowling... but golf. Super fun idea. This is a great activity for a group of friends/family. 

4. Texas State Fair: I know I talked about this in a previous post (here), but it gets added to the list of things to do because it is a big event during the Fall. Seriously everyone here talks about it. We didn't go with my family because Ryan and I already went... but it is an event that is worth going to at least once. 

 5. Good Eats: I know there are a LOT of foodie places in Dallas. We have not even scratched the surface, so these recommendations might change once we visit more places... but for the time being, Ryan and I really love Torchy's Tacos- super yummy and affordable. And Ryan loves the BBQ of the Pecan Lodge. 

And here are just some pictures we took in our neighborhood :) Thanks for coming you guys!

Fall Footwear

It is now Fall and I am in desperate need of new booties seeing that I have none. So here are a few of my recent fav shoes for this season. 

1. Lost Valley Ankle Boot- Free People

2. Splendid Hamptyn Booties- Splendid

3. Tassel Heeled Bootie- Sole Society

4. The Fall Wool Heel- Piper & Scoot

5. Tassel Loafers- Forever 21

DIY: Paper Straw Bunting

Here is a simple diy to make a cute triangle banner out of... paper straws! Gold spray paint is one of my favorite things- seriously it makes everything look 10x fancier. This banner looks like it's metal- but it's not! Just made with cheapo paper straws :) This banner is SO cute and would look great as party decor.. or even just on a section of wall in your house/apt. Mine is currently hanging in my little craft corner. 

Materials:

• Paper straws (mine are cut in half for smaller triangles)
• String
• Gold Spray Paint 

Step 1: Thread 3 straws onto the string

Step 2: Form the straws into a triangle shape and thread the string back along the top straw (the above picture shows which way to thread the string) 

Step 3: Keep threading straws and forming triangles until your banner is as long as you would like

Step 4: Spray paint the banner gold 

Enjoy 

xoxo

How To: 3 Pull-Through Braid Tutorials

Today's blog post is actually a video. This has been my go-to hairstyle lately, and I wanted to make a tutorial on it and figured a video would probably be easier to show than pictures. So if you're interested, here are 3 hair tutorials of the pull through braid. They are so so cute!

Disclaimer: I am super awkward in this video. 

DIY: Clothespin Magnets

This diy was inspired by Ryan's cousin. She taught me how to make these at the latest family reunion. They were just so cute, that I had to make them again with my little baby clothespins. They are super great for decorating the fridge, but also they work great for making a hanging picture banner.

Step 1: Get some cute washi tape and cut stripes long enough to cover a side of the clothespin.

Step 2: Using a nail file, file the sides of the clothespins around the washi tape (it works better it you file vertically down on the sides of the clothespins)- you just want to make the washi tape easy to remove around the edges of the clothespins

Step 3: Remove the excess washi tape

Step 4: Super glue magnet strips to the backs of the clothespins

You got yourself some super cute clothespins to hold all your cute pictures/whatever else you put on your fridge :) 

xoxo