LAST MINUTE HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

If you procrastinated on your Halloween costume this year, welcome to the club! We always have good intentions of planning ahead a wicked sweet costume but seem to lose track of time. Below are DIY costumes that you can put together at the last minute and no one will ever know!

HOTDOG

Grab a tan dress, some felt and a glue gun

via Studio DIY


MIME

You probably have most of this in your closet!

via Brit + Co


SNAPCHAT FILTER

Cardstock, scissors, a glue gun and ribbon is all you need!

via Oh Happy Day

PANTONE COLOR

A colored dress + white fabric and black letter stickers

via Sugar & Cloth

BANANA COSTUME

Complete with banana turban

via Say Yes

If all else fails, grab a sheet, cut some holes for your eyes and be a ghost like Charlie Brown

#diyyourhalloween

DIY Mini Pumpkins (and a giveaway!)

It's just something about this time of year that makes us want to buy all the pumpkins. During October it's easy to spend more money on said pumpkins than on food. It's not sad– it's for the blog folks...

Our mission– take all the cool pinned ideas we've seen and put our own twist on them! And let's face it... no one really wants to dump out pumpkin guts, so these are all no cutting-no gluing-sewing-no crying-required.

A little bit of spray paint goes a long way. That's the easiest way to transform your pumpkin from mehhh to glam. Stick on some letter stickers, and you've reached a whole new level my friend. 

Sharpies are among the best inventions ever known to mankind. With a little imagination and a steady hand, (hold on the coffee before you do these, we learned the hard way) you'll have a killer customized pumpkin in no time at all!

We're also hosting a little giveaway– 3 lucky winners will each receive one of these customized pumpkins from yours truly, but you have to...

1. Follow us on Instagram (@rayandablog)

2. Comment on our post (this is where we'll pull your name!) 

3. Like us on Facebook! And we love your comments, so send them our way!

Got it? We can't wait to see your pumpkin makeovers, and select our winners! You have until next Wednesday, October 26 to enter!

#paintyopumpkin

OCTOBER IS HERE

It's that time of the year again where our weekends consist of comfy sweaters, warm drinks and pumpkin everything. With the rare occurrence of Ray & A getting together lately, it was great to catch up eating brunch at our favorite hometown cafe and picking up some apples, gourds and of course fresh baked goods at our local farm. We're sharing some of our favorite October activities below!

A P P L E   P I C K I N G

Going to pick our own apples at an orchard definitely beats waxy apples at a grocery store any day. It's even cheaper as well! We're all about fresh and healthy, besides the occasional Chick-fil-A, which is essential to our diet.


C A M P F I R E S

Cool, fall nights are perfect for sitting by the campfire under the stars. Campfires are also the best time to stuff our faces with s'mores and other roasted goodies (we're healthy, remember?) Going to bed with that smoky smell signifies a great night by the fire.


R E A D I N G

Since weekends are our lounge days we're ready to dig into new reads and dive into another world. Ray highly recommends The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, obviously a John Green fan. A wishes she had books to rave about, but doesn't read as much as a cultured adult should, so help her out and send some recommendations her way.


K N I T T I N G

Yarn, yarn and more yarn. Tis the season for knitting and crocheting! A actually just did a mega yarn haul at JoAnn and is ready for some Netflix and knit. If you're looking for some cool patterns, Pinterest is our go to for inspiration and how-to's!


What are your favorite fall activities? Share below or comment on our Instagram @rayandablog

#haveagourdfall

Fall Picks

I hope this post finds you sipping some iced coffee and not a PSL (pumpkin spice latte, for you coffee amateurs out there), but we admit, we’re as excited for fall as the next person in line behind you at Starbucks.

Summer was kind of a blur between work, weekend outings, and planning for Ray’s wedding (which is in THREE DAYS!!!) Though we’re still trying to squeeze out the last few moments of summer, we’re already looking forward to some fun fall activities. We’ll share some of our top picks with you:

1. Apple picking! Pumpkins get all the credit this season, but don’t forget about the apples! Apple picking is just as fun and rewarding as rolling that big ‘ol pumpkin down a hill, and many local farms and orchards have festivals this time of season. Last year we headed to Tabora Farms to get our apple fix, and we definitely plan on heading back this year!
   
