Fall Foods: (Pumpkin Spice) Cinnamon Roll Waffle + Homemade Vanilla (Whey) Icing Recipe

One of the things that I look forward to most during the holiday season is a deliciously easy menu that I can create. When I'm not halfway across the world stuffing my face at a restaurant I stumbled upon during a working layover, I'm at home enjoying my most favorite meal of the day: breakfast. A couple of years ago, my mom gifted me with a huge Waring Pro restaurant style waffle maker, and I've used it every moment that I can. Normally I only use it for homemade waffles, but I decided to switch it up and make waffles from a can of pre made Pillsbury Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls. The cinnamon rolls did come with their own PS flavored icing, but I didn't want to use it. I wanted something with a little less pumpkin flavor and I just wanted to make a topping of my own. The recipe for simple glaze icing calls for powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. I am a big fan of powdered sugar, but I wanted to take another leap in the "Taylor creations" file and make a substitute for powdered sugar. I used Vanilla Whey Protein Powder as a substitute to powdered sugar (and a substitute for corn starch), and it came out perfectly! I'm excited to share both the recipe for my own vanilla icing and the easy steps to making a cinnamon roll waffle. It is so simple and even more delicious. Enjoy!

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Homemade Fall Favorite Drink (White Hot Chocolate)

Homemade White Hot Chocolate + Fall/Winter Favorites

The whipped cream began to melt as I was taking this picture, so it looks a bit crowded on top here.

Hey, y'all!

It's my favorite time of year again! Ya know, that "curl up with your boo because it's chilly out, gets dark outside at pretty much 1:00pm, the days somehow become ridiculously short but you still manage to be productive and take cute fall pictures" time of year. During this time of year, what's my top priority? Making fall drinks for to snuggle up to my love bug with and drinks to kick start a productive day, of course! 

First off, shout out to those food and drink bloggers who take amazing pictures while preparing something and then serving it to the point where their food looks like a legitimate model. I am still working on that. I get so into what I'm making that I forget to stop and take the right picture; and my other bad habit is that I cook and bake when I'm hungry, so when the dish is finally ready, I basically devour it and forget to snap a picture. I will get better! 

If there is one thing I'm great at in the kitchen other than cooking: it's definitely creating fall and winter drinks. I came across the idea of this hot white chocolate a couple of years ago when I was having a girls' movie night in with my mom. I love spending time with my mom, so I wanted to be able to enjoy a very chill night in while together also enjoying a night of food crafting. I searched Pinterest and came across an extremely long recipe that was for homemade hot chocolate. I prefer white chocolate, so I tweaked the recipe a bit (took out about five extra steps) and came up with this staple to my life. It's the perfect mix of chocolate and sweetness, but not too sweet. It is great for any night in, or on your morning commute if you like to skip the caffeine (which, if you've been reading this blog, you know that I don't skip it).  

So, I found pictures of when I created this delicious treat with my mom.

We clearly don't like owls.

I am excited to share this favorite favorite fall and winter drink of mine: Homemade White Hot Chocolate. This is seriously the one thing that all of my friends ask me to make anytime they're coming to town to visit me or coming over for a girls night in. Seriously. A week out from them coming into town, I will get a text asking can I make them the hot chocolate (Phylicia, I'm talking about you). I always happily oblige. So, I figured I should share this super easy and super delicious recipe with you guys! Enjoy! Tell me if you try it and love it! 

*If you're on a cell phone or tablet, here is the recipe shared again, but without its header. It is a little easier to read this way* 

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Friday Introductions: Meet Mostly, Lately. Weird Facts About Me!

Friday Introductions: Meet Mostly, Lately. 

Here's Some Weird Facts About Me!

Hey, y'all! I'm Taylor. 

I am rarely called "Taylor" as much as I am called "Tay". I actually hated nicknames growing up. I am just fine with them now.

