fall

Name: Pumpkin Spice Latte
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup milk of choice; ½ cup of hot coffee; 1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree; 2 teaspoons of brown sugar; 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; Optional: caramel and whipped cream

Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

October 4, 2020 by Rachel 15 Comments

Fall is OFFICIALLY here! So are you Team Pumpkin Spice or Team Apple Cider?! I will tell you I’m 100% Team Pumpkin Spice over here. But I can throw down some mega cash to keep my Pumpkin Spice Latte addiction in check. Instead, I developed a deliciously perfect copycat Starbucks pumpkin spice latte recipe of my own!

This recipe is equal parts easy and delicious. You can make this recipe hot or over ice and it is incredible!

What you’ll need

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own perfect pumpkin spice latte:

¾ cup milk of choice (almond milk, coconut milk, coconut milk, cows milk)
½ cup of hot coffee
1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Optional: caramel and whipped cream (I highly recommend adding on, if you so desire)

How to make this scrumptious drink!

Mix your milk with pumpkin puree, spice, and brown sugar. Heat it in a microwave for 1 minute, or over medium high heat on the stove. When hot, stir ingredients together.
Add a ½ of a cup of hot coffee.
Top the delicious drink with whipped cream and caramel, if using. Dust with another pinch of pumpkin pie spice.

Guys. This recipe is amazing. It’s the absolute perfect recipe for Fall. I cannot get enough.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

The perfect drink for Fall!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

¾ cup milk of choice
½ cup of hot coffee
1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Optional: caramel and whipped cream

Instructions

Mix milk with pumpkin puree, spice, and brown sugar. Heat in a microwave for 1 minute, or over medium high heat. When hot, stir ingredients together.
Add ½ cup of hot coffee.
Top with whipped cream and caramel, if using. Dust with another pinch of pumpkin pie spice.

PIN FOR LATER

Fall Family Bucket List + Printable Checklist!

September 27, 2019 by Rachel 26 Comments

I’ve never been to keen on Summer. But Fall? Fall is my dream come true. It’s something that I’ve also passed on to my children. They love all things pumpkin, all things sweater, and all things

Instead of trying to meet impossible standards (thanks, Pinterest), try and focus on the simplicity of the season.

I’ve rounded up a small list of my favorite Fall Family Bucketlist Items for you to check out. Make sure to pin and save the printable below!

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

What could be more basic than a pumpkin patch?! Nothing! But that’s the beauty of the season. My husband and I bought our pumpkins from the store once. And, at the time, that was fine. But there’s just something about picking out your own pumpkin — flaws and all — that makes the carving and painting process that much more special.

Go on a Hayride

One of my favorite memories as a child is my families annual hayride. The hayride was actually a “haunted hayride” at our towns Century Village. Truth be told, it was always a bit spooky, but it was also incredibly fun.

Over the last several years, the little family of my own has done a more traditional hayride. And every year the kids love it more and more.

Does it matter that we’re only going through the pumpkin patch? Heck no! It’s amazing to them nonetheless.

Jump in a Leaf Pile

If I could name my top three most-despised adult chores they would rank the following: 1. Laundry. 2. Dishes. 3. Raking leaves.

Funny enough, until recently we’ve never had a large yard. But year after year we would spend countless hours raking (and blowing) the leaves in our yard. It felt like an impossible task, as there were always, always, more leaves to rake.

Now, with kids, I see things much differently. The idea of raking leaves actually brings me joy… because I know how much my kids love jumping into leaf piles.

Pumpkin Painting or Carving

I’m going to admit something to you right now — I am not great at carving pumpkins. And also? The whole process can be a bit exhausting.

The tracing, the gutting, the cutting… I’m not the best or most patient with this process. So there have been years where we opt for pumpkin painting instead. And guess what? The kids still adore it. That’s what I call a win-win, folks!

Trick-or-Treating

Okay, so maybe this one seems like a given. But when my kids were teeny I considered not taking them. And that would have been a huge mistake. There’s nothing cuter than a teeny tiny first-time trick-or-treater. It’s, like, a fact. Everyone will ooh and ahh over how cute your little pumpkin looks.

So suit them up, take them out for approximately 20-minutes, get a few pictures and a handful of candy, and call it a night.

Bake Cookies

I know that the holidays are generally the time for baking all of the things. But, for me, Christmas is just too busy of a season to truly enjoy baking. It feels more like a chore than a fun event.

Instead, my kids and I bake cookies and other treats in the Fall. We decorate cutout cookies to look like mummies and ghosts; throw together a Fall-themed trail mix; and snack on goodies like Chocolate-mummy-pretzel rods!

Apple Picking

I’m sure we’ve all recently seen the meme about buying apples from the store for $5 versus taking your family on a grand excursion to pick their own apples for $25, but there’s something to be said about seeing where our food comes from.

