~AWWWW, FOR THE DAY ☺

#catenvy

{source}

~ ~ ~

~TOO TASTY: RECIPES FOR THE DAY

Potato salad that's made with sweet potatoes?!  Why didn't I think of that ☺.  It seems like it would be a fun fall take on the classic side dish.

{Via Almost Supermom}

And here's a warm sweet potato salad that sounds mouth-wateringly good.

{Via The Cozy Apron}

~ ~ ~

~SWEET EATS

I recently tried a kind of apple I've never had: 

the SweeTango ☺

It was so tasty-good, I was dancing with glee!

Its texture was juicier than a Gala's but still very crisp, and its flavor was sweet tart-like. Yum.

I was happy to have stumbled upon these apples at my local Food Lion, though it appeared they were a temporary fall specialty there.  At about $1.50 each, they were more expensive than the "regulars," such as Red Delicious.

I read that 7,500 varieties of apples are grown throughout the world, while 2,500 are grown in the US.  But, only 100 are grown commercially here.

Here's a directory of apples by name that includes descriptions of each one.

Here's an article about heirloom apples, via the Wall Street Journal: "Before the Mac, Vintage Apples"

~ ~ ~

~LIP BALM MONDAY

I'm always trying new lip treats, and my most recent discovery is Eco Lips MONGO KISS Organic Lip Balm in Vanilla Honey.

It contains mongongo oil, which is very nourishing and is sourced from a rural village in Zambia, Africa.  Other ingredients include sunflower seed oil, cocoa seed butter, and beeswax.  Complete ingredient lists are on each product page on the website.

Eco Lips balms are handmade in Iowa and are 100% natural (including the flavors/scents).  I see that some of them (such as this one and this one) probably taste sweet, due to the fact that stevia, which is a natural sweetener, is on their ingredient lists; this is worth noting, as artificial sweeteners are sometimes used to achieve this.

To make matters even better, they're USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified.  The cocoa butter and some of the coconut oil this company uses in some of their balms are Fair Trade Certified (*I plan to visit fairmoments.org in order to learn more about this and to read about the "10 Principles of Fair Trade," via the World Fair Trade Organization).

My balm has such a lovely, subltly sweet scent, and the consistency is perfect--it's glossy, buttery, and emollient without being heavy, sticky, or waxy.

I can't wait to try some of their other offerings, such as the ONE WORLD Repair balm in Mango Ginger (this line of balms comes in "eco tubes," which are made of paper and are biodegradable/compostable) and the ONE WORLD Renew balm in Orange Spice.

Interestingly enough, Eco Lips' Pure & Simple balms, along with their lip scrubs, are 100% edible!

They also have balms with sunscreen (the active ingredient is zinc, which is mineral-based), balms that are "bee free" (and therefore vegan...no beeswax!), tinted (mineral-derived color) balms, and a medicinal balm that utilizes the healing properties of tea tree oil, camphor, lemon balm, and calendula.

I like that 1% of purchases are donated to a charity called Pencils of Promise ☺

*Here's an interesting lip balm facty...

Some balms do indeed taste good because they're sweetened.  But, they don't actually taste like the different flavors they sometimes come in, such as chocolate, or sugar cookie, or raspberry; the scent you're smelling tricks you into thinking you're tasting the same flavor that you're smelling!

~ ~ ~

~FALL MOOD: SWEATERSSS (WITH A PONCHO THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE)

{source}

I decided to browse the sweaters that are available at Forever 21, as they have over 100 of them in stock right now.  They have quite a few that are cute but that I didn't post because I didn't like how they were styled in the product pics.

Here's an interesting facty: Bible verses are printed on Forever 21's shopping bags.  I've posted a pic of one of them at the end of this post ☺

{source, above two}

{source, above three}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source, above two}

When you're wearing a knit sweater that has holes in the weave that are see-able through-able, simply layer a cami, tank, or tee underneath!

{source, above two}

{source, above two}

{source, above two}

*This bag is several years old.  I don't know what the current bags look like.

~ ~ ~

~MINI FALL MOOD BOARD

{a fall floral for your fingers}

{an embroidered dress in a just-so shade}

{leaf-scattered twinkle lights}

{squirrels♥}

~ ~ ~

FALL FASHION CLASSIC: PLAID BLANKET SCARVES

{source}


The cozy wrap that is the plaid blanket scarf will probably never go out of style.  Below are some that I hand-picked for their cuteness, along with ideas for styling them.  You can also take a look-see at this style guide, this one, this one, and this one.  And here's an instructional video.  Oh, and here are instructions for making your own *no-sew* blanket scarves!

Up first, we have some scarves that are available from Jess Lea Boutique...

This blog post by The Teacher Diva is fall-fantastic...

Here are some well-styled outfits by Southern Curls & Pearls...

{source, above two}

{source}

{source}

{source, above two}

{source}

{source}

{source}

Sequins & Things did a nice job on these posts...

{source}

{source, above two}

Nordstrom, Belk, Macy's, ModCloth, and Francesca's have some of these fetching accessories in stock right now...

{Francesca's}

*Doesn't the scarf look good with a cold-shoulder sweater?  I think this might be the same one, though this color isn't available.

{Francesca's}

{Belk}

{Nordstrom, above two}

{ModCloth, above two}

{ModCloth}

{Macy's--scarves by Steve Madden}

Oh, and Etsy! Etsy has some too!

*Monogram Alert*

 {source}

{source}

{source}

{source, above two}

Love the colors in this one...

{Available from sheleavesalittlesparkle.com}

This one is a bit different...

{Available from girlytwirly.com}

A good scarf and dress combo...

{Available from Jane Divine Boutique, along with some others}

ShopbellaC has several...

And here are a couple from Bungalow 123...

Single Thread had some lurvely ones, but they're sold out. Maybe they'll be restocked...

What do you know? Blanket scarves even look cute with a baseball tee...

{source}

And with a striped top...

{source}

source

This was available from Anthropologie last year...

Here are several miscellaneous pins I came across...

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

{source}

~ ~ ~