These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things For Fall

Fall is officially my favorite time of year.  And while the changing trees and falling leaves are among the season's most favorable sights, I always look forward to the cooler weather and the clothing options that accompany it.  

Below are a few of the things I am most excited about for fall. 

Some I own, some I like, some I love and others I only dream about...   

1. Seychelles True Story Riding Boots:  Own them in cognac (pictured) and black. I finally broke down and purchased these after several seasons of investing in lesser quality boots, only to watch the lesser quality ones peel, scuff and wimp out by spring.

So,  these were a splurge last winter that I am hoping they will last a long time.  They are, by far, my most favorite article of clothing.

Period.

The black ones are a success story in their own right.  I scored them on some random website that I wasn't even sure was a real website until they arrived on my door step.  I'm still not completely sure it was a real place, but real enough that they marked these babies down to an unbelievable dream-come-true price, of way less than half.  More like 1/5 of what they are currently running anywhere, so you know what I had to do.

Hey - There were no other options. Don't judge me.  I have a problem with boots and I have admitted it so I am already past the first stage of getting help.

2. Scarf. Or in this case, a Snood.  I guess that's a new term I know nothing about.  Personally, I like to call them "scoobs" half scarf -half tube.  But whatever.  I like this one and I like wearing scarfs/snoods/scoobs in the fall and winter and usually opt for one with a jacket as opposed to a winter coat.  This one is a great color and available from TopShop.

3. Jacket.  Dream of it.  The layered look has to be my favorite.  I would take cooler weather over warmer weather any day.   This jacket is super cute and available from one of the stores I dream of on the regular, Anthropologie.  I've been on a yellow kick lately, not sure what that is all about, but I like this in yellow.  Would be super cute in red though too.

4. Stocking Cap.  Really like this little pumpkin. Also found at TopShop.

5. Black & white stripes.  Love the combo.  Own varieties of it.  This sweater available at Nordstrom. but I love any combination of the striped duo on just about anything.  Add skinny jeans and the boots = my favorite look for fall.

6. Hunter Wellies.  Own these in black; dream of these in every color.  I love rain.  I love wellies.  You can find these where I got mine, shoes.com, or pretty much anywhere shoes are sold.

7.  Black tights.  Love them.  Wear any dress with a pair and its an instant outfit for colder days.  Add a cardigan and boots and you're good to go!

8.  Finger-less gloves.  Love.  I'm not big on gloves, even though my dry hands wish I were, but these are the perfect compromise.  Found at ModCloth.

9. Cardigans. Love.  With stripes? -- yes please! Also from ModCloth.

So many cute options for dressing for the season.  Just wanted to share a few of my faves.

Birthday Boy

This guy knows how to party.

Happy Birthday to my One and Only. This photo taken over this weekend's adventure in tasty food & delicious drink.  More details to come.....  In the meantime, a million birthday wishes and a million thanks for being so wonderfully you.

Happy Birthday Baby.

Happy Face. Sad Face.

This is a happy face.... 

...but you should have seen mine when she said "I'm probably getting too big for pigtails, Mom."

GASP!

Twas The Night Before Blissness

We shared a few of the amazing-if-we-do-say-so-ourselves photos from our wedding a couple of weeks back. There are literally hundreds more, but the highlights give you a good idea of how it all shook down and we were super happy (like can't stop looking at them) with how they turned out. In the beginning we were a little skeptical of having photogs and videoogs follow us around from 10 am on, but looking through the images, we are so happy the entire day was captured in bits and pieces.

And with that experience under our belts, we thought we could totally have a reality show.

Okay, not really.

Unless someone is interested, in which case, we are totally serious....maybe...

Anyway, not only did we capture our wedding day, but we got the night before too -- our affectionately titled Non-Rehearsal Rehearsal Dinner.

You see back when initial talk of wedding planning began, we had a couple of scenarios we considered:

1. A backyard wedding

I always loved the idea of a backyard bbq wedding. Being outdoors, hanging string lights, keeping it casual and warm. Side dishes. Macaroni salad options for my macaroni-salad-obsessed husband. The idea was great. There was only one problem: The Backyard. We don't have one. So that got scratched off the list pretty early on.