We are lucky to have several apple orchards within a few minutes of our house, so we’ll pick a nice day in early Fall (during honeycrisp season) and go to an orchard.

Drink Apple Cider

Is there anything better than warm, mulled, apple cider? The answer is no. Definitely not.

Grab a couple of mulled cider recipes from here and here and enjoy with the family on a cool, Fall evening.

Be sure to print this handy checklist to keep track of all of your Fall Family Fun!

Tell me — what’s your favorite Fall family activity?

Favorite Fall Activities

October 8, 2018 by Rachel 15 Comments

Fall is my most favorite time of the year — it always has been. Not only is it the season of my birthday, but it’s the season of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving! The weather gets cooler, the leaves change, and pumpkin spice is readily available! Ha! 🙂

Our Fall has already been off to a great start! Here’s what we’ve been up to and loving lately!

Hayrides!

We went to a local Fall festival and the kids were super excited about the hayride through the apple orchard! Remy had never experienced a hayride and the last time Ari was on one was several years ago, so it was excitement across the board.

Remy laughed and smiled the whole time. Everything — the apple trees, the birds, even the far-off sound of a ‘choo choo’ — is more fun when you’re on a hayride.

Ahh, to be a kid again! ♥ ♥

Going to the pumpkin patch!

This is one of the things I love doing the most in the Fall and I’m happy to share my passion with my kids. Thus far, they seem all about it. I mean, who doesn’t love pumpkins!?

Ari has already mastered the fine art of picking his own pumpkin. The biggest pumpkin is the best, of course. Ha!

Swim Lessons at Goldfish Swim School.

Outdoor swimming may be over for this year, but a change in season is no reason to stop learning to swim! Remy is in the middle of her Mini 3 lessons at Goldfish Swim School in Hudson and we’ve seen huge progress with her abilities already.

The small class sizes of just 3-4 kids per instructor along with a fun curriculum has helped her love of swimming grow by leaps and bounds! Even during the one lesson where she cried and cried (for zero reasons), the teachers were so gentle and loving — they even had her smiling and laughing by the end of class!

Goldfish Swim School offers a state-of-the-art facility featuring hairy drying stations, swimsuit dryers, private bungalow-style changing rooms, a glass-walled viewing area, and 90-degree water for the kiddos. Teachers offer weekly feedback and help closely monitor the development of each child to maximize their swimming success.

Remy is so proud of what she’s learning — flutter kicks, wall holds, and even holding her breath underwater. But most of all she’s having fun and keeping her Summer skills active year-round!

Fall Food + Beer.

One of the best parts of this season, at least for me, is all of the delicious food and drinks. Apple pie, pumpkin spice lattés, apple butter, pumpkin ales… the list goes on and on.

Basically, if it has apples or pumpkins in it, I’m here for it!

I mean, have you ever had an apple cider donut!? They’re delicious.

And we’re nowhere even close to Thanksgiving yet. So basically the best is yet to come!

And, of course, Halloween Parties!

I know it’s still a bit early in the ‘season’, but we’ve already been to one big Halloween party and look forward to at least two more!

My little Ninja, Skye from Paw Patrol, and little unicorn (held by Tigger) loved dressing up and playing games. Ari was especially into it. Like, extra. Ha.

He can be seen here eating all of the sugary goodies off the candy apple bar and then followed it up with an enthusiasm for apple-bobbing that I’ve never seen in another human before in my life!!

This kid, man. Freaking hilarious! I think he’s found his passion. And his passion is 1000% Halloween.

What are some

of your favorite

Fall activities !?

Explore Ohio // Fun Fall Activities

October 31, 2017 by Rachel 18 Comments

Fall has long been my favorite season here in Ohio. We truly get the best of it — the changing leaves, the crisp air, and all of the fun things to do! I’m not talking about your typical apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Nope. I’m talking about all of the things you’ve often overlooked. You know… the OTHER fun things!

So I’ve rounded up a list of my favorite recent adventures that are local AND family-friendly!

Trunk-or-Treat at the Riverfront YMCA.

One of the many, many, things I love about our YMCA is all of the community outreach. And each year at Halloween, we do a Trunk-or-Treat for the community members. This open event is usually a bit of a flop; but this year was a whole other story! Hundreds and hundreds of people showed up, lining up around the entire block, to get in!

It was honestly an awesome experience to see that many people line up and wait to see the ‘trunks’. Oh, and the unicorn from Camp Y-Noah! 🙂

My kids had a blast, as usual.

Holden Arboretum Goblins in the Gardens.

My aunts invited me and the kids to join them for a day at the Holden Arboretum for their annual Goblins in the Gardens event. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, I had visited the Holden Arboretum many times as a child and teenager, but had not been back since.

The kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes and we headed inside for some fun! The days events included trick-or-treating, crafts, playing on playsets from Playground World, a giant maze through the flowers, hayrides, face painting, and — of course — walking along the suspension bridge canopy walk!

It was such a fun day AND my kids were exhausted in the end. Which, let’s be real — that’s the real goal!

Great Lakes Science Center Spooktacular Science!

We’ve been members of the Great Lakes Science Center for almost a year now and, shamefully, we’ve only made it there a handful of times. Well we recently found ourselves with a day to spare and so all four of us trekked up to the science center for some fun!

Ari absolutely loves all of the exhibits, but for the first time, Remy was able to truly join in on the fun, too!

And we just so happened to be there for their Spooktacular Science events! Basically it’s dance parties, fun science experiments, and, of course, blowing up a pumpkin. You know, just normal Halloween stuff. Ha!

The Cleveland Flea.

I am going to continue to scream this from the rooftop — I love the Cleveland Flea! I always have and always will! It’s such an incredibly well-organized event, with so many unique vendors and makers selling their goods.

This month, Remy and I went to the last outdoor Flea of the year. It was a little bit chilly on the eastside of Cleveland that morning, but we got there before the crowds and were able to make her a trick-or-treat bag, which she loved!

She paraded her little sassy booty around that place like she OWNED trick-or-treating! 🙂

Marvel Avengers Live at the Q.

Mimi and Poppy (my parents) took Ari to see Marvel Avengers Live at Quicken Loans Arena for his birthday! I was a tad bit skeptical of how the show would be. I mean, Disney on Ice has a reputation of being awesome; but I just had not heard anything about this show.

Apparently it was awesome. At least, that’s what Ari and my parents both reported! Ha! They said it was filled with action, drama, aerial stunts, and motorcycles galore!

Sky Zone Boston Heights.

For part of Ari’s birthday weekend extravaganza, my sister and brother-in-law treated him to a morning at Sky Zone in Boston Heights. It was our first time visiting this location and it did not disappoint! They have Toddler Time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sunday mornings, which is awesome because then you don’t have to worry about our little ones accidentally being trampled by bigger kids (which is especially a concern when your children are extra small, like ours).

They played, they laughed, and they had the best time!

We can’t wait to go back during these chilly Fall mornings!

Kalahari Resort + Waterpark in Sandusky.

One big adventure our little family took last week was our very first trip to Kalahari in Sandusky! It was part of Ari’s birthday present from us (even though it was a week after his actual birthday). We made the hour + drive to Sandusky (home of Cedar Point!) during naptime, alas, neither child napped in the car. Eh, can’t win ’em all!

We grabbed a quick bite from Danny Boys (umm, delicious pizza, calzones, and pasta!) before heading to the room to check in. Our room was really nice — with two queen beds and plenty of space to set up the pack + play for Remy!

The waterpark itself is massive. Truly massive. We did several walk-throughs, just to see everything, prior to settling into a spot at the back of the park where the kids could freely play in 10-inches of water, exploring every tiny water slide (appropriate for their age, of course!), and laughing up a storm.

By the time supper time came around, we were all beyond wiped out. I mean, just look at those exhausted kiddos! LOL! We went to a tiny place called Eats N Treats. With the online reviews alone, I was skeptical. But the yummy philly cheesesteak and ice cream was just what we needed to fuel us for the night.

The next morning we woke up and headed right back to the waterpark. It was nearly empty and it was glorious! The kids barely made it an hour before we had to call it quits and head home.

All of this fun has been keeping us oh-so-busy!

So tell me — what other places in Ohio would you recommend visiting as the seasons change and the weather gets cooler?

Fall 2017 Favorites!

October 20, 2017 by Rachel 11 Comments

Fall is by far my most favorite time of year — the leaves are changing colors, the temperature is dropping, and the air is crisp. It’s perfection.

One of my favorite things about Fall (besides Pumpkin Spice Lattés) is dressing and accessorizing for the season! But there is SO much more to Fall than clothes and jewelry, am I right!?

Today I’ve rounded up some of my Fall Favorites for 2017!

My JORD Wood Watch. I’ve been dying for one of these for myself for months now. I bought my husband a JORD Wood Watch from the Men’s Shop last year and I just knew my watch would be equally as gorgeous!

And OMG it is! It’s the perfect Fall accessory because it goes with everything and compliments the changing landscape!

My women’s wooden watch, which is the Frankie 35 series, is gorgeous! It’s made from Zebrawood, which I think makes it an incredibly unique women’s watch!

Want to win a $100 gift code to use on the JORD site!? Enter an exclusive giveaway for itsahero.com readers only HERE!

