Tag Archives: halloween

Fall Family Fun

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Fall Family Fun

Hello!! I am a fall girl through and through. The weather, the fashion, the holidays – it is just the best! Fall is when your favorite elder emo couple thrives because we do not do well in the hot weather whatsoever. Johnny and I both get burned to a crisp and I always end up feeling nauseous from being in the heat too long (medication side effects). As soon as that brisk weather hits, we are ready for all of the activities and it’s even more fun with our families and sweet nieces in tow. Here are some of the outings I hope to have as well as some other ideas too:

Apple picking is SO obvious but it needs to be said as it is quite possibly my favorite autumn activity. It truly is a fall staple and there are so many gorgeous orchards in my neck of the woods. Apple picking is such a wholesome outing and there is nothing better than taking a leisurely stroll amongst the trees. If the orchards in your area are similar to mine, there are also sure to be lots of kid friendly attractions too – hay rides, petting zoos, crafts, games, etc. These extra bonuses will make for a day that your whole family, young and old, can enjoy together.

There are several glass blowing studios nearby to me and it is something that I have always wanted to try! Now, especially, because I have seen countless ads on Facebook from said studios offering classes for glass blown pumpkins. While this isn’t an ideal activity for younger kiddos, it would be great for teens or a date night. Johnny and I already have countless pumpkin related Halloween decor but nothing handmade by us so I would love to get a class scheduled and learn something new.

Johnny and I try to watch as many scary movies as humanly possible during spooky season and we both really look forward to it. Movie nights are simple, yes, but they can be as extra as you wish. You could set up twinkling orange and purple lights and a blanket fort and make all of the treats! A caramel apple station with a variety of topping options will be sure to please. You can also find recipes for mocktails that will look like a bubbling brew and serve them in potion bottles for the full effect. Revisit Disney channel movie classics for younger kiddos or cool claymation flicks like Coraline or Paranorman for your teens!

Mine and Johnny’s main qualm with apartment living is that we don’t have a yard to decorate for Halloween, so please decorate in our honor. This is something that the whole family can pitch in on. Littles could make paper chains, paper bag owls, and paint pictures for the indoors. Older helpers can work outside to create Halloween magic! Set a budget per person, visit local discount stores, and see what you can come up with. Who knows, your house just might be the best decorated one on the block.

Speaking of decorations, if your neighborhood or surrounding areas boasts well decorated homes – turn it into a scavenger hunt. Make a list of what you are looking for, grab some travel mugs of hot apple cider, and hit the road to see what you can see. And play the Monster Mash on repeat, obvi! This is the perfect activity for when you just feel like getting out of the house on a chilly night. After your drive, take a superlative style vote for best decorated, scariest, and silliest. You also might get some inspiration for your own home’s decor!

Johnny and I have emerged from our coffins and are ready to enjoy a fun and full fall together and with our families. It really is the happiest time of the year!

What is your favorite fall activity? What are you dressing up as for Halloween? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sweet Surprises: Halloween Decor Galore Edition

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Sweet Surprises: Halloween Decor Galore Edition

Hello!! Whenever Johnny and I are running errands, we like to pick up little tokens of affection if we see something that reminds us of each other. It could be a new record, a book, or even a candy bar to share for dessert. Whatever it is, it’s always exciting to return home and say that we have a surprise. This past week, Johnny stopped at Marc’s which is a discount grocery store in our neck of the woods. He had a few odds and ends to pick up as well as this silly little something that was hanging up at my work station once I got home:

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As soon as I saw this wine related sign on my computer chair, I couldn’t stop laughing because I knew exactly why Johnny got it. Yes, I do love wine lol. However, the deeper meaning behind it is a nod to one of our favorite Saturday Night Live skits. Long story short, a family is celebrating a special occasion. The children and husband present the mom with wooden signs that have phrases on them. Think “Live, Laugh, Love”. As she continues to open the presents, the phrases get more and more ridiculous. For example, a sign about wine devolves into “I’m a mess and love drinking alone”. We are constantly quoting these segments and Johnny was so pleased to have found something similar and for only a dollar to boot!

This truly goes to show that it doesn’t matter how much you spend on anything, rather it’s the thought behind it. For one dollar, Johnny found spooky decor that reflected one of our running inside jokes and makes me smile every time I see it. My husband was chomping at the bit for me to get home and placed it in a prime position for maximum effect. He knows my routine of going right to the computer after work and had it waiting just for me. As far as I’m concerned, this Sweet Surprise was worth a million bucks because it made me feel like it. I am the luckiest gal. ❤

I didn’t need wine to focus on writing this post, but I sure appreciate the sentiment anyways. Shout out to Johnny for always being the absolute best!

