Well, this is it - the final hoorah! We have finally reached the last day of the Blogtember Challenge. As I sit down to write my final post for the link-up, not only do I feel as though this challenge has passed too quickly, I have to ask myself, "WHERE HAS SEPTEMBER GONE?"

Last, but certainly not least, today's prompt given to us by Brave Love is to simply have a farewell coffee date to take a moment and share how the Blogtember Challenge has gone. Much obliged, I poured myself a large cup of coffee with pumpkin spice creamer and spilled my thoughts. 

As a newcomer to the blogging world, I took this challenge as a way to increase my readership and strengthen my writing skills. I had only been blogging two weeks prior and jumped in head first, taking on the task to blog each and every day for 30 days. 

I would like to share a few things I have learned over the last month:

• When you blog every day, plan ahead and write your post the day before
• Even if you write your post the day before, allot enough time to actually publish your post. I learned there is much more that goes into publishing a good blog post than just writing the content.
• Take the time to reply to each comment if you can possibly help it. I remember when I started following blogs, I would comment on posts with praise or questions and sometimes never hear back from the writer. I promised to always reply to comments from my own readers. I have to admit, I missed a few along the way but practice makes perfect!

Thank you all for following me throughout the Blogtember Challenge! I hope you all will continue to follow along my adventures in life to see what exciting things God has in store for me! 

If you read my Blogtember | Day Twenty-One post, you saw that I already posted a fall bucket list before realizing prompt for day twenty-four. Thank goodness I am a list maker, my personality type that we discovered onDay Nine says I come by it honestly, and I have an even longer list of things I would like to accomplish before Winter sets in. I have to admit that I often have a list longer than I am able to keep up with and keep telling myself, “I will do this someday.” Well friends, today is someday!

Today’s prompt: Your fall bucket list, what do you want to do before winter rolls around? 

Wedding Planning
As I mentioned here, I am working with two new clients to plan their wedding reception. This opportunity is more than I could have dreamed of at this point in my career and I am so thrilled to be wrapped up in wedding details day-after-day. The reception, roaring twenties themed, will be absolutely fabulous! With that being said, the first thing on my bucket list will be to throw the most extravagant celebration my clients and their champagne sipping, flapper dress wearing guests have ever attended!

Get Fit
This year has been a busy one, to say the least. It has been filled with ups and downs, once in a lifetime opportunities and unexpected changes. Unfortunately, while I was trying to keep up with my busy schedule, I kicked all sorts of exercise and clean eating to the curb. Yes, every woman always says she could “lose a few pounds” and I am not any different, but my plan is to get fit. Make it part of my daily routine to eat well and exercise more.

Home Décor
I moved into my first apartment last July and shamefully have to admit that it is still not completely decorated. By the amount of pinning I did before I moved in, you would not have thought I would still be in progress one year later. This fall my home project will be to finish decorating my bedroom. They say your bedroom should be one of the most comforting rooms in your house and instead of welcoming me with a big hug, mine simply gives me a courtesy nod.  I am going for a mix of warm neutrals, teal and gold. Thank goodness for Pinterest! 

If not posting until 4 p.m. doesn't say Monday madness, I don't know what does. I have to admit, I haven't been that busy today, but I somehow have gotten nothing accomplished! Therefore, I am making it a priority to sit down and write today's Blogtember post because the topic is something I've been waiting to share with you all! 

Today's prompt: Introduce us to 5 blogs you read on the regular, and tell us why!
Keep in mind, these are in no specific order, but I am very excited to introduce you all to a few of my favorite bloggers!

This is a lifestyle blog written by a charismatic and colorful woman, Melody Caroline. She is a fellow twenty-something southerner, whose writing I absolutely adore! Whether she is writing about a new Lilly print, her fur-baby Paisley Ann or a trip to New York City, her passion for everything she does truly shines through. Melody relates with her readers by writing about things that other twenty-somethings are going through as well. Although we have never met, I feel as though we have so many similarities! 

Sweet Tea Jubilee is written through the eyes of a Charleston, South Carolina resident, Heather. I stumbled upon Sweet Tea Jubilee while shopping online for monogrammed items (who would have guessed?) and fell in love with this charming blog! I have been following Sweet Tea Monograms, a monogrammed clothing site, on Etsy and Instagram for about a year and love her products! Heather writes about a variety of topics and always puts her southern flare on things, which I love!

Attention to Darling is brought to you by Erin, a sweet southerner from South Carolina. She writes about home decorating, style tips, entertaining and everything in between! Erin and I also share an adoration for Southern Weddings and Lilly Pulitzer. I have been vacationing vicariously through her by reading about her trips throughout Virginia and South Carolina and now am planning my own trip to the area in the future. She is also my favorite new person to follow via Pinterest, have a look for yourself! 