I am the complete author of my blog, "Mostly, Lately" and I love it

I feel like I want to do these Friday introductions for a while so that I have a better and consistent connection with my readers each week. After I get a batch of posts out that have been sitting in my drafts folder for a few weeks, I will open up a Q&A box on my site so that readers are free to leave questions, suggestions, and things they'd like to see on my blog.

For now, here's to my first Friday Introductions Post!

I am a bubbly person. I love to meet new people and I am pretty much an open book about a lot of things in my life. I am a Graduate Student, for now (ha). I am constantly rethinking that choice. I love the idea of furthering my education, but I do fly a lot and sometimes I am curious to see where other paths in life may take me. I received one of my undergraduate degrees in English: American Language and Professional Writing and Rhetoric. With that, I love to write. Also with that, I am not always the best writer. I am amazing at English theory and research, but sometimes it takes me a good minute to get my ideas out properly onto the screen.

I like to write and reach an audience of the general ages of 17-28, or even higher. I love to do crafts and DIY at home. I also love to read, write, and research. I am big on giving genuine advice and ideas, so I'd love for my writing to reach those transitioning into college, those in college, and especially those who are post graduate living. I am also a Flight Attendant, and in between my flights you can catch me with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other. If you don't see those, then you see may see me heavily engulfed in a show I decided to binge watch on Netflix. Most of you may know this already, but I am a coffee addict. I am really into comic books. I grew up being that kid who would stay up beyond my bedtime, with a flashlight, trying to sneak and read my superhero comics before bed. To appear less of a tomboy growing up, I would read Archie Comics during the day time so that I had something relatable to discuss with my extremely feminine friends. Ha! I played volleyball almost all of my grade school days until issues with my knee right before college.

There are a few lot of quirky things about me...

...I own way too many coffee mugs and tumblers. I think I'm probably at 100+ at this point. The movie Horton Hears a Who seriously makes me laugh until I cry, no matter how many times I have seen it. I am obsessed with Audrey Hepburn and I have been since a very young age. A frame of her is in every room of my house. So, it comes at no surprise at all to know that I own four copies of Breakfast at Tiffany's (each of the four has a special edition feature on them and one is in black and white somehow). I am really meticulous about certain things such as my nail polish and the upkeep of my manicures and pedicures. I'm pretty OCD about a lot of things, and I'm ok with that. I cannot, for the life of me, stand short written texts such as, "Ok. Oh. Yes. No. Lol." they drive me up a wall. But sometimes I do send them when I am short on time, or if I am trying to quickly reply from my Apple Watch. I write down everything, and I am extremely organized. I would lose my head if it weren't attached to me sometimes, and that is exactly why I make sure to write everything down-no matter how small it is. I love crispy turkey bacon. I say I love it crispy because I actually have a texture issue with a lot of foods. I was never that kid who asked to lick the spoon or bowl when my mom finished baking because I hate raw dough of any kind. It's weird to me. I don't like scary movies, but I absolutely love psychological thrillers. I just became okay with eating scrambled eggs in the last few years. Mushrooms that grow (to be huge) outside/on the ground terrify me, and I will honestly change my whole walking path to avoid them. I do not like seeing cracks in things-skin, the ground, or on glass. It  really makes my flesh crawl. After I shower or bathe, I have to wipe my feet twice after drying before I apply lotion. If I apply lotion and feel anything at all, I freak out. My favorite: I can only eat the corner pieces of things that were baked in a pan (i.e: brownies) because the corner pieces are usually crispier, and the middle pieces are too gooey for me. I also don't eat the insides of cookies. I will only eat the outside, harder part of a cookie. Somehow, I am able to eat a full Snickerdoodle cookie, though. Most importantly, I love Rose Gold things and I love decorating under a Bohemian Chic theme with a modern kind of twist to it. I probably made that whole description up, but I think that's the look I'm going for in my house. I have a lot of hair, but I am far from an expert on it or able to give much great hair advice in the Naturalista world, but one day I plan on being able to help other natural hair girls. I have my basic hair routines that have somehow kept it on my head this far in life. I love to buy makeup and I especially love to play in makeup. I am also no expert in this, but I do have plenty of tips and tricks when it comes to saving time on a daily makeup routine.

