Currently: celebrating my favorite season!

It's the first day of fall! Woohoo! Get ready for an autumn-centric "currently" post today. I absolutely love autumn—it is my favorite season of the year, hands down—but I've been holding off on any autumn posts until the official first day. I'm happy it's finally here!

Autumn pleasures by mcszr3 on Polyvore

reading | Skeletons at the Feast still. I took a short break last week to read Blue Like Jazz because its due date at the library was approaching, but I didn't get the chance to finish it before I had to return it. I've heard great things but honestly wasn't too impressed with the nine chapters I was able to read. Thoughts from anyone who has read it are appreciated!

Fall Reads from Lovee, Seems

Today I'm very lucky to have Seema from lovee, seems guest posting here on Semi-Charmed Kind of Life! She is sharing four of her top literary picks for the fall, and she has something for everyone, from biography to poetry. If you're looking for a good book to pick up with that pumpkin spice latte or hot chocolate on a cool autumn night, be sure to read more after the jump!

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Fall Friday: The Footwear (Friday's Fancies: Week 14)

I had been planning a footwear-themed post for this Fall Friday post anyway, then I saw {av}'s Friday's Fancies theme this week was autumn-inspired, so I decided to combine them (again)! I know this Friday's Fancies is technically supposed to be inspired by a fall treat, but {av} always encourages us to post about anything we want, so I'm going to pretend like riding boots are my "treat." :)

Fall Friday: The Food

I suppose this post could have waited until next Friday to build anticipation for Thanksgiving feasts, but I just couldn't wait that long. Here are some of my favorite autumn foods (sweet potato pie and roasted pumpkin seeds), as well as some cute fall treats I located on Pinterest:

sweet potato casserole | roasted pumpkin seeds | campfire cupcake
 candy corn | pumpkin pie cupcake | chocolate acorns

Also, I know these images are a little more wintery, but I can't get enough hot, yummy beverages during the fall season:

peppermint mocha | hot cocoa

What are your favorite autumn treats and dishes?

Fall Friday: An Instagram

I had planned to do a wonderfully delicious post about fall food today, but that will have to wait until another week. You see, I took the most quintessentially perfect fall photo in Pullman, Washington, earlier this week, and I just had to share it with you.

Two things I love about fall: The leaves and the footwear!

There's actually quite a long story behind my acquisition of these flats, but that, too, will be shared another day. Hope you're enjoying the first Friday of November!

Follow me on Instagram at @mcstroup for more stereotypical Instagram pictures. Am I following you yet? Leave your handle in the comments below!

Fall Friday: The Football

I already shared my love for fall foliage, fall fashion and more fall fashion. This week, I wanted to share one of my greatest loves in the autumn season: football! More specifically, college football. Even more specifically, Tiger football.

Mizzou Football Tailgate by mcszr3

I know the Tigers haven't been performing too well this season, but I don't mind. The way I see it, no one expected us to perform well in the SEC. When we lose, no one is surprised. When we win, it will be awesome and everyone will be impressed! I like to set my expectations low so they are harder to disappoint.... Well, with my sports anyway. I always root for the underdog. :)

Which team are you rooting for this season?

InstaTuesday: NorCal Edition

I have been sorely failing to update you on my adventures as a Leadership Consultant, but I think I just found the perfect link-up to help me share my travels thus far. I ended up sending my camera home pretty early on in my travels. Now that I have an iPhone, it just seems silly to carry around another cord and another charger for my camera, especially because I don't do anything with my photos anyway. Therefore, Instagram has become my main form of communication, so what better way to share my adventures than with some Instagram photos through Taingamala's InstaTuesday Link-Up?

During my days off this past weekend, I traveled to Sonoma, California, to spend some quality time with my mother, brother and sister. These weekends are usually full of wine and sunrises, but this weekend we decided to venture outside the wineries and do some family-friendly activities. Enjoy!

Driving out of the city to wine country on Friday night.

Nothing quite beats waking up to this gorgeous view every morning.

Fall Friday: Friday's Fancies (Week 13)

I know I just did a fall fashion post last Friday, but {av} is hosting a "Leaf Love" Friday's Fancies link-up this week, and I thought it might be fun to play along. Plus, I keep finding great autumn outfits on Pinterest that I want to share:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I originally created an outfit centered around this fabulous sweater, but then I decided I should let the colors of the fall leaves inspire me, as {av}'s theme suggests. I also threw in hints of navy, just because I like it, and a little beanie that I would never be brave enough to wear. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel silly in hats? Anyway, this is the final product:

Leaf Love by mcszr3

Click the button below to see what other leaf-inspired outfits bloggers created this week:

Fall Friday: The Fashion

Left: 1 | 2 | 3                                                             Right: 1 | 2 | 3

Welcome to my second installment of Fall Friday! Today I wanted to highlight the wonderful fashion of fall. I absolutely love fall clothes: the boots, the sweaters, the leggings, the cardigans, the tall socks ... I just love the layered look!

