What's Up Wednesday

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

Happy Halloween All! I can't believe how quickly this month has flown by. I think time needs to slow down a bit. I am off early today, so I can get the girls all dressed up, fed and ready to go Trick or Treating. I am pretty excited about tonight's festivities because the girls are older, they understand trick or treating more and we have been preparing!!!

WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK...

Sunday: Zucchini Bolognese Pasta aka Princess Pasta

Monday: Mississippi Pot Roast

Tuesday: Take out since I have a facial.

Wednesday: Pizza take-out before Trick or Treating.

Thursday: Sicilian Rice Ball Casserole

Friday: Not Sure.

Saturday: We are going out. Since Rory is on his guy's weekend, the girls and I are going out to dinner. Not sure where though.

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT...

Last year's Halloween. The girls were Minnie Mouse and it was their second time Trick or Treating. They were way more into it than the previous year, but they were too scared to say Trick or Treat. But they did love getting the candy. This year should be even more fun and we should be able to go out for longer. This is also the first year we are not handing out candy. We did it last year, but we didn't get back until 7 pm and had tons of leftover candy at the end of the night.

 Toddler Donut costumes

Minnie Mouse costumes

WHAT I'M LOVING...

I feel like I have shopped a lot this month. Like over shopped, but it happens and I am totally ok with all of my purchases. Here are some of my current favorites.

  One Clothing Floral Peplum Dress

I wore this dress to my cousin's funeral and it was a huge hit. It was comfy, cute and the perfect length. I ordered a medium since I have a larger bust and it fit perfectly.

Recently, Loft had a big sale and I scooped up this cute sweater. I have been wearing it on repeat lately and it is so comfy. Plus I can wear it to work or during the weekend.

Loft Speckled Sweater

The lip gloss below was recommended to me and I scooped it up at Sephora and use it daily. It has a coconut taste to it, but it is very mild.

Kopari Coconut Lip Gloss

Recently, I won a giveaway on Instagram from Winky and I received a few items and one of my favorites has been the Matcha Lip Balm. The scent is amazing, it goes on smoothly and makes my lips feel heavenly. I have been switching it back and forth between this one and Kopari.

Matcha Lip Balm

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...

Well life through us a big curve ball, so we spent part of this month mourning the loss of our cousin. But on the brighter side, we spent the month at pumpkin patches, Apple Hill, football games and dance class. The girls have really been enjoying their dance class.

WHAT I'M DREADING...

Our long drive for Thanksgiving. The girls have only ever driven about 4 hours in the car at one time and we have a much longer drive for Thanksgiving. I normally fly everywhere, but the cost of plane tickets at Thanksgiving is crazy.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON...

Decorating for Thanksgiving, picking out our holiday card theme and buying all the Christmas decorations.

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

Thanksgiving, family time, our last home game of the season and our Thanksgiving trip.

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING...

Well I finished The Woman in Cabin 10 and loved it. I have yet to pick up a new book. So send me your suggestions. 

As for TV, I am still catching up on our DVR from my trip over a month ago. After I got back, we tried to get through some items, but then Rory went out of town for a week and we got even more behind. But my favorites right now are This is Us, Safe (Netflix and soooo good), Making a Murderer season 2, Grey's Anatomy, American Horror Story, Riverdale, Modern Family and Desert Flippers.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO...

Pandora. I finally gave in and got the Pandora Plus, so I could skip all I want and not have ads. So much better.

WHAT I'M WEARING...

Pretty much sweaters, booties and anything cozy. Oh I did buy a new pair of booties that I am obsessed with. I tend to buy cheaper booties and it always works out for me. Here is the newest pair I got.

High Demand Booties (only $32.50)

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND...

I am on single mommy duty since Rory is having a boys weekend. So I am not sure what we are going to go do other than Dance Class and dinner out. I hope the weather is nice, so maybe we can go to the park. Or maybe the trampoline park?

WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH...

I can't wait for Thanksgiving and the holidays to come.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW...

Not much else is new right now.

BONUS: WHAT IS YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE HALLOWEEN COSTUME?

This is hard because I have several favorites over the years. From being a dead Cheerleader to 80s Prom Queen to Juno, I have had a lot of costumes. Here is one of my more recent costumes (if you call 4 years ago recent).

