The Great Pumpkin

Wait! Before you read one more thing...have you entered my giveaway yet??? If not, click on that little button to the right, and enter now! Yes. It is THAT easy!

Since last year was kind of a bust (I actually didn't do one thing for Halloween), I was determined to make this year filled with Halloween Goodness. First, and most important, thing on my list was to go to to a Pumpkin Patch. Apparently the very best one near San Diego is close to an hour away, which Nick immediately vetoed. We found one within a reasonable distance from our house, and off we went.

Now, if we had known we would get lost for an hour, then we probably would have just gone to the better patch. But that is besides the point. (But really. We went about 7 miles in the wrong direction.) We finally arrived at our Pumpkin Patch destination, and it was...hot. Did I mention that if you drive inland 15 minutes from the coast, it is like 20 degrees hotter. It is like a different climate over there. I will take my beach weather any day, thank you.

{Finally at the Pumpkin Patch!}

{I swear he was more excited then he looks in this picture.}

There was a pretty sub-par Corn Maze, that probably wasn't worth going through. But if you are at a Pumpkin Patch,  and they have a Corn Maze, I am pretty sure it is a requirement to do it. Truth be told, I actually got lost once or twice. But I credit that to my lousy sense of direction, not the difficulty of the Corn Maze.

{I actually kind of love the colors in this picture}

{Leading us to safety.}

Then it was off to choose our perfect pumpkin. But first, a little face in hole photo-opp?

{I don't know why I decided to go with the "offended cat" look?}

I decided that we must choose Pumpkins that match us. Nick's would be tall and lean. Mine would be short and stumpy. And we can't forget Hudson. His would be the littlest of them all. After walking through rows of pumpkins, we finally found the perfect match! Like choosing a Christmas tree, I believe the Pumpkin finds you, you don't find the Pumpkin. There is a cosmic synergy to the whole thing. (I think I just made up the term "Cosmic Synergy")

{Nick and I's Pumpkin Soulmates.}

Quite pleased with our selections, we hurried home to carve these babies up!

Stay tuned for my Halloween Adventure!

A Halloween Giveaway!

This week I will be going over all things Halloween! I love this time of year, and have been getting extra psyched to celebrate, and check some things off my fall check list.

Before I begin, I want to tell you guys the winner of my last Giveaway!

The Winner Is...

Congrats Jessie!!! Email me to find out how you get your free Canvas Print!

Alright back to business. Nothing gets me more excited for Fall than filling the house with Seasonal scents with an amazing candle. Luckily, my friend Staci over at Scentsy reached out to me right in time for the season. Staci is a Sales Representative for an amazing company called Scentsy, who specializes in Flameless Candles. What you do is put the Scentsy into the Scentsy Warmer, and it melts and smells better than any candle!

Since I am one lucky lady, she sent me one to test and share with all of you! Check it out!

I got to choose any design, and I chose the Casbah Full-size Scentsy Warmer with and Autumn Sunset Scentsy. 

These are SO easy to use, and so much better than an every day normal candle. No melting wax. No fire hazard. And it looks a million times more chic. With hundreds of designs to choose from , you can match a Scentsy Warmer to your own unique decor! Did I mention they have Holiday designs??? (Awesome!)

I absolutely love my Scentsy Warmer, and I know you will too. If you want to buy your own (which you should, obvi!), hop on over to the Party Staci is hosting for me. 

And if all of THAT weren't enough, Staci is offering to host a Giveaway on this little blog of mine! Here is what you can win!

A Scentsy Scent Pak of Your Choice!

These little babies are perfect to stash any place you want to keep smelling AMAZING. Keep them in your purse, your gym bag, your drawers. They will keep anything smelling spectacular!

Ways to Enter:

1) Be a Follower of this Blog, and leave a comment letting me know which Scentsy Pak Scent you would choose!

Extra Entries:

2) Follow me on Twitter (@ComplicatedKai)

3) Follow Staci on Twitter (@StaciBrener)

4) Tweet about this Giveaway:

"@ComplicatedKai and @StaciBrener are hosting a Scentsy Giveaway! I hope I win! http://tinyurl.com/4x82x4t"

5) Blog About this Giveaway

(Please leave a separate comment for each entry!)

