Creative Halloween Makeup Ideas

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Kaitlyn in Featured, Style | 2 Comments

One of my all time favorite things about Halloween is getting to do crazy makeup! I used to spend time doing conceptual and costume makeup to photograph but it’s been quite a while since my last session. I hope to get back into my photography after baby girl arrives. I have my eye on a new lens and some lighting. In the mean time I have gathered some fun tutorials for creating some pretty awesome Halloween makeup, enjoy!

PopArt Girl

Broken Doll Makeup

Terminator Special – FX Makeup

Betty Boop Makeup

What are you going to do for Halloween makeup this year?

Carving My Way to Pumpkin Bread – Recipe

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Kaitlyn in Featured, Food, Recipes | 3 Comments

Anyone that knows me also knows how much of a Fall and Halloween lover I am. There is something about the crisp air, hot apple cider, incredibly beautiful fall foliage and pumpkin carving that just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. One of my favorite activities in October is to head to a local farm where I have gotten my pumpkin every year since I can remember. About 15 minutes away from my house in Hancock, MA you will find Ioka Valley Farm.

My husband Tom and I spent the day last weekend enjoying a hayride to the pumpkin patch where we scouted out the perfect pumpkins. We also stopped in the cafe’ for some fresh cider donuts and hot apple cider. Typically I would have spent some time in the barn with the animals where the kids were having pumpkin races, however being 6 months pregnant I opted to visit them next year to make sure I didn’t pick up anything harmful to the baby.

Carving My Way to Pumpkin Bread…

Last night Tom and I sat down in the living room while we watched some fun Halloween inspired shows and carved our pumpkins. It seemed like such a waste to just throw away those extra pieces that we carved out of our pumpkins which got me thinking about how I can use them. After having the most delicious pumpkin whoopie pies at the farm last weekend I decided to make pumpkin bread using the left over pieces from the pumpkin. To turn the pieces into puree one recipe suggested steaming them until they were soft enough.

I then looked up a recipe for pumpkin bread and went to the grocery store to grab a few things while I let my pumpkin pieces steam to soften them up for the pumpkin puree. I knew we didn’t have a ton of pieces from our pumpkins so while I was out I grabbed a can of pumpkin puree to make sure I’d have enough.

The Recipe: From MyBakingAddiction.com

Pumpkin Bread

Yield: 2 loaves
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 inch loaf pans.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes:

- This bread is a fantastic base for all sorts of additions. Get creative by adding in chopped nuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries or whatever else sounds good to you.

My Baking Addiction adapted from Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread via allrecipes.com

The store was all out of pumpkin pie spice so I improvised by replacing the 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of nutmeg which worked out fantastic. I have to say I was very proud of how incredibly delicious the pumpkin bread turned out.

If you’re really feeling ambitious you can also always pick through the pumpkin goo to gather some of the seeds for roasting. Who doesn’t love roasted pumpkin seeds?

What are your favorite fall recipes?

Beauty for a Cause

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Kaitlyn in Featured, Style | Leave a comment

Featured in the Lucky Magazine Community

As you are hopefully aware of by now, October is breast cancer awareness month. You have likely seen the splashes of pink all over the place to help support and raise awareness for the many fighters and survivors of breast cancer.

According to Brestcancer.org, about 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. In 2011, an estimated 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S. and about 2,140 new cases in men.

This is an issue very close to my own family, my mother’s sister battled this terrible disease a couple of years ago and we are very fortunate that she has won her battle for now.

There are some great organizations dedicating their own profits this month to help the cause. What does this mean exactly? It means that you can not only score some awesome beauty products and accessories, you can also help fight this battle with them!

Check out some of the great products with proceeds being donated to support breast cancer research this month.

Jane Iredale Cosmetics

Jane Iredale is one of my personal favorites. Their cosmetics are 100% natural and of very high quality. On my wedding day I wore only Jane Iredale products and the makeup felt light and I felt beautiful. This October Jane Iredale is donating 100% of profits from the sales of their unique breast cancer awareness products to the organization called Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

Click here to learn more about their program and these fantastic products being offered.

Stella & Dot

Stella & Dot has set up a breast cancer awareness boutique featuring some fun accessories for you to add to your fall wardrobe. 100% of their net proceeds will be donated to the Noreen Fraser Foundation. Stella & Dot sells their products through their independent stylists which means you can get something fabulous, help support the fight against breast cancer AND support your local stylist while they grow their business. Total win win situation here right?

Click here to see the products offered.

Mane Message

Mane Message offers a variety of fun hair accessories meant to keep your mane in check while being stylish at the same time. This month they are offering a special breast cancer awareness package. 20% of the proceeds from each package sold will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Click here to learn more about this package.

Fun Fall Looks: Office Chic

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Kaitlyn in Style | 3 Comments

One of my favorite things about fall style is tights and sweaters. Working in an office doesn’t mean your sweaters have to be frumpy and that you need to be bundled up head to toe to stay warm at your desk. Here is part 2 of my fun fall looks series, office chic style! I paired a comfortable cashmere sweater with a pair of tweed shorts for comfort and style. I personally love to wear tights with shorts all fall, it is often times more comfortable than a skirt for day to day errands. The bag from Net-A-Porter was the inspiration for the entire outfit. I typically create outfits based on one inspirational piece in my closet.