For those who managed to make it this far through the list without thinking I'm completely nuts:
I love being outdoors and I love being on the water. Both of these settings keep me calm, and I love all elements of the earth. Champagne is my choice of drink, but so is wine. So is Tequila... in a margarita of course. Seafood and Mexican foods are the foods I crave at least every other day. I have a huge wanderlust heart, and I am in the perfect career field to achieve all of the things on my bucket list. Because I read so much, there are so many places in this beautiful world that I cannot wait to see, and there are so many places that I am thankful to have already seen in such a short period of time. I have been to over 10 countries, each at least twice. I have traveled to all the 50 states in the U.S.A at least once (even Alaska, briefly).

I love to help and inspire others. I always want to be an open book (for the most part) about things in life so that I can possibly inspire someone else. I am Gay, and I am definitely dating the love of my life, my best friend, and more than likely my soul mate. I am the happiest I have ever been because i am finally really open and honest about who I am and who I love, with no concern on what anyone says about this. I am definitely partnering with a lot of LGBTQ causes this fall and next spring to inspire others, and I can't wait to share my *Coming Out* journey, the struggles with this, and even things now. I love to answer any questions that people have, as long as it is something that will benefit them. I love to cook and bake new things, and I love decorating. I also love Snapchatting the things I'm cooking, baking, decorating, painting, or creating. I especially love Snapchatting my beautiful girlfriend and our adventures together.

If you ever want to follow along with any of the things on that list, add me on Snapchat: taylortoyouu is my username! Follow me. Let's be BFF's! ;)

You can also follow me on my Instagram and Twitter:

@taylortoyouu

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How I Became a Flight Attendant (Part THREE): My Face to Face Interview

***MAJOR PART THREE POST UPDATE***

Hey, y'all! 

I am glad y'all enjoyed this Part 3 post! Due to the negative feedback on certain parts, I decided to take this post down for a while! It wasn't that they were negative and factual, but it was the fact that some people would comment really intense and not so nice questions, and I would notice some people were attacking each other in the comments. So, I deleted the comments and have decided to remove the post for a while. This post will be back up and running in November possibly! I also had a few formatting issues with this post and I kept getting complaints that pictures weren't loading and neither were my social media links for it. Don't worry, this post will make its way back soon. Email me with specific questions if you have any at all! 

Email:

mostlylately@gmail.com

I am definitely for this inconvenience. I'm just working to ensure you guys get the best and most accurate information and that it looks even better!  

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Happy National Coffee Day!

If you're wondering, it is already 8:30am and I'm on cup number two. I've also managed to deep clean my kitchen and bathroom. Since the whole house now smells like bleach, pine sol, and some form of citrus, I thought I'd lock myself in my bedroom (away from the fumes) and write this post! 

If you're anything like me, you love the thought of your morning (and mid-day and afternoon) coffee; if you are mostly like me, then you go to bed excited for your next morning's cup of coffee. 

Honestly, if you are exactly like me, then you think your coffee tastes a lot sweeter when it's free. 

So, Happy #NationalCoffeeDay to you, my fellow coffee (and all things caffeine) lover. I hope today is another productive day for you, and I hope you find just the right cup of morning fuel today to help you out. 

To find that perfect cup, I've put together a list of places that are offering some sweet deals today on coffee! 

Krispy Kreme: Free coffee and an Original Glazed Donut on 9/29. This is such a treat to me! I am such a donut girl. 

Dunkin Donuts: Since it's their 66th birthday, DD is giving out Medium, hot coffee today for only $0.66! Unfortunately, no free donuts are being offered by DD.