Good luck!!!

Portland Volume 1: Breakfast Wars

I just recently went to Portland with my brother, his wife, and their beautiful baby boy Parker. We were also joined by three of their closest friends, Wiley, Tyler, and Christa. Let me tell you, they were quite the fun bunch. And if there was one thing this fun bunch loved to do, it was eat. If there was one thing we loved more than eating, it was eating breakfast. Luckily, Sarah and Christa got the inside scoop of where THE top breakfast places in Portland were. And thus began Portland Breakfast Wars 2011.

Round 1: Mother's Bistro 

{Just ignore the fact that we are basically twins. I swear it wasn't planned}

As the first stop on our 2011 Breakfast Tour, Mother's Bistro did not disappoint. Quite the opposite actually...it was friggin AWESOME. I would love to tell you what everyone else got, because I definitely had a bite of each thing, but all I can remember was the ridiculousness that was the French Toast. Observe...

I mean, c'mon. It is not even fair. My mouth is watering just looking at this picture. Because, dear friends, this was no ordinary French Toast. In fact, it was the Mother of all French Toast (Mother's Bistro...get it? ha). This French Toast was dipped in Corn Flake batter, making it the ultimate in crunchy, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I am actually considering going up to Portland again, just for this French Toast. 

On the first leg of the tour, we were pretty impressed. Everyone loved their food, and we weren't sure how anything else would top it.

Round 2: The Original

{The Original at night, because I actually forgot to take pictures of this one. Bad blogger, bad.}

While I loved the cool Modern Extrerior/Interior, I was a bit underwhelmed with the food. I will give them credit for originality though. My brother ordered Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes, and some others ordered Beef Jerky Bloody Marys (which I heard were amazing). But the thing I remember the most was some form of ridiculous Cheesy Fries, which gaind the reputation of "Cheese Turd"

{Gross.}
Overall, I would say that creativity in a menu matters, but not as much as quality food. I would rather have a delicious classic dish, than a groundbreaking original dish that is so-so. 

Round 3: Kenny & Zukes

I have got to hand it to this place, they were pretty awesome. This place had more of a diner vibe, focusing on deli classics such as Pastrami. I ordered an Everything Bagel Sandwich, and it was to die for. Since we got here later, it was more of a brunch experience, so we got to order some lunch items too!

Although I didn't have a bite, because I was stuffed from my Breakfast Sandwich and Mimosa, I heard that the Mac & Cheese was amazing! Kenny & Zukes hit the nail on the head with their laid back New York Deli type menu, focusing on quality food!

The Verdict:

While most of the places we went were good, I can only choose one winner....

Mother's Bistro!!!

Clearly people. I mean, they had me at Cornflake French Toast.  Cornflake. French. Toast. I know some of you are reading this and thinking "Dang Kai and her friends ate a lot that weekend", and to that I say that you are correct sir! But it was all for the sake of the greater good (a.k.a. Breakfast Wars), and in no way had to to with the fact that we looove to eat. And if you think that's bad, remember there are two other meals in the day, which means we ate six other meals I didn't even go over....yet....

What Happens in Vegas

So last weekend was pretty ridiculous. Me and 5 of my closest girlfriends went to Vegas!

We seriously had an AMAZING time! I would love to blog about all the crazy adventures that we had. But you know the rule...

What happens in Vegas...

...Stays in Vegas.

And remember...there are consequences for breaking the code.

Mamma and Poppa Mercado!

Oh hey! Remember me? Probably not. After three straight weekends of traveling (Orange County, Portland, and Vegas), I am officially exhausted. Pooped. Done. Out for the count. So, I do apologize for being M.I.A. on this lovely little blog of mine. But I am officially on catching-you-guys-up-on-my-life mode! We will start with a little visit from my family to Sunny San Diego!

For those of you who don't know, Nick and I just recently moved into an old apartment (and between you and me, it is VASTLY better then my old place). You might also not know that my mother was an Interior Decorator, and is also the craftiest person I know. So when I asked her to help decorate my apartment, she was all over it like white on rice.  But since she lives 4 hours away, she had to lug all of it down to San Diego, and my dad joined her.

