Hello October! Reasons why you are AWESOME:

I missed your sexy style. October is the best month for Fall. Fall is THE best season for fashion in my opinion because Hello? Sweaters, leggings, and boots..Oh my! It is my favorite time to shop because the longer the shirt the better and that covers that annoying little belly pouch I'm sporting. Shopping makes me happy and I tend to overspend. #sorrynotsorry. For this reason, you will be seeing A LOT more #ootd posts. Hooray!

I missed your picture perfect pictures. Here in the Northeast we get an amazing show every year. The changing leaves painting the crisp blue sky warms my heart. It changes everyday and makes me want to pitch a tend in the mountains with my camera and take pictures everyday. These lovely backdrops are perfect for family portraits and weddings. Get re-aquainted with your camera and get out there!


Football is in full swing by now and we are starting to get a glimpse at how our teams are going to do. Teams that sucked last year can be kicking ass this year and vice versa. It gives us a good reason to get together with friends, drink beer, and eat really unhealthy snacks. All the while having a good time! If football is not for you, get together with your lady friends while the men do all of those things I mentioned and drink wine instead!

PUMPKIN IS BACK! Everywhere you turn there is a new combination containing pumpkin. From coffee, to beer, to cakes, to smoothies. There is something out there for everyone. Pumpkin and pumpkin seeds are also very good for you. Play around with it and come up with something you like. Glob a little orange in everything you can (within reason) and join the obsession!


I love Halloween! Something about this day brings back the magical feeling of being a kid. I have dressed up and had a great time every year I have been on this earth. As an adult the magic may include alcohol and a sexy costume, but nostalgia sets in and I'm hooked!

I've missed using my oven! I really love to bake and make soups. I cannot turn them on for hours at a time during the summer or I will die of heat stroke. Now that it is getting cooler it's appropriate to turn on the oven on that dreary afternoon and bake your heart out. I went apple picking last weekend and now I can finally make something yummy with them!



Oh what a great month ahead! I hope it is just as magical for you! Follow along all month for fun Fall posts!

Happy October! I'm linking up with Treasure Tromp today for Treat Yo Self Thursday!



What do you enjoy about October? Share your stories below!

I was always a shy person. I never had a lot of opinions because I never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings or say the wrong thing to embarrass myself. I come from a military family so it was easy to get talked over or pushed aside when I was at home. This is not to say that my parents weren't loving, this is not what I am getting at.

As I got older I would never question people, or get upset if someone talked over me when I was trying to speak. It felt like it was okay for these things to happen, because they must know more than me. They must be smarter than me. They probably are better liked than me. I always had a good reason in my head why it was okay for these things to happen.

Today, I know this is not okay. It is never right for someone to make you feel like you are less than you are. Bad circumstances unleash the person in you who needs to fight. Sometimes these circumstances make you realize you deserve to have respect and a voice. This is one of the reasons I got into blogging. I wanted a voice. I wanted to be able to talk to the world and hope someone, somewhere understood me. They learned something from me. Anything. As long as it reached someone. I was content.


I only have one issue with the progress I have made over the past 2 years. I am more confident in speaking up, but I have also noticed I am always ready to point out my flaws to people. I haven't decided if this is a defense mechanism or a way to feel protected. Am I trying to tackle the "bad" before someone else points it out? Or do I want to be able to have an opinion without looking like a complete jerk. If I say first, "I need to lose weight, I feel huge", is it okay for me to tell someone they should start working out?

Now I have not come out and told a complete stranger something negative about themselves after I pointed out negative things about myself, but I tend to wonder if I could do that. I don't want to be that person who makes someone else feel bad about themselves because I feel bad about me. Now that I have the speaking up thing down, I suppose it is time for me to start being more positive about myself. Then I can use this "mechanism" that I am latched onto at the moment to make people feel good about themselves too.

The human mind is such a crazy adventure sometimes. It really can make you stop and think about your behavior and how your portray yourself. (Kind of an oxymoron). It just makes me wonder why I chose to be outspoken but in a more negative direction. This is where I need to tell myself: Be positive. Keep working towards the wellness goals! This is both physical and mental wellness. A healthy mind and a healthy body can really bring you to peace. I've been working on getting a sound mind, and I think people forget that part when working on total wellness. Don't forget your mind.


