Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone! Enjoy this amazing gem.

Today is the day you enjoy a 24 hour sugar high. Thank goodness for Halloween Candy (and Oral-B and Crest). What are you doing for Halloween?

Wednesday Wishes (Halloween Treat Edition)

As it is almost Halloween, I am thinking about all the delicious treats I want to be partaking in this week. Here are my absolute favorite Halloween treats. Also happy National Candy Corn Day. So glad because Candy Corn is absolutely my favorite Halloween candy. I have them out all fall to munch on.

Wednesday Wishes Halloween Edition by preppy-lizzy featuring kitchen gadgets & tools

1 Candy Corn // 2 Popcorn Balls // 3 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Dark // 4 Starbursts // 
5 Orange Creme Oreo Cupcakes // 6 Magners Hard Cider // 7 Frankenstein Rice Crispy Treats // 
8 Candy Apples // 9 Hershey's Take 5 Bars // 10 Candy Corn Oreos

What would be on your Halloween Treat Top 10?

Kate Spade Surprise Sale!

Love getting notices about Kate Spade Suprise Sales. I always hope that something I have been eyeing has made the list and this time it came true.

The Lou heel which I fell in love with when it was originally released went on sale not that long ago and now is part of the suprise sale. They are calling my name.


The Lou Heel

Here are some other great items in the sale. Things move fast so go quickly!


Le Pavillion Small Natalie

Le Pavillion Earbuds



Gold Coast Small Georgina



Cobble Hill Lacey

Tuesday #Shoesday

Tuesday #Shoesday by preppy-lizzy featuring toms flats

After flying back in forth for the last few weeks, I have to stress how important it is to pick practical shoes when flying. Comfort is a huge thing but not holding up the security line is also vital. A pair of good flats you can easily slip on and off in the security line that are also comfortable to wear if your feet swell up on the flight can be your best friends. (Not to mention that your fellow passengers behind you in the security line will appreciate how quickly you move through security.

These are just a few of my favorites. What are your go to shoes when you fly?

Totes Obsessed

I love a good tote bag. It can be leather or canvas. Have a quirky statement or be simple. Great for work or the beach. The biggest thing is that I love the roominess of a tote bag so that I can carry around anything I may need. Here are a few of my favorites these days.

Love Love Loving Tote Bags by preppy-lizzy featuring a wristlet purse

Halloween Entertaining Ideas

Every year growing up I used to go to my friend Katie's house for a Halloween party. It was the highlight of my childhood Halloweens as they would decorate the house to the nines, complete with a haunted house for us all to venture through. Ever since those days I've always thought that one day I would be able to host my own haunted house Halloween party.

Here are just a few ideas to help set the stage of a Spooktacular Halloween Soiree. First, wrap candle votives and vases with gauze and pin them closed using small safety pins. Essentially you are mummifying the glasses. You can then use them to set mood lighting or serve candy.

Photo from Real Simple

Next, use those plastic fangs you find at Party City or online and repurpose them as napkin rings. They are super inexpensive and a great way to get in the Halloween spirit around your dinner table for the weeks leading up to Halloween, not just at your party.

Photo from Real Simple

You can also make really fun drink labels and put mixers and alcohol in potion type bottles to spice them up. You could also pre-make punches and bottle them up. I recommend having a group of standard bottles you use for parties and affixing chalkboard labels to them so you can reuse them for every holiday party, just mix up the label names to suit the holiday.

Photo from Real Simple

You can also Halloween up your punchbowl by filling plastic gloves with water, tying them off and freezing them into giant hand size ice cubes. You then cut away the gloves and have hand shaped ice chilling your punch all night long.

When we used to go to the haunted house as kids, it used to be a touch and feel haunted house in the dark. It was creepy but so fun. We used to feel tongue (which they used cow tongue), rat's brains (which were peeled grapes), bucket of vomit (chunky salsa, corn and peas mixed together), blood (corn syrup), maggots (cooked rice with a little bit of water), brains (either calf brains or cauliflower with cottage cheese).

Are you having your own Halloween Party and/or Touch and Feel Haunted House? Let me know how it goes!

Top 10 Playlist - October Edition

I love that iTunes can make you a genius playlist based on your love of any given song. Right now that song for me is Ray Charles' Just For A Thrill. I fell in love with this song when it was featured on a season of Damages. Right now I am totally into Motown and Jazz. There is something calming about these tunes. I love listening to this list at work when I just need to knock something out. It isn't distracting but is so good.

