Eat, Drink, & Be Ghoulishly Glam

Happy Halloween! Although I took a brief hiatus from dressing up when I was 12 or 13, I fortunately resumed the tradition five years ago. Here are some of my costumes from the past few years. Which one is your favorite?

1) The Peacock - 2009

I love peacocks and their ancient symbolism (integrity, beauty, eternal life). I wore a corset style dress with feathers in my hair, and royal blue flats.

2) The Saloon Girl - 2007

To date, the Playboy Saloon Girl costume is by far one of my favorites. I was enrolled in dance at the time and was starting to appreciate burlesque and other similar styles.

3) The Mile High Captain - 2006

This was my first time dressing up again since I was a kid! I wore this to a house party (and actually recycled it for a party this year!)

4) The Referee - 2008

I was a referee for my best's 23rd birthday, celebrated at a nightclub. The Playboy costumes are great since they are outfitted with all of the accessories, which in this case, included knee high socks and a whistle.

Hope you all have a festive and safe holiday!

Lucky in Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe was the first stop on my ten day vacation out west, as well as the chosen spot for my friend Rachael's bachelorette festivities. The lake was unbelievably pristine, the array of shopping, dining, and nightlife right on point.

It would be difficult for Tahoe to rival the glittery hot mess that Vegas so rightfully is. But it certainly had all the right stuff for a wild weekend - casinos, trendy nightclubs, tasteful hotels, and a Denny's that was calling out to us on Saturday morning.

The first night, we were comfy in custom baseball tees and jeans, accenting our outfits with Rachael's wedding colors of red, teal, and mustard yellow.

A pitcher of frozen strawberry margaritas was a yummy pre-dinner drink at Cabo Wabo Cantina.

The frequent sounds of slot machines always manage to stay in my head, long after I've left the casino floor. (I wish I had truly gotten lucky and won something, but I lost everything I gambled!)

Rachael is naturally crafty, so it didn't surprise me that she had created a custom koozie for her drinks.

Our last night in Tahoe, we all got dolled up in our best party attire. This one shoulder Forever 21 dress fit perfectly and looked great with a belt and black booties. (Remember my other leopard print dress from the Boston Blogger Meetup?) I love animal prints!

We stayed up til 2 partying the night away and hanging out at Opal Ultralounge. Such a fun weekend!

Tapas at Lime

I am still daydreaming over my experience dining at Lime, a trendy fusion/tapas-style lounge in downtown San Francisco. The bar was glamorously adorned in hues of pink and green, with plush white booths. It was a perfect little spot for a girl's night with my friends Amber and Emily!

Their specialty drink list included a Raspberry Martini (priced at $10), which tasted just as good as it looked!

The tapas menu was distinctly set-up for sharing. The mini grilled cheese sandwiches with a tomato soup dipping sauce were my favorite. We also ordered chicken skewers with a sweet chili sauce.

Typically, I never save room for dessert when I dine out, but I didn't really have an excuse at Lime! All of the desserts, priced at $1 each, were bite-size!

Cupcake lovers, look no further! Emily loved her mini red velvet cake with a dab of cream cheese frosting.

These chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with pistachio ice cream in the middle were unbelievably good! It was hard to pick just one thing so we ordered an array of mini morsels.

I couldn't have asked for a better place to go than here on my first night in SF!

Autumn

I like a lot of the things one would associate with autumn. Pulling my tights and boots out of hibernation, lighting my favorite Cinnamon Pumpkin candle, and going to Halloween parties, to name a few. New England is always so pretty throughout this season. I took a few photos while spending an afternoon at a nearby farm.

{Pumpkins!}

{Quaint surroundings}

{Festive photo opportunities}

{Hundreds of apple trees}

{A relatively easy corn maze}

{The foliage}

{Beautiful fields of sunflowers}

A Sprinkle of Wanderlust

If someone asked me what it is about traveling that I adore so much, it would be difficult for me to put the answer into words. These eloquent quotes, however, describe exactly how I feel about it.

{Newburyport, MA}

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.”

{Burlington, VT}

{Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands}

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.”

{Montreal, Quebec}

{Cape Cod, MA}

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

{Virginia Beach, VA}

{San Diego, CA}

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

{Orlando, FL}

{Miami, FL with Katy of TangerineHearts}

"I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it."

{Scottsdale, AZ}

{Samana, Dominican Republic}

{Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, NV}

I am on my way to San Francisco today!

Where are you going to travel next?

My Favorite Coast

It's been six months, and six months is just far too long without a visit to California! My bags are packed, and the next ten days are going to be absolutely amazing.

• 3 days visiting my best friend Amber in San Francisco
• A weekend-long bachelorette party in South Lake Tahoe
• My friend Rachael's wedding in central CA
• 3 days in San Diego with my boyfriend and close friends

I have scheduled a few posts while I'm away, so keep checking back, and have a fabulous weekend!

A Girls Only Party

I've always been a busy bee. I always have to be doing something or going somewhere, so it's rare that I make the time to sit down and enjoy a movie. Movies On Demand sponsored a "Girl's Night In" for me and a couple of girlfriends to try out their service and have an evening of wining, snacking, and girl talk.

As a follow up to my last post on wine, I am extremely excited to share that I had a small glass of Polka Dot Riesling, and I think I may have found a wine I like!

My bestie Katy offered to throw the party at her apartment, so we got up early on Saturday and loaded lots of goodies into our shopping cart for later that evening: the wine, some appetizers, crackers, and a variety of spreads.

In the spirit of fall, Katy baked delicious whole wheat apple muffins.

We had so much fun! Movies on Demand was incredibly easy to use. We picked the movie "Killers" which started playing within seconds on her HDTV. It's no wonder regular rental places are becoming obsolete!

The movie was hysterically funny and over-the-top in every way imaginable. The scenery of Nice, France was breathtaking. I need to go there someday!

This girls night in was a nice diversion from how I usually spend a Saturday night. And I'm so happy I found a wine! Be sure to check out MOD's facebook page and plan out your own movie night!