Just a little ramble today. I hope this somehow inspired someone or got you to think. I just wanted to sit and write, and this is what came out. A writing exercise became a blog post. My mind sound a little less loud now that some of it got written down. Have a great day everyone.

Planning a trip to New York? No I don't mean New York City. I mean the rest of the state. New York is a very large state that is packed with more cities than just NYC. Take for instance, Ithaca. Ithaca is located in central New York. It is tucked away in some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever experienced. During the time when glaciers graced the land, the Finger Lakes were created, along with many beautiful gorges. Ithaca is located on the southern tip of Cayuga Lake.

Because of the lake, Ithaca offers tons of activity options. Boating, kayaking, sailing, and swimming are just a few of them. There are trails and paths that hug the lake for hikers, walkers, and runners.  These trails also offer great photo opportunities if you are into photography. For me, I love waiting until the sun is setting over the lake for the perfect photo op.

A beautiful view of a wind surfer on Cayuga Lake

Now onto my favorite part about this area. Ithaca is home to dozens of waterfalls. One in fact is right in town, and its is quite massive! Ithaca Falls is a must see if you are in the area. Moving outside of Ithaca you can take in another breathtaking waterfall at Taughannock Falls State Park. It is a gorgeous waterfall and requires only a small walk to view them.

A Fall view of Taughannock Falls

Ithaca Falls right in downtown! Beautiful! (Source)

Moving away from the lake, the Finger Lake region is also home to dozens of wineries. You can pick any direction and you will most likely fall upon one. Each winery is unique in itself and often host events unique to them. One of my new favorites is Americana Vineyards which also has a cafe. They have excellent brunch!

(Source)

Not into wine? Ithaca is also home to a few breweries for the beer lovers. One of my favorite places to sample local beers is at the Ithaca Ale House in downtown on Aurora street in downtown Ithaca. They have great beers on tap and a menu to pair your beers with! And they have blueberry beer! With real blueberries in it! Sweet!

Ithaca Ale House and Blueberry Beer!

Speaking of drinks, visit the Ithaca Commons to find cute little shops as well as bars and restaurants. Although under construction at the moment, it is a great place to come to people watch, shop, and eat. During the school year you can find that area very busy with all of the college students in town. Ithaca is home to 2 colleges you may have heard of: Cornell University and Ithaca College. The college kids really bring the city to life with all of the diversity.

Ithaca Commons at night (Source)

This really is a great little area to visit. There is so much to do and see, so make sure you have a car! And why pay lots of money to rent a car when you can save up to 40% on a rental car by using a carsharing service like RelayRides.  This service is kind of like renting a room from someone, but add in a car instead. It includes everything a rental company would. The car is insured and has road side assistance. You can rent a car for days or just a few hours. Its pretty sweet for both the renter and the rentee!

 *This post was written in collaboration with Relay Rides. I was not compensated for this post and I enjoyed sharing a beautiful town with you in the process! All information is of my own knowledge and opinion.

So what do you say? Come visit New York! And see more than just the city! Visit the Finger lakes. You won't be disappointed!

I FINALLY got myself back in the gym this week! It has been 2 long months that I neglected to make time to go and sweat away the stress. My body was starting to feel the effects of letting the gym slip and me putting more unhealthy foods into my mouth. I only have 2 days under my belt now, but I will start to hold myself accountable when I make excuses.

When trying to get healthy, it will be a mind over matter effect. If we do not fully commit to the gym, eating better, or quitting a bad habit, we will fail. I have learned you cannot force it until you are fully ready to make the change. For years I said I was going to FINALLY get healthy. I WAS going to eat healthy. I WAS going to the gym. For years I failed.

This week something clicked in my head and I WANT to feel better. I NEED to exercise. My 4'11" frame is begging me to lose some weight. My clothes are uncomfortable and I refuse to buy new clothes just because I got lazy and gained the extra weight. I want to feel good about myself. I want to feel comfortable in my clothes. I finally feel ready to do this right.

Last week I posted a smoothie recipe. I have kept up making these every morning for breakfast. They have kept me feeling full until lunch and they are packed with all kinds of vitamins. I hope you give it a try! It is a nice treat every morning without having to feel guilty. I am also only eating lean proteins and lots of veggies. I am starting to feel better about myself again. Now lets see if I can commit to this and keep gyming it up for the rest of the week! Updates next week. 

So what do guys think? Is being healthy easy? How long did it take for you to form the good habit of wellness?