Cozy Fall Home Decor

Happy Fall Y’all!

If you’ve been reading my posts lately, then you know how much I love all things fall! This season I really worked to clean up my space a little better in my living room. I reorganized how and where I store things and it just feels so much less cluttered now. Hopefully next season I’ll get to my closet (ha!).

Today’s post is all about how I decorated for fall this year. Cooler weather outside calls for making it feel as cozy and warm inside as possible. I always love making spaces my own. For me, nothing compares to the feeling of coming home after a long day and I really strive to create a space that feels welcoming and homey. I never grow tired of the familiar smells as I walk through the door or the sight of a cozy couch asking to be curled up on while I unwind. The biggest decor lesson I have learned is to make whatever space you’re working with feel like it’s yours. Sometimes I find myself scrolling through Pinterest for hours loving images of beautiful spaces, but when I try and recreate the look I realize it doesn’t really fit with my space or my style.

Fall decor is a perfect example of this. My decor style is all about light spaces, lots of whites, and cooler tones. Traditional fall decor focused more on deeper, warmer hues. While I love the look of a cozy autumn cottage in the mountains, or a warm rustic farm house, those looks would just look out of place in my space. The challenge for myself this season was to find a way to incorporate all the things I love about fall in my space, while balancing them with my style. Follow along to see how I tackled fall seasonal decor.

When I think of traditional fall colors I think of warmer hues and a lot of orange. I was nervous that too much of this would feel out of place in my living room, especially since my rug is white and blue. Searching through Pinterest, I found a lot of inspiration for shaking up traditional fall decor by mixing up the traditional color scheme. I focused on working with my cooler tones but still incorporating warm colors as well. The blankets I used on my couch and chair are actually scarves but they were perfect as decorative accents so I just ran with it.

 

I love pumpkins, especially small little ones (though I think they’re technically gourds). I used them to add little touches of fall to the space. I found the gold ‘thankful’ embroidered pillow at HomeGoods and loved how it fit. For other decorative accents, I found some festive little wooden signs in the Target dollar section which went nicely with the mantle. I also found these fabric pumpkins at target. They were a great way to stay true to the fall theme while still tying the space together.

I really love how my space turned out, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t switched a few things around. I’m always changing things up because this is all so new to me. I have learned a lot so far and feel even more prepared to tackle holiday decorations in a month or so! For now though, I think I’ll just sit back with my pups and relaxin my cozy fall home.

How do you decorate your home for fall? Comment below!

October’s Mix: Pumpkin Spice Moscow Mules

Hi guys,

It’s time to share October’s mix with you. This month’s drink is similar to September in that it’s a fun twist on a popular cocktail. When I think October I immediately think of colorful leaves, fall spices, and pumpkin of course. These very best parts of fall inspired October’s drink: a Pumpkin Spice Moscow Mule. After adding pumpkin flavor to almost every aspect of my diet and lifestyle, a cocktail felt like the natural next step in the progression of my pumpkin addiction.

When walking through the kitchen section of Homegoods, I saw a variety of pumpkin flavor syrups. These are meant to add a little flavor to coffees but I wondered what else they could do. Trying to imagine what this would pair well with, I decided vodka was probably one of my best bets. I also love classic Moscow Mules and figured the ginger beer would be a nice paring with the pumpkin spice.

I was a little weary at first because one of my favorite flavors in drinks is lime, so I was nervous that eliminating that from the recipe would ruin it – but I was fairly certain pumpkin and lime wouldn’t be the best combination of flavors. Eliminating this, I sought to add something else to the mix to bring out the spice and help to cut down the sweetness. Cinnamon did just the trick, but I think nutmeg could be a yummy spice to throw into the mix as well!

This recipe did take a little trial and error, and I even had it reviewed my BSB’s very own cocktail expert, aka my mom. I underestimated how strong the pumpkin spice flavoring was. I initially used 2 oz, but it was so overpowering it was hard to notice any of the other flavors at all. Eventually we settled on an ideal mix which you can find below!

What are some of your favorite fall drinks? Comment below!

What’s in my Mug

I used to firmly believe that crisp fall mornings were meant for sleeping in and staying in my warm bed for as long as possible. Now that I have a puppy who wakes me up before the sun even thinks to rise, I find myself enjoying a new part of the fall days. One thing that makes it easier for most people (myself included) to wake up earlier is caffeine. I have never been a major coffee fanatic, but lately I find I’m starting to rely on it more and more. Now that the fall season is in full swing, I get to bring my love of all things pumpkin into the mix. To celebrate my new fond love (need) for coffee in my daily life, I am sharing what’s in my mug through the week:

Weekday Mornings

I am up and out of the house around 6:00 on the weekdays, so caffeine is a must. To be honest, I never actually learned how to make coffee in a pot (I can imagine it’s probably a super obvious process that would nonetheless confuse me), so having a Keurig is a lifesaver. I have three different fall-themed K-cups that I use:

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Medium Roast Coffee Keurig K-Cup Pod

Green Mountain Coffee Pumpkin Spice Coffee Medium Roast K-Cop Pod

and Stop & Shop’s Pumpkin Spice Keurig K-Cup Pod

I love how quick and easy it is to have my coffee ready to go. I have really begun to appreciate travel mugs. This adorable Kate Spade one was a gift from my best friend Abby! It’s really coming in handy these days, so thanks Babs! Because my love of pumpkin is extreme. I also add pumpkin flavored creamer to cut down the bitterness a little.