Friday Favorites and Mug Love Exchange

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

It has been a weird and tough couple of weeks, but I finally feel like things are going back to normal. We have another home football game this weekend, Halloween coming up next week

ONE. Recently I participated in a blogger/IG exchange. I have participated in this exchange before and loved it. We exchanged mugs and other goodies. I was partnered with Bri Runde who blogs over at School in Our Slippers. Bri and I have been following each other for awhile, so when we were paired up, I was excited that I already "knew" my partner.

Bri is a mommy to four little ones including one who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She homeschools her children and I am in awe of all that she does. She is a rockstar. To see what I sent Bri, go check out her blog.

As for what I got...

 The girls immediately spotted the spiders and paper books and asked for them. Thank you so much Bri!

 It is no secret that I LOVE dark chocolate sea salt caramels, so this was right up my alley and I have eaten about half the bag already.

 This cup is perfect. It is extra large (momma needs her coffee), and I LOVE the colors.

My feet are awful and that is why I go get pedicures every 8 or so weeks, but this will be amazing for the in between times. I can't wait to use it.

TWO. We are off today celebrating Nevada Day. Instead of getting Columbus Day off, we celebrate Nevada Day which is the day that Nevada became a State. So hopefully we are sleeping in and doing something fun.

THREE. Ok, so I have posted a few things from this store before, but Vici is seriously my new favorite online store. They have two in the Bay Area, but since I don't live there, I just order online. And I order a lot lately. This week they sent me a deal for 25% off and free shipping, so I took them up on it. Even though I have a refund/gift card coming for something I returned (It was just too short of a shirt on my long torso). I picked up these two sweaters and I could have bought about 5 more plus this jacket I am dying to get. Plus they have 40% off all Sale items.

 Kassidy Striped Sweater (no affiliate)

Cashmere Zip Sweater (no affiliate)

FOUR. I bought myself a new handbag this weekend. I wasn't really planning on it, but my other one was already falling apart. The entire bottom was coming out and since I was in Las Vegas (for the funeral), I made a stop by Tory Burch and bought my first ever Tory Burch bag. I have other items from there, but never made the leap for a purse. It was expensive, but I hope to use this purse for a long time. 

FIVE. Speaking of Halloween, the girls got their costumes and are in love with them. They decided they wanted to be Rapunzel. They wanted to be Anna and Elsa, but when they saw the costumes, they didn't like the look of the dresses, so they picked out Rapunzel. Luckily, we read a Rapunzel book every week, so they at least know who she is. Now we need to introduce the move to them.

Rapunzel Disney Costume

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Cup of Tea.

Have a great weekend!

Fall Family Photo Outfits

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

We have our family photos coming up...late, I know. But we have an amazing photographer lined up (she is one of my best friends) and I couldn't be more excited. Plus we are going out in the desert to take these photos. I have been putting together inspirations for about two months now and I finally have it down. So what are we wearing?

Girls Dress  |  Girls Shoes  |  Women's Black Top  |  Women's Flowy Skirt  |  Men's Cashmere Sweater

While we got Rory a new sweater, he is using jeans, a button up and black shoes from his closet. I hope the photos look cohesive and beautiful. I can't wait to share our holiday cards with you all.

Friday Favorites and Happenings

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

ONE. I really don't have an introduction to this post. My mind has been in about three different places all week and I am trying to focus on what is truly important....my family. I feel like we only share the good in our lives here and on IG. But life happens and it can truly suck sometimes. If you follow me on IG, then you might have seen an IG story I posted last Thursday. I was vague, but I told you all to hug your family. Well, my family has experienced another loss. Just three months ago, Rory's aunt passed away unexpectedly and now his cousin has passed away.

Both of these have been really hard on the family, but with Rory's aunt, she lived an amazing and beautiful long life. She was an amazing human being. But his cousin was 24 years young and still had so much life in front of him. To say that this was devastating, is an understatement.

TWO. So on a lighter note, I bought a beautiful dress recently. I am always on the hunt for work appropriate dresses and they are even better if I can wear them outside of work. I saw this on someone's IG feed and loved it, so I scouped it up for $33. I followed the reviews and ordered up one size and it is amazing. You can still get it for $33.

