Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice!

What’s better than carving and painting jack-o-lanterns?

Eating pumpkin … At least for yours truly!

I’ve already gone PSL-out and then some:

• Coffee

Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Cheesecake dessert cookies & Pumpkin Spice Milano + Blue Diamond Pumpkin Spice Almonds from CVS | Quest Bar Pumpkin Pie energy bar (which we used to give away from Pretty Fit) from Market Street

• Cookies
• Energy bars

• I’m nuts for pumpkins!

Olive Garden‘s Caramel Hazelnut Macchiato

• Pumpkin Cheesecake at Olive Garden ~ this past time with my Bestie Evie ~ has been my tradition forever

Dynamic Dessert Duo: Olive Garden‘s Pumpkin Cheesecake

In fact, I used to buy a full pie for the fam to celebrate Halloween/Thanksgiving/my sis‘ birthday since college

Dynamic Dessert Duo: Olive Garden‘s Caramel Hazelnut Macchiato & Pumpkin Cheesecake

(the Fazoli’s Ghirardelli tops a close 2nd)

Pumpkin Spice Latte M&M’s ~ exclusively at Target

• Melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand candy ~ rather than just eye candy

• Even Yogurt!

I’m flipping over this YOLO–yo!

TGIF *Friday Night* Addendum

Now I’m somewhat relieved that this weekend’s Halloween party has been canceled/postponed due to t-storms (Hurricane Patricia’s just further down south) ~ so in addition to preparing for my next round, I also can have some down time …

Bring on the cozy comforts of hot cocoa & mac ‘n’ cheese, please!

TGIF: Fall Perks & Quirks ~ Tacky Sweater Weather Edition

Don’t these *Holy Cow Cats* just warm your ♥heart? Both Belated Bday Girl Stats Cat & almost-decade-old Grad Cat do mine! Almost reaching our ultimate goal: PhD for Dr. D …

To stay in the spirit for this season, I decked out with a little bit of my autumn aesthetics ~ ringing in the old with the new!

My little splurge to bring me cheer this time of year: this rad-in-plaid deer because plaid is on-trend (this one somewhat resembles Burberry) + it’s deer season (not that I’m a hunter) & reindeer season‘s just around the corner ~ so I’ll adorn it with special ornaments! Just to add to my eccentricity, I named this bad boy DOC to keep me motivated as I keep trucking along (more in high-speed) toward my doctoral degree! Along with Doc are A&A‘s *Dallas Cowboys* TD toy for football season & my classic Halloween decor ~ including Badtz-Maru pillow ~ on this plaid spread that accompanies autumn yet also is appropriate for winter as we approach CHRIS†mas in red & green!

Here’s more info on my fall favorites to take yours truly through this sweater weather & before the snow hits our neck of the woods …

☼Sunset☼ Selfie: I’m double-cheesin’ (at least without a double-chin) and have a Kool-Aid smile (without the Kool-Aid) because I had a superb dentist visit & cleaning! Coffee stains: gone! {My 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target Paper Floral Shirt Dress works in any season & I ♥adore♥ these Smithsonian Cherry Blossom earrings with Swarovski elements from Mami Aya as the perfect color for Breast Cancer Awareness Month + I’m dolling Dulce Candy‘s fall braid-framed bun}

13 Pre-Howl-o-ween Fave Fall Things

1. What’s the best fall memory you have? ~ football games, both when I was in h.s. & when I’d see my *Dallas Cowboys* live (everything’s BIGGER in TX)
2. What’s your favorite book you’re reading (or have read) this fall?~ Guts Grace & Glory (football devotionals) that I received during Lent & am reading through football season
3. Which makeup trend do you prefer: dark lips or winged eyeliner?~ both (winged liner above in Exhibit B)
4. Best fragrance for fall? ~ Bath & Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin (above in Exhibit A)
5. What is autumn weather like where you live? ~ we’re still as ☼sunny☼ as Indian summer but anticipate a cool-down soon
6. Most worn sweater? ~ my tribal cardigan by ♫Maroon 5‘s ♪Adam Levine♪
7. Must-have nail polish this fall? ~ Sally Hansen‘s Miracle Gel to top off color because it seriously lasts a long time (I’m just barely removing my color after 45 days)!
8. Football games or jumping in leaf piles? ~ BOTH! (see No. 1 for football & Exhibit B for leaf piles)
9. Skinny jeans or leggings? ~ either or, as long as I don’t have a muffin top in the denim or camel toe in the tights
10. What is something that nobody knows about you? ~ I don’t mind digging into Ramen even if there’s other food in the panty (especially as comfort food now that we’re entering a colder climate), which I actually ate for lunch this afternoon while watching Wong Fu‘s major cook-off!
11. Combat boots or Uggs? ~ bringing on my Docs, baby!
12. Is pumpkin spice worth the hype?~ ¡Claro que sí!
13. What song really gets you into the fall spirit? ~ oddly enough, ♫Taylor Swift‘s ♪Wildest Dreams♪ because it could describe any desire (i.e., “tall” could be a tall order of Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha), fulfilled or fantasized about