Do you have any signs with funny phrases at home? What is your favorite Saturday Night Live skit? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Five Dollar Decor

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Five Dollar Decor

Hello!! I live for this time of year as we transition into fall. Primarily because all of the spooky season decor and clothing hits the stores. Unfortunately, TJMaxx had a whole lot of nothing in the Halloween department during a recent visit. I did get a really cute candy corn plushie, though! After that shopping trip, I decided to let Halloween decor come to me. And it did! During a quick break at work, I stopped into Target to pick up a few birthday prezzies for my bestie. Right around where I was browsing was the five dollar and under section and I literally clutched my pearls when I found this absolute steal:

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Amidst the bits and bobbles of the dollar department, I stumbled upon the very last five dollar Frankenstein jar. Pastel Halloween decor is so on trend and I couldn’t believe my good fortune to have snagged it. Like I said, letting Halloween decor come to me really worked! Of course, the five buck price was not a shock as it was marked as such but it honestly was lol. As soon as I found it, I thought to myself that I would be paying at least double that if I found it at TJMaxx or elsewhere. It was the perfect, cost effective little treat and I couldn’t wait to bring it home to show Johnny and display it on our knick knack shelves.

What I love about my new Frankenstein jar is how different it is. Mine and Johnny’s spooky artifacts mainly feature black, white, and red so this pastel pop of color was a unique and welcome addition. This was my first time in Target in literally forever and it made me very curious about what other Halloween goodies were going to be available in store. In my ideal world there would be a full collection of pastel horror movie monster jars, but I would happily settle for just a Dracula. How cool would that be?!

There were no tricks about this little treat and my appetite for all of the spooky things has been curbed… Ever so slightly for the time being! 😀

Who is your favorite horror movie monster? What kind of Halloween decor do you have? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Just Get The Plushie!

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Just Get The Plushie!

Hello!! Right now is one of my favorite times of the year. The weather is cooling down and that means spooky season is basically already here lol finally! A majority of stores already have their Halloween collections out, including TJMaxx. On my break during work, I made a quick visit to TJs to pick up a few Back To School prezzies for my niece. And, of course, I had to peep their Halloween decor too! Unfortunately, their selection wasn’t anything to sneeze at and I was disappointed to have not found a spooky themed snow globe as per my yearly tradition. However, I did find the most adorable plushie so check out my new pal:

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^^^ Lol at the close up shot!

Johnny and I are plushie people and have countless stuffies that we like to snuggle up with when we are watching TV or retiring for the night. As soon as I saw the candy corn plush at TJ’s, I knew it was coming home with me because 1) Johnny would love it too. And 2) We have a corn dog plushie that Johnny won for me at the county fair last year and it would be funny to have two corn related stuffed animals. My parents also happened to be at the store running errands and when I showed my dad Mr. Candy Corn, he said something to the likes of “you’re just pissing your money away”. All I have to say to that is…

Lol, yes you heard me. Buy the damn plushie and enjoy your treat. I feel like people my age (Thirty somethings) are very in touch with their inner child and it is okay to spoil yourself with purchases like a stuffed animal. We are in tune to the “treat yourself” culture and if that treat puts a smile on your face and doesn’t break your bank, then go for it! It’s no secret that the times we are living in are totally whacky and people are stressed and scared. Items like a plushie bring comfort and it’s not surprising that I know so many people in mine and Johnny’s age group that gravitate towards them. It’s not weird and it’s not a stupid purchase. Rather, it’s something little that you can do for yourself and, most importantly, who cares what anyone else has to say about it. I sure don’t!

Johnny and I adore the new addition to our plushie collection and I didn’t put the candy corn stuffie down from the moment I brought it home. It was a twelve dollar investment and worth every penny and then some. Pissing money away? I think not!

