Welcome to the Fall Fancy Follower Fest+Swagtastic Giveaway

Hello! I'm so glad you've come to join us for the biggest blog party of the Fall!  I don't know about you, but I love this time of year.  There is something special about the cooling off of the weather, the sipping of warm drinks and the right to wear big chunky sweaters that I just love.  

 

In case we haven't met, let me introduce myself.  I'm the red-lipped lady on the left and that cutie pie on the right is my 3.5 year old daughter Zion.  The two of us along with the world's best daddy (pictured with his princess), live in the concrete jungle.  Also known as Manhattan.

Funny that I say we live there, because we have actually spent less than half of the year there.  My husband travels for work, and we are fortunate to get to travel with him.  In fact, I'm writing up this post from a hotel room in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  This year we also spent time in Anchorage, Alaska, Seattle and Hawaii.  Looks like we will be making a couple more trips before the end of the year.

My blog is a family friendly lifestyle blog - and well, that pretty means I write about whatever is going on in life.  I write about things I love, people I love and places I love.  I'm a wife, mama and a Christian, so my writing is influenced by those roles.  If you'd like to explore, I encourage you to click on the topical tabs above.  

And now onto some of my favorite things about FALL.  After all, this is a FALL Link party right!?

1. Baking! I love making goodies (and eating them).  This year after having spent most of the year converting to a paleo lifestyle, I am looking forward to creating new paleo friendly treats.  The picture above is my grain free carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  You have to try this one, so yummy!  Of course if you are not grain free, you can check out this list of 11 Leftover Halloween Candy Recipes.

2. Ohio State Football (and Seattle Seahawks  Okay, so I wasn't always a football fan in general, but my husband of 5 years is an Ohio State alumni and football fanatic, so by marriage I have joined in on the fun.  I actually really enjoy watching the games.  I am from Seattle originally, so the Seahawks have always been default NFL team of choice, though I didn't really start watching the games regularly until this year.  

 3. Fall Foilage - I never really experienced the colorful changing of the leaves when I lived in Seattle, so I have come to really appreciate the Northeast's Autumn trees.  So many beautiful colors on display, like one last show before the cold of Winter strips them all to the bone.  I also love the storms in the Fall and the way the humidity finally leaves the city.

4. Coffee Okay, so this one is pretty much year round for me, however; the best coffee flavors come out in the Fall.  Pumpkin Spice Latte, check.  Salted Caramel Mocha, check.  Peppermint Mocha.  Yes!  I am sort of a coffee addict, okay, not sort of, I probably have more coffee than blood in my veins.  I go on coffee-fasts a few times a year determined to "kick it" but somehow my love for this rich brown drink just keeps me from giving it up entirely.

5. Fall Fashion - Chunky Sweaters & Boots and even scarves and hats.  Fall is proof that you can still look sexy without being immodest!  Don't believe me? Throw on that red sweater on the bottom right, some cute tuxedo stripe skinny jeans and a pair of high heeled boots.  You will look HOT!

Also I can't forget to mention the HOLIDAYS - right now I'm looking forward to annual trip to Columbus, Ohio to spend time with my in-laws.  We always have a blast while we are there!

Now its your turn to share!!  Join the link up below, and make sure you enter the fun giveaway! We have a ton of great prizes up for grabs!

      

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Add your link below and your post will be displayed on ALL 8 of our sites! 
We're having a giant interlinked blog party! 

CARLY: Lipgloss & Crayons 

BREANNA: My Beautiful Crazy Life

PAIGE: A Dose of Paige

JENNIFER: Busy Being Jennifer

TAYLOR: Pink Heels, Pink Truck

LAUREN: Tennessee Honey

KENDRA: Simply {Darr}ling

 & COURTNEY: Baxtron{Life}

Link up any Fall or Holiday inspired post that showcases your blog beginning 
NOW through Tuesday November 12th!!  

ONLY ONE REQUIREMENT: 
you must visit each of the 8 hosts sites! 

WE ARE THE FIRST 8 LINKED UP!

Make new friends!!  Increase YOUR readers!!!

GRAB THE BUTTON AND TELL ABOUT THE PARTY!!!!!

