DATE ARCHIVES : October 2014

DIY Boo Wreath

DIY Boo Wreath for HalloweenFirst thing is first, this post should really be named, “I Hate Glitter”.  It’s hard to tell in the photos, but I sprinkled glitter on my Boo sign and it is now all over my entire house. It’s ridiculous. Now, onto the real point of the post: I love to craft. Finding time to craft is a whole different story, but when I get in crafting mode it’s on. Just you wait until Christmas time and the 12 days of Christmas Crafts…it gets crazy around these parts! Today’s craft is one that I have actually had the supplies for for about 3 years. Yes, I know…thats a long time but it’s true. I bought these cardboard cut out letters that say BOO at Hobby Lobby 3 years ago. I found them in a box when I was going through my craft room supplies and I kept them out specifically with the intention of making them into a pretty sign this year. It HAD to happen. Well, luckily it did and it was super easy to make too. I think my sign turned out amazingly!
Boo Halloween Craft

Supplies:

  • BOO Cardboard Letters
  • Halloween scrapbook paper
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Ribbon
  • Polyurethane Spray or Modpodge
  • Sparkles and other Halloween accents
DIY Boo Cardboard Letters

Directions:

  1. Lay your scrapbook paper down on the table and trace your letters on it with a pencil.
  2. Cut out the letters and glue them on to the cardboard letters.
  3. Decorate with any fun Halloween-y scrapbook items you have lying around.
  4. Spray with Polyurethane spray or brush on your modpodge.
  5. Tie the letters together with your ribbon, tying the ribbon together in the back so that you can’t see the knot. (You can use a stapler too.)
  6. Tie a big bow at the top of the B leaving a little room to use as a hanger.
  7. Hang on your door or wall as the cutest Halloween decoration you could ever want!
Boo Wreath
I hope you all enjoy making this sign/wreath! Have fun!All That Glitters Blog Signature

Plaid Madness

Fall outfit inspiration with plaid and lace

There is SO much plaid going on right now! Everywhere you look there are plaid scarves, plaid shirts, plaid shoes, it’s madness and I love it! Plaid is, in my opinion, such a timeless pattern and it’s one of those that will never “go out of style”. Plaid reminds me of my childhood. You see, I had about 10 plaid skirts when I was in 5th grade. I remember because my Grandmother took me back to school shopping at The Limited Too and I bought all of them there along with their matching sweater vests and button downs. Yes, I was a preppy little 10 year old. It also reminds me a bit of Scotland and their kilts, where I visited as a child. You see, all sorts of childhood nostalgia comes along with plaid for me, which is probably why I like it so much:)
Fall outfit- plaid scarf with grey sweater Lace tunic with grey sweater- add a plaid scarf for fall Plaid outfit inspiration with grey sweater and lace tunic Grey sweater paired with a red plaid scarf Red plaid scarf outfit inspiration Red plaid scarf with a lace tunic Red plaid scarf with a grey sweaterGet The Look:

Target Sweater  //  Target Scarf  //  Old Navy Denim  //  Charming Charlie Boots & Handbag  //  Charming Charlie Lace Tunic  //  Aldo Sunglasses

Everyone and their mother has the Zara blanket scarf, which is part of the reason I decided to get this one instead. They actually had a scarf identical to one from Zara at Target and I avoided that one as well. I was drawn to this one for some reason. Perhaps it was the bright red color or perhaps it was the softness, either way I love it and I will not be ashamed of my jumping on the plaid bandwagon! What fun fall bandwagons have you jumped on this year?

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10 Fall Dates Ideas

10 fall date ideas

Dating. According to couples who have been happily married for years, dating your spouse is one of the most important things in keeping your marriage happy. Wes and I do a pretty good job at this I think:) We go on dinner dates, we take little bike rides to get ice cream, and we snuggle on the couch watching Netflix together on a weekly basis. Now, it really depends on what you call a “date”, but these are all little things I would have called a date with any boyfriend back in the day, so I’m going to count them now too:) Although we do go on little dates, I would like for us to be better at actually “dating each other”. I have been wracking my brain for a few little “dates” we could go on together and have come up with a few little things I want to do as a couple this fall! I’m sure there are plenty of others out there at a loss for new date ideas as well, so here you have it, 10 fall date ideas!

  1.  A fall picnic in the park. Layer yourself up (depending on where you live) and take your blanket and a picnic out to a local park. Spread out your blanket and enjoy your meal as well as each others company. You might even bring a little champagne and make a toast:)
  2. Go to a drive in movie theatre. Find one of these in your area on Google and buy some tickets. If it’s warm enough to sit outside, bring some lawn chairs and a blanket to set up and some snacks to munch on! If it’s too cold already, sit inside your car with a blanket and snuggle up together!
  3. Go bowling. Make it interesting by turning it into a bet! Whoever looses has to do the dishes or take out the trash all week.
  4. Have a bonfire in your back yard. Get a fire going and make s’mores together. If it’s really cold make a little hot cocoa and throw in a bit of schnapps!
  5. Go Apple picking. We don’t have apple orchards here in Texas, but I have never been on a date to an apple orchard and it’s my dream so it’s going on here! Haha! Pick some apples, drink some cider, eat some donuts, and enjoy the fall weather!
  6. Carve pumpkins together. Pick a night after work, and go pick out pumpkins together. Carve them together and see who can make the best design. Once it gets dark outside light some candles for them and put them on your front porch.
  7. Make Halloween costumes together. Wes and I made our costumes (Minnie Mouse and Mighty Mouse) last year and it was a blast! Even better, make each others costumes and see how much you trust each other!
  8. Have a movie marathon all day long. There is nothing like a fall Sunday spent entirely in bed.  Only get out of bed to make/get food and just spend the entire day watching movies. I’m a personal fan of a Harry Potter marathon or Halloween movies:)
  9. Make something together. Apple sauce, cake, pumpkin bread, dinner. Whatever it is, make it together.
  10. Take dancing classes. Find a local dance studio online or on Groupon and take classes. Find another couple and have them join in too! Groupon always has cheap options for classes and it’s a nice way to spend time together without eating or watching tv!

