A few months ago, Tea from Ekskluziv reached out to me and invited me to stop by the next time I was in Roanoke to try out a complimentary shampoo, cut, and style at their new salon. I immediately made an appointment to visit while Rob and I were in town for a wedding and had a great time chatting with the staff and getting some new layers.

Last month, I was going to be in Roanoke and was desperately in need of a trim and some color, so I eagerly emailed Tea and she managed to squeeze me in with Sarah, my stylist from before. Sarah is so lovely to work with and knew exactly what I was looking for after just a brief consultation--I always want to go darker and richer, so she added some golden tones to the color to really warm everything up. It was so great and it felt wonderful to get my hair back to a darker shade after not coloring it all summer.

Ekskluziv is the prettiest little salon and it's located in downtown Roanoke on Kirk Avenue, and they have such a wonderful team. If you're ever in town and need a cut, color, or style, give them a call (and tell them I sent you)!

"At Ekskluziv, our goal is to discover the inner beauty of each and every guest. By providing you with an enjoyable and educational opportunity, we will help you look salon styled each and every day." 

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Last week I visited my parents' house and had some friends over for a s'mores party! My brother built a campfire and I created a quick and fun menu of different s'mores for us to try. We made PB&J s'mores, bacon s'mores, salted caramel s'mores, and even a bananas foster s'more!

La Crema sent several bottles of their Pinot Noir and we had such a great time by the fire, drinking wine and eating way too much sugar. My friend Chad was even in town from Connecticut, so I got to see him for the first time since my wedding--and I hadn't seen my friends Matt or Tony since then, either. The whole thing felt like a big, awesome reunion (with roasted marshmallows). 

This post was sponsored by La Crema. Thank you so much for your support as I continue to work with brands. Visit the La Crema blog to get the recipes for all of our s'mores creations!

And for La Crema, the end of summer also means wine grape harvest! Now you can participate in this exciting time of year in Wine Country by signing up for La Crema's Virtual Vintner program. Join the virtual winemaking community and set the course for a totally new crowd-sourced creation from La Crema.

Photos by Photo + Love for Freckled Italian.

I drove from Charlotte to Roanoke and back last week, and the way the late summer haze weighed on the mountains in the distance made me yearn for fall the way almost-August always does.

If I'm being totally honest, once the fourth of July passes by, I'm pretty much ready for autumn. I start thinking about hot cups of coffee and knitted hats and jeans. There's something so magical about the change in seasons that I start to imagine it well before any of it actually happens.

One chilly morning on the lake. One cool haze hanging in the distance. I think about autumns past, and living on the east coast once again for autumns to come. Will things be the same? Will they feel different? Will I? It's just so hard to know. 

There are weeks before we move, and even longer before those first leaves start to change their color back east, so until either one, I will do my best to take in the last of this Minnesota summer. Sometimes it's hard to remember, but there is not much to gain by wishing away the present.