Pumpkin Picking

Every year, it has become a tradition to pick our first pumpkin of the season on October 1st. We just don't hit up our local grocery store for a pumpkin...no...we head to the local Pumpkin Farm in Oak Glen, California. Known as the Pumpkin Factory, this adorable farm is decked out in all it's fall best as well as a Corn Maze and food carts. I am definitely the type of person that goes for the oddest of pumpkins. I have a soft spot for different. We went with a Cinderella Pumpkin...again! I think I've started with a Cinderella Pumpkin every single year.  It's the best for baking and cooking. Has the smoothest and sweetest flavor of most pumpkins.

I couldn't help but take my new Lindy Bop fall dress out for a spin around the Pumpkin Farm. It's a pretty little number in a nice deep beige and white polka-dots. (You can find it HERE )Truly the perfect dress for fall. I have found it hard to find a nice polka-dot dress appropriate for fall. I absolutely love the full Peter Pan collar that comes with this dress. The waist is gathered and the skirt is a full skirt. I even topped off the outfit with one of Lindy Bop's newest accessories...a black cat silhouette brooch.

Halloween Time @ the Disneyland Resort

Lock all your windows...lock the doors...and head to the Disneyland Resort! That's right! Disneyland is decked out to the Ts in it's Halloween decor and so much more. Disneyland really stepped it up this year. We recently headed out to Disneyland and California Adventure. I want to feature our experience at California Adventure first since they really dressed themselves up for the ghoulish holiday and I am definitely
happy with the results. As a Halloween nerd, I couldn't wait to see what spooky and fun decor they would have up. First, Oogie-Boogie greats you at the door when you step into the park. Then you make your way to the from the Elias and Co. store which has the one and only Headless Horseman awaiting your visit. His statue is there for pictures during the day, get ready for that line! Then at night it is almost as if he comes to life! As it turns into night, that area of the park looks like, and feels like, a scene right out of Sleepy Hallow with spooky music and The Headless Horseman's ghoulish laugh. His horse snorts out smoke from his nose and the Jack-O-Lantern is lit with glee. I can't get enough of this new feature for Halloween. I am a nerd and a librarian...so maybe seeing a Washington Irving nod in the park has something to do with it. Then make sure you head down to Radiator Springs for the best Halloween decor in town! The entire town is sprawled out with ghoulish glee. The residents are in their costume best, from Mater to Lightening.Make sure you also pay a visit to Doc Hudson's shrine in honor of him in Ramone's shop. If you are a Paul Newman fan, like myself, then you will get all the feels like I did. I love the homage to Dia De Los Muertos they had happening around Ramone's. Well done, Disney!  This is too much fun! I will post soon about the haunting happenings at Disneyland.

 

Road Trip --Arizona Edition!

Every Labor Day weekend the hubby and I try to head out for a nice road trip for some new adventures. This time around we decided to take the gang, including the pups, out to Arizona. On the list of must-do stops was the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Flagstaff. We took quite a few unexpected stops which turned out amazing.

After 6 or so hours of Car Karaoke we touched ground on Williams, Arizona, and made a quick stop to Bearizona, a cute little animal park that you can drive right through with your car. We couldn't resist, so of course we drove through this forest sanctuary filled with Arctic Wolves, Bison, Deer and Bears...lots and lots of Bears, oh my! It was quite exciting when you had to veer off to one side because a Bear decided he wanted to take a nap right in the middle of the street.











We finally made it to our hotel in Flagstaff, a cute kitschy town on historic Route 66. We fell in love with Flagstaff, a gorgeous mountain town full of lush greenery and wildlife. If there is one place we are happiest, it's the mountains.





We finally made it out to The Grand Canyon...can you say BUCKET LIST?! I have dreamed of always being there...admiring the majestic formation in our country. The entire area of the Grand Canyon is a lot greener than I expected it to be. The trail along the rim is very family friendly and is doable in a day. We took a few stop to rest the pups and even had a picnic along the edge.
I can't describe the feeling I had there. Even though it was crowded and loud...you reached this sense of peace where everything, and everyone, became still...silent. It was perfect. I returned from our day's adventure recharged. The Grand Canyon is very pet friendly. We met many other pups and their owners. The terrain is not steep or strenuous but I highly recommend packing them lots of water and food. The entire day will be spent here with plenty to do and see, so make sure you have their meals ready to keep their energy up. Pack a picnic! You can take advantage of having a picnic right there at the park...or even better, right on the rim like we did! What an experience.

