a fun autumn weekend

ghostbusters in the park

friday night we grabbed a blanket, a few beers and some snacks to head over to the park for an outdoor viewing of ghostbusters. it was great! i realized that this was actually my first time watching a movie outdoors and hopefully the first of many. it's more fun in some ways than going to a theater because everyone sings along with the theme song or recites their memorized lines along with the actors. you don't have to be as quiet since it's a classic movie everyone has seen a dozen times.

oak glen california

a couple of friends told us about oak glen, ca when we first moved here and we've wanted to go ever since. it's best in fall because there are rows of apple orchards, pumpkin patches, press your own cider stands, hayrides, bee hives, petting zoos and all of the other quintessential autumn activities. it's about an hour and a half or two away from los angeles so it's a really nice getaway from the city. we took along a couple of friends and set out for a mini roadtrip on saturday.

autumn is definitely my favorite season and i really feel like i've relished it this year. i've done some baking, started working on a homemade costume, taken this roadtrip to oak glen and of course the movie in the park.

fresh pressed cider

we're scarfing down some delicious cider while watching some people press their own.  it was really fun and it's amazing how MANY apples it takes to make a gallon of cider. not pictured are the dozens of honey bees swarming around. 

comet the miniature donkey

i have dreams of one day owning a bunch of land and having farm animals - horses, chickens, and now a miniature donkey, obviously. this sweetheart was so cute i had a really hard time saying goodbye!

hawk's head publik house

we decided to try out the most popular and best reviewed restaurant in oak glen. considering this is a tiny town with only a handful of restaurants we weren't totally surprised when the hostess told us it'd be a two hour wait. yes, TWO hours. we put our name down and walked around a few of the farms in the meantime. 

it's a pretty neat place and overall if you visit oak glen i'd say you're not getting the full experience without eating here. the only lighting in the restaurant is the flicker of taper candles on each table and all of the employees are dressed in period costumes. it's an experience for sure.

happy fall!

i hope all of you are having a great fall as well. we've really been enjoying it and i'll be sad to see it go! luckily, christmas is right around the corner and we'll be going home for two and a half weeks so we have that to look forward to. can't wait!

xoxo, 

ashley

fashion friday : how to layer for fall

in most places autumn can be a tricky time of year to dress for. a lot of times it will be cold in the morning, warm in the afternoon and chilly in the evenings. the best thing to do is layer your outfits in a way that lets you adjust for the changing temperatures. plus, layers just look cool. duh!

blazers

if you have a dress from the warmer months that you're just not ready to part with just yet, don't even worry. you can always layer a blazer over it and pair it with some booties for fall! i love the subtle colors of this outfit.

crop top it

throw on a crop top over your favorite summer dress to make it fall appropriate. or put a crop over a collared blouse for a really interesting look. 

vests

i have a recent developed love for vests. i wear them all the time these days. they are just so versatile and make your outfit look so much more polished and put together! wear a flowy vest over your favorite tee or blouse and if it gets too hot you can always shed a layer.

collared shirts

i think we've probably all worn this sweater-over-collared-shirt combo before, but if not maybe this is just the inspiration you were looking for. one idea maybe you haven't tried is layering this look over a fitted skirt. the look on the left is so cute.

lightweight scarves

a scarf looks good layered over so many different outfits! this dress would be super boring without the pop of color and texture this scarf adds. wear them over dresses or combined with your favorite cardigan and jeans. the options are endless!

all images via pinterest, kendi everyday and little blonde book.

xoxo, 

ashley

easy halloween rice krispies treats

i have been in the mood to do some fall baking lately so the other day while grocery shopping i dropped by the baking aisle to see if anything jumped out at me. i was instantly inspired by the sprinkles and decided i had to make something centered around them! something easy, quick and cute. so these halloween themed rice krispie treats fit the bill pretty well. 

although i've always had a deep appreciation for homemade rice krispie treats, this was my first time making them and i've got to say, i had no idea how simple they were! i mean, you only need three ingredients! when is that ever the case with baking?! without further ado, let's get started!

 

ingredients : 

- 6 cups of rice krispies

- 10 oz. bag of marshmallows

- 3 tbs. butter

- white chocolate chips or regular chocolate if you prefer

- sprinkles in whatever shape, size and color your heart desires

- paper straws in your choice of colors

step one :

melt 3 tbsp. of butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. add marshmallows and stir until melted making sure not to overcook them. meanwhile, line a 13 X 9 " baking pan with wax paper. when marshmallows and butter are melted and combined, begin slowly adding 6 cups of rice krispies and stir until combined. immediately spread them out into your pan and use your hands to press them evenly throughout. 

step two :

put the rice krispies into the fridge for about 15 minutes until cooled. cut them into equal squares once cooled and insert straws.

step three :

ok, this is the tricky part. create a double boiler by putting a heat safe bowl on top of a small pan of boiling water. add chocolate chips and stir occasionally until melted. dip the bottom of each rice krispie treat into the chocolate and lay flat to cool. immediately either dip into sprinkles or dust them on top before the chocolate hardens. it'll take a time or two to get the hand of this. my first two were terrible!

now step back and marvel at the cuteness you just made. and they're delicious to boot! i hope you all have been inspired to go create some of your own halloween treats!

happy baking! and more importantly, happy halloween! 