   
2. Fall Mountain Getaway We do love a good city adventure, but we’re country girls through-and-through. There’s nothing quite like being in the mountains during the fall season, surrounded by millions of shades of red and orange. Oh yeah, and campfires with lots of s’mores!
   
   
3. PSE (Pumpkin Spice Everything) I mean, we can’t resist, so might as well give in to the popular culture on this one. Grandma’s pumpkin pie will always beat that latte, so no worries Grandma.
   
   
4. Get our your Knitting Needles! Let’s face it, all season is knitting season, but there’s something about knitting under your cozy blanket (that you knit last year) with a cup of hot tea while streaming Netflix. Join a knitting circle, find some new patterns, and indulge on some new yarn, because ‘tis the season!
   
   
5. Harry Potter Festival (right here in Philly!) Septa will be transforming into the Hogwarts Express to take guests into the Chestnut Hill section of Philly for a weekend of Potter-themed festivities, including a Quidditch tournament.

To get you in the spirit of autumn, here's a free printable for you, or set is as your wallpaper. Did any of your top picks make our list? Got some more? We’d love to hear them– comment below and let us know how you’ll be kicking off your fall season!

#fallingforfall

Giving Thanks

Every year we are blessed with the time to get together with our families, sit down around the table and enjoy a homemade meal made by loving hands. Thanksgiving isn't just a holiday to eat lots of turkey and mashed potatoes, but the opportunity to truly reflect on everything we are thankful for surrounded by the ones we love.

Through the ups and downs of life we all have something to be thankful for, even when we feel at our lowest points.

Here are some things we’re thankful for:

1. Family- they can be crazy and dysfunctional at times, but we love them!
2. Friends- through the ups and downs, they’re always there for us, through bandcamp, college and beyond, they’re tried and true!
3. Freedom- this really rings true knowing everything that’s been happening in the world. We’re so thankful for the freedoms we have in this country and for the people who protect us so that we can have these rights.
4. The Holiday Season- time to gather with friends and family, enjoy great food and silly conversation never gets old.

 

As a great reminder of the infinite things to be thankful for, we created this banner all you hashtag-crazies out there will definitely appreciate. Just print out the template, cut, grab some string, assemble, and #givethanks.

What are you thankful for this year?

#justbethankful

WHAT WE'RE INTO

Can you believe it’s already the third week of November?! We can’t either, but we sure are excited for all the great food, fun, and family time to come in the next few weeks! Though life has been pretty busy the past few weeks, adjusting to new jobs and trying to find time to unwind, here are some things we’ve been into lately…

Check out these awesome handcrafted tapestries created by Maryanne Moodie. We would totally put these up in our rooms!

Thanksgiving has got us thinking about (and drooling over) pumpkin pie! Here’s a recipe for mini pumpkin pies we’re dying to try!

On the music side of things, Alisa has been on a hard core Shakey Graves kick, and also nearly fainted at the sight of him live in concert. Luckily, she survived to tell the story.

Cash cats. Cute photos of cats making' it rain.

The amount of bath bombs Lush is offering makes me want to take a bath everyday. Plus, they make your bath water look like a tie dye mess and it's awesome.

#intoit

Photos: 1. http://localstarlight.vsco.co 2. http://emilieristevski.vsco.co 

DIY: Gold-Dipped Pinecone Garland

Today we had an epiphany while shopping… PINECONES. What can we do with pinecones? Spray them gold and hang them up around the house! So that’s where this DIY came from. Just in time for the holidays, this is a super simple project. These three supplies will leave your house feeling very festive. We recommend buying the scented pinecones because they double as air fresheners!

MATERIALS:

+ Pinecones
+ Gold spray paint
+ Twine

1. Gather your pinecones (we got ours at Wal-Mart for under $5!)

2. Grab your spray paint, and spray the top half of each pinecone. Don't worry if it isn't exactly halfway— ombre is totally cool.

3. Once the pinecones are dry, take some twine and tie a knot around the fat part of the pinecone, spacing them out equally among the string.

Voila! This garland looks especially great on a fireplace mantle, but equally as cool on your wall, over your desk, heck maybe even in your car. Go nuts, and happy fall!

#cheaperthananthro

Halloween Inspiration

As the leaves are changing color, and the air is getting colder, that must mean that Halloween is creeping up on us! Whether you bob for apples, take your little cousins trick or treating so you can get candy, or just love covering your whole house with seasonal decorations, we’ve made a list of our Halloween favorites this year!

