Things I'm Loving Tuesday 9.28

YAY for another edition of Things I'm Loving Tuesday! I hope yall love these posts as much as I do. I love reading about what other people think of specific products and I also love sharing my own opinions! Today, I have three amazing things (as always) that I hope yall will love :)


Peep Toe Booties
I know when we all think of fall, we automatically think of boots! And more recently, trends have leaned toward ankle boots and booties, which I LOVE now that we live in Florida. Booties are the absolute perfect way to spice up an outfit with a fall flare without sacrificing your comfort in the heat. I, especially, have been loving peep toe booties! I recently bought the pair below from Kohls and I am so glad I made the purchase. 

They are perfect paired with a dress and cardigan or a pair of skinny jeans and a tank top. They are also incredibly comfortable and are a fabulous price of $30! The bootie trend is so easy to implement in any wardrobe and they instantly give an outfit a more chic appeal. If you want to hope on the peep toe bootie train, below are some of my favorites available at Kohls now!

Batiste Dry Shampoo
A little secret about me is I HATE washing my hair. Well, more so that I hate blow drying and styling my hair after washing it. For that reason and to savor the overall health of hair after years of bleaching it, I now only wash my hair once a week. Yes, I still shower more often than that, I just don't wash my hair every single time I shower. That is why dry shampoo is an absolute life saver for me! I use dry shampoo almost every single day! Not that my hair gets overly oily, but I love using it to boost up my volume and add some texture to my roots. I have tried many different brands of dry shampoo but absolutely none can compare to Batiste! The mist is fine yet powerful and a little goes such a long way. One of my favorite things about this brand specifically is that they make dry shampoo that is colored for different colored hair. This is perfect for those with darker hair because the powder won't show up white or gray against those sultry shades. I am bummed that they no longer carry the red shade. None the less, this product is amazing and I will never use a different brand again. You can find Batiste in most drugstores for about $5-$9 a can depending on the store. I am currently using the one that is supposed to be cool & crispy fresh and though the smell isn't my favorite, the actual powder is! If you're in the market for a new dry shampoo, definitely give this one a try. You won't be disappointed! 

PS- A post on how I've trained my hair to not become an oily mess with just one wash a week will be coming very soon! 


How to Get Away with Murder 
So, we all know I love Scandal and I am beyond excited that it is finally back on ABC on Thursday nights! However, I think it's time for me to also share my love for How to Get Away with Murder! HTGAWM premiered last year on ABC after Scandal and though it didn't automatically have me hooked, it was still a show I watched every single Thursday night or Friday morning if I fell asleep early. However, last week's season opener has me SO excited to see what will happen this time! This show is filled with suspense and, in typical Shonda Rhimes fashion, there is certainly an abundance of twists and surprises to keep you on your toes and leave you begging for a new episode without having to wait six more days. Oh, and the lead actress, Viola Davis, just won an Emmy for the Best Actress in a TV Drama, so you know this show has got to be good. If you have never watched HTGAWM, go to Netflix right now!! You have 3 nights binge watch the first season and get caught up for the next episode on Thursday at 10pm!

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel here! I have four new videos about some amazing beauty products coming very soon that you won't want to miss! 

Featured Friday: Fall Football Fashion

Happy Happy Friday!! So, since it is now officially fall, I figured what better way to celebrate than to bring back a Wonderfully Wolf favorite guest writer! Today, McKeller is sharing her favorite fall outfits for college football games! And yall, these outfits are SO cute. We all know I love a good college football game and that's mostly because picking out an outfit for the game is so much FUN (also because I really like tailgate food)! I hope yall enjoy her awesome tips and suggestions for looking your best at tomorrow's game :)

Happy first few days of Fall everyone! To me, this season means pumpkins (as decoration and to cook with), scarves, sweaters, boots, and football!! I have always loved football simply because as a born and raised North Carolinian, football is just another excuse to dress up and look our best! The first few weekends of fall can be tricky because the weather is still warm but we all know we are ready to throw on our chunky sweaters, grab a latte (probably a pumpkin or caramel flavor!), and head to the football stadium. 

