Dear Santa...

Every year my mom requires me to write out mine, The Mister's and Cy's Christmas list....You see, Nana and Grandpa are very practical and they only want to buy what we want and will use...Of course we love and appreciate them for doing this...Thanks Nana and Grandpa!

Anywho, I was making my list today and wanted to share a few of my favorites for the season -

Morphe flat buffer brush (G6) -

At the end of every month I go around to various YouTube beauty guru's channels and check out their monthly favorites. I like to do this because it gives me ideas on what to buy for my kit and new products to try. That being said, this month I saw Jaclyn Hill raving (and using) the Morphe flat buffer brush (used for foundation). She is usually a Sigma brush user so when I saw she was using something different for her foundation (not to mention using a brush that is significantly cheaper than a Sigma brush) I knew it had to be a good product. I have been using a Sephora stippling brush to apply my foundation that was working well, but as with any other makeup junkie, I saw something shiny and now I have to have it!

MAC Prep and Prime Highlighter in the shade Light Boost -

I have been using MAC Prep and Prime in the shade Radiant Rose for about a year. It is amazing and has made such a difference in my highlighting and contouring game.

Snow White tank - 

Me in this tank at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival = perfection

The Andy Cohen Diaries - A Deep Look at a Shallow Year - 

This book came out today and I will be buying the kindle version of it later tonight, but I have the hard copy of his first book (Most Talkative) so I really want his second one for my shelves.

What are some of the things on your list this year?

Musings/Life Update

Hi everyone! You'll have to excuse the slight blogging hiatus. My birthday was Nov. 1 and my Spin instructor certification was the day after. Since then I have been regrouping/refocusing to ensure an amazing start to my new Spin venture. I have been writing playlists and practicing speaking in front of a room with everyone staring at you (a big fear of mine). I am looking forward to teaching my first class and hoping everyone will enjoy my take on Spin!

Tank can be found on Etsy and (in a size medium) on my Christmas list.

Now that I am back to blogging, I had to share some of the happenings around the C house these days...

Decorations go up....decorations come down... - 

The time after Halloween and before Thanksgiving has always been a weird time for me (decoratively speaking). I don't decorate for Thanksgiving as I include it within the Christmas season, but I also don't want to put out our Christmas decorations too early (a moment of clarity perhaps?) But that doesn't stop me from still buying a few things here and there to prepare for the season....

This cute sign is a #DollarStoreFind...I should be heading back to the dollar store this week to stock up early because all the good stuff goes quick!

My MIL got me a Disney gift card for my bday and that was put to good use getting some Disney holiday wares. These mini platters are going to look perfect wherever they end up living for the season!

The shoes that my menswear dreams are made of... - 

As I was scrolling through Instagram the other day I came across these amazing loafers that will hopefully make their way into my wardrobe before the end of the year...

Ugh, I love them so much and have already conjured up a million outfits to pair with them....I'm dreaming of a loafer filled Christmas....

Thank you! - 

I just want end this blog post with a big thank you to all of the Decidedly Delightful readers! As 2014 is coming to an end, I think I have reached my goal of blogging more and becoming more of a presence in the social media/blog-o-sphere world and I have all of YOU to thank for it. I am so appreciative to everyone that has come to me (in real life and on social media) to tell me how much they like this little blog of mine. I put a lot of work into it and I am so glad people are enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it. I love you all and I can't wait to finish out this year and see what 2015 holds!

Pop & Locktober Fest 2014

I can't take credit for that title. That is actually the name of one of Community's Halloween episodes....

Anywho, I thought I would take this opportunity to recap all of my Halloween blog posts as well as give you guys an #COTN (costume of the night) run down of my costume this year!

You can find all of this month's Halloween posts....

Here
Here
Here

This year, The Mister and I had the pleasure of going to my trainer's house for a Halloween party...it was tons of fun and it was exciting attending our very first (adult) Halloween party since Cy was born.

#CoordinateWithYourDate

#COTN 

I'm a cat, duh.

Every article of clothing in this costume (except for the lace ears) I already had in my closet which I suppose says something about my wardrobe....The lace shirt and shoes came from Cohoes....The stockings came from Amazon....the skirt and rings came from Forever 21....and the ears came from Charlotte Russe...I like to call this look, a high fashion black cat!

Happy Halloween!!!!

5 Steps to the Perfect Disney World Group Trip

WDW is an amazing place for a family vacation. There are so many options for groups and it's always a little bit more magical when your whole family/all of your friends are there to experience the Happiest Place on Earth.

But, as with any trip to Disney, there is a science to planning a group trip....

1. Stay in a big house together - One of my very first Disney posts I wrote was about the company All Star Vacation Homes. Basically you can rent a mansion for the week (no lie, some of the homes sleep up to 24 people) for the same price (per family) it would be to get a hotel room on Disney property. I suggest you check out that blog post for more info!