This blog is not only one to read for leisure, but for business as well. Olivia Adams is a recent graduate starting her career in public relations (like myself). She relaunched her blog in July 2014 to share her experience and knowledge in her professional career and the ins and outs of public relations. She works as a Brand Manager for Come Recommended and has written published articles for Huffington Post, Mashable, Bussiness2Community and The Personal Branding Blog, just to name a few.  

Sweet Caroline is a fun little blog that covers anything from gift ideas, recipes and DIY projects. Caroline's wide variety of topics cater to my ever changing reading moods. What first brought me to this blog was Caroline's wedding posts because, as a wedding planner, I can't get enough of wedding blogs! 

Let me know what some of your favorite blogs are and if you have time, go check out these five lovely sites! 

When I began writing today, I realized it's the 21st day of the Blogtember Challenge! The finish line is getting closer! This challenge has taught me that if you plan to post on weekends, you have to plan ahead. I admit that I haven't been the best weekend blogger, but today is such a fun and easy topic!

Today's prompt: Fall Favorites. What do you love most about this season?

Like, Brave Love mentioned, Oklahoma weather hasn't gotten the memo that it's the latter part of September and the temperature is still in the mid eighties most days. However, the weather isn't stopping me from taking part in fall festivities!

It is hard to explain what I lov e most about fall because it's a feeling, not a material item. What I love is the smell of a dewy morning, feeling the cool air on my face and hearing the crunch of leaves under my feet.

Another thing I love about this time of year is that you can literally see the seasons change. I get so giddy seeing the leaves turn from a bright green to the vibrant shades of fall.

I found this "Fall Bucket List" on Pinterest recently and it really summed up the majority of the things I love so much about Fall, and I'm sure you do too.

Let me know if we have any similar favorites or tell me what you live about Fall!

ATTENTION ALL PUMPKIN LOVERS!! Today, i'm sharing this tasty new recipe I found on Pinterest (via Sally's Baking Addiction) with all of my fellow pumpkin lovers. Before we get started, let's have an honest moment. We ALL have food boards on Pinterest but how often do we ever actually make the things we pin? I know this is the first one I've ever made, and it was a success! 

If we're still being honest, it didn't take much to convince me to try out this recipe for pumpkin chocolate cookies. I will try anything pumpkin once, or maybe even twice.

I almost just pinned the recipe and went about my day, but instead I followed through the link and visited the website. Not only did I find the sweetest (no pun intended) baking blog, but I was able to read Sally's entire post about this recipe and her alterations. It was great to be able to read through her trial and errors to create this amazing - and easy - recipe all while she explained her reasoning on why she added and took things out of the original recipe.  

I have to say that my cookies, although delicious, had more of a cake texture than a cookie. I may be at fault for this, but as a cake lover, I didn't mind. 

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction - My edits in RED
Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Perfectly soft & chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies without being cakey.

Yield: makes about 18 cookies I used 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie as directed, and got 11 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 Tablespoons (86 grams) pumpkin puree 
• 1 and 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves* I left out cloves simply because I dislike the taste
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice*
• 1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chip Sally explained that she cut down the original amount because it was too much, however, I will cut this in half next time since the chocolate overpowered the pumpkin

 
Directions:In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft.  Fold in 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Roll the dough into balls, about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough each. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out.  Remove from the oven and press a few more chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired.  If you find that your cookies didn't spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of the oven.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack.  The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. I let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying.  I find that their chewiness and pumpkin flavor is more prominent on day 2. Cookies stay soft, moist, and chewy stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Mine were definitely softer and had a stronger pumpkin taste today than they did last night, which I loved!

Freezing directions: Roll the chilled dough into balls and freeze in a large ziplock bag for up to 2 months.  Baked cookies may also be frozen up to 2 months.


*Use 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, if desired. Don't leave out the cinnamon. I like to add a lot of spices to increase the cookies' spice/pumpkin flavor. Go by your spice preference.

I hope you all find time this fall to try out this recipe or visit my Pinterest to find more festive treats!  Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the recipe or any improvements you might make! Happy fall y'all! 

As we are about half way through September, it only seems appropriate to celebrate with some festive inspiration! have been pinning new fall décor, pumpkin recipes and wreath ideas lately - and I am sure you have too. I normally don’t get the bug to decorate so early but with the perfect weather this weekend (slightly rainy and 65 degrees), I just couldn’t help myself, and off to Hobby Lobby I went! 

Today's prompt: Make a mood board. Are you brainstorming a room re-do, or are you dreaming of glamping with gal pals? Share a collage of any kind!

Here are a few of my pins that inspired me!

Since this was a busy weekend, I didn’t get to do as much decorating as I hoped but it will happen soon and I see a second trip to Hobby Lobby in the near future. I thought I would share a few of my weekend projects with you all, enjoy!    

I almost forgot to mention some of my best purchases from this weekend! Bath & Body Works is having an amazing sale right now on 3-wick candles 2/$22! I might have gone a tad overboard but who I am to say how many fall scented candles is too many? Here are some I of my favorites!

I hope you all are having as much fun decorating for Fall as I am! 

