Favorites Lately

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Mine was great–I spent it at home with the fam, and after not having been home in a few weeks, it was nice to be back again. While there, I got my hair done, saw my sister in her latest production, watched this weekend’s SNL (a lot funnier than I thought it would be), made a little Whole Foods trip, carved a pumpkin and watched some classic Disney Halloween cartoons. It was the perfect weekend, and the weather was unreal–sunny and in the 60s. Perfection.

I wanted to start off the week with a fun little post…and what could be more fun than sharing some of my recent favorites, from food to fashion and beyond.

I love being a brunette!

So when I said I got my hair done…I really meant it! I’ve been planning on changing my hair color for awhile, mostly because I’ll be starting the job hunt soon and I needed a more professional/mature look. I decided to go back to a more natural hair color for me, and I absolutely love how my hair turned out. It’s a big change for me after getting full blonde highlights throughout my time at college, but I’m really embracing the change!

What American Accent Do You Have?

My dad and I are obsessed with dialects, and this quiz he showed me was super interesting. It’s a really quick quiz, but it’s fairly accurate. It told me I have a “Midland” accent, which basically means I have no accent. I’m not from the “Midland” (which they say is Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri–but I’ve always heard it’s more like Nebraska and Kansas) but apparently it means I have a good voice for TV which is exactly what I need!

I’ve been wishing for this forever!

A few weeks ago, I was looking for my usual favorite vegan chocolate chip brand, Enjoy Life, at Whole Foods when I stumbled upon this gem. Yep, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips exist! I was excited that these were vegan too because the rest of the Lily’s dark chocolate line has milk added in the bars. The price tag was a bit steep ($7 vs. $4-ish for Enjoy Life) but I bit the bullet and decided to try them. They’re REALLY good–a little more bitter than Enjoy Life chips, but just the right amount of sweetness and I love that they’re sugar free. These won’t be a regular purchase because of the price, but I will definitely choose them over any other chocolate chip most of the time.

So fierce.

If I had to name a favorite shoe brand, it’d have to be ALDO (wellllll, maybe Sperry’s too). I only own 2 pairs of their shoes, but I think they’re very well-made, reasonably affordable and cute to boot (see what I did there?) I actually own a similar style of booties to these from ALDO (but mine are grey corduroy with brown leather detailing) but I can’t resist how awesome these ones are. Definitely going on my Christmas wishlist–hey, I need black booties anyway!

Vegan comfort food at its healthiest.

When I saw this recipe for butternut squash pasta, I had no idea I’d be diving into a new obsession. Seriously. I’ve made the sauce twice and I’ve been so sad when it’s run out. This stuff is incredible, sweet and spicy, creamy and comforting but in a totally healthy way. I’ve served it with kelp noodles and hemp seeds, as a spread for socca, and even just eaten straight off the spoon cold. I made some changes to the recipe to make it my own and I hope to share it with guys soon. It’s a real keeper.

I’ve been wanting a cute capelet for forever…

I’m glad the capelet trend is still going strong…I still need to get my hands on one for this winter! I think they’re so cute and versatile. I haven’t seen any in stores around me so this may be a Christmas wishlist item or a future online order. I really like this one, but I also love the houndstooth/plaid patterned ones as well.

What are some of your favorites?