This recipe has been a family favorite for decades. I've ate this for breakfast and snacks since
I was a kid...don't forget the apple juice, of course. Trust me, you won't want to limit devouring
this just to fall time, it's good to make year round. I'm busting this out now to try and prepare myself
for the season change and attempting to bribe myself into even liking fall. We'll see how it works out.
Enjoy!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Drizzle Frosting

Pumpkin Muffins

3 Cups sugar                                
1 1/2 teaspoon salt                      
1 teaspoon nutmeg                  
1 teaspoon cloves                        
1 teaspoon cinnamon              
2 teaspoons baking soda
2/3 cup hot water
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3 1/3 cups flour
2 cups pumpkin

First, blend sugar, spices and eggs. Next add in pumpkin and oil. In separate bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Gradually blend flour mixture into pumpkin mixture, alternating with water. Mix well.
Pour batter into muffin liners/pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-24 minutes till toothpick comes out clean

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 box powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 tablespoon almond milk

Cream sugar and cream cheese together. Add in vanilla and gradually add in powdered sugar. 

The almond milk is to make the frosting a less dense constancy, add to your liking. Mix ingredients well and drizzle onto muffins when they are cool. 

Just to note, I eyeball this recipe. I usually do equal parts of butter & cream cheese. Then I add powdered sugar till it gets to the consistency I want. 

Mixing black and brown is a favorite for fall. I figured it'd be a perfect look to introduce one of my new handmade designs...I'm super excited to be adding trending leather accessories to my line. This item, Simple Drape Harness, is currently at a special introductory price (snatch it up now!). It's such a simple element yet adds a touch of toughness to your look. More new design releases coming soon!

Hat: Nasty Gal  ///  Mirrored Sunglasses: Zero UV  ///  Leather Body Harness: Glam & Grace (NEW DESIGN - in the shop!)  ///  Necklaces: Glam & Grace (in the shop!)   ///  Top: Nordstrom Rack  ///  Studded Olive Tote: Rampage (buy here)  ///  Floral Pants: Zara  ///  Studded Boots: Jeffery Campbell Lita

I'm welcoming my old friend, the choker necklace, back to life. I had and made so many of these necklaces in the 90's, so many. These simple beauties are a big deal this fall. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the different styles and seeing how I can make this old trend from my grade school days, new again. Expect more posts to come and of course some styles in the shop!

Original photos: 1 /// 2 /// 3 /// 4 /// 5

Hey 30, you aren't so bad! Celebrating my 30th birthday in this fun Vintage Dress from Revival in Akron. The beautiful gold detail is perfect with the colorful leaves in my yard...and oh how I love these leaves.

I've become quite fond of my journey through life and growing older. I seek and value growth. A lot of times when people get older they tend to 'settle down' in a sense of steady routine based on comfort. I'm one who likes to challenge that. Stepping outside of one's comfort zone, even in baby steps, is a good continual way to learn about life and different perspectives.

Hey new red hair! Time to fully transition to fall and what better way then to switch up the hair color? I'm having so much fun pairing it's brightness with different colors of clothing. The pattern of this dress from ASOS is fabulous, not a big fan of the swing fit but hey, I gave it a fair shot. My glasses are of course from Bonlook, the La Marquise. All 4 pairs of my glasses are from Bonlook. Great prices and high style. The metallic pink pumps are from NastyGal. They have their new, very own shoe line, Shoe Cult. I grabbed them during a flash sale for only $25! Last but not least, the necklace is from my line (AC Design)...get it on Etsy or on my site!

Bringing in November with shoulder pads, sheer overlays and spikes. Loved this combo on a gorgeous November day in downtown Akron, Ohio. As far as the spot, I've been obsessed with these orange doors for years. The old advertising agency I used to work for rented out this warehouse building for video shoots so it's nice to visit this familiar space.

The sparkle rust colored sweater is by 2bRYCH...found this high end piece at TJMaxx! I couldn't pass up the puffy sleeves and shoulder pads. The black mini skirt with sheer overlay: H&M. Leopard spiked heels: Sam Edelman. Envelope clutch: The Limited. Sunglasses: Nastygal.com

This is my style of pumpkin carving! I love how this metallic pumpkin candle turned out. 

To start, for texture, I made hot glue "beads" in lines around the pumpkin and then covered the whole thing with a coat of gold spray paint. Next, I just carved out the pumpkin like normal and placed the wick inside in the center. The best way I knew to keep the wick in the center was to hold it steady with two knives...weird, I know...but it worked!  I used soy wax for the candle part and did my best to actually follow the directions on the package (go me!). I wanted to melt the wax in a container I could throw away after making the mess so I just found a glass spaghetti sauce jar to use...it also worked great to pour the wax into the pumpkin. I had never done a project with wax before so I really had no idea what I was doing or what to expect...but it went pretty smoothly! Overall, it was the perfect nontraditional pumpkin carving!

Time for some bold, oversized goodies! Here are a few of my go-to items to begin the season:

Cat eye glasses: La Marquise, Bon Look  /// Oversized metal earrings and gold scorpion ring: vintage ///  Teardrop statement necklace: Target (clearance rack! score!)  Stripe socks: Jcrew  /// Nail Polish: Sephora by OPI, IM Beauty (yellow) & Charge It! (metallic gold)

grab an old sweater and yarn to create a fun update for your fall wardrobe

loop, tie and cut! bows and more bows...and a little added crumpledness. sweater love!

My inspiration is a sweater from Jcrew that I've been eyeing. It's gorgeous and of course holds a pricy tag. To be honest, I'd rather spend that money on other things (like 3 sweaters). So I of course had to try a DIY.

First off I love the vintagey feel of these cutesy mini yarn bows...to play that up I used a chestnut brown color. The Jcrew sweater has the bows placed in structured lines. I chose to just place them randomly, covering the front of the sweater. This sweater has a looser knit which made it easier to pull the yarn through the holes...(I used small jewelry pliers I had laying around to have a hold of the yarn strands...so helpful!) From there, I just made a simple knot and cut the yarn strand...instant bow.

Hello bold little Zara jacket. This is my go-to jacket for this fall. I love the bright redish orange color and the statement making details...zippers, studs, more zippers...all on a light weight linen fabric. Even better, I nabbed this beauty on sale...WIN!
This jacket is now sold out at Zara but you can get other colorful jackets here: 1 / 2

At my last job, I spent many hours editing how-to videos for Duplicolor car paint. Now the nerdy designer in me has to spray paint EVERYTHING. From flower pots, jewelry, furniture…and now vegetables. I just have two pumpkins cleaned, primed, and painted right now…but will probably keep adding more as fall progresses. I’m hooked.