It's that time of the year again when it finally feels like fall (well, it's still hot here) and Halloween is right around the corner! In other words, it's the perfect time to visit a pumpkin patch! Picking out a pumpkin has always been one of my favorite fall/Halloween activities, so even as an adult I try to go to at least one or two pumpkin patches during the season. On this most recent pumpkin patch adventure, I wore this pink check shirt for a sort of "farm vibe" and a corduroy mini skirt. It was the perfect outfit for the occasion, because it had all of the quintessential elements of fall, especially with the corduroy, but it was still comfortable in the warmer weather we currently have here.
In addition to looking for pumpkins and, of course, taking some pictures in the pumpkin patch, we also explored a corn maze! While I am a seasoned veteran when it comes to pumpkin patches and picking out a pumpkin, last year was actually the first year that I've ever done a corn maze! It was such a fun experience that I had to try it again this year! I have a terrible sense of direction, so luckily I didn't get too lost in the maze. Besides, I had my husband to help me navigate!
Houndstooth is one of my favorite prints! I think I first fell in love with it with No Doubt's iconic "Hey Baby" music video, which came out a long time ago, so I might be dating myself. Anyway, I loved Gwen Stefani's head to toe houndstooth look in that video and I have been trying to find a way to duplicate it with my own twist ever since! My outfit here features a smart houndstooth blazer and, while it might not scream "rockstar, it is work appropriate yet still fun and playful thanks to some pops of color with my J. Crew Hayden pants, Kate Spade Taxi Flats, and colorful clutch! Below, you can shop some similar houndstooth blazers that I love.
Speaking of dating myself, I took these photos at a scenic college campus, which brought back memories of my college days. I used to feel like I wasn't that far removed from college students and could fit in not that long ago. However, in the last five years, especially since turning 40, I have now realized how I am closer in age to their parents than to them! While I used to keep up with the latest movies and music, I'm now very out of touch with popular culture. (Does anyone care about No Doubt anymore?) Still, like a fine wine, I like to think that I'm getting better with age! Getting back to Gwen Stefani, I think that she's one celebrity that has aged well, so maybe I can follow in her footsteps in both fashion and in aging gracefully!
Happy Halloween! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and this year I went all out trying to find fun, free, and Instagramable locations in Los Angeles to celebrate the "spooky season." There's a lot of content I share on Instagram that I don't share on my blog, so I thought I would feature some of my favorite Instagram posts celebrating Halloween here on my blog today! The first one, featured above, is the gigantic pumpkin at the Citadel Outlets in the city of Commerce. They have a gigantic pumpkin called "Big Jack" that is adorable!
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My second location is the Heritage Hill Historical Park in Lake Forest. This location features many historic buildings including the above school house from 1890. For Halloween, this park puts on a Fall-O-Ween celebration that is very family friendly and fun! I love how they decorated the school house with pumpkins for a lovely autumnal vibe!
When I was a child, Michael Jackson's Thriller was probably my favorite album. I would rock out in the car to the song "Thriller" and loved the music video as well. So, as you can imagine, it was "thrilling" as an adult to get to see the Thriller house where part of the iconic music video was filmed. This house can be found on Carroll Avenue near Echo Park in Los Angeles. While I didn't quite strike a Thriller-esque dance move here, I tried to look a little witchy and spooky in a black velvet dress. With an impressive street of Victorian houses that are all decorated for Halloween, this is one neighborhood that I wouldn't mind Trick-or-Treating in!
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Last but not least, the Roast the Dead coffee shop in Yucaipa is the perfect place for any fans of classic horror films from the 80s. I don't drink coffee but the mural, featuring the likes of Freddy Krueger and Jason, makes it well worth the trek from Los Angeles. It's a fun place to visit if you're on your way to Apple Country or Palm Springs. Unfortunately, there was a line to get in, so I couldn't see the horror themed decor on the inside but I will have to go again to check it out when it's not so close to Halloween!
