Halloween Festivities

Hey guys! It is almost Halloween and if you are like me you are frantically thinking about how there are still so many festive things you want to do before this holiday is gone but you have no idea what to do or where to start. Well, this blog post is for you! Today I am going to share three fun and easy Halloween activities you can do either by yourself, with a significant other, or with all of your friends! The more the merrier!

Festive Halloween Baking

So, there are a few things that I always have on my Halloween festivities to-do list and the first one is festive baking! Now, if you are anything like me you LOVE the idea of baking from scratch but really... who has the time for that! So for this my bestie and I just used a festive boxed cake mix and spent our QT (quality time) on the decorating!

The first thing we did was spent an ungodly amount of time at Target trying to choose the best possible cake and frosting combination as well as decorations! I must say that they have a lot to choose from this year! Below is a picture of everything we chose.

We went for the Halloween funfetti cake mix and whipped frosting! We also got trick or treat cupcake cases, ghost shaped marshmallows, Halloween shaped sprinkles, and green glitter! You can choose whichever decorations you want but we wanted to keep it simple but cute.

With any festive baking extravaganza you also want to have something else planned during the duration of the baking and cooling of your cake mix so we chose to open a few adult cocktails and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas which is one of my favorite Halloween films!

After our movie was over and all of the cakes were out of the oven and cooled, we decorated! Here are some of our finished products!

It was super simple but also fun and a great way to have a fun and memorable night during the Halloween season!

Bonfire Night

Another fun and festive way to get yourself geared up into the Halloween spirit is to have a bonfire! All you need is an open space of dirt, preferably not around foliage, some logs, and a match or two!

This is a great idea because you can invite friends over to enjoy the delicious cupcakes you have already made (see previous) and gather around a warm fire on a chilly night and tell spooky stories! (Anyone else remember the show Are You Afraid of the Dark?) 

Some of my friends and I got together one night and decided to do just this and we had a blast!  You can bring your leftover ghost marshmallows and roast them on the fire and just enjoy each others company while also enjoying the outdoors! I know I need more time outside in some fresh air so this is a great way to accomplish that! Here are some of the pictures from the night we had our bonfire.

 Again, this is something that doesn't take a whole lot of effort but it is something that is very fun and a memory you will be able to laugh about for a long time to come! Just make sure someone puts out the fire at the end of the night!

Carving Pumpkins

Now possibly the most festive activity that I like to do during the Halloween season is carve pumpkins! I have already been able to enjoy it twice this year which has made this season the best! {The first pumpkin carving I did was with my bestie Daniel and we also filmed it for his YouTube channel so feel free to hop on over and watch us carve those pumpkins here: https://youtu.be/L-tDAX3dNi8}This is something that is even more enjoyable with friends! All you need to do it grab some pumpkins and get some carving tools and go to it! (side note: I would definitely also grab some pumpkin carving stencils from somewhere because then you can really impress people with your designs if you aren't as artistically inclined!)

When we all got together to carve pumpkins it was also to celebrate our friend MK's  24th birthday so her apartment was decked out in the cutest decorations which is something else you can do to add to the Halloween feeling! Here are a few pictures of the decorations.

All of our designs were different but I think that the fun is all in the time spent together creating pumpkin masterpieces! (Even if your pumpkin doesn't turn out quite the way you wanted!) Here are some of the pictures of the process as well as our finished pumpkins!

All of these activities can be done in one night or each on their own! Whatever you choose to do to celebrate just remember to have fun! I hope this inspires you to grab a bunch of friends and make the most of the last days of October and Halloween!

If you do choose to do any of these activities let me know in the comments below! I hope you all have a spooky and fun Halloween!

xoxo Jess 

The first week of fall

Can you believe we are already celebrating the first week of fall? It feels like 2015 just started! Maybe it is because I have been wishing for this time of year to come around again. Fall is my favorite season and I don't care if it makes me #basic. Since it is the first week of fall I thought I would make a little post about some of my favorite things about fall as well as some new things I want to try and do this fall! Get ready for lots of references to warmth and coziness!

The first thing I love about this time of year is of course the weather! I hate the hot months of summer mainly because I live in the southern part of the US and the humidity is literally unbearable most days of the year. In the fall the humidity lifts and you get a crisp fresh temperature that won't make you sweat after five minutes of being outside. It also makes me want to be outside more because I don't have to worry about feeling gross from the humidity and heat.

Along with the weather comes the clothes. because it is cooler outside I can start to wear some of my favorite types of clothes which are (in no particular order) boots, scarves, sweaters, sweatshirts, cardigans, fuzzy socks, long sleeves, and vests. Fall makes for better fashion at least for me because I can layer more things and enjoy wearing them without worrying about getting too hot and stuffy in them. I also like the darker, richer colors that are associated with fall such as deep maroons and burgundy shades as well as rich dark orange and golds.

I also love all of the fall scents that places such as Bath and Body Works and Yankee Candles produces. The fall scents are always my favorite because they make me feel all warm and cozy! Some of my favorite fall scents are Leaves, Pumpkin Pie, Vanilla Cedarwood, Crisp Apple, and generally anything with that spice fragrance! Even just the burning of candles is something that I love about fall. When the weather starts to drop I just feel like having a candle lit in every room of the house because it adds to the cozy feeling.

The scenery in the fall is also one of my favorite things. Yes I think the flowers blooming in the spring are beautiful but something much more breathtaking to me has always been the changing of the leaves from summer to fall. I love watching everything go from a bright green to beautiful shades of yellow and red and seeing all the leaves fall. There is just something about it that has always given me the warm fuzzies getting to watch the amazing things nature can do.

One of the biggest things I want to do this fall is go apple picking. I have been researching places near my area to try and find somewhere that does it and the one place (which was 4 hours north) doesn't actually let you pick them anymore. So it is definitely at the top of my list to find somewhere and go and pick some fresh apples. Not only for the experience and the fun of it but also.. umm duh fresh apples you picked yourself.. can you even imagine how amazing they would taste fresh off the tree?!

Another big thing that I wanted to do (which I AM going to do next weekend) is go to Disney during the fall! Combine the happiest place on earth with my favorite season??? I might just explode from excitement! One of my best friends, Daniel, and I are going next weekend and I have never been during the fall to experience Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween so I can't wait to see all of the Disney villains and interact with them as well as see the park decked out for the season!

Something a little less extravagant but also something fun is carving pumpkins. It is something I love doing during the fall and also something that I always want to do every year so I guess it counts as a little bit of both! I love going to a pumpkin patch and picking out a pumpkin and then bringing it home and carving it with friends and family! Last year Daniel and I carved pumpkins over Skype but we still had the best time! I definitely think it is something that should be on everyone's fall to-do list!

Of course I can't make a post about fall without mentioning the holidays that occur during the season! I LOVED Halloween when I was younger. I have always hated scary movies but the dressing up and getting to be one of your favorite characters for a night has always been one of my favorite parts about Halloween. Trick or Treating was something that I loved when I was younger and I love being on the other side of it now and getting to see all of the children in my neighborhood get all excited and dressed up! Thanksgiving is the other holiday that occurs during the fall season and it is something I have always looked forward to because it is a day I get to spend with my family and we get to eat all of the best foods :)

There are just not enough wonderful things to say about this time of the year. The world around you is changing season and you get to witness it and this time of year brings the best holidays to have fun with friends and family!

What is one of your favorite things about fall and what is one thing you can't wait to do this fall season? I can't wait to hear! Leave a comment and let me know! I'm going to go order myself a PSL and wait for the leaves to start changing.

xoxo Jess