Burn Notice: My Favorite Fall Candles

I love all things decorating and home decor. While I like things to look put together and pretty, I also want our home to be cozy. That's why I always look to candles to add the perfect finishing touch to a room. The season that I find myself burning candles the most is in the fall. Here's a roundup of my seasonal favorites:

Yankee Candle Spiced Pumpkin - Yankee describes this scent as "pumpkins baked in simmering spices of clove, nutmeg and sweetened with cinnamon and brown sugar". To me this scent is heavy on the spice, light on the pumpkin. The spicy notes makes this a nice transitional candle as we approach the holidays. It really makes me think of Thanksgiving and Pumpkin Pie, which might be why I really love burning this in the kitchen. It has a great throw that permeates throughout the whole house.

Beanpod Chai Tea - As fall rolls around I start to crave Tea and Chai Tea is my absolute favorite. So when I saw this candle I knew I had to take it home. It has a nutty scent with notes of Ginger and a twist of citrus and vanilla, a lovely mild scent.

Bath & Body Works Leaves - It was this candle that started my love affair with Bath & Body Works candles. I grew up using their soaps and lotions but really hadn't been into the store in a few years. I had no idea they even sold candles. I had heard rave reviews on this candle so I finally went into the store to check it out. I was astonished with all the amazing candles they had to offer and I've been a convert ever since! B&BW describes this scent as a blend of golden nectar, red apple and spiced berries. It is the most classic fall scent that reminds me of an apple pie. As with all the B&BW candles, the burn is flawless. It burns evenly all the way down to the last drop.

Bath & Body Works Autumn - B&BW describes this candle as blending the scents of dark pomegranate, red delicious apple and juicy fig. It reminds me of a less spicy version of the Leaves candle, it is a more pure apple scent. This one has the prettiest packing of the bunch with the embossed gold leaves. The lid is topped with two decorative leaves that make it extra special.

Bath & Body Works Sweater Weather - B&BW describes this candle as a blend of eucalyptus, juniper berry and fresh sage. This is the strongest scent of the bunch. I'll admit that it took some getting used to but now I love it. The scent is hard to describe. The word that comes to mind is crisp. It is a very cozy scent that freshens the whole house. Theres almost has a hint of musk in there, like a nice nice men's cologne. This has the best throw out of the five. It makes the whole house smell like a crisp autumn breeze. If you aren't into the pumpkin and apple fall scents, this ones for you.

Have you indulged in any seasonal candles this fall?

A Weekend in the Mountains

Last weekend was our annual family camping trip to Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, NH. This was our second time camping here for Columbus Day Weekend. We stayed with my parents on their RV and were joined by my sister as well as some of my aunts and uncles. Here's a peek inside our holiday weekend in the mountains.

The campground is located in the NH Lakes Region, right around the corner from Lake Winnipesaukee. Its no secret that I love NH in the summer but I also really love it in the fall. The foliage around the Lakes Region and in the White Mountains cannot be beat! It really looks like a postcard.

We camped in the safari field area which is located at the bottom of a former Ski Jump. I love camping in this area. Its so cool to be staying at the actual foot of a mountain.

On Fright night when we arrived we were greeted with some homemade Apple Cider Moonshine. Not a bad way to kick off the weekend!

One thing to keep in mind about mountainside camping this time of year, as soon as the sun leaves the campsite it is COLD! I need to remember to bring warmer clothes next year. I was layering two sweatshirts and a scarf and was still cold. We worked hard to keep the campfire roaring to stay warm. Don't mind my socks with sandals or "Scandals" as we so fondly call them. They are perfectly acceptable when Camping or at Abakee.

There were a few intense games of Jumbo Jenga. At one point an actual ladder was brought out because the tower was getting so high.

On Saturday morning we took Dale for a walk and checked out the Wetlands Boardwalk. It is a 1/4 mile raised boardwalk around the wetlands area of the mountain. It was a nice quiet and peaceful walk with lots to look at. Keep an eye out for the Beaver dams.

That night my aunt and uncle put together an awesome fall beer tasting. We blind taste tested nine different beers and rated them. The beer with the highest rating turned out to be UFO Pumpkin.

To keep with the Pumpkin/Fall theme, you guessed it, we carved Pumpkins. You're never to old to enjoy a nice Jack-O-Lantern! We lit them every night and they were a nice festive addition to our camp.