What is one of your go to treat yourself purchases? What is something you collect? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Bath & Body Works Haul

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Bath & Body Works Haul

Hello!! A week or so ago I got some coupons from Bath & Body Works in the mail for a free wallflower and twenty percent off your purchase. This was perfect timing because I was in need of more of my foaming hand soap as it was pretty slim pickings during the semi annual sale in June. During a quick break at work, I was able to stop in and restock my soap, grab a freebie wallflower, and some new hand sanitizer too. The fragrance I got for hand sani during the semi annual sale reeked lol! Let’s take a look and discuss these scents further:

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Bath & Body Works was jam packed with fall and Halloween fragrances and I was living for it! If you haven’t peeped their Halloween collection, make sure you check it out because everything is fabulous. Rather than stick to one scent category, I got a little bit of everything and contained myself from buying literally every single spooky related product. It was much easier said than done! Here are my thoughts on the above…

Chew Make Me Happy: In case you couldn’t guess, this hand soap smells exactly like bubblegum! Johnny and I watch our nieces fairly often and they are always excited to see what smell goods I have when they visit. I knew they would go gaga over the bubblegum scent so this was definitely for them. I probably wouldn’t have bought this one if it weren’t for the kiddos, but they’ll love it so it’s good enough for me!

Candy Apple Cauldron: Apple is my absolute favorite scent so I was really excited to see that one of the new Halloween fragrances was Candy Apple Cauldron. It offers notes of “mysterious green apple, simmering sugar, and crystalized bergamot”. I can’t speak for if the green apple smells mysterious or not lol, but it smells identical to a green apple Jolly Rancher. I would happily use it all year.

Afternoon Apple Picking: All of the apple!!! Whenever fall rolls around, I have to get my Afternoon Apple Picking fix. It is truly the perfect fall scent and captures the essence of a crisp fall day at the apple orchard. This fragrance features notes of “crisp apple, succulent pear, and cinnamon”. Normally, I am not a cinnamon fan at all. However, it blends beautifully altogether and I think it smells like a steaming cup of hot apple cider.

Vampire Blood: Whenever spooky season is nigh, I always have to purchase my favorite scent of Vampire Blood. B&BW brings Vampire Blood back every year and I am so glad they do. It is a deep berry fragrance with notes of “red berries, blooming jasmine, and petrifying plum”. If you are a fan of berry scents, this is a must buy. The packaging for it is also so cute this year!

Sweet As Sugar: Holy moly – Sweet As Sugar smells good enough to eat!! The fragrance notes are equally as mouthwatering and feature “crumbled crust, gooey brown sugar, and sprinkled cinnamon”. I think it smells like caramel hot chocolate and it is divine. I would absolutely buy it again.

Hand Sanitizers: I selected Champagne Apple & Honey (Shocker!) and Cozy Vanilla Almond for my hand sanitizers. Both of these scents are completely straight forward. If you like apples or vanilla, you will like these fragrances without a doubt.

Wallflower: For my free wallflower, I went with Caramel Pumpkin Swirl. I am not big on pumpkin scents, but that doesn’t really matter because it doesn’t smell like pumpkin at all. This wallflower smells like straight up caramel. It is rich, decadent, and is basically like you’re unwrapping a Werther’s Original. Yum!

I am very pleased with my Bath & Body Works Haul and you can’t beat the price. I got all of these goodies for twenty-five dollars. Total steal!

What is your favorite fall scent? What is your favorite Bath & Body Works fragrance? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Candle Corner

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Candle Corner

Hello!! I have had a banner birthday month and have been enjoying all of the spoils from my big day. In fact, this past weekend I went on an online shopathon with the gift cards that I received and that was a blast. There is nothing better than some guilt free hauls… But, then again, when have I ever suffered from buyer’s remorse after any purchases?! Lol, the answer is never! Another thing I did this weekend was set up my Candle Corner with gifts from my two besties. While I love candles, I never buy them for myself so they are always the perfect gift. It was so nice to cozy up on the couch with Degrassi and these fabulously spooky flames:

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My darling Gemini Twin, Kate of Live In The Nautical, and my BFF since freshman year of high school, Lea, always know exactly what to get for yours truly. Among other amazingly thoughtful gifts, Lea got me my middle finger candle and Kate gifted me with the skull and You A Spooky Bitch candles from a Halloween gift set. Needless to say, I am obsessed! Candles are great, yes, but they are even better when they are themed around my happiest time of the year. And, of course, they match beautifully with mine and Johnny’s Halloween all year round home decor. 😀

Like I said, I never go out of my way to buy candles for myself. That extra cash goes right into my shoe fund lol. However, I think I can dip into that fund for a few candles after this past weekend because I am going to be sad when my gifts burn out! I had a super lazy weekend and it was so soothing to just be able to veg out with my flickering flames around me. It is a rarity for me to even have candles to burn and it felt like such a luxury. I liked it very much and it set the ideal atmosphere to snuggle up with my favorite teen drama and chill after a long work week. Restocking my candle corner soon appears to be a resounding absolute must!