2. Split up! - Okay, so this may sound counterproductive, but hear me out -- WDW tickets are expensive to say the least...the last thing you want is to have to skip something just because someone in your group doesn't want to do that specific thing. That's where splitting up comes in...the parks are way too big to stay in a group any larger than 5. So, if you are with a lot of your friends/family, plan on being in the same park on the same day but only meeting for certain rides or for meal times. That way, everyone can branch off, do their own thing and meet back for "social times." Moral of this story and the key to group WDW trips - do your own thing, meet for meals/fireworks/scheduled activities and hang out back at your house.

3. Pick one or two people to be in charge of ADR's - Advanced Dining Reservations are tricky...you have to make sure you are making your ADR's exactly 180 days in advance and you also have to make sure everyone is accounted for within the reservation. So, after discussing with your group where you want to eat, assign one person the task of making the reservations. Related side note - Be sure this person also makes an itinerary once all the reservations are made.

4. Pick one day that everyone does their own thing - So as to not get sick of each other, make sure there's a plan in place that one day there is no reservations/plans made and people can just hang out with their own families.

5. HAVE FUN! - I know this one is silly but it's an important one. WDW is overwhelming for everyone especially if you are traveling in a group. Just be sure to have fun, take it slow and enjoy yourself. And don't be afraid to speak up if you want something/want to do something that wasn't discussed in the group. Disney is expensive and everyone deserves to get what they want when visiting.

What are some tips y'all have for going to WDW in a group?

5 Steps to Decoding YouTube Beauty Tutorials

Whenever someone asks me about anything makeup related I always refer them to the greatest invention for the beauty world - YouTube. When I suggest this I am usually met with trepidation as it's hard to pinpoint exactly where to start with all of information that's out there.

That's where this list comes in...hopefully after reading you will be on your way to navigating the YouTube beauty world.

1. Start in one place - Do you want to learn how to do a smokey eye? Or are you looking to learn how to perfect a highlighting and contouring routine? Pick a lane and stay there so as to not get overwhelmed. As you start perfecting things and watching more tutorials, you will start to gain the confidence you need to take on learning more techniques.

2. Eyelashes - Watch every and any video you can find on how to apply eyelashes..there are so many tips and tricks out there that you'll be a lash wiz in no time. Every guru has a different technique and different tips to share...take advantage of that knowledge!

3. Keywords - "High end" and "drugstore" are going to be your best keywords when searching for beauty tutorials. If the idea of walking in to a Sephora/Ulta scares the crap out of you, start small with drugstore products and work your way up.

4. "Beauty Dupes"- There are many high end products that you can find "drugstore dupes" for. Just a quick "(insert make up line here) drugstore dupe" Google search will usually yield you some results. For me, I usually spend more money on things like eye shadows (from high end lines) and less money on foundation. Which brings me to my next point...

5. Know what to spend money on - The thing I am always going to spend the most money on are brushes/beauty blenders, eye shadows and specialty products that you can't get at the drugstore (makeup setting spray,eye shadow primer etc..). IMO brushes are the most important part of a makeup application...Knowing how and what to use to apply your makeup will make your drugstore foundation look like it is a $25 airbrush foundation. Also, it's incredibly hard to find a matte eye shadow at the drugstore..so if I am looking for a glitter-less look, I will splurge and get myself a high end eye shadow. Building your makeup collection is all about balancing high end products with drugstore products.

Two of my favorite YouTube beauty guru's are Jaclyn Hill and Carli Bybel...take a look at their videos, you will not be disappointed!

Happy YouTube-ing!!

Halloween Musings

Food and Wine Experiment - 

As y'all know, the C household has been experimenting the past few Sundays with dishes from last year's Epcot Food and Wine Festival. This past Sunday the experiment was a potato and leek waffle with braised beef which hails from the Belgium booth. Now, as with any sort of food experiment, I always seem to get only a few things right. We don't have a waffle maker so instead I made pancakes (womp womp). They were....OK...the best part about this dish was the beef. We made ours in the crock pot as opposed to a Dutch Oven which the recipe calls for. My pictures of the actual food are not that great but I can assure you that it tasted better than it looked. What can I say, I am simply not a food blogger!

At least my table setting looked chic! The place mats and napkins were a gift from my SIL a few years back, the plates are Crate and Barrel and the goblets are from the Target dollar bin!

Very good, but not very photogenic!

Spooky Chic -

I promised pictures of the house lit up in all of it's Halloween glory...here they are! -

Tealights fa' days!

High Fashion Black Cat - 

This year for Halloween The Mister and I are attending our first adult Halloween party since Cy was born. I decided on being a high fashion black cat as I bought black cat tights a while back (knowing I would need them eventually) that I wanted to bust out of the wardrobe. Here's a sneaky peak! -

#BlackCatsAreMagical

#OOTD

The Mister and I had a day date the other day that consisted of heading to WPI for their homecoming football game. Even though it was raining and cold, I still got the chance to dress chic and warm!