Here is my top 10 for October 2013.

Top 10 Playlist - October 2013 by preppy-lizzy on Polyvore

Favorite Combo for Fall? Navy and Black

Navy & Black by preppy-lizzy featuring motorcycle rain boots

I am obsessed with pairing navy and black together in outfits. They are two of my favorite colors and there is something so sleek and put together about an outfit in either color that really you can't go wrong pairing the two together. I absolutely fell in love with this Ann Taylor dress when I came upon it in store. It has just the right amount of stretch without being clingy and the color blocking is so figure flattering. It absolutely reignited my desire to pair more blacks and navies together. Today I am even rocking my navy skinnies from Ann Taylor with my black long sleeve peplum top from J.Crew. I feel slimmed down and put together. I think I am most into these pumps which are a pretty great buy and this Madewell skirt. I have been looking for more pieces in full skirt styles and this may fit the bill. I also love these Hunter boots and wish that they made their calves a little wider so I could try em out!

Have you ever tried pairing navy and black? What did you think?

6 Easy Halloween Costumes

I have really enjoyed Halloween more as an adult than I used to as a child. It is easy to create really clever costumes as an adult with little to no money spent. Here are just a few of my favorites. A lot of these costumes require little to no additional items to purchase. You may have everything you need around the house.

Easy Halloween Costumes by preppy-lizzy featuring salad servers

In the last few years I have been Snow White, Wonder Woman, one of 20 Mighty Ducks at a Penn State Tailgate, and Luigi with a group of 15 others as a huge Mario Kart contingency. The large group costumes have been my favorite the last few years because you get the added bonus of interacting as your characters. This year I am going to be a ballerina since I am out of town at a conference in Baltimore and need a packable costume.

What are you going as this year? I am expecting to see a lot of Mileys and Kates.

Wednesday Wishes (Travel Essentials)

Wednesday Wishes (Travel Edition) by preppy-lizzy featuring handmade home decor

1 Longchamp 'Le Pilage' Large Tote ($145) // 2 Habitat Undercover Neon Yellow Travel Wallet ($29) // 
3 Scully and Scully Leather Passport Holder ($135) // 4 Forever 21 Glam Cosmetic Traveling Case ($9.80) //
 5 Rebecca Taylor Travel Wrap ($298) // 6 Lululemon Pure Balance Water Bottle ($28) // 
7 Henri Bendel West 57th Travel Jewelry Box ($68) // 8 Samsonite 'Cosomlite' Rolling Carry-On ($450) // 
9 Samsonite Eye Mask with Earplugs (Unknown) // 10 Nars Travel Brush Set ($98)

Since I am flying cross country this morning for the Society of Women Engineers National Conference in Baltimore this morning, I felt it was appropriate to make my Wednesday Wishes post all about travel essentials.

I love to travel and find myself very often on the road whether it be for work or play. As a result I have tried to become a pretty efficient packer. Luckily there are some great travel products out there that make packing a breeze and keep me well organized as well as those that keep me rested and ready for fun once I've landed.

First off, I almost always have my large Longchamp purse as my carry on purse. It folds down to almost nothing (I have the duffel bag as well that I always pack in my suitcase if I know I am going shopping or to a conference where I will have stuff to bring back with me since I easily then have a second suitcase that takes up no room). Longchamps are also amazing because you can clean them by just tossing them in the wash (my friends in France taught me that little trick).  I have a red and a maroon Longchamp in the large purse size and it holds all my essentials as well as my knitting and laptop. It's just amazing.

My other travel carry on is my Samsonite Spinner. Spinners are amazing and worth every penny. My Samsonite is also very lightweight so never stress about going over a weight limit.

I also think it is super important to keep organized on a trip, especially if I am traveling for business, so I almost always have a travel wallet in edition to my wallet, to hold all the receipts, flight info, hotel and car rental confirmations, etc. I pair this with my passport, if needed, in a cute leather case. It keeps it protected and looking nice.

I love a top zip cosmetics bag because I can keep most of my bottles standing and it keeps everything well organized. I also love having a mini travel jewelry box, like #7, to keep everything safe and untangled. I also usually try to take a travel set of makeup brushes because they take up way less space and stay clean and away from any possible cosmetics spills due to pressure changing on the plane.