So, Courtney and I thought it would be a great idea to do a Featured Friday on Fall Football Fashion, especially since last Friday the cutest mommy-to-be did a football tailgating food FF! If you missed it, check out Sam's post here. I will try to give some different outfit ideas for the games this weekend (70’s here in NC) and then work into the frigid games that we enjoy in November and even December! Unfortunately, I cannot go to my school’s game tomorrow (GO PIRATES! BEAT THE HOKIES!) but this is definitely what I would wear if I could go!

I love this gold necklace and you can find it here! 

           

For the next few games (all depending on that oh, so reliable North Carolina weather) I will wear jeans or leggings and a tank top with a cardigan. I love J. Crew Factory cardigans and have so many of them! This is the style I have. Really, anywhere you go will have cardigans and they are so versatile and perfect for fall! You can wear them to work, a football game and tailgating, and even date night! 

Then, it is sweater time!! I love neutral colored sweaters with fun pants or shoes! This is where you can add in your school's colors and really show some Game Day spirit. These burgundy  pants from Belk are perfect for those cool fall nights! 

And, of course, this orange sweater is perfect from a game at Campbell! 

For when it is miserably cold out and you HAVE to go to the biggest game of the year, I layer leggings under my jeans and then a long sleeve shirt underneath my sweater with a pea coat and scarf! Leggings from Target are honestly some of the best I have! Here is a pair of leggings on sale for just $6 AND they are fleece-lined for those colder games. These cost a little more but will still be great quality! 

J. Crew factory never lets me down with their sweaters. Each and every year I am so impressed with the quality and styles they produce. I chose this one because there are a ton of color options but I suggest looking at all of them while you’re on the site!! 

These colorblock sweaters from Old Navy are another great option and they would look great with bright flats or a big chunky necklace to show your team colors! Old Navy has so many adorable and AFFORABLE (praise) sweaters this year. This one on the right is probably going to be in my closet before too long... :) 

I love this sweater from Target and it comes in a variety of colors! The “pullover” type sweaters look so comfy and will look adorable with a pair of skinny jeans and booties! 

Target also has great shoes that will last you all football season (and Fall/Winter!) These are so popular right now and will look great with almost anything! 

These wedge booties from DSW are similar to the ones I own and I really enjoy wearing them during these fall months! And these black boots have a fun zipper detail to add some flare to any outfit! 

Lastly, I couldn’t show you boots without finding a pair of Frye’s! I have had a pair for years now that I found on sale at 6pm and they are the BEST BOOTS. Here are some similar to mine! 

As for accessories... 

Who doesn’t love scarves!? They're practical and fashionable! A scarf is great to keep warm and add a splash of color (or  to tone down your bright orange sweater for Campbell University) and this one from J. Crew Factory is to die for! 

These necklaces from Z.Z Designs are handmade by a mother-daughter team in Kinston, North Carolina and are so cute and priced well! They can even custom design a piece for your specific school's colors. Below are some great team necklaces that would be a hit at any game! 

Hopefully, these outfits will allow you to score a touchdown in the style department and will really add diversity in your closet! Don’t forget to let us know what you think and to post pictures of your fall football fashion!

Something I'm Not Loving This Tuesday 9.22

Okay yall... It's about to get real on Wonderfully Wolf! Grab a cupcake or PSF (because it's way too hot in Florida for a latte) and enjoy reading something I'm not so crazy about lately.

YUMMMM!

Sooo raise your hand if you, too, could not WAIT to graduate from college. Life without classes seemed soooo great and fabulous with lunch dates, a corner office, and a swanky 9-5 job. Or so I thought until I had those three things... Don't get me wrong, I know I am so blessed to have the job I have and there are plenty of recent grads still hoping to land a gig like mine, however, I can't shake the feeling that there's got to be SOMETHING more to life than just working 40 hours a week to be able to enjoy some sushi and a glass of wine on the weekends. If you're like me, life after college hit like a school bus going 65 mph. So long to having your besties right down the hall, to being able to nap in between classes and sorority events, and to working three hours a day at a wonderful internship. Working a full time job has been a MAJOR adjustment to say the least. I feel like a huge chunk of my day has been ripped out of my hands and placed into the grips of Corporate America, where a business can never make enough billions and my sole goal is to increase net income. I often feel so frustrated and drained after sitting in an hour and a half worth of stopped traffic to get home that the things I always enjoyed get left behind. Things like going to the gym, writing blog content, and cleaning my home. It's like a never ending cycle of trying to keep up and do it all before those two glorious days of freedom come around. The monotony drags on and keeps me wishing for a "fun" dream job that I could do from home and love so much that it never seems like actual work (if anyone has found one of those, let your girl know!). 