  One Clothing Floral Peplum Dress

THREE. This week was National Bosses Day and I didn't even know about it. Oh well. But then I saw a funny and I know a lot of you can relate to this. I know I sure can.

via

FOUR. So I got the cutest dresses for the girls for our Fall Family photos. I got them at a killer deal, but that deal is over. They are still on sale though. And they are even better in person. The girls will be wearing these dresses and these shoes.

Dress (not an affiliate link)

Velvet Shoes

FIVE. As for my outfit, so far I have the skirt and I am buying the top this weekend. I picked out three tops at Nordstrom Rack and I need to go try them on and see them in person. I think the girls and I will look perfect together. Now to get Rory something to wear, ha.

Melansay Skirt

SIX. I am just going to leave this here because I know I will be DRVing them all.

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Cup of Tea.

Have a great weekend!

Girl Chat - DIY/Crafts

*This post contains affiliate links. When you click a link, it is no cost to you and I make a small commission (pennies) from it. Thank you for supporting Sparkles and Lattes.

It's time for another round of Girl Chat and this month we are talking about Inspiration and sharing some DIY/Crafts. I am not the most crafty person, but I feel like I have pulled off a few amazing crafts in my day. I am sharing with you two DIY's and then linking to a few other DIYs/Crafts I have shared in the passed.

The first DIY/craft is a Christmas Ornament. This is the easiest craft to make.

What You Need

 - Clear Large Ornament Ball (I bought mine from Hobby Lobby, but you can get a bunch from Amazon here)
- Items to put inside the ball (I have made one for my wedding using the wedding invitation and one for the girls which contains their birth hat and bracelets)
- Hot Glue Gun (optional)

Directions

Wedding Invitation Christmas Ornament

1. I cut my wedding invitation into half inch strips. It doesn't have to be perfect.

2. Using a pencil or pen, put your strip on the pencil and roll the strip around the pencil. I tightly roll it and then remove the curled piece. Continue to do this with all of the strips.

3. Once you have finished making your rolls, you can unroll them a bit to make them different sized rolls.

4. Put each roll into the ball. I used the pencil (eraser side) to move around and open the rolls up even more inside the ball.

5. Place the hanger back inside the ball and then you are finished. You can also hot glue the top on.

6. You can put a ribbon on the top if you would like, or just hang it up.


Ornament Ball Garland

I saw this on a blog I used to follow (now I just follow her on IG) and I knew I had to recreate it. I will forewarn you that it is hard to store it, so make sure you plan accordingly.

What You Need

- Ribbon (lots of it and the fabric kind)
- 2 to 3 Sets of Plastic Ornament Balls (I bought the 50 count packs at Target)
- Tape

Directions

1. Lay out all of your ornaments and cut your ribbon.

Tip: Buy the shatterproof ones if you can. 

2. Take your ribbon and fold it into a point, like the picture below.

image

3. Now string each ornament along the ribbon (at least 6 plus feet of ribbon, you may have to adjust later). You can put the ornaments as close as you would like (I think the closer the better). Make sure you leave a lot of ribbon on each side, so you can hang it from the wall. If you plan to put it on your fireplace mantel, then you own't need as much ribbon. 

Note: I had a few of my ornaments pop off the tops, so you can use a little hot glue to keep them on if need be.

4. Tie a knot at the end of each side and hang in your desired location.

As you can see, I made this when we still had our old kitchen.

We don't have a mantle over our fireplace, so I hung it up on a blank wall that we normally put all of our Christmas cards on.  I love this decoration and it was really simple to do.

Here are some other DIY/Crafts that I have posted in the past:
DIY Cake Topper
DIY Whitewashing a Brick Wall
DIY Lace Mason Jars
DIY Shadow Box

To link up - just grab our graphic, link up, and let's getting to chatting!  Make sure to stop by a few others linked up for an extra bit of girl chat!  

Danielle / Sparkles and Lattes - Bloglovin' - Pinterest - Instagram
Emily / A Little Bit of Emily - Bloglovin' - Pinterest - Instagram
Lindsay / Lindsay's Sweet World - Pinterest - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
Lizzie / This Happy Life -  Bloglovin' - Pinterest - Facebook - Instagram
Sierra / Beautifully Candid - Bloglovin' - Pinterest - Instagram - Twitter

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Fall Bucket List Update

It is time to check in on how we are doing with our Fall Bucket List. Especially since I wrote this almost exactly a month ago. Tomorrow is our Girl Chat link up and I wrote our Fall Bucket List for last month's Girl Chat. So how are we doing?