Finally it is all about staying rested on a flight. Since my family lives across the country, I find myself on red eye flights almost all the time. In edition I am a horrible plane sleeper. I will doze off for 20 minutes here or there but cannot consistently stay asleep. I  have found that having a really nice eye mask that has a holder for earplugs has helped a lot as well as wearing a large scarf that can double as a wrap to keep me warm on the flight. 

I also firmly believe in the importance of hydrating on the plane. Your skin gets so dry as well as you getting dehydrated. I always bring a reusable water bottle in my purse so I can fill it up before the flight and not be at the mercy of drink service on a flight.

What are your travel essentials?

Back from the Cape

This weekend was a whirlwind but a ton of fun. We celebrated our beautiful friend and bride to be, Suzanne, with a bachelorette party at Cape Cod in Harwitch Port.My aunt and uncle lent us their house for the weekend and as a result 10 of us were able to make the trip to celebrate Suzanne, making us a good looking group of 11.

Our home for the weekend in Harwitch.

Only a few of us ventured up on Friday night to get the house opened and set up, so most of the group joined us on Saturday. Saturday morning a few of us went for a run to Dunkin Donuts (I drove over to pick a few gals up and bring coffee back since my knee is still a little sore for long runs). While we hung around the house waiting for a few of our other guests we sipped on mimosas and showered.

Me popping the Champs. We went through 9 bottles.

We then we ventured to Chatham since Suzanne had never been to the Cape before this weekend so she could experience a quintessential cape town. Most of the cape is closed for the season, but Chatham still had a lot of their stores open. We went to the Chatham Bay Fish Market for lobster rolls and fried clam bellies and then roamed the town window shopping with a final stop for ice cream in town and souvenirs at Cape favorite Cuffy's.

Chatham Lighthouse.

Liz, Addie, Me (Bridesmaid), Suzanne (the Bride),
Louisa (Bridesmaid) and Jessica at the Chatham Bay Fish Market.

The super yummy ($20) lobsta rolls. Worth every penny.

We then headed back to the house to get ready for our night out on the town. Suzanne is not the crazy Bachelortte party girl type, so we made the weekend like an old school slumber party just a bit grown up with champagne cocktails and lots of games and reminiscing. There was the newlywed game, a lingerie shower, never have I ever and prizes galore. Also a gigantic bowl of homemade guacamole that I prepped after we returned from our dinner out at The Oyster Company.

Us gals out to dinner at The Oyster Company.
(L to R): Courtney, Carrie (MOH), Suzanne (Bride), Liz, Jessica, Kristy, Ally, Me (BM),
Addie, Megan, Louisa (BM)

The whole gang.
Top Row (L to R): Carrie (Maid of Honor), Kristy, Liz,
Suzanne (Bride), Addie, Louisa (Bridesmaid), Megan.
Bottom Row (L to R): Me (Bridesmaid), Jessica, Courtney, Ally

The Panty Line. Part of her lingerie shower.

Sunday morning we all took our time getting up while I made a quadruple batch of my great-great-grandmother's pancakes. We then all headed back to Boston for folks to catch flights and drive home. I hope Suzanne loved her weekend as much as we loved putting it on for her!

Tuesday #Shoesday

Tuesday #Shoesday...10/23 by preppy-lizzy featuring Ivanka Trump

I am a shoe clip kinda girl. I love how they can give new shoes, new life with just a simple snap. I particularly love my monogrammed shoe clips. I have mine in hot pink with gold lettering. I love pairing them with my black pumps, nude J.Crew Janie Flats or my gold Lilly Pulitzer Peep Toe Wedges. Have you ever tried a shoe clip?

8 Things Every Happy Woman Should Have

I loved these posts from Cupcakes and Cashmere and ThoughtCatalog and thought it would be fun to share my answers to the list. I encourage you all to fill out the list for yourself. It ends up being a great reflection of yourself!

8 Things Every Happy Woman Should Have

1. A go-to drink…
First choice is always a Classic Mojito, but bartenders hate to make them. I always ask and if they say no then a hard cider on ice (it's so much better over a tall glass of ice). Magners and Strongbow are my favorites and usually can find it on tap or bottled at most bars.
I also find myself not drinking at the bar a lot lately, but serving as the DD. My grandfather was killed by a drunk driver when I was in 4th grade, so I will always offer to be the Designated Driver. When I DD, I go for club soda with a lime. It's super refreshing and still feels fancy!