Dreaming of those "I stay home and cuddle puppies/blog all day" days

This is also where I would like to apologize for my lack of content lately! I know, I know, it's my blog and I can do what I want with it. But with that being said, I LOVE this blog and the community it has created. I love seeing how it is touching others and how it is shaping my own life! And that is why I get so discouraged and upset when I feel like it is constantly placed on the back burner due to my lack of energy, motivation, and inspiration after a long day at work and a long battle with road rage. I promise, if you stick with me, I will stick with you and continue to do my best with this little blog of mine :). 

Back to the main point, if you are finding yourself in the same position, with the same feelings, know you are NOT alone! Unfortunately, I don't have any great insight or wisdom as to how to get out of this rut, but I do know that Jesus is that something more we are searching for. I wouldn't have made it through the past month in my new position without His daily guidance and grace over my life. So until we hit it big and Dakota decides to go pro or I become YouTube famous ;), I'll continue to strive to use my workplace as my ministry and try to see the strength and beauty in the moment I am in. Any and all advice from those who have conquered this new stage of life, is completely welcomed! :) 

Featured Friday: Fall Recipes

Welcome back to Featured Friday!! I am so excited to introduce yall to my sweet friend, Sam! Sam and I were roomies our freshman and sophomore years of college and we share so many fun memories!! Especially ones from state fairs, Saturday nights, and college football games. Though we miss those glory days, we are all SO excited for the upcoming months when we get to meet the beautiful baby girl Sam and Trooper are expecting! In the meantime and in the spirit of the season, I knew Sam was the perfect person to share some amazing fall recipes with you. Mainly because she always had THE best tailgating dishes! We hope you enjoy! :)

Hey yall! I’m Samantha Sawyer and I’ve known Courtney since our freshman year of college! We both share a serious love for fall and that probably starts with our love for watching our now husbands play football together at Campbell! I’m thrilled that Courtney has asked me to share a couple of my favorite fall recipes with you guys in September, October, and November! As we all know, September is the start of college football for most schools so what better way to start this series of blog posts than to share a few of my favorite tailgate foods!

If you know me, you know

I. LOVE. THE. CROCKPOT.

You can just throw everything in that bad boy and ignore it until it’s time to get ready for game time! Mine has the fancy clips on it so you don’t have to worry about the lid popping off while driving and walking to your tailgate spot! That makes for less mess and hot food! Best $30 anybody could ever spend.

The first recipe I’m going to share with you guys is “Slow Cooker Sweet and Smokey Pulled Chicken Sandwiches!” It’s easy shmeesy and even though it’s super savory, it’s actually a pretty healthy dish!

For this, you need:

14-ounce can of plain tomato sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 clove of garlic, minced

½ of an onion, diced

½ teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon of liquid smoke

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons of flour (or 1 tablespoon cornstarch)

2-pounds boneless chicken breast

Hamburger buns

1. Add all of the ingredients to the crockpot, except the meat and flour. Whisk them together.

2. Place the chicken in the sauce.

3. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours.

4. Take two forks and pull apart the meat and stir in the 3 tablespoons of flour*

5. Cover again and let cook until you need to walk out of the door.

6. Serve alone or on hamburger buns! ENJOY!

*If using cornstarch, mix in separate dish with 3 tablespoons of COLD water to dissolve, then add to crockpot.

This doesn’t have to be a tailgate food, of course! We had it for dinner last week and I sure had one happy husband!

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The next recipe is one of our favorites! CHILI. Again, we will be using my BFF, the crockpot! This recipe doesn’t need to be followed to the T. You can do more or less of whatever and it will still turn out fantastic!