When it feels like Summer but looks like Fall

On fall days that feel like they belong back in August, I stay with my pumpkin theme but keep things cool by getting and iced coffee instead. My mom and I love Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Swirl flavor. She gets it hot and black with just one pump, while I’ll take it hot or cold with almond milk. When the weather gets cooler, I tend to switch over to hot coffee, so it’s nice to be able to shake things up every once in a while.

Whenever I can find an excuse to go to a Starbucks

The Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks is one of my all-time favorite things about fall. Any time I’m out running errands or need a midday pick me up, I find myself wandering in to get one. The other day I got an extra one for free and I was so happy I wanted to hug the barista. These cups of happiness really just make my day.

What are some of your go-to drinks?

I wanted to hear all about what’s in you mug too, so comment below!

Fall Fanatic

Happy fall y’all!

As soon as it was October, I fully embraced every aspect of the autumn season. I think to say fall is my favorite time of the year may be an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a total water baby who loves the summer sun, but there is just something about a crisp fall day in New England that brings back years of happy memories. Some of my favorite fall activities include: asking everyone in my family at least once per day if they will go apple picking with me, taking the scenic route home (going way out of my way on my commute home to find any and all trees that have changed color), consuming apple and pumpkin products in any capacity, almost exclusively, making far too many trips to Home Goods, and repeatedly saying “Oh wow, I just love fall.” I welcome the eyerolls from those of you who think I am as basic as they come because I love this time of year and nothing is going to stop me from taking it all in every second I can.

This fall though is especially wonderful because I now have my pup! I love having a puppy around because I finally have someone who is just as excited by everyday things as I am. Luca doesn’t mind that I want to stop every five seconds to look at a tree or some pumpkins. He is more than happy to stop with me and smell anything and everything in his path. He makes everything an adventure and I am so blessed to have a new companion by my side!

Our most recent adventure took us to Brooksby’s Farm in Peabody. I have been coming here for as long as I remember. One of our oldest traditions is taking pictures with my siblings in the apple trees. Almost every year it seems make the Christmas card picture because it’s just about the only time my mom can get us all together. I think the only reason this seems to work is because we know that there are warm apple cider donuts waiting for us inside the little farm stand. The line is almost always to the door when we go but the wait is always worth it.

I think I may have done every fall activity imaginable, but that won’t stop me from trying to find more. If you love fall like I do and have some fun activities to share, comment them below!

Farewell to Fall

 

 

As soon as September rolled around, it was all things pumpkin spice and it seemed like summer was in the rearview mirror. Now, I am breaking out my cozy sweaters and Christmas socks and playing holiday music any chance I get. Before I delve completely into winter and all things Christmas, I wanted to take minute to reflect on my favorite season: fall. Fall is such a beautiful time in nature and for me, has always been a time of new beginnings.

Fall is when we get to go back to school again and see all our friends. Fall is when we get to trade our shorts for cozy vests and our flip flops for riding boots. Fall is nature’s finally before everything green is buried in a blanket of snow. What a more beautiful way to mark an ending (and new beginning) than with a vibrant display of beautiful colors.

So here is my farewell to fall, it will be a whole year before we meet again and I hope that the next season of vibrant colors finds me in a new place with renewed hope for life and all its beauty.

Outfit details here.

Autumn Wonderland: A Trip to the White Mountains

My Sweater: Forever 21 (similar here) | My Vest: TJMaxx (similar here)|My Scarf: TJ Maxx  (similar here)| My Pants: Forever 21 (similar here)| Our boots: Hunter |Abby’s Shirt: Gap (similar here & here) | Abby’s Jeans: American Eagle |

This post took me much longer to write than I was hoping and that’s because I took so many gorgeous photos during my trip that the idea of editing them all was so daunting. So I kept putting it off, but I need to share them with you guys because they are truly, truly magical.

Over Columbus Day Weekend, Abby and I (and my mom!) took a trip up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It’s about a two hour drive for me and the weather said that it was supposed to rain so we almost didn’t go. I am so glad we did though, because even though it did rain a little, the trees were still so beautiful that it made it all worth it.

While driving along the highway, we could see color bursting out in all directions. It really was something out of a dream. When I was younger, my family would always take trips up to see the foliage. I definitely didn’t appreciate the long car rides and seeing all the colors back then, but I certainly see the beauty of it now.

I hope that this is a renewed start of that tradition because the magic of the foliage up North is something I would love to see again and again.

Do you guys have any favorite fall traditions? Comment below!