2. A go-to Karaoke song... 
I loooooveee to sing. I was in choirs growing up as well as the school musical for years. I am always singing in the car, the shower, you name it. Our group of friends loves to go to karaoke in LA and I have two go-to songs. The first is a duet with my husband, Aladdin's A Whole New World. The story behind this is that on one of our first dates, we went to karaoke with friends and Dan pulled me up to the front for a surprise duet, the song, A Whole New World, which we danced our first dance to at our wedding.
If I am going solo, I almost always rock Journey's Faithfully. Walked down the aisle to the melody of this song.

3. A uniform...
I love clothes. I love to shop, but my daily uniform is a pencil skirt with blouse and blazer. Hands down these are my three favorite staples of my closet. Oh and Kate Spade or J.Crew shoes. Always.

4. A hair stylist they love...
My hair stylist Amanda is the best. I trust her with everything to do with my style. I've loved ever cut and every color she has ever done.

5. An exercise routine...
My routine is to never repeat the same thing everyday. I belong to Spectrum Health Club in LA and the great thing about my gym is that there are tons of machines and multiple classes going on every hour (at no additional cost). I finally got clearance to go back to the gym this month and I love it. I am still on the sidelines for my pilates classes, but between the gym, pilates and softball twice a week I never get bored.

6. A hobby...
I have quite a few to be honest. Besides my blog which I adore. I also am really into knitting right now. Knitting is so therapeutic and great to do while you are watching TV, which is a huge guilty pleasure. I also make sure to read every night before bed. And finally if you couldn't guess, Shopping is a great love.

7. A best friend...
I love my husband and he is my best friend in many senses of the word but it is so important to have best girlfriends as well. Having lived all over the country I find that I have  best friends scattered all over the country.
These are the girls you call to share news (good or bad), who cheer you up even over the phone, and celebrate with you like no ones business.  My bridesmaids are my best friends. They are there for every major moment of my life.
My sister, Dom is my first and forever best friend. Then my cousin Kristen, Sister in Law Laura, High School buddies Stacey and Jackie, Yankees friend Suzanne and Sorority sister Copper. I also have those girlfriends I have known since I was a baby, Katie and Emily, know me like a sister and still choose to love me.

8. A healthy sense of self...
I am never going to be the exact weight I want to be or always be put together, but I have to say, I love being me. I have no desire to be anyone else or live any life but my own.

Currently Craving

Currently Craving by preppy-lizzy featuring white european pillow shams

I am kind of over our current bedding. I love how colorful it is but the comforter keeps sliding down from the top of the duvet and I am thinking I want something a little more grown up that suits both a husband and a wife. The duvet cover and shams we have been using are from my apartment before we moved in together and while they are super soft, I think we could use something that is a little fresher as well as suiting both the masculine and feminine. Enter Monogrammed Bedding. I love a monogram, especially one that has our married initials together and these two bedding options are cleaner lines that would suit Dan. I also think both would look great in our mint green room with our dark wood furniture. Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma always seem to have great options.

I am considering asking for this for Christmas this year. Thoughts?

The Great Elbow Patch

The Great Elbow Patch by preppy-lizzy featuring a hounds tooth jacket

I love a great elbow patch. I have visions of being at Uni in England or relaxing in my library full of leather bound books. They are such a classic detail that every prep has to have in their closet. I have them on sweaters and blazers and always feel a little more distinguished when I wear one.

The great thing is that right now there are elbow patches everywhere. Some even have cute details like elbow patches in the shapes of hearts rather than the traditional oval. I especially gravitate to wearing them in the Fall and Winter.

Have you tried out an elbow patch item? What did you think?

Time to Celebrate

As I write this I am on my flight to Boston to help throw my lovely friend and bride to be Suzanne her Bachelorette Party on Cape Cod. It's a gorgeous day and the view from above is absolutely amazing.

Suzanne and I at my Rehearsal Dinner

I cannot wait to shower this girl with love and help embarrass her beyond belief. My aunt and uncle very kindly lent us their house at the Cape for the weekend and I am excited to get up there tonight to start celebrations.

Suzanne and I (and Copper) at Tao in NYC for my Bachelorette Party.

