autumn in new york

a few weekends ago, i took a quick spontaneous trip with my parents to visit upstate new york - where i was born and spent the first five years of my life. my grandma (hi, grandma!) and a large majority of my dad's family still lives there, and it's always one of my favorite places to visit. i haven't visited this time of year in quite a while, and i forgot how truly wonderful it is in the fall. i feel like i can share photos and tell you about it, but experiencing it is really the only way to understand what i'm talking about. it's idyllic. it's like something straight out of a country living magazine or a movie set in new england. the trees everywhere were literally ablaze. it was like they'd been photoshopped. seriously. there were corn mazes and farmers markets and pumpkin patches everywhere. haybales and scarecrows lined all of the streets in each of the small towns we visited and you haven't seen a farmer's market until you've visited one there. the produce is unreal.

we kicked off saturday morning with coffee at grandma's house and then we headed to herman's farm market for homemade doughnuts and nostalgia. i grew up going each fall to pick out a pumpkin at herman's and there's something about the smell there that takes me back to my days as a wee one. they make the most incredbile apple cider on site and have more varieties of apples than i knew existed. their produce makes me wish i could shop there every saturday morning. i was a photo-taking fool during our visit and it was likely very clear to every customer there that i was most definitely not a local. little did they know we have photos from 23 years ago at herman's. once a local, always a local.

after herman's (but not before i downed 1.5 homemade doughnuts before we left the parking lot), we headed to fairport, which is quite possibly the most adorable small town in america. i wish i'd taken more pictures there, but i was too busy shopping at the craft supply consignment store (the greatest idea ever) and roaming the tents at their farmer's market.

finally, we headed up to bristol mountain, which isn't actually a mountain at all, but just one of the really high hills that flank new york's finger lakes. the drive took about an hour and a half one way, but it was through tons of unbelievable farm land. the last time i was at bristol mountain, it was to ski with my family a few christmases ago. this visit was far better than the last, mainly because i didn't spend it tumbling down a green slope in a fit of frustration and persperation. i am pretty not awesome at skiing. instead, we rode the ski lift up a golden slope and enjoyed the lovely view from the top.

 

 

 

 

 

i like to think that this is about as close to heaven on earth as it gets. this time of year, i'm ready to relocate here permanently. but then it starts to snow and i generally re-think that plan when it's still snowing in may. and when i remember there are no chick-fil-as there. 

happy halloween!

happy halloween!

i've never been a huge halloween fan because i don't like scary things, but i do still get a little excited on the day, and i really love some jack-o-lanterns and cute kids in costumes. i also really love candy and the fact that after halloween comes thanksgiving and christmas. so overall, it's still pretty great.

go check out google's home page today and watch the little video - so cute and festive!

image via weheartit

nesting

thy bounty shines in autumn unconfined, and spreads a common feast for all that live. - james thompson

reminiscing

one year ago today is one of my fondest memories with bestie sarah and bestie lacey. sarah and jason's wedding was filled with so much love, happiness, dancing, and pumpkin doughnuts and i've been looking back over photos this weekend and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. it is such a blessing to be able to stand up with someone you love as they say their wedding vows and i was so honored to support sarah and jason as they asked the lord's blessing on their union. i can only hope my own wedding is as wonderful. happy one year anniversary sarah and jason! love you both so much!

top image via brandywine photography 

paper flowers

last night, i decided i needed to hurry up and finish my fall decorations or it was going to be christmas and i still wasn't going to be finished. as of today, i'm almost done and a blog post is on its way. i've been toying with the idea of making brown paper flowers for the old decorative window over my television/entertainment cabinet for a few weeks now using this pinterest inspiration and i'm so happy with how they turned out. they took me about an hour to make (while i was watching my new favorite fall show, pan-am) and because i made mine smaller than the tutorial ones, i think i only used about eight paper bags total. easy, cheap and lovely!

fair-ly disappointed

the state fair this weekend wasn't really as awesome as i was expecting. it was basically like any other fair i've ever visited, just bigger, more crowded and more expensive. it was approximately $6 to ride one ride or eat anything. no thank you. the highlights of the trip were a corndog, which i don't think i've eaten since elementary school; and a visit to the prize-winning produce building, which featured giant cucumbers, watermelons and a 500-and-some pound pumpkin, which was awesome. i also enjoyed seeing the goats and piglets, but not really the smell of them.
for some reason i think i have it in my head that the fair is much more idyllic and lovely than it actually is. i always think of them as romantic and nostalgic, but in reality they're just kind of icky. i've decided nighttime fair visits are better than daytime ones because the icky-ness is somewhat hidden by darkness and the lights are pretty. after our daytime visit, we drove past the fairgrounds again around 10:00pm on the way to a movie, and they were setting off a fairly impressive fireworks show. the lights and colors of the rides, combined with those of the fireworks, all from a removed vantage-point, is the way i like to remember my visit. lovely and not-icky.
i was too busy fighting the crowds and taking in the sights to take a lot of photos, but here are a few fun ones. the sky was so blue and cloudless on saturday that it made for a perfect ferris-wheel backdrop. overall, i'm glad to have checked "visit-the-state-fair" off my north carolina to-do list and at the very least it was a fun way to spend a saturday afternoon with some of my favorite people.

happy (state fair) weekend!

i've lived in north carolina for 21 of my 26 years and have never visited the state fair. all of that is about to change this weekend, though, and i could not be more excited to wear my cowboy boots, ride the giant swings and eat lots of yummy fair food!

happy friday, everyone!

image via imgfave

all things grand

 

last weekend i had the pleasure of attending lore emelio's fall runway show, all things grand, in charlotte. if you've been reading for a while now, you'll know this is my fourth show of lore's that i've been fortunate to attend, and lore's collections and following in the charlotte area are definitely growing quickly. i always look forward to her shows for several reasons. one, i often enjoy pretending i'm a cast member on gossip girl. two, there is generally free champagne (this time it was chardonnay, but who am i to complain?). three, they are attended by so many lovely and fashionable people from charlotte's society and art world. i am not one of those people, but it is really fun to see what everyone is wearing. you know how people watching in an airport is way fun? imagine yourself in the coolest and most stylish airport imaginable. and four, because lore's collections are creative and unique and have continued to progress over the past two years. it's fun to see her style developing and this particular show was certainly the most opulent, luxurious and grandiose that i've attended. my photography skills are seriously poor, but here are a few looks from the show...

pre-show festivities featured live art installations as guests entered. the car on the left is lore's grandmother's rolls royce, or so i was told. fancy. 

 

these dresses had the look of a very well-tailored grandpa cardigan, worn backwards. the back featured a deep-v with buttons and pockets. the turbans were also a big part of the show. i think they're kind of awesome.

look how shiny this guy's hair is. he doesn't need a metallic turban like the ladies above. see the guest in the turban behind him? she's jealous.

for some reason, this look reminds me of a more chic, modern version of clueless.

favorite dress of the evening #1. i think the fur did it for me. i also wish i looked this beautiful bald. i haven't been bald since i was a baby, and i don't even think it was cute then.

favorite dress of the evening #2. i really want to wear this to runway for the ballet in february. i also wish i had a cool mini-fro in which i could stick feathers and not look like i was dressing up for a thanksgiving play.

this picture thoroughly terrifies me because for some reason it reminds me of the creepy twins in the shining. i've never seen that movie, and i don't want to.

i'm going to go out on a limb here and say i will never look good in teal velvet, but she pulled it off.

lore is all about the low v-back and i love it.

oh wait, a teal velvet CAPE!? i take back what i said.

this dress reminds me of the rainbow fish after he shared his rainbow scales and was happy.

 

so, all in all, it was a really entertaining show! aren't you entertained? i'm pretty certain that now that i've compared lore's looks to a horror movie, a children's book and clueless, i will likely never be invited to another show, but i had a good run. two years, four shows. i'll take what i can get. that said, here are a few other photos from the evening:

attention women everywhere: just because it's designer doesn't mean it's tasteful, that you won't still look like a stripper when you wear it, or that it is worth more than $700. that is all.

 

one, i need a haircut. two, julia and i both look dazed and confused in this photo and three, i am in serious need of some bronzer. not a great photo, but the only one i have and i wanted to include at least one photo with julia, my fun plus-one for the evening. she was an awesome date and even shared a caramel brownie with me at dandelion after the show. and, she also has a puppy named kevin. this is completely unrelated to the show, i just think it's worth sharing.

and because lacey asked for it, here's what i wore for the evening. i can't say it was my best look, but i had to work with what was already in my closet, and i take this event as an opportunity to be a little more creative with my ensemble than i otherwise would be. you can't really tell in this photo, but i totally went for the blazer-with-nothing-underneath look, which actually looked much less slutty than i've always thought it would, probably because i was not blessed in the cleavage department.

hopefully despite the fact that i am in a strange, sarcastic mood this morning, i'll have the opportunity to attend more of lore's shows in the future as her brand continues to grow. if you're loving her work, head over to her website and check things out. i'm so thankful i have been able to follow lore's collections up until this point, and i can't wait to continue seeing her creative mind at work!