1st Friday of Fall Y’all: TGIF

Thank GOD It’s Fall!

Facing east for the moon rise from my backyard garden … Just another West Texas Friday night!

As much as ☼summer☼ is my favorite season (after all, that’s when my birthday takes place), I’m making the most out of autumn ~ especially going outside for crisp, fresh air!

I’m also all about Starbucks seasonal flavors* ~ from ☼summer’s fruitiness to these comfy delights:

• Pumpkin Spice Latte 

My latest Starbucks Gold Card reward redeemed: Salted Caramel Mocha Frappuccino!

• Salted Caramel Mocha 

My venti cold cup always comes in handy … for a discount & a drink to last me all ☼day!

• *NEW* Toasted Graham 

Apparently, I was my local barista’s 1st customer to order a Toasted Graham Frappuccino! #StarbucksLovers ♥ #trendsetter

Furthermore, football has kicked off into full swing!

I refreshed my ♥heart♥ & ☼soul☼ with ♥Adoration♥ †Chapel† holy hour at †Church† & with this ☼spirit☼ book + my bod with this Graham Goodness! (Even though I’ll cover up more, I’ll definitely still tone up with whatever energy I still can muster in the midst of working on my dissertation!

Here are a few of my favorite things for fall …

Trunk or Treat: ☼Sunshine☼ (my truck) tailgate was decked out with festive decor that featured ♥A&A♥ when we gave candy to my †Church† students last Howl-o-ween!

Nine Fine Fall Flaves

1. Favorite Candle: my Bath & Body Works‘ Salty Caramel that I used to light up my *Dallas Cowboys* jack-o-lantern and Advent †cross† (I’m also all about BBW‘s Pumpkin Pecan Waffles/White Barn‘s Thanksgiving Morning)
2. Favorite Lip Color: toss-up between my red Ardency Inn ♥Love♥ Cat lipstick from Sephora or purple Vera Wang *Rockstar* lip gloss from ULTA (c/o my Bestie Evie)
3. Favorite Drink: please view above {Exhibits B-E}
4. Favorite Blush: the ones from my KleanKolor Double Rainbow palette, plus I think that I’ll try Dulce Candy‘s tip on lip colors in a pill box for cheek colors!
5. Favorite Clothing Item: my birthday gifts ~ specifically the scarf/shawl ~ and my recent online finds plus my Target scores ~ particularly the jeans and booties!
6. Favorite Fall Movie: no new releases, so I’ll go with classic football flicks: Varsity Blues (came out my sr. yr.), Friday Night Lights (with a cameo of my h.s.), Remember the Titans, Any Given Sunday, The Longest Yard (including the original)
7. Favorite Fall Show: Grey’s ♥Anatomy!!! I’ve been counting down for the Season 12 premiere since the Season 11 finale ~ as a loyal fan for over a decade since the very beginning with the previous seasons on DVD
8. Favorite Thanksgiving Food: I’m not going to lie –> my Cranberry Pie #DISPObustAFlow
9. Favorite Halloween Costume: now how about I have y’all pick? My personal faves include when I rocked out my abs live, No. 5 … I won our contest in 2013 as Lone Ranger‘s Tonto and in 2014 as my Nurse Mom who was fine in 1969! Will I make a 3-peat??

Actually, please allow me to add a 10th item:

Sweet Annie

My #1 Favorite for Fall: my ✌two✌ ♥cute, cuddly companions♥ with whom to softly snuggle for cozy comfort plus who keep me company while hard at work and welcome me home after hard at play!

Sassy Asia

CHEERS to this time of year!

Foodie Friday: Festive Flavors

What flaves do you crave when your HOLYday hunger pangs strike?

For me, it’s pumpkin during the fall and peppermint closer to CHRISTmas!

White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s ~ *Target* Exclusive

Here is my latest minty-fresh concoction …

Another PPPP: Peppermint Patty Pie Parfait with Triple C’s: CHRISTmas Candy Cane Chocolate

Doesn’t this dessert shot M&Mmmmake your M&Mmmouth water??

These White Chocolate Peppermint M&M’s also spice up hot chocolate quite nicely!

Candy Cane Hot Cocoa

And I enjoyed them on a rare movie day with popcorn from the Paramount!

Candy & Popcorn: Perfect Combination … Complete with my fave festive flick: ELF!

Bring on the Yuletide Yummies!!!

Mmmmmm … M&M’s in Popcorn ~ Sweet & Salty at its festive finest

When I visited El Paso a couple of weeks ago, I had a variety of food, as well as drinks of holiday-inspired flavors, including

• Apple Cider
• Chestnut

Here, we’re pretty in peppermint with our Candy Cane Santa Selfie!

This Double E Team has some of the most generous students with giving ♥hearts♥

#StayMerry

Beauty Tuesday: Top 13 Halloween

 

 

Happy Early Halloween!!!

Costume Countdown …

#10

#9

#8

#7

#6

#5

#4

 #3

 #2

#1

Even my Double A-Team look so neat, as they represent Sesame Street!

Foodie Friday: Getting Fed in Religious Ed

F is for …

Faith * Food * Fellowship

Easygoing Evie and I, as *Excited Elaine* enjoy eating after we team-teach our Religious Education second graders every Wednesday. When we celebrate our students’ birthdays, we also are blessed with goodies to go with our lessons about †GOD†!

Sharing is Caring!

Mezamiz Deux Coffee House

Birthday Cupcakes from Sweet Life

Sour Apple Smoothies from Monks

Caramel and Pumpkin from Olive Garden

Birthday Cupcakes and Fruit Snacks

2 for Tuesday: Sweater Weather Tag before I Ring in Spring!

Let’s hear it for the Sweater Tag!

Like my sweater and snake scarf?

My family and I went to Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater (approx. 45mi NW of Abilene) ~ which supposedly is the world’s largest!

Now here goes… [Questions are in italics; my answers are in bold.]

Yours truly’s SWEATER TAG

1. Favorite candle scent? Bath & Body Works Salty Caramel

BBW Salty Caramel

True Blue Jack-o-Lantern w/Salty Caramel Candle

2. Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate? ALL of the Above
3. What’s the best fall memory you have? football ~ most recently Dallas Cowboys 

GO, ‘BOYS! True Blue, through & through!

4. Which makeup trend do you prefer: dark lips or winged eyeliner? neither; cat make-up: my red lips in Ardency Inn Modster Long Play Supercharged Lip Color in Love Cat and cat eyeliner by M•A•C 

Tried to pull off Cat Eye & Cat Lips at Christmas Party

5. Best fragrance for fall? COACH Legacy

COACH Legacy Stripes in bag, fragrance and Gabrielle glasses

6. Favorite Thanksgiving food? my Cranberry Walnut Pie

My THANKful Cranberry Walnut Pie

7. What is autumn weather like where you live? bipolar: sunny & warm 1 day, snowy & frosty the next

Sunny Abilene

Snow Day

8. Most worn sweater? my Kardashian Kollection white Open Knit Sweater because I could layer it over any color and wear off-the-shoulder 

My fave Sweater Weather sweater that I can wear everywhere, including the beach!

9. Must-have nail polish this fall? Nicole by OPI® Kardashian Kollection Disco Dolls for the gold glitter and Follow Me on Glitter for the dark glitter

Kardashian Kolor from Nicole by OPI®

10. Football games or jumping in leaf piles? BOTH

Dallas Cowboys on the field! I’d like to play in the leaves with them!

11. Skinny jeans or leggings? BOTH … or how ’bout jeggings? (e.g., Sofia Vergara Lurex Jeggings in Gold Foil, Indigo & Jet Black ~ like the glitter effect from #9)

These Gold Jeggings pair well w/this Snake Scarf, along w/my Cowboys Boots!