#RHOWPI

Sweater | H&M | White button up | WalMart* | Necklace | Charlotte Russe | Skinnies | Forever 21 | Oxfords | Charlotte Russe

What is it about an umbrella and a trench coat that makes everything look ten times chic-er?!

Close up (aka a shameless selfie) of my sunnies (Forever 21) and necklace!

** Pro tip - I am constantly buying my basic clothing essentials at WalMart simply because of the low cost of things. If I need things like a any sort of solid colored button up and/or any sort of solid color tank top I always turn to WalMart especially because those types of things are usually covered by some other article of clothing. Moral of this story - Don't pay a lot of money for basics!!

Epcot Food & Wine {Small Foods} Sunday Dinner

Today kicked off The Mister's and my Epcot Food & Wine Festival throwback. The theme of the day was "small foods."

We had -

Corn dog nuggets  - CDNs are not specifically sold at the festival...HOWEVER, every time we go to Orlando it's a tradition of ours to hit up the local A&W (something we don't have here) for corn dog nuggets with cheese. A personal favorite of mine. You can find the recipe here and we used a Velveeta block of cheese.

Grass fed sliders with Monterey Jack cheese and sweet & hot pickles - from the Florida Local booth at the Food & Wine festival.

Grilled sirloin with chimmichurri sauce and bonita (sweet potato) puree which is from the Argentina booth at the Food & Wine Festival.

You can find the whole recipe here.

Here's a picture of the whole setup including the fall beer flight we included in the menu - 

Beers | 1. Woodstock Inn Brewry - Autumn Ale Brew |  2. Uinta Brewing Co. - Harvest Punk'n Ale | 3. Peak Organic Brewing Co, - Hope Harvest Oktober Fest | 4. Two Road Brewing Co. - RoadsMarys Baby

We also enjoyed some wine spritzers made with Barefoot Crisp White Wine and topped with some cranberry juice.

Throw Back Thursday {Costumes Of Halloween's Past}

My thoughts about Halloween have always matched up with the Mean Girls explanation -

Not that one....

This one!

So for those of you offended by a little provocative-ness...please head to another blog today because I'm about to give you a rundown of all of my past Halloween costumes (pre children).

I included this picture in my Halloween blog the other day. This was The Mister's and my first Halloween together. At the time, I worked at a Halloween store (duh) and got those costumes at an amazing discount. His Hef robe is part of the first line of Halloween costumes Playboy put out...it came with the pipe and everything! 

Next came my Amy Winehouse (pre death) costume...This was a fun one because it was the year I celebrated my 21st birthday and it was pre braces so I had the gap in my teeth to pull off the Amy Winehouse look - 

'Scuse the language!

I picked this costume pretty much a whole year before that Halloween and made sure to grow out my hair long enough to create the beehive with all of my own hair. #MissionAccomplished!

And then there was my devil costume...probably the skimpiest one I have ever worn. No regrets though. Had I known before I had a baby, the work it would take to get back to my pre baby body, I would have basically walked around naked. #SorryNotSorry

The Mister repeated the Hef costume as it matched what I was wearing. I think we make a pretty hawt Halloween couple! :)

And since we are throwing it back Halloween style today, I figured I would include some Halloween #tbt pictures of my littles...one fur baby and one human baby - 

Minnie Mouse (the cat) dressed as a pumpkin. #IdentityCrisis

And Cy's very first Halloween! #LittlePumpkin

Musings

My Best Friend's Wedding - 

Photocred goes to D's bestie R. This was my favorite "guest snap" of the day! #Glowing

This past weekend I had the distinct honor of witnessing one of my nearest and dearest friends get married. D (who was my MOH) and her new hubby G were simply glowing throughout the whole day and I couldn't be happier for them. Now they are off on an amazing honeymoon some of which will be spent at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival! Jealous!

Particular About Pumpkins -

I mentioned in my blog yesterday that I was planning on getting white pumpkins for my entertainment center. When that didn't work out, I found the cheapest (4 for $16!), biggest, orange pumpkins I could find and spray painted them white. They turned out great but I ended up using a half of can of white primer and a whole can and a half of white spray paint! The process is pretty self explanatory, but here's some reference pictures.

Before

After taping the stems

Final look!

Handstand Hottie - 

If you are friends with me on my personal FB page, you know that I have been obsessed with doing handstands while taking my picture with a self timer app (#NotVainAtAll). I am slowly but surely working on my regular handstand but in the meantime, I am working (twerking) on my balance and trying to look cool in Instagram pictures. Take a lookie, cookie!

One day I'll be able to do a regular handstand and Instagram will be the first to know! #SocialMediaDragQueen