Apple Hill - We went to Apple Hill last weekend!

Attend Football Game and Tailgate - As of today, I have been to three football games and tailgates this season.

Go to a Pumpkin Patch - We went to Ferrari Farms two weekends ago and then a pumpkin patch while we were at Apple Hill.

Attend a Fall Festival - Ferrari Farms is a Fall Festival and we went two weekends ago.

Decorate for Fall - I went to Hobby Lobby a couple weekends ago and I bought a bunch of new Fall decor and then came home and promptly decorated. I also brought out our Fall and Halloween decor that we already had.

Eat an Apple Cider Donut - We checked that off this weekend at Apple Hill. They are simply the best there.

Eat Caramel Apples - I have been eating them as a treat at the football games.

We still have seven items left on our list and I know we have a few of those items being checked off in the coming weeks!!!

How are you doing on your Fall Bucket List?

Weekending

We had a pretty great weekend considering everything that is going on. Life is just really hard sometimes. But anyways, our weekend was eventful and we checked off some of our Fall Bucket List items.

Friday after work, I went to my nose surgeon for a 9 week check-up. The good news is my nose is healing, but the bad news is, I will need another surgery in February to correct my nostril that is still collapsed and some excess tissue in that nostril. It won't be as tough of a surgery, but it is still surgery.

After my appointment, I grabbed some lunch and then took Walter to the groomers. While he was getting groomed, I went to Target and then got the call that he was ready, but they found a worm in his bottom. I freaked a bit and went to pick him up. I also texted my friend who is a veterinarian surgeon to see what I should do. She suggested I take him to the vet to be checked out and see if it was indeed worms. Walter's normal vet is fully booked until December, so I had to take him somewhere else. I did a walk-in and we were seen pretty quickly. Turns out he didn't have worms, but excessive anal gland excretion. So gross. They got the rest out and made sure he was healthy and sent us off. 

I got home and did some cleaning since my girlfriend cancelled on going out that night. Then I met Rory for some sushi (after his golf) and then we picked the girls up from their grandparents house.

Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast and then took the girls to their dance class. They had a blast and are really working on their routine for their Christmas recital. Then we drove the girls down to my parents house for the night. They were staying over while we went to the Nevada vs. Boise game. We went back to Target to return something and then headed home to get ready for the game.

We tailgated and had the best Italian food there.

And took some pictures with one of our mascots.

Then we made our way inside, but stopped at our plaque again.

Nevada lost and it was actually a pretty good game until the end. We seriously have the hardest time beating Boise. Ugh.

Sunday morning we tried to sleep in, but we weren't not able to. So we got up, got ready and then went to breakfast and headed down to get the girls and head to Apple Hill. Our first stop was Grandpa's Cellar. We all got some pie, strudel or crumble with ice cream. The girls just opted for ice cream. Then we headed to O'Halloran's Apple Trail Ranch so our friends could get some pumpkins. The girls helped our friends find some pumpkins and then they played with a kitten there.

Next, we headed to the Jack Russell Brewery and enjoyed a beer and some jalapeno kettle corn.

Only Avery was up for taking photos.

Next up was Eldorado Orchards which is the girls favorite place. They have a train, face painting, food and crafts there. When we got there, the girls immediately asked to get their face painted. They each chose a princess themed face painting.

Then they wanted to ride on the train, but Sutton backed out at last minute. So she and I walked around while Rory and Avery waited in line. We met them just as they were taking off so Sutton could wave to her sister and dad. Then we took some photos of the girls and our friends kids.

 Avery

Sutton (my flower girl was holding them up)

Finally, we made our way to Boa Vista Orchards where the girls and I did some apple and pear tasting before heading in to buy the girls an apple each and then go look around at all the goodies. We ended up buying beet chips, a spicy snack mix, coconut macaroon almonds, dill pickle mustard and apple salsa. After everyone was finished, we drove back to Tahoe for some pizza at Tahoe Pizza Company We watched the Patriots game and the Astros game while hanging out with family and friends. It was a great finish to the day. Then we drove home (long drive) and got the girls ready for bed and crashed not long after them.

How was your weekend?