12. Combat boots or Uggs? neither; I’ll go for my Kenneth Cole knee-high zip-up black stiletto boots, Corral Cowboy boots or Sketchers Tone-Ups camel boots w/ faux fur

Jeggings + Sketchers = Match Made on Snow Day

13. Is pumpkin spice worth the hype? he**-to-the-YEAH

Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte

I asked for Salted Caramel & Whip to top off my PSL!

Salted Caramel PSL in the house!

Enjoy like yours truly at a Starbucks near you!

14. Favorite fall TV show? I’d say Grey’s Anatomy for the rainy weather, ’til it went on hiatus before the holidays, but now it’s back to ring in spring! 
15. What song really gets you into the fall spirit? Katy Perry’s Eye of the Tiger brought me school spirit because my alma mater, Cooper H.S., was a finalist in her music vid contest

Katy Perry ~ Hear Me ROAR!

Katy Perry Challenge Finalists

Katy Perry Challenge includes CHS, all right, all right, all right!

Cooper Cougars ROAR to Katy Perry!

5:55 ~ make a wish!!! 

Hoop, Halloween & Holiday Hype

Happy All Saints Day! Hope you all enjoyed your Halloween festivities if you celebrated Boo Ghoul-style and have fun if you’re decking the halls this HOLYday season…

As for myself, NBA season is in full swing, so I tipped off this month of November with a triple-decker and may add College Hoops to my Dispo Hoop Scoops:

Elaine J. Dispo | NBA

* Matrix’s Tipoff Speech
* Dirk’s Mavs Mix
* Monta Basketball in Dallas

Plus, we’re about to launch the Pretty Fit App site full blast, so please check out my Pretty Fit Team bio. You can install the Pretty Fit app from iTunes.

Last, but not least, here are my Halloween photos, starring:

* Asia as Cookie Monster, Annie as Elmo
* Double-A Team as Black Cat & Pumpkin
* Jade & Dax as Black Cat & Pumpkin
* Pumpkin as Dallas Cowboys Jack O’Lantern (star eyes and nose, football mouth plus accessories – ball cap, headband, earrings, paraband for teeth)
* Yours Truly as Tonto with Arrowhead my Crow (won the USPFO Halloween 2013 Ladies’ Costume Contest – ironically, dressed as a man) ~ Kemosabe, baby!

Shoutout: Happy Retirement to my Mom!

Now back to cracking and cranking out my dissertation…

2:22 ~ make a wish!!!

Blog-portunities

Happy National Pumpkin Day! 

[Tonto for Halloween]

This week has been all about preparing for the NBA season and the upcoming holidays. I wrapped up my required writing for the rest of this month (which I hope to devote to my dissertation) before the regular season tips off. Please visit my Rants for my latest, and here are my most recent articles since I last shared my posts:

Elaine J. Dispo | NBA 

• Calderón Countdown
• Vinsanity at Linsanity Nation
• Coach’s DNPs
• Top 5 Mavs Champs *slideshow*

Elaine J. Dispo | Clubhouse

• Top 15 DCC *slideshow* <– by popular demand, I extended from Top 5 to 15 featured slides

Plus, I started submitting workout videos to the Pretty Fit iPhone app. When I Skyped with the app creator the other day, we discussed my collaboration on her blog, so I’m excited about potentially sharing more fitness tips! Here are my original Pretty Fit pic and my new one:

[Take me to the gun show!]

[Current Pretty Fit profile]

Let’s try this Pumpkin Crock Pot recipe from Tone It Up! Below is a snapshot of this Cat Trick-or-Treat recipe that I may give a shot, courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis‘ Giada at Home, that I watched earlier while dog-sitting. I’m also stoked about carving my pumpkin with a unique design…

[Black Cat Pop]

Now I’m hyped about Halloween and the festivities that follow. So far, I found my costume for tonight’s party and look forward to dressing up the animals!

[Asia & crow]

[Annie & me + owl]

[Dax & Jade + yours truly] 

Shoutouts:

• Happy Birthday to my Dad yesterday!

• Thank GOD my Lil’ Orphan Annie is in purrfect health, according to her vet, Dr. Price, from Windmill Animal Hospital, which is the Best Pet Care Anyhere… And it smells good too!

1:11 ~ make a wish!!!