Einstein Brothers Bagels: Through 9/20, Buy One Get One Free Coffee Drink 

Dairy Queen: Through 9/30, Get a Small Iced Coffee for just $1, an Ultimate Frappe for $2, OR a Premium Fruit Smoothie for $2. This is great if you are like me and have had too many cups of coffee already and just need a calmer drink for a second. Ha!

Biggby Coffee: Add any Mod(modifier) to your drink today for free! So, if you need that extra shot of espresso, girl, go for it! It's free! Through 9/29

Tim Horton: $1 Any size Dark Roast, all day on 9/29

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf: All non-franchised stores will offer a free espresso shot if you download their new app for you iPhone. Pretty sure you can win a free cup of regular coffee with this, too!

Coffee Beanery: $1.00 off any brewed coffee size on 9/29

Whole Foods: $1.00 off 16. oz Allegro Pumpkin Spice Latte on 9/29

Smoothie King: Buy one, get one free any coffee high protein smoothie flavor drink. This is perfect if you and a work colleague, friend, or significant other like to go grab mid day coffee together.  On 9/29

Waffle House: Free coffee with any purchase through October 13th.

Peet's Coffee: Buy any food and get free medium drip coffee on 9/29.

Gloria's Jeans: on 9/29 Between 2-5pm: Get an 8.oz white chocolate caramel cookie chiller OR for the not so sweet coffee drinkers, just grab a regular fresh brewed coffee between those same hours, for free! 

Not So Free, but Coffee Brand Deals and Contributions:

Caribou Coffee: Free Medium brewed coffee with the purchase of a 1lb bag of coffee 

Illy Coffee: Illy is offering deals on their coffee machines all month, and this is especially great if you want to grab yourself a National Coffee Day gift such as get $100 off an X1 iperEspresso Capsule Machine. Just use the CODE: UEX10016 at checkout! 

Keurig: For National Cofee Day and through October 2nd, get deals such as $20 off Green Mountain products and 15% off other beverages with the code GREENSAVINGS at checkout. 

Starbucks: Buy a cup of Chiapas coffee on #NCD and a coffee tree will be given to a farmer suffering a coffee rust. If you need to know what Chiapas is, click here. If you need to know more about Chiapas coffee, click  right here.  

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Marble+Granite Contact Paper Makeover

Marble+Granite Contact Paper Home Makeover

Hey, hello! I've been a little behind the last two weeks on blogging and my posting schedule due to summer flying and being sick (think allergies and strep throat vibes). I'm feeling so much better now, and I'm beyond ready to get back into my blogging-especially with jumping right in with a post I’ve been dying to do!

I love to decorate and change things around in our place as much as I can! The only downside is that it's not our permanent place together just yet and we don’t want to make drastic, expensive, or permanent changes in a temporary home. We are currently renting, and that limits the things that we want to do. Because of this, we looked into easier, cheaper, and not so permanent alternatives to home makeovers! 

My research led me to different Pins and blog posts floating around about things to do with contact paper. I discovered the fun idea of using contact paper on smaller items a few weeks ago when my favorite Youtube Vlogger (click to 1:45 of the video and she does a quick DIY for the case) covered her Macbook in Marble Print contact paper. Thankfully, my wonderful Babe got me a dreamy marble print Macbook case for my birthday two months ago, so I didn't have to try and figure out how to do this really cute (but tediously precise) contact paper DIY laptop case.

So, what did I do instead of a small DIY project with contact paper? HUGE DIY projects with contact paper! I covered our kitchen counter tops and my makeup table (and coffee table) with contact paper!

(Here's a look at when I didn't listen to my super smart girlfriend and I put the marble on the kitchen counters originally) 

(Note that I took the marble off and settled for the pretty granite print!)

At first, I wanted to cover the countertops with marble print, but my Babe decided that granite looked a little better with the cabinet colors that we had, and it was easier to hide the application mistakes that I made during the process with the granite print. Although I wanted to listen to her, I did one section of the kitchen with the marble, and quickly realized granite was the better route. I ended up removing the Marble print from the kitchen and put it on the coffee table and my makeup table. 

