Styled by Jess

Couple Things…

Maxine and I shared some Boom Chick Pop.

We had roasted roots for the first time this season.

Trader Joe’s is killing it with pumpkin items this year. Have you tried the pumpkin toaster pastries (aka pop tarts!)?

It was oddly windy on Monday – someone was enjoying it though!

This week’s fall nail color: essie’s bobbing for baubles.

I reserved this spot for a photo from last night – met some friends for dinner last night of take-out and catching up! I totally forgot to take photos, sign of a good night.

Have a great weekend!!

Wearing Fall Trends – Sweatshirts

Throughout August and September I did a series of fall trends posts for the current 2013 fall season. I shared with you fall trends that I like, would actually wear, and am actually wearing now that it is, in fact fall (calendar and temperature). So, I thought I’d revisit the series and show you how I am personally wearing some of the fall trends I wrote about.

First – I was psyched to jump into the fall trend of fancy sweatshirts. Not your standard average giant wear-to-the-gym-only sweatshirt. Rather: dolled up, embellished sweatshirts meant to be worn as a dressy top. I found this great Factory Beaded Sweatshirt from J. Crew Factory when the entire store was an additional 40% off.

I am wearing it casually to the playground here…

…and dressed up with a collared shirt underneath here for a work day.

Are you wearing a dolled up sweatshirt this season?

ps. I hate posing for these outfit posts – I don’t know how you fashion bloggers do it!!

Purse Birthday Party

A theme had been decided. Invitations have been made and mailed. It is time to share my Z’s second birthday party theme with you…

I know I’ve told you how much my Z loves shoes, but she’s nuts for purses, too. And I thought while she still isn’t demanding princesses, pink, or any sort of character-themed birthday I am going to go to town on an original, colorful, and fun idea. Right?!

I made the invitation very simple this year to focus on the purse on the front (and I was running out of time). And used three fall colors that will be the party colors: orange, green, and a dark purple.

And I’ve been playing with some cute purse chocolate molds, too…

…more details and DIYs to come but it’s all about the purses!

Z’s first birthday invitation and party.

We Tried A Cronut

…sort of. Have you been paying attention to the cronut sensation in NYC? A cronut is a doughnut-croissant hybrid created by chef Dominique Ansel and sold exclusively at his self-named bakery. They sell out in minutes and he only makes maybe 200/day. You can read more about his cronut if you’d like.

As the story goes, Mr. Ansel has trademarked the term cronut (good for him) so anyone else who attempts this baking phenomenon must come up with their own name. Well, our new local Whole Foods has started selling them (as well as a few other around the Boston area), so naturally we had to try one immediately – if there is a food phenomenon my husband and I are there. Whole Foods calls their creation a doughnut croissant – not totally original, but that’s ok.

There were three flavors to choose from: Chocolate Hazelnut, Boston Cream, and Raspberry. For us I bought the Boston Cream and Raspberry. I like their take on this decadent pastry, both flavors we got had a light filling in the center. And let me tell you: these. are. yummy. I bought them in the morning but we ate them that evening – I think they’d be even better eaten fresh right after they’ve been made.

Just look at all those flaky layers! And you know how we feel about croissants.

We are still kind of dying to try the real thing but Whole Foods, your doughnut croissants are mighty good! The Boston Cream was great, the Raspberry was awesome – but I think the sweetness of a glazed doughnut with the salty croissant would be most ideal in a regular glazed doughnut croissant. These doughnut croissants from Whole Foods are baked whereas the original cronut is fried like a doughnut so maybe that’s why these don’t have a glazed option.

Bottom line: what an AWESOME idea to make a doughnut-croissant hybrid Mr. Ansel – bravo! And thank you local Whole Foods for hopping on the bandwagon.

A Hike at Diana’s Baths

One of our fave fall activities is to drive up to North Conway, NH and go for a hike. Back in the day we went on actual hikes that went up a considerable hill, but now, having our Z, we’ve done our annual North Conway fall hike at Diana’s Baths (which is technically in Bartlett, NH, but anway…). Have you been? It’s more like a nature walk and totally perfect if you’re toting a little in an ergo or some sort of carrier.

This year, we had our Z in a great hiking backpack we inherited from my sister who inherited it from my aunt.

The scenery is spectacular – particularly if you go in the fall, look at those pops of color!

We did find a friendly young couple to snap a cute family photo, too.