xoxo, 

ashley

3 step DIY tutorial for a cute halloween sign

diy 'boo' halloween sign tutorial

you guys! this is such an easy and quick diy for halloween. it's great for your front door or anywhere inside your house that you'd like to add a spooky touch. 

supplies :

- ready-made letters from a craft store (mine were already black and ready to go, but if necessary you can always paint them or add glitter)

- ribbon

- black wreath hanger

- scissors

step one : 

cut three strands of ribbon into roughly six or seven inch pieces 

step two :

flip all of the letters over and put them in order from top to bottom. tie ribbon around the bottom of each letter and tie into a secure knot. 

step three : 

hang it on your door and enjoy for the rest of the halloween season! this literally could not be any easier, ha! 

since this tutorial was incredibly simple and short, i thought i would give you a little peek inside as well. our house is clearly very tiny from the picture and so i decided to keep the halloween decor at a minimum this year. a small house can easily go from decorated to cluttered in about two seconds. 

so here are my very simple halloween touches: 

when you don't have a lot of space to work with i recommend just scattering a few randomly sized and colored pumpkins around your house for an instant fall vibe. i just love these little guys! also, fresh, in season flowers are a must too! sunflowers generally aren't my favorite flower, but they are a great autumn bloom and generally fairly inexpensive so those are pluses.

in the living room i just taped some of these chipboard bats that i have from last halloween in a flying pattern above the media console. i just love the simplicity of it. i got them at micheal's craft store last year and i'm sure they have something similar this year if you'd like to grab some. oh, and candles! they are such a must for autumn. i got the absolute best scents this year at tj maxx. 

my favorite scent i found was the vanilla cider candle. i loved it so much i had to get two! it's a great subtle scent that just cozies up your home.

i added some halloween themed paper straws and a pumpkin scented candle to our bar tray. i got my straws at target, but they sell them almost anywhere these days. 

happy fall to you all! 

xoxo, 

ashley

summertime highlights

as it comes time to bid farewell to summer i thought i would round up some highlights from mine to share with you all. also, i haven't been the best at updating the blog for the past couple of months and i have all of these pictures that i really don't want going to waste.

our anniversary

may 30th of this year marks our sixth anniversary and my oh, my how it has absolutely flown by! we weren't sure what to do to celebrate this year so i hit up groupon for some ideas. i found a whale watching excursion that sounded really fun in huntington beach. our boat found a blue whale! that's him poking his blowhole right above the water in the bottom right picture. 

we've had such a fun time growing together and learning from one another. if we've learned anything it's that you inevitably have your ups and downs but through it all you know you have one another. that's the foundation in my opinion of a strong marriage, putting pride aside to stop an argument mid sentence and just hugging the other person because you love them more than you love being right and you'll do whatever it takes to make the other happy. you have each other and that's all that matters.

 i think we're both realizing that since we've moved to california that these are going to be some of the best times of our lives and ones that we'll definitely look back on fondly one day as we're reminiscing with our future children. it's an odd feeling to be knowlingly living some of the highlights of your life. but hey, we're  not complaining!

our birthdays

a household of two cancers over here! two days apart in fact.  on my birthday i was particularly feeling a little lonesome and homesick but coming home to this surprise from my thoughtful, sweetheart of a  neighbor sure did help! she's made me feel more at home since day one. she's always putting little notes in our mailbox and doing sweet gestures like this. i'm thankful for that!

View fullsize

View fullsize

visits from old friends

we've been so fortunate to have lots of visitors this summer to help ease us into the transition of living so far away. it's been wonderful. we had such a blast showing emily and jimbo around hollywood, malibu, burbank and  road-tripping to veeegas! i can't even begin to tell you how insanely hot it was in vegas. i mean like literally take your breath away, sweat dripping the instant you step outside kinda hot. phew!

what really prompted the trip was us missing out on a concert that jimbo was really excited about in LA because the tickets ended up being sold out. he noticed they were playing in vegas so we decided to make the journey out there because well, why not?! in the meantime, all i was concerned about was finding a hotel with one of those classic pool parties i'm always seeing on social media. well, it certainly happened and it lived up to everything i was hoping for! 

sequoia national park

a couple of months ago benji's brother cal came to visit us and we made the three hour trek up to the sequoia national park. why the redwoods get all the glory, i don't know! these trees are seriously underrated people. basically the redwoods are the tallest trees in the world, while these are the largest by volume. so in other words these trees are massive! the largest tree in the world (by volume), the general sherman in this park, is 36 feet in diameter at it's base. amazing!

also, i finally got a national park passport on this trip and i'm pretty dang excited about that. i can't wait to fill it up!

another visit from an old friend

did i mention we've had a lot of visitors this summer? ha! my friend meg was on a business trip in vegas and decided to come visit us while she was at it. we had a great time. we went to runyon canyon park, venice beach, hollywood and lots of other places i'm forgetting at the moment. i'm especially thankful that she came because total she was away from her little girl for over a week. i know that was tough.

beach daaaze

we love beach days! we headed out for some sun and sand this past weekend. our favorite one to go to is hands down, zuma beach. the water is so clean and it's a great escape from the crowded, touristy beaches in the rest of LA. the weather was perfect and we even got in the water since it wasn't frigid like it usually is. let me tell you, the waves are huge up there! i can see why people like to surf here...it's incredible.

i hope you all have had a great summer! 

xoxo, 

ashley