2. The Block Party

Okay, so we didn't exactly have a backyard....so what? We have a front yard and a street and the ability to block it off.... Of course! We would block off the street, pop up a giant tent, hire a band and just go to town with the ultimate wedding-block-party-bbq-beerfest-bonanza.

That one almost happened.

3. The Destination Wedding

The early favorite. Get away. Get a vacation. Get someone else to plan.

It had all the makings of a truly wonderful wedding. Minus the friends, extended family and the ability to micro-manage 100 different DIY projects. Scratch!

You know us.

So in the end, we opted for #4: A cool, modern space in the River Market of KC and although there were a few stressful moments, it all came together beautifully.

But we never quite got that backyard bonanza out of our heads.

Instead of an actual rehearsal, which we were pretty confident was a waste of time, we planned a party at our house. With zero family living in the area and plenty of friends coming in from out of town, it was the perfect opportunity to welcome them to our house for the first time and celebrate with a great summer outdoor event.

The best part? Somehow I convinced my Aunt Martha to cook traditional Syrian food for 75 people. That. Was. Amazing.

The party was so much fun, although true to form we ran around like headless chickens trying to play host and hostess to 75 guests, mixing drinks, handing out bomb pops and making sure we said hello, welcome, and thank you to everyone in a timely manner. Then we switched it up to Mom & Evie mode, showering a kiddo, combing hair, reading bed time stories and tucking in, all while the party kept going on downstairs and outside.

It was perfect though. A marrying (pun intended) of ideas that we had for a summer bash that brought our friends and family into town and into our home.

And now, without further adieu, we give you a few (clearly we don't know the definition of "few") highlights of our Non Rehearsal Rehearsal Back And Front Yard BBQ-esque Bonanza Dinner:

Home. By Alex

10 Years

I really debated writing a post about 9/11. The blogosphere is full of posts commemorating this day and I just wasn't sure that I needed to weigh in; but I spent the 10th anniversary of this tragedy in New York City, on a plane, flying above the Manhattan skyline and figured, I may as well make a comment or two.

I am sure I don't need to provide the synopsis surrounding this milestone, we are all aware of what happened and where it happened and how it has affected us personally and as a nation.

Growing up, it was common to hear people my parents' age discuss where they were and what they were doing at the point in time when JFK was shot. Even now, it is still a common phrase. In many ways, 9/11 will be my generation's point in time - one that we will all recall where we were and what we were doing on that day.

I was a sophomore in college and I had just left a marketing course and hopped into my Honda to return to my off-campus apartment. The apartment on 7th street- my very first apartment in fact. I remember the radio was on in the car and I could hear chatter about the Kansas City airport being shut down, but my attention hadn't been captured beyond that point. Upon returning to my place, I flipped on the tv to see what I and the rest of the country would remember forever.

No one had a cellphone or Internet that didn't dial up, so I just sat there and watched and waited for any additional news to unfold.

I'm not sure that the impact of what I was witnessing settled in right away, but over the course of the next few hours, it certainly did. I very vividly remember going to Walmart, buying 150 plastic silver stars, attaching red/white/blue ribbon to them with safety pins and handing them out at the bell tower prayer service that evening. I guess in many ways no one knew what they should be doing, but I knew I wanted to be doing something.

Beyond that, there isn't much that I remember about this day 10 years ago.

This year, being in NYC on 9/11 was a reminder that life goes on. I flipped on the tv to be connected to the moment of silence that was happening live at Ground Zero just a few miles from me. I stepped out onto the balcony of the 21st floor where I was staying and waited to be a part of the silence, but it never came. As taxi cabs and firetrucks continued their daily commute, life in NYC and around the world continued on, thankfully without incident.

I won't go into the nightmare that flying in general has become for me over the past few years, unrelated to these events. I also won't detail what a hot mess I was flying on this day in particular, but what I will say is landing safely back home never felt so good.

Reflecting on this anniversary caused me to reflect on the past decade of my life in general and focus on where I am today. It also made me realize just how quickly an entire decade of life flies by.

Wheels down in KC and I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my life, my family and my home. A lot has happened in the past 10 years and more than ever, I am so happy that life does in fact go on. I have found that gratitude in life is so important and every day, regardless of triumph or tragedy, we should take a moment to express that.