Then it was hiking for all of us and Z stayed out of the backpack and walked the last 1/4 mile!

Although, she mostly ran off and did her own exploring. What a fun fall morning!

And one of the actual falls. You have to check out Diana’s Baths!

Couple Things…

Building towers at 8am.

Apple crsip (trying to use all of our 20lbs of apples!)

Cute, girly party favors from my cousin’s baby shower!

Fully embracing fall by wearing my fave fall nail color: Chinchilly by essie.

Lesson learned: never leave your toddler alone with your CSA or she will bite every single tomato once.

I wore this cute pink top out to dinner with friends this week – I’m trying to show you the zipper down the entire back, love!

Just wanted to thank everyone for your super sweet and thoughtful comments this week – makes me grateful that people are reading and enjoying the content here! Have a great weekend!

ASOS Sequin Stripe Tee Dress

Every once in a while I come across a piece of clothing online that takes my breath away because I love it so and I have to do more than just pin it. Remember these J.Crew Collection Cafe Capri Pants in Beaded Medallion? Anyway, I had to tell you about this dress – the Sequin Stripe Tee Dress from ASOS, specifically in green. Green. Sequins. With a pocket. Love!

I think this is the ultimate Christmas party dress. Agree?

And with either these shoes. Classic pairing: Stuart Weitzman Open Toe Evening Pump from Bloomingdale’s. Or more modern: Badgley Mischka Open Toe Evening Booties from Bloomingdale’s. Hair in a slick ponytail and no accessories necessary with all that sequin. Now I just need to be invited to a very fancy Christmas party. Anyone? =)

Kale and Butternut Squash Tart

Being members of a CSA, we have a bottomless pit of kale in our lives. And…there are only so many kale chips you can eat, really. So I am always on the lookout for an interesting recipe to put kale in. Well, thanks to Pinterest again, I have found my favorite kale recipe to date. This is a tart with kale and butternut squash – perfect for fall, now that it’s October and all (how did we lose September already?). A few notes: I cheated and used pre-made pie dough, no big deal. I also used these tiny sweet squashes we had from our CSA, not butternut squash. The last note – this dish is somewhat laborious because there are many steps that make it pretty time consuming (roasting the squash, making and baking the crust, caramelizing the onions, oy!) but it’s SO yummy, and SO worth it. There is something about the sweetness of the squash and onions mixed with the salty crust and leafy kale that just…works. I just ate the last piece for lunch so it’s fresh on my mind…

Cube your squash, sprinkle with s&p and olive oil and roast at 400 degrees for 25 mins. Blind bake your crust at the same time.

Wash, de-stem, and rough chop your kale. Then saute in garlic and olive oil. Remove from pan. Use the same pan to caramelize the onions.

Mix your eggs, cooked kale, roasted squash, caramelized onions, shredded Gruyere cheese.

Pour into the baked crust and sprinkle with a little more cheese.

Cook at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or the cheese is slightly browned. Let sit 5 minutes before you cut.

Serve warm. Perfect for a vegetarian dinner, a side dish, or for brunch. Enjoy!

Recipe source.

Handmade Fall Card

I am guest posting today over on Domestic Bliss Squared where I have the tutorial on how to make this adorable fall-themed card made with just one leaf stamp! Please visit Domestic Bliss Squared and let me know if you like the card. Thanks for having me Hilary & Jessica!

I’ll be back on Styled by Jess tomorrow for the usual stylish fun.

Greenway Carousel

Have you heard of the new Greenway Carousel in Boston? It’s right across from Fanueil Hall on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The carousel just opened a month ago and I’ve been dying to check it out. Our Z loves carousels and I thought it would be the perfect fall activity.

The carousel isn’t made up of your usual ornate horses, rather a bunch of beautifully sculpted animals from a squirrel to a lobster to a butterfly to a grasshopper. Turns out, they asked the children of four area elementary schools to draw what animals they would most like to ride on in a carousel. How cute is that? They took the children’s drawings to a local artist from Newburyport and he sculpted by hand the 36 animals for the carousel.

Each ride is $3 and it honestly is one of the shortest carousel rides I’ve ever been on, but fun nonetheless. *Note – the animals don’t have seat belts so if yours is little like mine is, hold on tight!

The Greenway Carousel is open daily 11a-9p through Columbus Day and then weekends through New Years Eve.

It’s even fun to just watch…