Fall Beauty Updates and Fashion

Not only does Fall bring so many fun activities, it also brings updates to our wardrobe and beauty!  I love the harvest and jewel toned hues!  Bring on the colored jeans, plaid, leggings, boots, booties, tights, scarfs, animal and critter prints!  I have also been seeing lots of leather and camo trending, but not so sure I can pull those off;)

I was excited to find a pair of animal print flats at Ross over the weekend!  I only like a "pop" of animal print for me so they were perfect!  They were even metallic and only $14.99 so they pretty much had my name on them!

This week I also made an update to my hair.  I decided to give ombre a try and so far, so good!  When I initially had it done, the top wasn't quite dark enough so my wonderful stylist, Jenna at Philosophie Salon, added an extra coat and I was good to go!  I definitely was ready for a change and look forward to staying on the dark side until Spring rolls around.  Hopefully I won't get to missing my blonde too much;)  If you are a St. Augustine local, be sure to check out this stylish salon!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Philosophie-Salon-Apothecary/100207070051151.  

Here is a look at my before and after:

I also went in for a much needed update to my nails.  I have been pinning all the fall nails and was excited to finally make the switch! I have been loving a good party nail these days:)  Every time I go for a manicure now, they always talk me into doing gel.  I love that you can leave and your nails be dry and ultimately last longer but feel the color choices are usually limited.  No, I am not a Gamecock fan;)

What are you doing to update your Fall look? What are you favorite Fall wardrobe pieces?

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Hello Autumn!

Happy 1st official week of Autumn!  Living in FL, I am so anxious for some cooler temps and all the fun that Fall brings!  I just love this time of year!

Here's my list of fall goodness:

I can actually go ahead and cross off a few things!  We went to an apple orchard while back in NC over Labor Day week and enjoyed the yummy cider and doughnuts!  Since then I think I have officially been addicted to anything apple!  For my friends in NC, you should definitely check out Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock.  It's beautiful and makes for a great day trip!  Check them out on facebook for more info:  https://www.facebook.com/skytoporchard  Picking your apples off the tree is way better than at Publix;)

I have also already made my fall wreath:

This was my 1st attempt at making burlap roses so I was a bit worried.  It ended up turning out pretty cute and was super cheap to make.  I picked up the grapevine wreath at Michaels for $2 along with the wooden pumpkin and owl for $.25 and the leaf/berry stem for $1.  I had rolls of burlap from other projects along with the wooden "P" that was painted white already and used in one of our wedding showers.  I chalk painted the owl and pumpkin plaques and added some orange polka dots to the "P" and followed this tutorial for the roses:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m3R9swkB6I.  I honestly don't like to follow directions so once I got the main idea of how to create these beauties, I kinda winged it;)  I will say that using a wired burlap that you can get in a spool makes this easier, which I realized on my last rose with the orange chevron burlap ribbon I had. Go figure!

Here is also a pic of our fall mantle that I love too!  The bunting was a wedding gift that included a copy of our wedding invitation wording/silhouettes in the middle:)  I love that it's in the shades of Fall as this time is the perfect time of year to reflect and be thankful for marriage! Btw, 2 weeks from today is our 1st anniversary!  

I am loving the smell of pumpkin and spice that those candles are bringing!  I have added a few other random decorations and have almost finished the outdoor space too.  I will save for another post!

Lastly, I am making good progress with drinking pumpkin coffee everyday!  I frequent Starbucks and Dunkin too much and have even bought my own pumpkin flavored coffee for home.  It just starts off the day feeling festive, cozy, & delicious!

What's some of your Fall faves?  Wishing everyone a Happy Fall filled with family, friends, new and old traditions, sprinkled with love!

Hey Y'all! Southern Selections link-up!

Sorry I have been MIA this Summer!  It has been a very busy one between work and actually living life!  I hope to catch up this Fall and wrap up my first blogging year with at least a weekly post!  After all, my main reason to start blogging was to share my random daily life adventures and thoughts to be able to reflect later:)

This week we have been in NC for a beautiful, sweet wedding in Charlotte, enjoying time with my family and simply loving the time off!  This has been my first true vacation week in 5 years and that time off was actually just when we moved from IL to FL!!  It's definitely been good for the mind, body, and soul!  I will share more on our trip soon!

I did want to share a link to Cambron's blog, The Southern Sophisticate! http://www.thesouthernsophisticate.com!  Today she shared my picks from her Southern Selection series!  I stumbled across her blog a couple weeks back and loved this quick questionnaire about love for the South!  Be sure to check it out to see my faves!  Being back "home" in NC this week, I think it's perfect timing to embrace how sweet the South is!  It has been a sight for sore eyes;)!

Happy Weekend!  Do what makes you happy and be grateful for the little things!

Fort Matanzas: Fun and History

Today I am linking up with Allie from simplystaugustine.com for her 31 days of Summer Link-Up!  As a local of St. Augustine, one of my favorite things to do is taking a short drive South of downtown to the Fort Matanzas National Monument.

I fell in love with this little hidden gem when we first moved to town and were being tourist  exploring all the our new home had to offer!  A little history: The fort was built in order to guard St. Augustine from the British who made their way up from the South.  You can learn the rest on your visit!  This day trip will become one of your favorites and a nice way to entertain guests....all for free!