The giveaway is open through 10/29/17 and ALL entrants will receive a $25 gift code for the JORD site! Win-win! So go enter, NOW!

Shopping for a new planner. It’s official. Come Fall, the race is on for a new planner! I know, I know — there are still SEVERAL months left in the year; but events are already piling up for 2018! So a new planner is a requirement! And, YES, a planner is an accessory.

My favorite planner is the Day Designer. It’s perfect for my need to fill in time slots and a weekly layout. I’ve tried pretty much every planner on the market and this one is by far my long-standing favorite.

Fun with food. I’m just absolutely loving quirky, food-themed, accessories, silly cookies (which are both delicious and adorable), and t-shirts with random food printed on them (like donuts or hotdogs). It’s just a cute, fun way to incorporate something near and dear to my heart (ALL OF THE FOOD) with my everyday life.

Remy recently has been rocking this hot dog onesie from Estella NYC (cutest, softest, and made of organic cotton) and I’m IN LOVE. Also, my favorite new earrings are these ice cream cones!

All of the fun family activities.

Let’s be real. This is where it’s really at — family. I honestly despise being outside, sweating, during the Summer. Sure, if I’m meant to be sweating (like, by exercising) I don’t mind; but just by being?? Nope.

That’s why Fall activities are where it’s at! Pumpkin patches, Halloween parties, Trunk-or-Treats — you name it, I’m up for it.

Especially when it comes to the kids. To see their faces light up? That’s my end goal every single day (no, this doesn’t happen everyday; but gosh darnit! It’s my goal!).

So this Fall you can find me trick-or-treating, pumpkin-patching, and party-going with two tiny humans in tow! ♥

So tell me — what are your 2017 Fall Favorites!? And don’t forget to enter my JORD Wood Watches giveaway here!

Luxury Wooden Watch

Disclosure: I received my watch at no cost in exchange for this post. I was not compensated, but, as always, all opinions herein are my own.

Halloween Wrap Up // 2016

November 16, 2016 by Rachel 2 Comments

Hey! Remember Halloween?? You know, that pseudo-Holiday two-ish weeks ago? Well, as per the norm, life went off the rails. And I forgot to ever post any pictures of our Halloween shenanigans. But if there are no pictures, did it really happen?? Haaaa! Of course, I kid!

But for real.

We had family in town for the weekend of Halloween, so Chad and I both took that Friday off from work. So after we picked up my sister-in-law from the airport, we headed back to our hometown to see the family (for those new around here, Chad and I both grew up in a teeny tiny town, and both went to the same teeny tiny high school, but just a few years apart).

The whole crew — all seven adults and 8 children — went out to lunch. Surprisingly? It went totally fine. No joke. The kids were good, the adults were happy, and all was well.

Post-lunch we headed to Patterson’s Fruit Farm. No joke, we had the most beautiful weather. Warm and sunny for the last weekend of October!

It’s been years (decades, even) since I’ve been to Patterson’s. I had no idea what kind of spread to expect, but this place was gorgeous! Pumpkins galore, playgrounds, and so much amazing food!

Ari (quickly) became obsessed with the wagons and the pumpkins. Between chasing after him and trying to get THE perfect picture of Remy (spoiler — it didn’t happen), I was exhausted just from these shenanigans!

Still, I was in pumpkin heaven! And the apple fritters! Ohhhh, the apple fritters! I wish I had snapped a picture before I ate this amazing — and huge — apple fritter! But guys – I was hungry!

Post-pumpkin patch fun, we headed to Chad’s cousins house for a bit of a family party. It’s quite unusual to have this many of Chad’s siblings at home at one time. So we (naturally) used it as an excuse to snack, sip, and laugh!

The next day was, well, exhausting! However, I did take the kiddos to our dear friends house for some pumpkin-carving fun! Ari requested a Batman pumpkin. Although I have some artistic abilities, freehand drawing on pumpkins are not in my scope of creativity!

Lucky for us, one of the other adults was able to oblige! After our pumpkins were carved, we headed to my mother-in-laws hours for trick-or-treating! For this first time ever, Ari was completely and totally down for some trick-or-treating!

It was wonderful to have the cousins there with us! And Remy was a total gem throughout this whole process! Also? Cutest. monkey. EVER. Am I right!?

I’m honestly surprised we made it an hour of trick-or-treating. It’s longer than we ever have. And, although I had plans to take Ari to the neighbors for trick-or-treating when we got home, it just didn’t happen. We were all exhausted and ended up in bed at 7:30PM. No joke. All of us.

Thankfully, these fun and exhausting weekends come but once in a blue moon! I mean, it was SO exhausting that I wasn’t able to even recount it for TWO WEEKS! Ha!

So Happy Halloween? JK Merry Christmas at this point…