We had a small detour heading home to two landmarks...Sedona and Jerome. Sedona was not that far from Flagstaff where we were staying. No more than an hour and a half and we were smack in the middle of the Sedona Red Rocks. The town of Sedona is definitely a one stop in all. Grab a bite at one of their pet friendly restaurants or shop in their unique shops. We did a bit of site seeing of the majestic red rocks throughout Sedona and then headed north up the mountains to a Ghost Town called Jerome. Jerome was our kind of town...historic and haunted. Another pet friendly town filled with rich history in copper mining. Once a thriving mining town, Jerome is home to many kitchy shops, themed restaurants and even a winery. 

Puppy Birthdays!

My puppies had a birthday this week! Rusty, my golden boy, turned 5 on August 29th and my crazy little girl, Ruby, turned 3 today, September 1st. I love celebrating their birthdays...who doesn't love a good birthday party? I went to my local bakery and had them make a special dog-safe carrot cake...and they made it extra special by making it look like a Hamburger! 

Thought I would share our happy day with you all!

Mickey Mouse Club Forever

Currently working on a Mickey Mouse Club outfit for a client and couldn't resist snapping the process on how I create the character appliqués for my poodle skirts. All by hand 😏

Snow White Eyeshadows by Besame Cosmetics

During my shopping spree(haha) at the D23 Expo, I got my hands on the soon to be released eyeshadow palette by Besame Cosmetics for the anniversary of Snow White. It isn't going to be released till this September. The palette comes in a gorgeous classic bound book like the one in the opening title from the original classic. The book is even embossed for that extra attention to detailing.
The book opens up to the Evil Queen Mirror and a replica cell of Snow White where you can flip it back and forth to see the particular locations of where certain colors were inked onto her.
There is a full list of the eye shadows included in the palette, 20 in total, and what that color was used for in the movie. These colors were actually matched to the original ink used in the movie. Besame actually went into the archives and were able to masterly match those colors. How cool is that!? That's one of the major reasons why this palette is so special. There is so much history behind each and every color. The colors are all different, yet give a sense of natural tones throughout which makes them very versatile.

The rest of the collection will include another eyeshadow palette which will include colors from a scene never seen before that was actually cut from the original film 80 years ago. There will also be a mini lipstick set that will be all jeweled toned colors in honor of the 7 dwarfs. Rouge, powder and lip balms will be in the collection. There will also be a bag and two pouches in the collection, as well as a mirror. I can't wait for the release of the entire collection. I should just have my paycheck sent to Besame because I am going to end up broke. Don't forget...this releases this September! =)

D23 Expo

This year my bestie, Emily (IG: @mylittlepinupgirl ) attended our very first D23 Expo. Let me just sum the experience into one word...WOW! That pretty much sums it all up. The 3 day passes sold out pretty quickly, so I was down to a one-day pass, for Sunday, which still really worked out nicely. The wait was a couple of hours just to get into the Anaheim Convention Center, but you were constantly on a move which made it go by pretty nicely. Then once you are in it is just a matter of figuring out where you even want to get started. There is so much ground to cover and numerous panels or performances to catch. There was an app we downloaded for the event which made is super easy to navigate the event and schedule. We got quite a bit of shopping done, which included alot of exclusive D23 expo items. First, we purchased the new Besame Cosmetics Snow White Eye Shadow Palette which isn't going to be released till September. (Post of Snow White Makeup!)

Then we purchased some exclusive tees, keychains and VINYL!!! I was super excited to get my hands on some records that hadn't been released yet, including the Haunted Mansion ride soundtrack. 

We got to see the model of Star Wars land...more like Star Wars WORLD! It is going to sprawl out to 14 acres. It was such a gorgeous model and I can't wait till its finished. 

We highlighted our favorite moments in a little video...enjoy!