Thank you all for coming back day after day to read the latest on the Blogtember Challenge, I can't believe it's already been almost two weeks! I have to say, today is one of my favorite prompts (and the easiest to write about) by far! 


“What is your current relationship status? If dating/married, give us a glimpse of your story!”

As many of you may know, I am currently in a relationship with a truly one-of-a-kind man, Bret. We met in 2011 and the rest is history!! 

…Just kidding, I can’t take away all of the details like that! 

We had many mutual friends and ran around in the same social circle, yet hadn’t actually met until October 2011. We were both dating other people when we met, which was obviously not the plan God had mapped for either of us and for that, I am so thankful! We began spending time together with a mutual friend, and ran into each other at more than a few concerts of our favorite band, The Turnpike Troubadours. 

Because we had both recently ended relationships at the time, we both wanted to remain friends for a while. After a year of “not dating each other but definitely not dating anyone else,” we decided to finally make it official! 

Since then, our relationship has only gotten better with every day. He truly is my best friend, my biggest supporter of all of my crazy ideas and dreams and the love of my life. 

One thing about Bret I am most thankful for is his humor. Those of you reading that know him, definitely know what I am talking about. When looking for a significant other, the list can go on for miles of qualities you would like them to have. After past “research,” I realized how much I needed someone who is lighthearted and can make me enjoy each day we have together. That is what I have found with him. He keeps me on my toes, sometimes more than I particularly care for, but in the end I am thankful.

We've had an amazing couple of years so far, and I simply cannot wait to see what the future holds for us!

I hate that I haven't been able to post the past couple of days but I have been in full blown wedding planner mode! I am excited to announce that I have two new amazing clients that have chosen me to plan their big day, and the best part about it is the theme! 

If there is anything that the movie/novel taught us about the 1920's, it is that they knew how to party!
We're planning a combination of a classic, The Great Gatsby, and glamorous 1920's decor and fashion complete with champagne fountains, bow ties, flapper dresses made of sequins and tassels.

  Check back in with me soon for more details about my upcoming fabulous event!!

Welcome back to day nine of the Blogtember Challenge! Today's writing prompt is:"Let's talk personality types. Introverted? Extroverted? Unsure-troverted? ;) If you know your Myers-Briggs type, tell us about it! If not, you can take this similar test and share your results."

I have never understood how to categorize myself to fit in one of these personality niches. After taking the test, I was informed that I have an ENFJ (Extravert, Intuitive, feeling, judging) personality. Little to my surprise, I was borderline in each category – a prime example of my strong indecisive trait. I just know I gave that website a run for its money trying to analyze my answers.    

After a little research, I understood more about my given personality type. To sum it up, an ENJF type is typically a people-person. Their main concern is helping others, bringing the best in others out and have a genuine interest in the wellbeing of others. This would explain my career choice in public relations and helping others plan their special event! 

ENFJ’s are typically referred to as “The Giver” as they are people-focused individuals. It brings me true joy to be able to help, love and support someone – even sometimes to a fault. It was also noted in an article that givers “tend to be more reserved about exposing themselves than other extroverted types. Although they may have strongly felt beliefs, they’re likely to refrain from expressing them…”

However, I did find comfort in know that I share the 2% with Matthew McCaonaughey, Abraham Lincoln, Oprah Winfrey, Tommy Lee Jones and Ronald Reagan. I would call that a win, wouldn’t you? 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great and relaxing weekend like I did, although as you can tell from my lack of post yesterday, I might have relaxed a little too much. 

Today is all about, “music that moves you. Are you a Spotify addict or a Pandora guru? Tell us your favorite artists/stations!”

I have to admit, I didn’t use or understand Spotify until a few months ago, and now I don’t understand how I ever went without it! Don’t get me wrong, I still love Pandora, I just use them both differently. For obvious reasons, I use Spotify when I want to listen to something specific or a specific artist and Pandora when I just want a variety. 

Here are my thoughts on Spotify:

Pro’s :
…you can save any playlist, artist or song on your own playlist to listen to later.
…the “mood” section is pretty cool. Kudos to whoever thought of that feature. 

Con’s:
...I am still unsure why Spotify has no Garth Brooks… I am in a real quandary here.
…75% of the pre made playlists are made up of music and artists I have never heard of.

My current favorite playlists on Spotify are the The Perfect Crafternoon and Songs to Sing in the Shower. When I’m in the mood for Pandora, I have been listening to Americana and Wedding Songs. In my opinion, there is definitely something to be said for the Wedding Songs station. Artists range from Etta James to Michael Buble and there is something about listening to classic love songs that puts me in the happiest mood! 

I am a country listener a majority of the time, however I have been known to have quite the variety of music options. On a typical day I range from Dolly Parton to Fall Out Boy, Conway Twitty to Bob Segar and Turnpike Troubadours to Kate Voegele. 

Ben Rector and Gavin DeGraw are my morning regulars, especially when I am writing and feeling creative, which is exactly who I am listening to right now!