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It wouldn't be a blog party without 

some fun SWAG being given away:

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

11 Leftover Halloween Candy Recipes

Halloween is over and now there are no real excuses for wearing costumes.  All that remains is the remnants of a sugar high and a bowl filled with all the sugary treats you could hope for right in time to kickoff the long Winter.  You could just ration the candy out over time, building up that nice hibernation layer of body fat, but in order to save your sanity and jump off that blood sugar roller coaster in a hurry, might I suggest mixing up that leftover candy into delectable goodies that you can bring into the office or giveaway to your kids teachers?  Or maybe bring them to your next social gathering or dinner party?  After all it is the season of giving thanks, and what better way than to make a delicious treat for a friend, family or colleague?

Here are 11 Delicious Leftover Halloween Candy Recipes/Ideas to get rid of that candy in a hurry:
Candy Apple Nachos Dessert Bar
Snickers Salad
Dark Chocolate Candy Corn Bark
Candy Rice Krispies Muffins
Milky Way Cake
Pumpkin Butterfinger Blondies
Frosted Candy Corn Oreo Cookie Bars
Creamy Snickers Dip
Caramel Rolo Rice Krispies Treats
Reese's Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Butterfinger Fudge

And if you are interested in a non-recipe activity to do with your leftover Halloween candy - try turning an ordinary board game into a fun and rewarding candy themed game like I did with Creepy Candy Land.

      

Fairbanks, Alaska

It is hard to believe that almost two months ago we left our temporary home in Alaska.  Being back in New York has been wonderful, it is after all, our home, for now, but I miss the slower pace of life.  I had meant to post these pictures from the last weekend trip we took up to Fairbanks to visit my biological mom.  Her husband was out volunteer firefighting and she needed a little break from the small town of Nenana.

We picked her up on Saturday midday and then took her up to Fairbanks to stay with us for the night.  We visited local attractions in Fairbanks.  Zion was extremely entertaining and talkative the entire time.  It was a beautiful and wonderful weekend.  One that I will warmly remember.  Saying good-bye to my mother is always difficult for me, because she hasn't been in great health over the last few years and continues to be in an environment that is mostly negative.  Good-byes with her always leave me wondering whether or not it will be the last time I see her.  This time was slightly different.  I couldn't entirely shake that same feeling but I left with a feeling of peace.  It was such a good weekend, she enjoyed her time with Zion so much and it was clear it was a good escape for her.

Featured in the pictures above: Pioneer Park // Downtown Fairbanks // Santa Claus House // Nenana River.

      

Hawaiian Islands Vacation: Oahu Day 4Part 3: Waikiki

After leaving the lush windward side of Oahu, we travelled into Oahu's big city, Waikiki.  We went back and forth on where to stay in Oahu when planning our trip.  The decision was between Waikiki or the Ko Olina resort area.  I can tell you that we 100% made the right choice in deciding to stay out of Waikiki.

Don't get me wrong, Waikiki is beautiful, but it is also like being back in NYC.  It is super crowded, tourist driven and expensive.  The beaches are packed, the restaurants are packed, everywhere is packed.  Since we live in New York City, we wanted this vacation to be a tropical island escape, not a hustling and bustling tourist trap.  For that reason, staying in Ko Olina was perfect, and renting a car to visit Waikiki was all that was needed.

After playing at the beach for a while, we headed down the main beach strip to take in the sights of Waikiki.  The resorts are beautiful and the tropical plants and trees are gorgeous as well.  There were lots of fun shops to stop in at, including a fun t-shirt shop that had both Jerry and I cracking up for a while.  

We finished our evening in Waikiki watching the sunset, before heading to dinner at P.F. Chang's.  We were too hungry to add our name to hour plus wait lists that other famous Hawaiian restaurants had on that busy evening.  I have to tell you that there is a "family friendly" restaurant, that is advertised in all of the free guidebooks, downtown in Waikiki, and I can't think of the name, sorry- but we when we showed up the place was empty - not a good sign.

Waikiki is definitely a place to check out while you are in Oahu, I just personally feel that half a day or a day at most is plenty of time to spend there, and other parts of the island are more beautiful and family friendly.

More of our Hawaii Vacation:

Oahu Day 4 / Part 2

Oahu Day 4 / Part 1

Oahu Day 3

Oahu Day 2

Oahu Day 1

A Tour of Our Ko Olina Resort

Trip Itinerary