Upon entering the Fort Matanzas Park, you will find beautiful oaks covering the picnic area, restrooms, a trail leading to a nature trail, and the visitor center.  To get to the fort, you simply pick up your free boarding pass from the visitor center and wait for your departure for the ferry.  While waiting, you will be offered to watch a short video on the history of the fort, or you can enjoy the nature trail.

The ferry is an exciting 5 minute cruise across the Matanzas inlet to the ferry.  Once you're there, it's time to explore!  No matter you're age, you will feel like a kid again!  I'll let the pictures do the talking:

These last pictures were taken from the nature trail.  I definitely recommend taking the time to take a casual stroll down this coastal hammock!  Be sure to pick up the guide from the visitor center to get the most out of it!

Another thing I suggest since you've made the drive out to the Fort Matanzas area is take a picnic and then enjoy the public access beach area right down the road (South).  This is one of our favorite places to soak up the sun and enjoy views of the Fort all day.

Have you been to Fort Matanzas?  What's your favorite thing to do there?

Be sure to visit Allie over at simplystaugustine.com to hear about other exciting things to do in our beautiful ancient city!

5 on Friday~Linking Up

 

My loves this week:

 

{1} I got crafty last weekend and made a new wreath for our door!  Since I am very indecisive, I spent about an hour in Hobby Lobby trying to decide what I could to make.  This is the finished product and I love how it turned out! Who doesn't love flamingos and chevron? Being obsessed with chalkboards, I am excited to change up the saying and keep it interesting. Thought this one was appropriate for my sister-in-law and her triplets who are visiting this weekend from IL!!

 

 

 {2} Since I am trying to cut back on wasted calories, I decided to give an Iced Coffee with sugar-free Caramel and Soy a try! It wasn't too shabby! May be my new go to.......

 

 

 {3} Like I mentioned last week, I love to get fun mail!  So I decided to write a few love letters myself:)  Wish we all would do a little more writing and less texting like the good ole days!

 

 



{4} Loved finding about 100 selfies of my niece, Abigail in my phone!  She is too funny and really made my day to find these, especially this 1:

My younger sisters are to blame for teaching Abi how to take selfies and make these silly faces! I promise she doesn't really look like that;)  I love her funny and sweet personality!  Here she is enjoying the ocean with her precious smile:) I do keep all these and will flip though when I'm missing her!

{5} And loved my Target dollar bin find: Bag clips!  I think the Cat one is my fave;)

 

 

 

Hoping Miss Andrea is headed out of FL and that we have a Sunny weekend with family in town!  Hope yours is bright too!

 

xoxo, Brookley

 

5 on Friday-Link Up Party!!

Friday.....The most anticipated day of the week! I am happy to join a fun group of blogging friends with the 5 on Friday Link Up Part-AY!!

My loves this week:

{1} Fun Mail!

It's so exciting to walk to the mail box to find sweet love notes, invites, good magazines!  

 

This week a lovely Save the Date for my awesome friend and old roommate, Elizabeth, and her love, Jordan!  Love the tandem bicycle design she chose and it is very much "them"!! Can't wait for their big day this November!

 

I also received the cutest invite for my lovely friend, Jenny's son, Law's 2nd birthday party! I know his "Martha Mom and Nana" will have it decorated the cutest!

 

....and then the sweetest piece of mail was a birth announcement for an old friend, Brieanna.  May I introduce Baby Sterling!  Isn't he such a lil man with an adorable name!

{2} Fun Family Time!

Last weekend my older sister Beth came down to visit with her 3 children: Zackary, Brieanna, and Abigail.  We spent the weekend in Orlando and then they were beach bums around my house in St. Augustine the rest of the week.  Jeff and I loved coming home from work and having them with us!  Never a dull moment!  Here is a group pic of us all at the pool...I will share more of our mini vaca to Orlando in another post:)

 

{3} A New Shopping Find: HauteLook



 

While catching up on blog reads, Julie from http://www.pbfingers.com/, mentioned recently getting a dress from Hautelook for a wedding she went to!  I loved the dress so I followed her link.....It was so exciting with lots of great things and surprisingly good deals!  I ordered a pair of sandals for $16 that I am excited to wear this Summer!  Check them out!! 

 

http://www.hautelook.com/events

HauteLook hosts limited-time sale events featuring your favorite fashion and lifestyle brands at savings of up to 75% off! New events start every day at 8 AM Pacific.

 

 

 

{4} Fruit and Such

 

With the temps rising, I crave fresh fruit!  This week I made a huge fruit salad with pineapples (My fave), strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  It was a guiltless snack!  And who doesn't love cute fruit dishes;) 

 

 

{5} Our New Grill!!

Jeff found a heck of a deal during the Memorial Day sales at Home Depot!  Our new grill was a whopping $99!!  It even had a side burner that I wanted;)  So excited to have cookouts this Summer! Now we just have to find some great recipes!

 

 

Wanna join in on the Friday fun? You can link-up on any of our four blogs every Friday! All you have to do is...
1.)  Write  your post about five things you're lovin' this week (or any five things you want to share!).
2.)  Share the logo above on your blog and link back.
3.)  Link-up at the bottom of the post so some new readers can check out your five things and say hello!

<3~Brookley