Here is a sneak peak of something she made...

The pillow, not the dog. But the dog seems to like the pillow. Everything she made is amazing, and exactly what I wanted! I will show you guys more of what my mom made a little later. Hopefully I can get Momma Mercado on here, so she can tell you herself!

After my mom got all of her designs in, we decided to have a fun Game Night! We pulled out a personal favorite of mine, Phase 10!

 {There might have been some Margaritas involved. What is a Game Night without some Margs??}

 {Big Winner! Actually I lost, but I am pretty sure they cheated.}

The next day we did some shopping at a few Home stores (The Home Depot employees and I are now besties). Then my brother decided to drive down and join us for dinner. Since my dad is a seafood lover (as am I), we decided to go to the always fun Joe's Crab Shack!

 {Isn't he handsome?}

 {Oh yeah. We ate crab. And we rocked the bibs!}

It was a great weekend spent with my favorite people in the whole world, my family. Luckily, Nick and I have a spare bedroom in our new place. So hopefully they will be planning a lot more visits in the future! 

{All we are missing is Shea, Sarah, and Paker!}

2 Years!

Nick and I celebrated our 2 Year Anniversary last weekend! It is amazing to think that 2 years have passed since I started dating this man. When I look back and think about when we started dating, I laugh about how crazy we were. Life has mellowed down a lot since then, and Nick and I have been through so much together. We have been there for each other through thick and thin, and have built some amazing memories. Here is to many more years together! 

So the morning we woke up and exchanged gifts! I got Nick a watch (a pretty baller one if you ask me), and I was presented with this...

 I am pretty sure there is not much better in this world then seeing a little Blue box with a White bow. I was instantly excited, and I hadn't even opened it yet! Nick picked out a beautiful bracelet for me ALL BY HIMSELF! I was so proud. I mean, seriously, what kind of man goes into Tiffany's and picks out a bracelet for a girl by himself? A winner, that is who!

Now this is the best part ladies. This is why I am dating this perfect guy of mine. Do you know what we did for our Anniversary?? Nick took me to see Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Old Globe Theater! Seriously though. He thought of this all on his own. He knew how much I loved to go see live musicals, and how much I LOVE Rocky Horror, and bought tickets for us to go! (I will wait for everyone to say "Awwww") Does my boyfriend get me or what?

 {One happy girl!!!}

 {I think he gets a gold star...or an award for Boyfriend of the Year}

{The view from our seats. Pretty awesome.}

Guys. Time to get serious. The show was AMAZING. If they are doing the play in your town you HAVE to go see it. Even Nick loved it, and I am pretty sure he despises all musicals. It was funny, wacky, and maybe a little inappropriate. One thing is for sure, it definitely got me in the Halloween spirit! 

The moral of this story is that I have an awesome boyfriend, who after two years, knows me better than anyone else. Lucky me. :)

And remember...it's just a jump to the left...

Bloopity Bloop

No photo shoot would be complete without some bloopers. Some awkward ones....some what the heck was I doing there? Here are a few of mine...

{Look ma! I can bend my body awkwardly!}

{Am I smiling? Am I thinking about something funny? You will never know}

{I think I am preparing myself for the shoot right here. An inner pep-talk if you will...}

{Look sexy...okay look less sexy...}

{This was my "I-will-look-casual-just-rolling-up-my-sleeves pose". Didn't work out.}

{What?}

{My name is Kai. I am very serious.}

I told you. Awkward, party of 1! I hope you like my bloopers...I think it is fun to show the not so glamourous side of Fashion Blogging...trust me there will be many more....

Check!

Now that is October I think it is safe to say that it is officially Fall! In honor of one of my favorite seasons (a.k.a Pumpkin flavored ANYTHING), I decided to take a queue from Sherry at Oh So Lovely and create a Checklist that I want to accomplish this season!

The goal is to get all of these done before December, because I am sure that I will have a whole new Checklist for Christmas! Wish me luck on my adventures!