O U R F A V O R IT E C O S T U M E S !

1. Minions are the craze of the year, why not be one?
2. Oui, oui! You probably have the staple piece for this French girl costume in your own closet.
3. This Mary Poppins outfit really is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!


F E S T I V E   D E C O R A T I O N S !



1. Pumpkin carving isn't the only way to make your fall pumpkins one of a kind— check out some of these unconventional pumpkin decorating ideas.
2. This wall of bats is a simple, but effective way to make a statement this Halloween season!
3. These tin can luminaries are so adorable, we want to make them!


S P O O K Y   T R E AT S !



1. These Frankenstein pops are scary cute!
2. Simple, and sweet, we're wrapped up in these Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffle Mummies.
3. Don't know what to do with all that leftover Halloween candy? Make a Halloween candy bark!

To get yourself in the trick-or-treating spirit, we have a spooky download for you!

#trickortreat

National Coffee Day

Happy National Coffee Day! This is one of the greatest days of the year, and an ever greater excuse to reach for that second (or third) cup of joe today. Here is a list of places that are participating in free coffee today if you didn’t already have a spot scoped out.

Black, a little bit of cream and sugar, or maybe even that double caramel frappucino, you do you today. Celebrate coffee!

Images (from top): Felix Saw, Peppermintseed, Pasha Gavrilov, Dan Rubin, and Mylene Chung. 

#butfirstcoffee

National Alpaca Day

Not only did we spend our Saturday drinking coffee and meandering around a local flea market, but also by celebrating National Alpaca Day, spending quality time with, you guessed it, alpacas. Lots and lots of fuzzy, cute and all around glorious creatures. We even brought home "make-and-take" alpacas with real alpaca fiber that we will cherish. If you haven't met and pet an alpaca, we recommend you do ASAP. 

Check your local area to see if there are any alpaca farms near you! It might surprise you how many actually do exist.

#longneckteddybears

Apple Picking: Tabora Farms

What better way to welcome in fall than to go apple picking? We spent our Saturday afternoon at Tabora Farms eating delicious sandwiches, picking apples and browsing for mini pumpkins. Tabora has an indoor market which includes freshly-baked goods, special blends of coffee, fresh fruits and vegetables and a full deli counter. We especially love their stuffed rolls and raspberry apple crumb pie! 

This is just the start of our many fall adventures and we can't wait to explore more autumn favorites soon! 

#supportlocalfarms

Falling for Fall

Fall is upon us, and we couldn't be more excited! After a hot summer, it's always nice to look forward to the brisk air, hot drinks, and cozy sweaters. We've made a list of things to do this fall wherever you are. Check them out below...

1. Knitting! All year is the perfect time to knit, but knitting in the fall has a special charm. Here's to new patterns, new yarn, and a lazy Saturday morning. Get your knit on!

2. Pumpkin and ghord picking! Even though it's only September, that doesn't mean you can't start putting out the festive ghord decor! Make a day of it and find a local farm that sell these autumn favorites!

3. Fall football games! Nothing says fall more than a Friday night high school football game. Bring back some memories, and make new ones with old friends and family. Don't forget to bring your school spirit and bundle up- it get's cold fast!

4. Plan an fall getaway! Go ahead and take those vacation days, maybe even rent out a cozy little woodsy cottage. There's no better way to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage than living in the midst of it.

5. Go apple picking! Apples are still relevant, don't let the pumpkins steal the spotlight. From apple pie to apple cider, and everything in between,  you really can't beat the taste of freshly-picked apples!

Happy Fall!

Photos (top to bottom)

Chaucee Stillman

Paula Leme

Lauren Marek

Evan Boutte

Iveth Morales

Tiffany Mitchell

WHAT WE'RE INTO

Happy September! It's Wednesday, and that means we're halfway through this week, so don't worry, Friday is on it's way! But first, catch up with the fun and exciting things we've been into lately...

Wisdom teeth videos always give a good laugh, but this one shown on AFV takes the cake!

The return of the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks earlier than ever before!

Just because we’re not going back to school doesn’t mean we can’t invest in a cute planner!

Since we all probably pulled out a bowl of chips and watched the VMA’s this weekend, here are some crazy VMA outfits from the past.

It's now possible to relive part of your childhood with these giant Lego blocks! WANT.

And possibly our most favorite thing this week… McDonald’s will soon be serving breakfast all day!