A middle finger, a skull, and a spooky bitch candle – who could ask for anything more?! I loved being able to use my birthday prezzies this weekend and my candles took the cake!

Where is your favorite place to buy candles? What is your favorite scent for candles? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

More Halloween Pics

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More Halloween Pics

Hello!!! Johnny and I had so much fun on Halloween and this has been my favorite spooky season celebration we have had yet. I loved my costume, we watched all of the scary movies, and enjoyed a bonfire while we passed out Trick or Treat candy with my family. Normally, it’s like pulling teeth to get Johnny to take a “nice” picture with me. (He has a knack for subtly flipping the bird in most of our pictures lol SMH!) On Trick or Treat night, however, he was ready for his close up and willingly took these shots with me. I think he rocked it!

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It is a joy to celebrate any holiday with Johnny, but Halloween just hits different. It’s not a season – it’s a state of mind and while we keep it spooky year round, Halloween weekend is like our Christmas Day. Johnny and I were so excited to get dressed up and jam packed our schedule full of activities. The best part was definitely helping out with Trick or Treat and we were thrilled that my family got involved in it too. We just love to spread that Halloween spirit and our bonfire was awesome. We had a powder to make the flames change colors and it looked amazing! 😀

Trick or Treat night was also great because Johnny finally took pictures with me. In fact, when I asked him if he would take “nice” pictures with me, he replied with “Of course I will. It’s Halloween!” Lol, he is so ridiculous but he was serving LOOKS in these shots. He was working his hodge podge vampire costume like nobody’s business and I was so proud. I have pictures of us together from every Halloween we have celebrated as a couple and I really treasure them. I think the pics we took this year was our best work yet. ❤

I didn’t have one piece of candy all of Halloween weekend because we ran out. But, I have countless happy memories from it and that’s good enough for me! ❤

What is your favorite Halloween candy? Least favorite? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Racy Ringleader OOTD Bloopers

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Racy Ringleader OOTD Bloopers

Hello everyone and welcome to the blooper reel from my Racy Ringleader OOTD! Last year, Johnny and I began a Halloween tradition of passing out Trick or Treat candy in my parents’ neighborhood. This is what we did on Saturday evening along with a bonfire and it was such fun. We saw a lot of great costumes throughout the evening, but I still say mine was the best lol. Sorry about it, kids!! These shots, however, were anything but the best so naturally let’s take a look:

Starring in a terrifyingly sexy opera

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I LOOK GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Loved my fake lashes but they made my eyes look closed in 99% of the pictures…

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See what I mean?? Lol SMH

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HI YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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Waving up the first round of Trick or Treaters!

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In case you haven’t noticed, Johnny and I love Halloween and we were simply thriving over the weekend. We enjoyed ourselves so much for our dinner and movie date with our bestie on Friday, but Trick or Treat night just hits differently. The entire evening was spent sitting around a raging fire with my parents and brother, laughing and listing off all of our favorite costumes that we had seen. It was so nice to see them get into the Halloween spirit with us and share in our joy of the happiest holiday of all.

We had an insane amount of Trick or Treaters visit us and we actually ran out of candy before the event was over. In that time, we saw so many funny and adorable costumes. I think we all agreed on a kiddo specifically dressed as “Rocky III” and carrying a speaker that played “The Eye of The Tiger” as being the winner. Honorable mention goes to a kid dressed up as a “guy in a suit”, a lil baby as a Starbucks Frappachino, and an undead mermaid. All of the kids rocked it, though, and it warmed my cold, bitter heart to see everyone in the neighborhood having a blast!

This has been one of mine and Johnny’s best Halloweens yet and I wish it never ended. I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t stoked about Thanksgiving food, though! 😀

What was your favorite Halloween costume you saw? What is your favorite candy? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Racy Ringleader OOTD

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Racy Ringleader OOTD

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new OOTD showing off my Racy Ringleader Halloween costume! I don’t know about all of you, but Johnny and I had a fabulous Halloween weekend. On Friday, our bestie came over for dinner and scary movies. Saturday we had a bonfire and passed out candy at my parents’ house. And on Sunday, we spent all day watching more horror flicks. It was great! I have been itching to wear my new costume since it came in the mail and I don’t think it could have turned out any better. Check it out:

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Who? What? Wear?

Racy Ringleader Costume: Spirit Halloween

Platform Boots: Forever 21

Bejeweled Fishnets: Urban Outfitters

The earrings are from Claire’s, the headband is from Amazon, the fake lashes are from Spirit Halloween, and the cane sword was a gift from Johnny!