There you have it, my fall date ideas. It’s almost the end of October already, so I have to get on these really quickly!

Do you have any fun dates you like to go on with your husband during the fall?

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Dating your husband

Stripes and Floral

Black and white striped dress with booties and a scarf Monday is upon us again. <sigh> I spent the weekend cleaning for my best friend to come in to town from Houston next weekend, watching the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family, and recovering for a bout of bronchitis. A Z pack and an inhaler later and I might ACTUALLY make it to all of my bootcamp classes this week. No promises though;-) I’m really bummed, because my trainer has put in her 2 weeks notice and this will be her last week teaching bootcamp! She was part of the reason I loved it so much and I am really sad to see her go:( I’m hoping they find someone to take over or else bootcamp may be over! I have been seeing all sorts of Groupon deals for work out activities lately though, so maybe I will try a few of those for the remainder of the fall/winter and then start an outdoor bootcamp again in the spring. All I know is that I need to continue with working out, especially now that the BF and I have signed up for our SECOND half marathon!Black and white stripes with coral floral Floral and stripes with booties Striped dress with floral scarf- outfit inspiration Black and white stripes with a floral scarf Floral scarf with pearls on a striped dress Stripes and floral a great mix

Get The Look:

Old Navy Dress  //  Charming Charlie Scarf, Sunglasses, Clutch & Pearls  //  Alloy Booties

Similar Styles:

This outfit is one I wore to work a week or two ago just after I got back from visiting my parents in Dallas. I had seen a couple cute black and white striped shift dresses at Target, but the shift style USUALLY doesn’t work on me. So, when I saw this one that actually had some shape to it, I knew I needed it! My Mom agreed that it was adorable, so I knew it was a winner. Let’s say, I have worn it to work twice in the two weeks I have owned it, and I don’t hate it one bit:) I love pattern mixing these days, so obviously I had to throw in a little floral there with the scarf, and let’s be honest, pearls go with everything so they were a must have as well! There you have it, today’s outfit!

Does anyone else out there have a really great work out program that they do along side the running when training for marathons? Let me know, because I would love to get a little variety in my work outs!

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Layered Lemon Hot Milk Cake

Lemon Hot Milk CakeI remember the days like they were yesterday. Walking into my grandma’s house and smelling the sweet smell of her hot milk cake. I always looked forward to it and I knew that it would be the perfect cake to celebrate my husband’s birthday on Tuesday! Wes LOVES lemon things. Lemon candy, lemon bars, lemon filled donuts, and- you guessed it- lemon cake. I actually made this cake for him a few years ago on his 23rd birthday and he loved it, so I thought I would make it again this year. I was super worried about how it would turn out, seeing that I hadn’t baked a cake from scratch in 5 years or so…but it turned out really well! One of the things I really love about this cake, is that it uses ingredients you already have in your pantry! The only thing I needed to go buy was lemon pudding mix. It’s super easy to make and it tastes delicious. So go ahead, bake and enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions:

  1. Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees and spraying to circle cake pans with oil.
  2. Melt your stick of butter in a saucepan on low heat.
  3. Once butter is melted, stir in the milk and vanilla extract. Let heat until it bubbles and then turn heat down to low and let simmer.
  4. Preparing the hot milk cakeIn a mixing bowl, beat your 4 eggs and your sugar together with a mixer. Mix extremely well, up to 5 minutes.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine your flour, baking powder, and salt.
  6. Slowly beat your flour mixture into the egg and sugar mixture.
  7. Once they are mixed together, slowly beat in your milk and butter mixture (hot milk, get it?!:)).
  8. Split your mix up into the 2 round pans and put in the oven.
  9. The actual baking time will depend on your personal oven, but mine cooks rather quickly so it was done it 45 minutes. I would check on it every few minutes after 45 minutes to make sure it doesn’t over cook. Stick a toothpick in it if you are unsure.
  10. Hot Milk CakeLet cake cool on a cooling rack.
  11. While the cake is cooling, make your lemon pudding. You can use prepackaged kind or from scratch. I’m lazy so I used instant, but I’m sure real pudding would taste even better! When the pudding is done place it in the fridge to thicken up a bit.
  12. Lemon Pudding Hot Milk CakeOnce cake is cool, cut the cakes in half horizontally so that you have 4 cakes.
  13. Spread the cooled pudding between the layers of the cake and stack them up!
  14. Sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake!
  15. You are done! Enjoy!Hot Milk cake with lemon filling Hot milk cake uses ingredients you already haveAll That Glitters Blog Signature