Clockwise from top left: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I probably wouldn't wear the leather pants in the bottom right picture, but I love all the other looks! Scarves, tights and cardigans are my jam. I especially love boots and tall socks over tights.

What is your ideal fall outfit?

Fall Friday: The Foliage

As you may or may not know, fall is my favorite season. I wanted to write a first-day-of-fall post last weekend to celebrate, but there was something more important I wanted to share with you first. Now that fall is in full swing, I think I'll share my appreciate for the beauty of autumn with a series of "Fall Fridays." Each week, I hope to highlight one thing I love about fall. Of course, I had to start with the gorgeous foliage:

Left column: 1 | 2 | 3                                                                    Right column: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

As someone who spent most of her formative years in California—where the trees are green and then dead and then green again—my appreciation for the changing of the leaves in other parts of the country has only deepened over time. And I don't even mind raking them up! It's a small price to pay for natural beauty.

So tell me, what is your favorite part about fall?

Lattes and scarves and boots, oh my!

I just love fall. (Haven't you heard?) One of my favorite things about fall is the scarves! I was planning to grow my scarf collection a little this season, so I went to the mall with my friend Kiki on Sunday to shop around. (Also, Express was having a sweater sale. Sweaters are another thing I love about fall.) During our excursion, I found the perfect scarf at Gap. Unfortunately, it was $30. Thirty. Dollars. Is that a lot? I thought it was! (But let's face it, I've never bought a pair of jeans for more than $40, so I have some pretty low standards when it comes to the price of fashion.) I went online to find a picture to share with you, and the scarf was already sold out! Geez. So I did a Google search and found this image on Polyvore:

Scarf, sold out, The Gap.

I have a feeling Polyvore is another one of those really popular sites I just didn't know about yet (like Etsy). But anyway, underneath this picture were several outfit suggestions using the scarf. I was immediately drawn to the boots in this particular outfit:

 

Outfit via Polyvore.

I've been looking for black riding boots for quite some time now. I have some slouchy black Steve Madden boots that I love, but I wanted something a little more professional-looking. Although there are a plethora of black riding boots out there, few fall within my price range (see above) and are of good enough quality to last a few years. I clicked on the boots out of curiosity, and sure enough, they were $148.95 at Nordstrom. Through clicking on some "suggested" boots in the website's sidebar, I found this pair pretty quickly:

They are only a little cheaper than the first pair, but they don't have a buckle and are 1/2 an inch longer up the leg (I like tall boots). I sent the link to a few friends on Facebook to see if they approved, and then I really wanted them. But I didn't quite want them $119.95 worth. So, what did I do? Asked Mom for a little early Christmas present, of course. And she said yes! So the boots are ordered, and all I need to do is give them back to Mom in December so she can wrap them up. Good deal, right?

Now if only Dad would shell out $30 for a scarf this weekend....

Fall into autumn.

Source: prepfromthemidwest.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

I just love fall. It is undoubtedly my favorite season of the year.

The weather is perfect for jeans and a cardigan, but it's not yet necessary to bundle up in gloves and a hat every time I want to leave the house. It's cool enough for a hot drink at Starbucks but warm enough to sit outside and enjoy a good book. It's acceptable to wear a scarf with shorts or boots with a sundress.

Source: prepfromthemidwest.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Fall is also the perfect time for adorable day dates, like visiting a pumpkin patch, apple orchard or a corn maze. Which reminds me, the food of autumn is wonderful! Apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes, other various pumpkin-flavored noms, sweet potato casserole, Thanksgiving dinner ... the list goes on.

And then, of course, there's the football. College football, professional football, tailgating, exorbitant amounts of barbequed food and clothing with school logos.

Source: llstudents.org via Megan on Pinterest

So get me some apple cider in the morning, take me to a tailgate with BBQ pork and hot chocolate, cover me in black and gold to watch the Mizzou Tigers take Faurot Field, and send me home to an oversized sweater, a good book and cuddling on the couch. That's my idea of heaven.

What's your favorite part about fall?