10.30.2013

Vest Appeal



vests
1/ Ambition Utility Vest (this style is so hard to find! scoop it up!) 2/ Excursion Striped Quilted Vest 3/ Excursion Quilted Vest (other fun colors) 4/ Quilted Tweed Puffa Vest 5/ Echo Faux Leather Front Zip Vest (on sale!)

Vests are one of those items I feel like people either really love them or hate them. I personally love them because they are cozy, classic, and so versatile. Plus, there are countless options depending on the style you like! The green utility vest is a very similar version to an Old Navy one that I have that sold out really quickly and is no longer available. I hate having to tell people that when they ask where it's from, so I'm happy to have found this option for those interested! The J.Crew quilted vests are self-explanatory...they are, as you probably know, all over Pinterest and are an excellent everyday option. 

What do you think...love them or hate them?

Happy shopping, for those that love them! :)

10.29.2013

Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice Apple Chips


healthy, crispy, cheap, and addicting!

If you want a yummy snack perfect for Halloween weekend (ahem: to help you from sticking your hand in the trick-or-treaters candy bowl every other minute) that is easy to prepare and healthy, then this is for you!

Apple chips are so simple and if you're like me lately then maybe you have been trying to find ways to use the delicious apples that you picked up from the pumpkin patch or the store. Well, this is a good solution. It doesn't require a made from scratch pie crust (who wants to come over and help me with that?) and 50 ingredients that fill up your counter. Just get yourself some of your favorite apples and spices to sprinkle on top.


Cinnamon and Pumpkin Spice Apple Chips:

Here's what you can do to get those perfectly crispy apple chips...

+Slice (and core) your apples very thin! Thinner than some of mine pictured below. ;) The thicker they are, the more mushy they will be. Not mushy in a terrible way, but just not as crispy as you want these to be.
+Use parchment paper to cover the baking sheets for easy clean up and no sticking.
+More isn't necessarily more when seasoning these apples. I sprinkled cinnamon on just one side of half of my apples, and sprinkled pumpkin pie spice on the other half of the apples. I didn't do both sides (but you can if you want!) and I accidentally sprinkled a little too much on some of the apples that I wished I wouldn't have. Aka: you still want to taste the apples, too! ;)
+Bake at a low temperature in the oven (200-225 degrees) for one hour on one side, flip, then bake for another hour on the other side.

Then, enjoy! 

Have you made apple chips before? What do like to season them with? 


10.28.2013

Barker's and Beggar's



Nothing like a Monday morning to get an instant pep to your step.

Speaking of pep to your step, have you tried this pumpkin spice chai latte mix from Target yet? I picked it up over the weekend and I think I will have it four times a week now until the carton is gone. Good stuff right here.

This weekend had both good and bad parts. Let's talk about the good first.

On Friday, my parents gave us tickets to a jazz concert at the Southern Theatre that originally they were going to go to, but couldn't at the last minute so we went instead. Billy and I have never been to a jazz concert and weren't expecting much from it (if we're being honest here), but we were really surprised! It was a good time and our seats were literally almost on the stage. We had the best seats in the theatre, but we were definitely the youngest couple there by about 20-30 years, ha.


{Dolce Vita booties, F21-sweater, scarf, and leather pants}

I took Rocky to a "Barker's and Beggar's" (dog trick-or-treating event) on Saturday morning that was put together by a dog shop downtown called Three Dog Bakery. I decided to dress him up as a lion because it was chilly out and it was the warmest costume of his (and the one that fits him the most) so it seemed like the best choice. Plus, he does look pretty precious in it, doesn't he?



As for the event, picture dogs walking around everywhere in the cutest Halloween costumes going in out and out shops looking for treats to add to their treat bag. Who wouldn't like this event? It was seriously so cute. I loved every minute of it and I know Rocky did too as he kept running from shop to shop so fast.


He came home with enough treats to last him a day or two (just kidding-much longer than that) and I may be biased but he was the most well behaved dog at this event. The shop owners just loved him and he was so polite letting all the other dogs get their treats before asking for his... ;)


{when we got in the car to leave he was asleep in less than a minute...little boy had so much fun!}

I wore this new Old Navy vest (more about this awesome buy later this week!), Lululemon leggings, my Hunter boots, and a Marley Lilly scarf. It was also OSU game day, so of course I had to support my team all day (Go Bucks!) 

Sunday we spent time with my parents and the weekend ended by watching of my favorite Halloween movies...Hocus Pocus. I'm not sure if that movie will ever get old. 

Now for the bad. Unfortunately, on Saturday afternoon I got word that my uncle (my Dad's brother) had passed away. He was diagnosed with kidney cancer about 8 months ago and it took a turn for the worst this past month. I plan to share more later this week, but I just wanted to mention it today and say thank you to those who left me kind message via social media yesterday about it. They are so appreciated!

What did you do this weekend?

Did you see Ohio State's win over Penn State? :)

10.25.2013

Five on Friday


+one
I picked up this night face cream at Target a couple weeks ago after my old night cream had run out and have been loving it. It's hypo-allergenic and is good for oily skin like mine. It's very thick and feels great on my face!


 +two
This pumpkin dip served with vanilla wafers or apples is life changing. Addicting, but life changing. All good dips are addicting though, aren't they?
{In a large bow mix one 15 oz can pumpkin, one 5 oz box vanilla instant pudding, 1/2 tsp pumpkin spide, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and a container of low fat or lite cool whip. Chill for a few hours then eat away!}

 +three
 I've finally got some use out of my favorite Hunters lately! My Hunters are one of the best purchases I've made {this pair is pretty fabulous if you ask me...so cute}. I paired them with this cardigan that I love.

 +four
NYX blush in the shade "pinched". I've worn this blush for the past few months after it being a completely random purchase, but am so glad I did. It reminds me a lot of Nars blushes, but for far less of a price.
 

+five
Who doesn't like hot pink pants and shoes during breast cancer awareness month? Let's just say you can't miss me at the gym...
{they are from TJ Maxx}


 What are you loving lately? What fun weekend plans do you have?
Hope everyone has a great weekend.

It's one of the last days to enter my Gallo (must be 21+) and Zappos giveaways! Good luck!! 

{I've been meaning to link up with these girls for weeks! Head on over to get more info and to join in on the fun.}




10.24.2013

The Drawbacks Of Being A Blogger's Husband


There are countless reasons why being married to a blogger can and will make your life better. In fact, my friend Erin just wrote a whole post on them {feel free to go read them then come right back here!}. Today? I'm taking it one step farther to share the drawbacks of being one of those men.


1. All of the fun packages you see coming in the mail every week? Try to contain your excitement because they aren't for you. You can try to avoid shopping at the mall with your wife all you want, but with the mail? You are literally forced to see how much more stuff she is actually getting than you.

2. Bad hair day? Don't feel like having your picture taken? Too bad. You have to be presentable at almost all times because you never know when your wife will be aiming that lens at you. "It's for the blog" is now the sentence you dread to hear the most. This is even more true when your wife is having a bad hair day, she will use you as the subject instead of herself.

3. Say goodbye to any sort of silence you used to have and enjoyed! You know those things you never knew existed, like blog sponsors, product reviews, meeting strangers to go on trips? Those are all nightly or weekly topics now, so you better get used to your ear being talked off with things you may not actually care about deep down.

4. The unimaginable will happen -your wife will take even longer to get ready than she used to. By all means, she is a blogger and she will never know when a reader could see her running errands around town*

5. All those fun, new things you are doing together instead of having a casual night in? Money pits. You will be spending more money than you used to because your wife can only post so many pictures to Instagram of her in her pajamas laying in front of the television watching Real Housewives of Anywhere before readers start to wonder if she has a life.

6. Your wife gets writers block? Don't think for a second she won't force you to write a blog post. Hey, you're a writer now...you didn't know?

7. Your cell phone is now her back up phone if hers is dead. Not sure how apps like PicFrame, AfterLight, and Camera+ magically appeared on your phone and taking up your valuable space? Guaranteed it was your blogger wife who installed them. Those pictures you see on your camera roll of food, outfits, selfies? Don't delete.


Hey, you win some...you lose some. Marriage IS about compromise, right?

*and to some this does not stop them from wearing pj's in public and have the hair looking like a hot mess. Not that I would know...  

#loveyoubabe

10.23.2013

Cozy Up: Chic Jackets


chic jackets

When I came up for the title of this post, I never meant it literally but right now there is actual snow on the ground here in Columbus. Our poor pumpkins are covered. I'm so not mentally prepared for this...
 
It seems I have a thing for patterned, fun moto jackets this season. There are so many cute options that I literally have to force myself to not shop online anymore. ;) However, that's because I got my "fix" with these jackets shown above. As you can see from my instagram {@katiewkrysh}, I have been wearing the french terry jacket with everything lately. It can be dressed down or even paired with leather leggings for a night out. The gray jacket and the black moto jacket are recent finds from Forever21 {can you believe it? I ordered smalls in both} that look much nicer than their actual price. I ordered them online because I loved them so much and they actually impressed me even more when they came in the mail. Bonus points!

Looking for a casual weekend option? I've got you covered.

This zip jacket from In Bloom is a new favorite of mine. It's flattering and perfect for game day because it's stylish and practical for a chilly day of football! I'm also a big fan of this cardigan.
>>You can get 10% off from In Bloom with the coupon code keepcalm10!

Happy {hump day} shopping!

         

10.22.2013

BREAKFAST EGG MUFFINS



It's about time I have a recipe post for you all! Can we say...slacker?

To be honest, I don't bake or experiment much in the kitchen in the summer. The nice weather always take precedence. Dinners are typically rotated a lot or we are grilling out, so there's not much to share recipe wise, but it seems like once fall rolls around I always want to try new things in the crock pot and bake up a storm. It's those crazy fall flavors that do it to me!

I made these egg muffins for the engagement party on Sunday, but they are truly perfect for those looking for a breakfast that is already prepared ahead of time and all you have to do is heat it up the morning of.

If your ideal breakfast description is quick, easy, or to-go then you will be a fan of these. You can make these in advance (still not very time consuming - very easy!), store in individual containers/bags, then pop in the microwave! It really is that easy, friends.

Breakfast Egg Muffins:
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients-
>>best part is you can add whatever you like, but this is what I used

+12 eggs (1 per muffin cup-so if you only want to make 6 muffins, you only need 6 eggs)
+1/2 cup white onion, chopped
+1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
+1/2 cup shredded cheese (since these were for the party I put cheese in all of them, but I did make some later with no cheese to make them healthier)
+Salt/pepper
+Cooking spray
+Muffin cups

Steps-

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place 2 paper muffin cups into each of the 6 holes in your muffin pan. Make sure you use 2 otherwise the egg can soak through. Spray the inside cups generously with cooking spray.

In a pan, saute the onion and peppers over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Just long enough so the onions start to get soft.


Divide the veggies evenly between each muffin cup, then top with a little cheese.



Whisk all of the eggs together with salt and pepper in a bowl. Pour egg into each of the cups so they are about 3/4 full. Then, use a fork to carefully stir all the ingredients in the cups together.



Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the muffins have risen and the tops just barely start to brown.


Yum, yum!

Like I said up top, I made these later with no cheese and also with egg whites and they are just as good. I actually prefer the egg whites because I have a little yolk allergy that most of the time I don't pay much attention to, but hey-life's short.

Have you made egg muffins before?

10.21.2013

My Best Friend's Engagement Party // Pumpkin Patch Goodness


 {follow me via instagram for first looks of all this fun!}
  
This weekend was a big one, particularly Sunday. 

I hosted a small engagement party for my best friend Lindsay with our closest girlfriends, her mom, and my stepmom. On the menu was anything brunch related and mimosa's galore, as you can see. I might be biased, but that's my kinda party. We had egg quiche, egg muffins that were Pinterest inspired {recipe coming tomorrow!}, fruit cups, pecan rolls {the word heavenly doesn't do these justice}, and of course-the cutest ring cookies I have ever seen for dessert. Have you ever seen cookies look so cute before? I told my girlfriend Rachel, who made them, that she needs to start doing cookies as a side job. She does such an amazing job! I set up orange and raspberry juices with some fruit for the mimosa's, a little mimosa bar you could say. 

Everything turned out wonderful and it was so nice to be able to celebrate her with those that love her most. Congratulations Lindsay, hope you loved it! :)

*I got the "I Do" pillow from Hobby Lobby
**The prints in my office are from Crystal Faye!

 

The pictures aren't over yet.

Later that day, it was time to give our local pumpkin patch a visit. This pumpkin patch is known for their amazing specialty caramel apples and pumpkin donuts {these deserve to be bold}, so naturally Billy got a donut and I got my favorite m&m caramel apple. 

Oh, and I got a cider slushie because well, why would you not get a cider slushie? They were all just too good to be true....

this might be my favorite picture I've ever taken...haha
"mmm...donut fingazz"


It's safe to say we had a good weekend.

How about you?

*Don't forget to enter the $100 giveaways I have going on right now: Gallo and Zappos! #ad For the Gallo giveaway, you must be 21+. Also, if you missed the boutique I featured on Friday, go check it out! Shop credit is up for grabs :)