Last week, the weather finally felt like fall here in Southern California, so it was the perfect time to get out to do some quintessentially fall activities, such as visiting a pumpkin patch! While many pumpkin patches here charge quite a bit for entry fees, I was able to find a couple free ones. Unfortunately, there was no cute pumpkin house like you see all over Instagram at this particular patch (I guess those command higher entrance fees!) but it was just as wonderful with loads of pumpkins, a corn maze and sunflowers, which were all perfect for getting in the spirit of fall and Halloween! Speaking of getting in the Halloween spirit, how cute is this bat sweatshirt? I thought it was the perfect thing to wear on a crisp fall day and I love the spooky vibes! To add a little bit of color, I paired it with a fuchsia skirt and rainbow flats. Make it spooky but make it colorful! That's my Halloween motto!
As I said, at this particular pumpkin patch you could experience a corn maze for only $1. It was a bargain, in my opinion, especially because it was my first time doing a corn maze! I guess this just goes to show that no matter how old you get, there are always new things to discover and try! Stay tuned to my Instagram account to see some of the other fall and Halloween places I visited last week. I have definitely been doing a lot of exploring this fall!
It's hard to believe that it's already November! October and Halloween seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye. Now that it's November, I feel that I have to dress in fall attire even though it's still pretty hot here. While floral prints might seem to be more appropriate for the spring and summer months, I think floral prints can be worn all year round, although some floral prints work better for fall than others. This liberty floral print blouse is, in my opinion, perfect for fall. It's colorful, yet the jewel tones in the print lend themselves to the fall season. This is the type of blouse that I consider perfect for transitioning to the cooler months here in California!
With so many gorgeous jewel tone colors, it was hard to pick the perfect thing to pair this blouse with but I opted for some bright pink pants. Just because it's fall, that doesn't mean you can't be colorful! I also accessorized the outfit with these leopard print pumps. I tend to wear a lot of leopard print to accessorize in the fall months because the brown tones found in the print are perfect for the season. Also, no matter what anyone (mainly my husband!) says, I still maintain that leopard print is a neutral, one that works with almost anything even a fall floral print!
When I find a print I adore, I usually don't hesitate to buy it in multiple items! For example, I was head over heels in love with this safari print when it came out last spring/summer because it combines two things I love: color and animals. I started with just the dress in this print, which I thought would be enough. Later on, the blouse version was reduced in price considerably and so I also sprung for that item. You would think that two items in this safari print would be enough but when I found the safari print pants on sale, I had to purchase them as well! Luckily, I think there are no more items left in this print, so my shopping spree is over...for now. Realistically speaking, I will probably just find another print to go crazy for!
One of the other things that I love about these pants, in addition to the print, is that they are "pajama" style pants with an elastic waist. I know that this style of silky, comfortable pant is all the rage right now but my bet is that they will be here to stay! Let's face it, this style of pajama pant is perfect for the life we are all living, thanks to the pandemic. Since they are comfortable and forgiving for anyone, myself included, who has put on a little extra weight due to the quarantine, these are truly the most practical pants you could ask for. The only drawback is that, due to living almost exclusively on Zoom (at least for work), no one is going to get to see how fun they are! Good thing I have a blouse in the same print!
Right now I'm all about trying to transition into the autumnal season but trying to find my own way to do so. While I don't want to give up on bright colors (they're kind of my thing, in case you didn't know!). I do think there is a way to choose a color palette that hints at fall without exactly screaming that it's fall. This paper bag waist skirt is a great example of the type of wardrobe piece that bridges the gap between being colorful and still being seasonally appropriate. For example, the colors are bright and bold in the floral print but the orange and yellow hues suggest autumn leaves without being too literal.
It was well into the 90s the day that I wore this outfit, so, while I would have loved to have paired the skirt with a sweater, I opted for a light-weight T-shirt. In the future, I look forward to wearing this skirt with a bright cashmere sweater and, if it gets really cool here (that would mean that it's in the 60s), maybe even styling a coat over the skirt as well. Come spring and summer, I can rock this skirt again with a sleeveless tank or another colorful T-shirt, thus making this floral skirt a piece that I can enjoy wearing all year round!
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