Fall in New York

Fall in New York is just lovely because it's filled with drinking caramel apple spices from Starbucks, eating pumpkin or apple everything, and adoring all of the beautiful fall foliage. So I wanted to share some of my favorite fall traditions:

 Going for a hike
Every year to ensure that I stay active when the weather gets cold and it's so easy to stay inside I go on a hiking trip. This year I hiked in the Mohonk Preserve for the first time and it was beyond beautiful.

Snake selfie! 

Bear selfie!

I didn't get the silly face memo clearly...

Apple picking
Growing up in southern California I never went apple picking so now taking a drive upstate to apple pick, eat a lot of apple cider donuts, and drink a lot of apple cider just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Oh you know just encountering a goat at the apple orchard {goat selfie}

And of course an Emu selfie

The Black Swan and her friend Edward Scissor Hands 

Dressing up for Halloween
I LOVE Halloween. Dressing up and seeing everyone in their costumes is just so fun! One of my favorites this year was seeing a guy dressed as the jogger version of Forest Gump. I on the other hand was the Black Swan and spent the day reciting lines from the movie, lol.

"What happened to my sweet girl?" "SHE'S GONE!" lol....like I said I know the script by heart now

I'm kinda sorta obsessed with my new beanie from J.Crew it's so cozy!

Wearing all the cozy outerwear items
I think the thickest jacket I wore in CA was a hoodie {oh poor me} but honestly reveling in all of the cozy and chic and cute outerwear is so fun. P.s. I'm also really loving this coat! #ChristmasGift

(Vegan)Munchie Monday: Stuffed Squash + an anniversary dinner

Fall is here and my life has revolved around consuming as many fall-ish foods: pumpkin anything, squash, and apple anything among the few. So when it came time for my boyfriend and I to plan out our 6 month anniversary dinner, using fall ingredients was at the top of my list. Being that he lives over a thousand miles away we decided to have a Skype dinner together where we'd both eat the same exact dinner and get dressed up. So on the menu was stuffed squash with a side avocado salad. I really thought baking the squash would be difficult because it's so thick pre-bake but it cooked in no time and was super yummy. Here is the recipe below, enjoy, and happy anniversary my love. 

Ingredients:

1 squash

1/4 cup of quinoa

1/4 cup of pine nuts

1/4 cup of celery

1/4 cup of carrots

1/2 cup of spinach

A pinch of black pepper

A pinch of sea salt

2 tbsp of (vegan) butter

1 tbsp of evoo

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 400 degrees.

2. Wash the squash, cut out the top, and scoop out the seeds inside.

3. Set a small saucepan on medium heat, fill it with about 1 cup of water and allow the quinoa to cook thoroughly.

4. Chop up all of the vegetables, put a pinch of evoo into another pan, set it to medium heat, stir vegetables for about 5 minutes and allow the spinach to wilt. Add in the salt and pepper to taste.

5. Once the quinoa is cooked, combine all of the vegetables, then scoop them into the squash, place the top on again.

6. Bake for 60min, once cooked set aside for 10 min, and enjoy!

Things That Make Me Happy

Things have been a little out of sorts since hurricane Sandy has hit here in NY, I spent most of yesterday finally getting out of the apartment to stock up on groceries and run errands. Again I feel very fortunate that there wasn't any real damage in my neighborhood however seeing the footage and pictures of Staten Island, downtown Manhattan, and other places has me in awe. I hope everyone is okay and I hope everyone can return to normalcy soon. In times like these it's important to remember what we should be grateful for even though for some it may not feel that way. Here is what's making very grateful and happy at the moment:

The smell of lavender just makes me feel so warm and happy inside. I took this picture of bunches of lavender when I was in Santa Barbara, CA a short time ago and the store owner looked at me funny, it's the little things...

This picture of Joy Cho and I for her latest book "Blog Inc." which has a lot of fabulous advice for bloggers! She was so sweet and empowering.

This picture of Josh, Naomi, and I from the blog Rock Star Diaries at Joy Cho's book signing.  I started following their blog a few months ago and I'm hooked! They exude so much love and I'm happy they moved back to NYC!

This grainy picture of my family and I ichatting, we now try to make a weekly habit of having 1 conversation via ichat and it makes me so happy to see all of my family back in California!

This picture I took while moseying around Columbus Circle one afternoon a few weeks ago. That day just felt so "fall-y" (is that even a word??) just walking around with a pumpkin spice latte, my favorite lipstick on, and taking in midtown made me smile for the entire day.

Took a bubble bath by candlelight, listened to jazz music, and read my O Magazine. Can you say complete bliss? (P.s. Not an actual picture of my feet in a bubble bath, come on I have some decorum! cough...

*Hilarious clip from F*R*I*E*N*D*S of Chandler enjoying a bubble bath, it just never gets old.

Tomorrow I'm posting the weekly picture of the redecorated apartment, you'll see our fab updated kitchen. So excited to share!

The Apple of My Eye or Apple Picking in Upstate New York

Upstate New York is gorgeous! I was so taken aback even from the drive up to Warwick, NY. It is the most quaint town surrounded by many stores that sell hand made clothes and crafts, a drive-in movie theater, corn fields, and beautiful rolling hills. My friend Corinne and I drove up this weekend to spend the day: admiring the sights, ride on trackers, go apple picking, get my face painted, and admire the Alpacas! Needless to say it was a wonderful day and I definitely want to make it a yearly tradition. Below are some pictures from our wonderful day! Happy fall everyone!

What are some of your fall traditions?

Beautiful Warkwick, NY

On the tracker, oh you know just munching on my apple

With Bo the dog. Both of us very bummed that my apple bag tipped over

Bo the dog, still enthralled with the tipped over bag

In honor of my roommates cat, Hemingway!

Corinne!