There are several different hiking trails at Gunstock. Since I'm a beginner we didn't hike up to the top of the mountain but we did take a nice hike on the Quarry trails on Sunday morning.

If you are a lover of Fall Foliage the best way to take it all in is to ride the Panorama chairlift up to the mountain summit. Its a truly breathtaking ride with awesome views of the lake. 

Kylie Jenner Lip Trend: Three takes on Mauve Lips

Fall is one of my favorite seasons for beauty! The colder weather and changing leaves inspire me to switch gears and try new out looks. One change I've made lately is switching out brighter lips for more rich and neutral hues.

The inspiration:

c/o twitter @kyliejenner

Pinterest has been going crazy lately over Kylie Jenner's makeup. She has been rocking beautiful neutral makeup with a rich mauve lip. Here are three ways to recreate her look:

MAC Lipstick in Faux

This is one of the lipstick colors Kylie is rumored to wear for this look. It is a beautiful mauve with a satin finish. It feels velvety when you run it across your lips. MAC describes this color as "muted mauve-pink". It is long-wearing and leaves a slight stain behind.

Tarte Glamazon Lipstick in Inspired

This is more of a rosy mauve. I'd say that this is a satin finish as well. It feels buttery smooth when applied. I think this lipstick line may be being discontinued by Tarte as I can only find a few colors that are on sale on their website and Sephora. Side note, I freaking hate the packaging of these. Its huge and bulky and it only has a standard size lipstick inside that giant tube. Packaging aside, the formula of this lipstick is nice and it is long-wearing (claims to be 12-hours) so hopefully Tarte is just revamping the packing and not discontinuing this line.

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Warm Me Up

This color is very comparable to the first two lipsticks but the finish is shiner and slightly glossy. This is a nice option if you aren't into the completely matte look but dig the color. It is also a nice affordable option from the drugstore.

MAC Lip Pencil in Dervish

An important part of this look is the use of a lip liner. It is said that Kylie uses MAC Whirl lip pencil for her matte mauve look. I actually own Whirl but to me it leans more brown and I thought Dervish was more appropriate. MAC describes the color as "pinky-mauve". This lip pencil was actually one of the first products I ever bought from MAC. It is the most universal pink color that can work with just about any nude or pink lipstick. Kylie uses lip liner in her look to overdraw her lips slightly above her lip line to make them appear fuller. I don't particularly like that look on me but I still use a liner to outline my natural lip line and fill them in at the corners to achieve crisp edges and also extend the wear of my lipstick.

All trends aside I really love the mauve lips look. Its daytime appropriate and is great for school, work and transitioning into the colder months.

Indian Summer

For the past few weeks we've been experiencing an Indian summer here in New England. I'd actually been looking forward to the fall but I can't say I mind a few extra weeks of nice summery weather! It has also given us an excuse to extend our summer at the Cape.

Last weekend we had our first guests at the new trailer! Our friends Todd, Heather and Eric came down and we went to the Cape Cod Brew Fest.

Mike and I love craft beer but had actually never been to a Brew Fest before. It was held at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds in Falmouth. There was live music, food trucks and of course, lots and lots of beer! There were over 50 different breweries in attendance with 200+ types of beer available to sample.

Autumn and Pumpkin beers were the main focus of the event. I tried so many Pumpkin beers that at one point they all started to taste the same. I think this year I'm actually liking the Oktoberfest style beers more than the Pumpkin ones, which is really surprising to me. The best one I tried was Grey Sail Autumn Winds. I also really enjoy Belgian style brews and I loved everything I tried from Idle Hands Brewery. They're located in Everett so I think we may go visit the Brewery! All in all it was a really fun day and we loved the experience!

We've had the new trailer for about two months now and I thought I'd share some interior shots. If you're interested in seeing the outside and the story behind it I did a post about that here.

We are absolutely in love with the new digs. We have more space and storage than we know what to do with including a bonus back bedroom with 3 bunks and a pull out couch. Its so nice to have that extra space so we can finally have guests! 

We're slowly getting settled in and buying things we need but its not really decorated at all. The only only thing we have is one sad pillow from the Christmas Tree shop that was in our old trailer that doesn't really match the new color scheme. I'm trying not to obsess over that and I'm sure it will become more homey and lived in as we use it more. We're planning on going down at least one more time before our campground closes for the season at the end of the month. 

Hope this Indian Summer has been treating you well!