My Racy Ringleader costume is literally only the third Halloween costume that I have bought as an adult and I am thrilled about it. Partially because it looks awesome, but also because it came together so well. The base of the costume is all from Spirit Halloween and the accessories came from my own closet. This was aces in my book because the costume was pretty expensive and I didn’t want to buy anything more if I didn’t have to. As soon as I saw my costume online, I knew exactly how I wanted to wear it and it turned out exactly the way I pictured it. I love when that happens. 🙂

Since the base of the outfit required no guesswork, let’s move onto accessories. The first order of business was the top hat because the one that came with my costume sucked on ice. Luckily, Johnny ordered me a new one, but it wasn’t quite what we expected. Instead of a headband, it was held up by an elastic string under the neck and it was so lame lol. My Johnny is a handy guy, though, and he Gorilla Taped it to a headband base of mine. It worked like a charm, despite it being titled as a “mini Leprechaun hat”. Haha, not quite Racy Ringleader – but I’ll take it!

Next on the agenda was shoes and tights. This was a no brainer and I selected my favorite pair of bejeweled fishnets from Urban Outfitters. These tights are the absolute best and it added the sex appeal and touch of bling that this costume needed. And, of course, the Forever 21 platform boots were SO ideal as the colors in its details matched the costume perfectly. It was like they were made to wear with it and I couldn’t imagine anything different. These ones took the cake, for sure.

The final order of business was earrings and my beloved cane sword. For earrings, I went with a large pair of burnished gold crosses. These added a playful touch of movement and complimented all that gold in the costume beautifully. And, finally, the cane sword completed the costume. This was a birthday gift from Johnny and it was the best to be able to break it out for Halloween. While I could have ordered a whip from Spirit Halloween, this was a way more fun option. It still gets me every time that it’s actually a sword and I will never be over that snake head handle!!!

My Racy Ringleader OOTD had me feeling like I won Halloween and I felt amazing in it. It was sexy, sassy, and well worth the price tag. Maybe I’ll buy another new costume next year, but I won’t be mad if I end up wearing this one again!

What did you do for Halloween? What did you dress up as? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Halloween Costume Sneak Peek

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Halloween Costume Sneak Peek

Hello!!!! Although Halloween is my favorite holiday of all time, I only have two costumes in my entire closet. One being a sexy Raggedy Anne that is old as dirt and a skeleton bodysuit that I wore two years ago. Last year, I created a costume from home and dressed up as Johnny lol! Because my options for a costume this year are pretty much nonexistent, I decided to finally buy a new one. I went with a sexy circus ringleader and I love it. But, damn dude, when did costumes become so expensive?! Then again, Halloween is like Christmas Day for me so why not go all out. 😀 Take a look at my new costume and keep it locked for an OOTD because I cannot wait to take pictures in it:

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I ordered this costume from Spirit Halloween online because I could not be bothered to make my way to the store. As soon as Spirit Halloweens start popping up in my neck of the woods, they become picked over within a day and I just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of limited options. I was a bit nervous that my ringleader costume wouldn’t fit but it actually ran very true to the size chart and I am thrilled about it. This will make future online costume shopping so much easier because it eliminates any guess work. The costume I selected only came with the velvet cami top, jacket, and a little top hat so I purchased the pleather booty shorts separately. I also added on some cheetah print false lashes to complete the look.

This was actually not my first choice for my ringleader Halloween costume. Originally, I had selected a jumpsuit for the sake of staying warm. Then, Johnny talked me out of it while we were exploring other ringleader costumes. He insisted that I would look amazing in the one I bought and after a lot of mental back and forth, I ended up agreeing with him. Johnny shot down every “what if it’s too much/too short/too anything” every single time and it made me feel so good and confident. Hey, when he’s right he’s right because this costume looked FIRE on.

I felt so fabulous when I tried this costume on and was surprised by its quality. I adore the cami top and, honestly, will probably end up wearing it beyond Halloween! The maroon jacket was fairly thick, which I liked and it offered such gorgeous detail. Can we talk about that chain attachment between the buttons and the embroidery?! I might have dragged my feet about the price I paid, but I think anything less expensive could look cheap and feel flimsy. I am very happy with my purchase overall!

I am SO excited to break this costume out and wanted to give all of you a sneak peek before the grand OOTD reveal. Now, cue “Circus” by Britney Spears, please!

What are you dressing up as for Halloween? How often do you buy a new Halloween costume? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah