Plum Perfect

One of my favorite colors this fall is plum!! It's so pretty and flattering on every skin tone. I had been on the hunt for the perfect pair of plum dress pants and I wasn't having any luck. Then a couple of weeks ago I was at the J.Crew Factory store in Michigan and they were having a huge sale! Little did I know that the pair of pants that I had been looking for was there and best of all 40% off!!! :)

One thing you should know about  me is that I hate boring pants! One of my favorite parts about dress pants is that they come in a lot of different colors, patterns and textures but thy still look professional enough to wear to the office. My staple "safe" outfit for work is always a colorful pair of pants and a neutral top (yes, leopard/cheetah print is a neutral!), and great heels.

I decided to wear my super comfortable plum pants with a cheetah print shirt and black pumps. The shirt was the main focus of this outfit because the plum pants acted like a neutral and complemented the shirt. Plum is the perfect accent color, it commands attention but it doesn't overwhelm your outfit. The shoes I wore with this outfit are just black pump, but the are so cute and SUPER comfortable!!!

Black Pumps (Nine West), Leopard Print Shirt (LOFT 50% off right now!!!) Plum Pants (these are the pants but they no longer have plum - JCrew Factory,  some similar; and i actually have these as well  - LOFT, more here JCrew)

Here are some of the things on my wish list for this fall - and guess what...they are PLUM!!! :)

1) A plum pea coat: As far as I am concern Plum is the new black, and this coat is to die for :)

Source: Victoria's Secret

2) Plum Winter accessories: gloves, scarfs, thights!!! Everything we need to keep warm :)

Scarf Source: Marley Lilly

The best part about this scar is that it can be monogrammed! Everything is better with a monogram!! :)

Plum Tights! This picture is actually from last winter with my handsome fiancé and my sweet dog :) I love the pop of color in the tights with the navy dress! It was the perfect Christmas outfit. I believe i got these tights at target a couple of years ago but there are some good choices here, here, and here.

3) Plum Lipstick: I have been obsessed with plum lipstick for quite sometime now (thank you pinterest). It is as classy as red lipstick, but with the fun look that pink lipstick offers. I like to wear my plum lipstick with a winged eye and lots of mascara.

The one I am wearing in this picture is from Bite and I got it at Sephora, you can find it here. Some other good options are here and here.

Also I decided to go back to my dark hair for fall!! I am really liking it so far!!! :)

Love, Isabel 

Leopard and Lace

I really love my job, one of the many reasons why I really love my job is because I get to dress up every single day!!

Now let's talk about Monday, oh Monday.....Mondays are those days that everyone hates, and for me it is always harder to get out of bed on Monday mornings. This week it was particularly hard to get up on Monday morning (I landed in Michigan late Sunday night and forgot to eat dinner), so when I got out of bed I needed something that would get me through that day....something stronger than coffee! I needed the perfect outfit!!

The way you dress can dictate the way your day goes (at least that is true for me.) If you don't like what you are wearing then you don't feel comfortable and that can cause you to be in a bad mood or have a miserable day, on the contrary if you LOVE what you are wearing you will always have a great day or turn a bad day into a good one!! :) A great outfit can do wonders, it can make you feel confident and beautiful, when you are confident you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

Another thing that will put a smile on your face an a pep on your step throughout the day is great accessories! Accessories always complete an outfit, jewelry can turn an ok outfit into a great one and a killer pair of shoes can make you stand out in the crowd and walk taller. The right outfit and accessories combo can make you command attention when you walk in a room (the good kind of attention)

With all of that in mind I decided on a pair of express lace pants, leopard pumps and an emerald sweater with a jeweled collar.

Similar Lace Pants (Express), Similar Shoes (Nine West), Similar Sweater (LOFT)

First let me talk about the pants, they are my favorite pair of pants, they are classic, wrinkle free (which is very important for when I pack for the week), but still have an edge to them. The front of the pants has a lace applique that makes the pants stand out but it doesn't overwhelm your outfit. These pants are professional enough that I wore them to a client meeting on Monday afternoon :)

Now let's talk about the sweater, I have been in a green kick lately when i found this emerald green sweater with an embellish collar I was so excited; and the best part it was 40% off!!! :) This sweater is 3/4 sleeve and thin enough that you are not sweating when they turn on the heater inside the building, but it is warm enough that you can throw on a jacket and you wont be freezing in 40 degree weather (thank you Michigan I am rolling my eyes at your fall-feels-more-like-winter weather)

Last but definitely not least, the shoes!!!! I am so excited about these shoes, they are super cute, classy and surprisingly comfortable!!! (YAY! That's the dream) I got these shoes a couple of weeks ago and I have already worn them plenty of times. These shoes are the type of shoes that can complete an outfit or be the focal point of an outfit. They were also comfortable enough that my feet were not killing me after walking 6 blocks to a meeting downtown :) Even though my outfit consisted of a lot of different elements (leopard, lace and sparkle), it didn't look busy, all of the colors and patterns complemented one another.

To keep warm in the chilly Michigan October weather I decided on a short leather jacket with tweed sleeves and a Target Zara Inspired plaid scarf! :)

Similar leather Jacket (Ann Taylor), Similar Plaid Scarf (Zara)

Love, Isabel 

Bite Size Pumpkin Pies

Let me start this by saying I love the holidays, but you know what I love even more than the holidays? Holiday treats :)

Now the the weather is cooling down family and friends like to gather and eat good food. I love eating like any other person but i really really love sweets. I would choose a dessert over a regular meal any day!!

My love of sweets and obsession to Pinterest means that when there is a party going on, or even if i have extra time on my hands I am going to bake something. This weekend my best friend was having a Pot Luck at her house, so I decide to make one of my specialties Enchiladas (more on that later) and something sweet that reminded me of Fall...of course I chose pumpkin pie!!

One of my favorite Fall desserts is pumpkin pie, but I always end up eating too much and feeling sick. I really wanted to avoid this at my bff's potluck but I really wanted to enjoy my favorite Fall dessert now that the weather is cooling down! After a little while of browsing on Pinterest (lets be real it was a couple of hours) I found a recipe for mini pumpkin pies and immediately knew that was the perfect recipe for the pot luck! After browsing the recipe and following the instructions I learned a couple of tricks that helped me make the perfect bite size pumpkin pies.

Things you will need:

Mixing Bowl
Cupcake Pan
Rolling Pin
Mason Jar Lid (or anything you can find to make the mini pie shells)

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Filling: 

3/4 of a cup of Sugar
1/2 Tsp of Salt
1 TBSP of Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Eggs
1 Can of Pumpkin Pure
1 Can of Evaporated Milk
(2) 9 inch pie crust dough
Cool Whip (optional)

Steps:

Step 1:
In the mixing bowl add the sugar, salt, and pumpkin spice; mix them together until they are all incorporated.

Step 3:
In a separate bowl beat the two eggs until the yolk and egg white are incorporated, then pour the eggs in the large bowl and mix with the spices until you have a paste.

Step 4:
Pour the Pumpkin Pure into the large bowl and mix it with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.

Step 5:
Slowly start pouring the can of Evaporated milk into the big bowl, as you pour the Evaporated milk mix all of the ingredients together. Once you have poured the full can of Evaporated milk the consistency of your pie filling should be a little runny.

Step 6 :
If the pie dough that you bought is frozen let it thaw out before you begin this step. Once the filling is done, start making the shells. Using one of the pie crust dough and the mason jar lid, make four circles and expand them a little bit using the rolling pin. Once this is done, put each circle into the pre-greased cupcake pan and press them in just a little bit. Scratch the bottom of the shell with a fork to prevent the filling from bubbling. Roll the left over dough and make two more circles. You should be able to get 6 shells from each 9-inch crust dough, this recipe makes 12 bite size pumpkin pies.

Step 7:
Pour the pie filling into each individual shell. Preheat the oven at 425* and cook the pies for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350* and cook for another 25 minutes. After this is done let them cool down and add cool whip on top of the pies.

**I had quite a bit pie filling left so from the leftover I made another regular size pie, but you can use the leftover pie filling to make more bite size pumpkin pies.

If you want the classic pumpkin pie recipe I recommend Libby's Pumpkin Pie

The Finished Product :) - without the cool whip

Love, Isabel