The granite print paper can easily be found at Wal-Mart. The marble print can only be found on Amazon (at least where we live, this is the case), and that makes it challenging when I run out of it and quickly need more to finish.

If you’re anything like me and you aren’t a professional DIY’er just yet, you’ll enjoy the process that I took. My pictures aren’t extremely detailed because it is super easy to apply and finish. 

What You Need:

• Contact Paper 

Prints I used:

DC Fix Marble Print (from Amazon) about $8 per roll 

-Duck Brand Beige Granite Print (from Walmart) about $6 per roll

• Scissors 
• Smoothing Tool (I used a book, but feel free to get fancy with this) 

Covering the Surfaces:

The process is seriously so straight to the point. The back of the paper has measurement markings and squares that you can cut. All I did was cut out my own guesstimated measurements, and I applied it straight to the counter. Again, if you’re a more serious DIY’er, it would save more time and effort to just whip out some measuring tape and get to business, but I just kind of went for it. 

I did the corners and edge of the counters first (same with the table), and I followed behind it and applied huge sections of the paper to cover up white spots. Whatever my guesstimate amount was, I’d cut a little extra for the edges of the table and countertop so that there could be hang over flaps that I could just fold over. After this, I went through with my book (and plate lol) and smoothed it out. Voila! Fin! 

Seriously, it was so easy and so cheap! Three weeks, plenty of water spills, multiple cooked meals, and countless dessert later and the paper is still in tact! No peeling, no bubbling. Nothing! 

It's the most rewarding feeling see how adorable your results are! Now, go forth and brag about the fact that you just redid a major room in your room for under $40 (depending on how many rolls you purchased). 

If you need more detailed instructions, or if you have specific questions/just want to show me your beautiful home or small furniture makeover, comment below OR:

-email me (mostlylately@gmail.com), 

-tweet me @taylortoyouu or @mostlylately, 

-OR tag me in an Instagram post (@taylortoyouu or @mostlylately). I can’t wait to see your results!! 

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23 Things I've Learned in 23 Years

23 Things I've Learned in My 23 Years 

I'm almost a quarter of a century old and I realized that I really appreciate life! I wanted to take a quick blog intermission and remind everyone to just stop and smell the roses and share some of the *wise words* that I have learned in life.

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Birthday Freebies + LUMEE Light Up Phone Case Giveaway

Birthday Freebies + LUMEE LED Light Up Selfie Phone Case Giveaway!

The Case is for the iPhone 6/6s 

*This is a decently long and informative post, BUT the exciting giveaway is at the conclusion of this post, so you have to read it all to find out how to win the free Lumee case! I will know... lol. There are also clickable links throughout this post-they're highlighted in blue*

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My Tech 21 Evo Mesh Phone Case {Review}

My Tech 21 Evo Mesh Phone Case Review 

Please note the very low quality of this iPhone taken photo of me using the case. I at least wanted one picture of me in this post. However, the pictures of the phone itself were taken on my camera, so that should different produce better quality for this post. As always, enjoy! 

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Olive x Safari #summervibes

Olive x Safari x #SummerVibes

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Mostly Organized Lately (How I Organize My Makeup)

How I Organize My Makeup

(and extreme product descriptions)

Please notice my arm in that mirror

Hey, y'all! I've been meaning to get around to publishing the various things in our house that I try to keep organized (possible post on those coming soon), but, due to some of them being ungodly unorganized, I got behind on my personal schedule and my posting schedule!

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How I Became a Flight Attendant (Part TWO)

How I (And My Lovely Friends) Became Flight Attendants - Part TWO

Hey, y'all!

First of all, let me start by saying "THANK YOU" to every single person who read, shared, liked, commented, tweeted, retweeted, made an Instagram post, etc. You guys are seriously amazing and I had no idea that this series would get that much attention in just the very first post.

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