So this recipe would call for:

1-pound of ground beef, chicken, or turkey

2 cans of kidney beans, light or dark

½ cup diced onion

1 can of plain tomato sauce

1 can of diced tomatoes (or Rotel for some additional spice)

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

4 tablespoons of chili powder

½ teaspoon salt

Texas Pete to taste (we probably use 1 ½ tablespoons)

Topping:

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Saltine crackers

1. Brown the ground beef, turkey, or chicken in a pan on the stove with the diced onion.

2. Throw the meat, onions, and everything else EXCEPT the topping in the crock pot and stir.

3. Cook on Low 6-8 hours or High 3-4 hours. (Everything is already cooked, so it doesn’t REALLY matter.)

4. Serve in a bowl with a spoonful of sour cream, shredded cheese, and crushed saltine crackers!

YUM YUM YUMMMM!

Yall, I’m really sorry that all of these aren’t super-duper healthy but being pregnant, I’m much more into delicious.

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Tailgates are made for yummy dips because you don’t really even need a plate. We all know that one person that stands by the dip and EATS IT ALL. That’s me (and Courtney). No shame in my game.

So here we have it, Jalapeno Popper DIP.

You’ll need:

Dip:

2 packages of cream cheese, softened (Reduced Fat is fine, too!)

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 or 2 small cans of jalapenos, up to you and your taste buds

1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar-jack cheese

5 pieces of chopped, cooked bacon, if you want

Topping:

1 cup of Ritz crackers, crushed

½ stick of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Combine and mix all of the dip ingredients together and put into a baking dish.

2. Combine and mix the topping ingredients together and put on top of dip.

3. Bake for 20 minutes

4. Broil for 2 minutes to brown the cracker topping.

5. ENJOY with Ritz crackers, wheat thins, or scoops!

BE CAREFUL not to burn it! Broiling will char those crackers in the hot minute you take to text somebody back, smoke detectors will go off, and it’ll smell awful for a few hours. Don’t ask me how I know.

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Last one is a super simple one: caramel-dipped apple slices. They are such an underrated snack but everybody loves them.  All you have to do is buy a bag of granny smith apples and grab one of those caramel dips the grocery store conveniently puts next to those apples. Slice those yummy things up, take the lid off of the caramel, and BAM, you have a delicious snack.

(image via google)

I hope you guys enjoyed the four recipes I shared with you this month! I’ll be back in October to share a few more of my favorite fall treats! If you decide to try any of them out, let us know by tagging and hashtagging #wonderfullywolf on instagram!

Wedding Wednesday: Bachelorette Edition

Wedding Wednesday is back!! This past weekend, I went to Sunset Beach to celebrate a very special bride-to-be, Jesse! I have known Jesse since we were itty bitty and lived in the same neighborhood. We've stayed best friends for almost 20 years now and I am so excited to watch her marry her high school sweetheart in December on the beaches of Sarasota, Florida! 

After a grueling 7 hour drive, I finally made it to the beach house we were staying at. It was the cutest house I've ever seen and was a mere 2 minute walk from the beach. After arriving, I spent a few hours catching up with Jesse and the other girls before getting ready and going to dinner. 

The hosts of the weekend, Jesse's sister, Katie, and sister-in-law, English made the sweetest gift bags with these fabulous monogrammed cups to welcome us for the weekend! 

Dinner was great and us girls had the best time getting to know one another. 

Later, we went back to the beach house for games, snacks, and the lingerie party. Jesse's sister-in-law, English, had set up the cutest table for sweets and cake! 

English and Katie also came up with the most fun games that kept us laughing all night long. First, we did a panty toss where we, of course, let Jesse win ;)

 Next, we played the panty guess game! Each guest bought a pair of undies that we put into a bag without the Bride-To-Be knowing. She then had to pull out each pair and guess who it was from! This was absolutely hilarious and it was so funny to see each person's personality from the panties she brought. 

I was the LAST person she expected to give her these! 

Next up, was lingerie! I like to go for one fun piece, one practical piece, and of course an Essie nail polish from the recent bridal collection. I gave Jesse a black baby doll, a pink lace and gray tank dress by Jessica Simpson, and the shade  "tying the knottie." 

The next morning, I went and sat on the beach to soak in God's glory and creation and thank him for such an awesome weekend with my childhood friend. He truly is such a good God!! After breakfast at a sweet and southern diner, I hit the road to head back to Florida. 

I'm so glad I was able to celebrate this fun weekend!! I can't wait to see how beautiful the wedding will be :)