Suzanne and I met 9 years ago when she joined me as a New York Yankees intern. She quickly became one of my best friends, spending countless games at in the press box snacking on hot dogs and ice cream bars and going to ESPN Zone in time square every year for the All Star Game.

Suzanne and I the year we met.

Suzanne was one of my amazing bridesmaids and I was so honored that she asked me to be a part of her 3 person wedding party this January. She helped throw me amazing parties and showers throughout my wedding planning and I am so glad I can finally return the favor. She also took amazing care of me during my Bachelorette weekend (she appointed herself water chief, making sure I drank copious amounts of water throughout the weekend).

Get ready girl! It's time to celebrate!

Suzanne and I at Culture Club in NYC for my Bachelorette Party

Currently... October Edition

Currently... by preppy-lizzy on Polyvore

Reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I am on a classics kick lately and loving that Amazon gives you these for free!

Eating: Lots of blue salt water taffy. There was a candy bar at my friend Heather's baby shower this past weekend. As a result I am indulging in lots of blue candies this week.

Listening: The Very Best of Ray Charles. I love his smooth sound. Just For A Thrill is hands down my favorite Ray Charles song followed closely by Georgia On My Mind.

Watching: The Blacklist with James Spader. It is full of twists and turns and I am dying to know if Lizzie's husband is really harboring a secret or if it is just Spader's character manipulating her like he does the rest of the FBI.

Craving: Hard Cider is always my drink of choice, especially if its Magners or Strongbow. I have to have it over ice and it's such a great way to wind down after a long day.

Dreaming: I want to make a trip to Disneyland this holiday season because my favorite ride is only there from October to New Years. Disney turns The Haunted Mansion into The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is one of my favorite Disney movies and favorite Tim Burton movie ever. I wish they would leave it that way year round.

Favorite Drugstore Beauty Buys

What I'm Loving...Drugstore Buys by preppy-lizzy featuring black hair ties

I've seen some great Drugstore Beauty Buy Recommendation blog posts lately and here are my favorites that I can't live without!

Bag Balm: Honestly this is the greatest product ever. It was originally created to heal chapped cow udders from milking, but it heels everything. Chapped hands, feet and lips all get a pick me up. I put it on every night before bed to keep my lips soft.

Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cloths: I use these every night to get the makeup off my face before washing it. They work well and also pack great in a suitcase when on the road.

Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Oil-Free Acne Wash: Love the scent and micro bead technology. I use this in the morning as the scent is a nice pick me up.

Q-Tips: Great for makeup application and remover. Especially around the eyes! And the general ear wax cleaning use too.

Organix Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner: I adore everything coconut when it comes to my hair. This shampoo smells fantastic and keeps my hair in great condition.

Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Night Moisture: Tried this cream out cause my friends used to work for Neutrogena and I fell in love. It is very moisturizing and way cheaper than my dermatologist one.

Goody Bobby Pins: Bobby pins are a girl's best friend and since goody makes them in so many colors they are a favorite buy of mine. Also bobby pins are easily lost so I don't like to spend much on them.

Goody Tortoise Shell Clip: I use this mostly to do my hair or makeup, so no reason to spend more than $4 bucks! For tortoise shell clips I use regularly in hairstyles, I love J.Crew.

Goody Ouchless Elastics: I keep a pack of these in my gym bag at all times as well as my desk at work. Never know when you may need one. I like the tied elastics that are colorful and a little pricier (I usually grab a pack or two from Anthropologie) but these are great in a bind and great for braids.

What are your favorite drugstore buys.

Wednesday Wishes

Wednesday Wishes...10/16 by preppy-lizzy featuring a a line mini skirt

1 Hive & Honey Hello Tee ($39)// 2 Banana Republic Bow Beanie ($34.50) // 3 Inspire Grey Ghostbusters Tee // 
4 Alice + Olivia Elana Houndstooth Knit Mini Skirt ($220) // 5 Milly NY Skirt in Multicolor ($385) // 
6 C. Luce Tweed Jacket ($89) // 7 J.Crew Kiss Kiss Tee ($45) // 8 Tinley Road Striped Ponte Fit and Flare ($69) // 
9 Hive & Honey Cozy Plaid Short (Similar Here) // 10 Topshop Sleeveless Faux Borg Biker Jacket ($130)