Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! Halloween brings back fond memories of making homemade popcorn balls that my dad would hand out to trick-or-treaters, while blasting spooky music from our house speakers. My mom, brother, sister and I would go trick-or-treating, always making sure we went to the neighbor's house that gave out full-size candy bars. While no one hands out homemade treats for trick-or-treat night anymore, it doesn't mean that you can't still make fun treats to hand out to friends, family and coworkers! 

Blow Money

In my Fall Boots post, I mentioned how I bought my boots with blow money and I'm sure that sparked a lot of interest as to what the heck I was talking about! First off, get your mind out of the gutter…yep I caught you. 

Anastasia Steele :: Get HER Look!

Anastasia Steele is a household name these days, if you haven't heard of her you're either living in a hole or you're a dude. The 50 Shades of Grey trilogy has inspired me to create a look for you, based off of what I believe Ana, circa "50 Shades Darker" would wear.

Pumpkin Pie Perfection

Amidst the barrage of political warfare, my ears are practically ringing from Democrats and Republicans yapping at each other, when all I want to do is watch The Real Housewives. I do find it quite the oddity, the fact that hardly any of the women on the show are actually housewives. Some are businesswomen, some are socialites and heck most aren't even married. Soon, the label, "housewife" will sit on the same shelf as dinosaurs, called extinct.

Wedding Advice from a Newlywed

Images by Sweet Light Studio

Congratulations, you're engaged (or simply just love weddings)! You're in the whirlwind of fluffy dresses, outrageous price tags and bridal shows galore, things can be quite overwhelming. As a newlywed, as of almost 2 months, I wanted to offer a little insight as to what I think are the most important things to remember during the engagement process. Especially, from my personal experience, where I think it's important to spend and where I think it's worth saving. While we may all have different insight on this, we cannot deny the fact that either way weddings are outrageously expensive! The current national average, according to the Huffington Post, is $27,021.

Banana Coffee Bread Recipe

This is only half of what the recipe makes!

Screen licking, perfectly acceptable.

Fall Boots: Spendy vs. Cheap Lookalikes

Images from amazon.com and kohls.com

Can you tell which pair is more expensive?

For 2 years now, I have been wanting a pair of Steve Madden "Troopa" boots in Cognac or Brown Leather (get them here). Last year, in Von Maur, I tried a pair on and walked around in them for about 15 minutes, trying to decide whether the $99 dollars were worth it. As soon as I stepped off the carpeted shoe area and onto the white marble floors in them, I knew that they weren't reasonable. Despite their good looks and name brand, the designer failed to realize that real women would be wearing these boots in the fall and winter…and with winter comes snow and ice. The sole of the shoes were so slick! I could only imagine walking into work, only to face plant in the parking lot…yet, I still desired these shoes. They were real leather and could be worn with skinny jeans, leggings, worn under flare jeans or even with a dress and tights – they are so versatile. 

Falling for Fall

As a Midwestern girl, I can easily say Fall is my favorite season, it is such a sensational time of the year. I love hearing the wind blow through the trees with crunchy leaves, from my bedroom window I can even hear acorns falling onto my car that's parked right outside. Everyone's instagraming pictures of their carved pumpkins, colorful trees and the most beautiful sunsets. During this time, I want to share with you a few of my favorite fall things.

Welcome to Scantilly Cllad! This is my very first post for release, it brings back the feeling of cooking dinner for my boyfriend (now husband) for the first time. Do I whip out the big guns with twice baked potatoes and stuffed chicken breast or do I hook ya with delectable homemade cupcakes for dessert? I guess we will just have to see! I not only love to cook, but I have many passions and Scantilly Cllad is an outlet for my creativity. After all, now that the church bells have rung and I am officially a newlywed, the wedding planning process is over – yet I need something to keep my creative juices running. If you have ever seen the movie "Up", you will understand me saying that life is like "Squirrel!!!" I start going down one path and something shiny catches my eye and leads me in a completely new direction. Therefore, this is a place where no topic is off limits and you will see it all through Scantilly Cllad. So come back and visit soon! 

Have a lovely day,

Natalie