high/low...nubby sweaters

seems like a good weekend for this sweater, but then i also like this one for $1,350.06 less.

either one, really. ah, sweater weather...

have a cozy weekend.

could you just DIE?

check out this amazing jenny packham wedding dress. OMGicles, right?

TGIF

try to get cuter than this mug with a ribbed knit cozy. just try. this would make a great holiday gift (get started early with honey gift files!), maybe paired with a special package of coffee, tea or hot chocolate, and a milk frother would elevate it to another level.

i hope you have a cozy weekend ahead...mine will consist of some clearing and purging at home, some cooking, and some DVR catch-up. you?

warm and toasty

i for one am extremely happy that the temperatures are cooling and fall really feels upon us. isn't it amazing how our moods change with the barometer? one of the most changeable spaces in our lives is what we eat and drink, i find. all spring and summer, nothing pleases me more than iced coffee, but around this time of year, all i want is the spreading warmth of hot coffee, extra points for steamed or frothed milk.

the yogurt i've been enjoying for months (greek with sugar free jelly and roasted almonds) is starting to feel and taste too cold...so a warm bowl of oatmeal seems just the thing. i found this delicious sounding recipe for apple pie oatmeal i wanted to share, which makes use of warming fall flavors, including the best of fall's fresh produce (i think pears would be a perfect addition to or replacement for the apples). it seems so easy, and so adaptable according to your tastes and dietary needs.

i even love the idea of having an oatmeal brunch for a small or large crowd. it would start with strong coffee, glasses of ice cold water and milk, stacks of pretty, mismatching bowls and a large urn of piping hot oatmeal. brunchers would have a choice of many toppings and flavors...chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, salted peanuts, maple syrup, berry flavored jam, sliced apples, pears, roasted cranberries, warm figs, ripe banana slices, chunks of fresh melon and seedless grapes (maybe frozen!), even shreds of chocolate and coconut. wanna come? this would be a simple, inexpensive and unexpected brunch to host, don't you think?

is there anything autumnal coming out of your kitchen?

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fiesta flowers

i couldn't be a bigger fan of flowers for centerpieces, nighttable accents, really any old thing. but sometimes flowers just aren't the thing - whether it's a budget restriction or just not the mood of the gathering, i like to have some other ideas at the ready and i really love this mexican paper flower idea. 

dare i say it, but i actually feel like i could create something that looks somewhat like this with no instructions (famous last words...) , but i might end up needing a tutorial. or a xanax. or both! and if craftyness fails me, they're also available to buy pretty inexpensively here. 

i think they look really pretty in a multi-color bunch like above, but i'd also love them in a two-tone bundle...like light and dark blue or lime green and a grapey purple. thoughts?

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baby love

i stumbled into this lovely blog dear baby in one of those clicking frenzies where you don't remember where you started or how you got to the page you're on, but it doesn't matter because you're so glad you found it.

the pictures of the writer's perfect little children are so beautifully, softly taken and her words are the same. her sentiment really speaks to how lucky i feel to have such special siblings, because there truly is nothing like that in the world. here is what she says about watching her two babes together.

My kids are absolutely crazy about one another. Watching it unfold is one of those experiences that I knew would be special, but I couldn’t have fully grasped until it happened. Like when you’re pregnant and everyone says - “Just you wait until you have that baby is in your arms!” and you think you understand love until the moment happens and it knocks you down with such force that you can barely catch your breath. It feels like that.I love when they rouse from an afternoon nap and blink sleepy eyes in each others direction, recognition sets in and they stretch their small arms out to touch hands and faces. They belong to each other in a way no one else in the world does. There is so much tenderness, joy, and intrigue in their interactions. The beauty in what is growing between them leaves me dizzy sometimes.

in the spirit

i had a fortuitous run-in last night with a friend at dinner here. (ps, the cauliflower "alla siciliana"on the antipasto tray was ridiculous). fortuitous because it was a pleasure to see familiar faces in the sea of fellow diners in a noisy place, but also because said friend had just purchased a spirit hood, which quickly became my new favorite thing. apparently i'm a little late to the table on this one. first of all, they're entirely adorable. second of all, buying them can help save an animal thanks to pro blue, their non-profit organization. 

my favorites are the brown bear (above), the polar bear and the grey wolf:

i particularly enjoy the ones with unexpected linings like the navajo above. how cozy! and each animal is said to embody certain traits that the wearer of the hood can emulate...the brown bear is brave, curious and gentle while the red wolf is a loyal, social spirit, taking on the role of teacher. got that?

if going full hood feels like a lot, i love the half hoods too, like this snow leopard one. and how perfect is this guy's face in that hood? i love these as a special, luxurious holiday gift - for you or someone you know who embodies a special animal spirit. or who likes furry things. either way.

beauty top five

do you have any favorite beauty products to tell us about? i find that there are always a standout few in everyone's arsenal, and i have five i'm really enjoying right now, and i thought i'd share...i'm talking about those gems that make you happy you have them in your back pocket (or your makeup bag).

in the scent world, i'm excited about angel oil from jean turmo in woodstock. to most people, it smells like the thierry mugler oldie but goodie angel, but to me it smells like patchouli, so its a great compromise since my patchouli-wearing has been negged, and fragrance is one of those things where you sort of have to take into account the feelings of the noses around you. the other fragrance i just love is - get this - jessica simpson's fancy love. i never get stopped more than when i wear this scent - it smells a.ma.zing.

i've gotten back into blowing my hair straight and i'm loving john frieda's straight fixation, very simply because it makes - and keeps - my curly hair straight. it's the kind of paranoid, jealous love that makes me worry about the day they might carelessly discontinue it. i'm getting upset thinking about it - definitely need to buy a few tubes for safe keeping.

for eyes, i'm so loving this l'oreal shadow called satin tutu...the perfect shimmery but not too shimmery, shell-like pink shadow. looks great with brown liner, expertly toeing the line of being noticeable but invisible. so vague, i know, but i have a feeling you know what i mean.

and lastly, these makeup eraser sticks from almay are the best thing since...the always perfect almay eye makeup remover pads. it's as if i invented this stick situation myself, and i have to say, in a way i did. when needing to clean up a stray mark, i would often fold one of the pads over a q-tip to get precision and aim. until now, because that's exactly what these sticks are for! here's a really weird use for them i've found and become totally dependent on - i have a beauty mark on my face and when i wear makeup, i don't like how light it gets - like, i don't look like me. so i use one of the sticks to remove the makeup from just that spot. done.

what's in your top five right now? i'd love to know what they are!

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good clean sense

you know how i've gotten very into organic and i thought these two lists were something we could all use - the dirty dozen and the clean fifteen - easy guides for posting on the refrigerator or keeping handy in your wallet so you know what's worth the organic splurge and what's not. and there's an app forthat too.

the other important note i've read in several places is that it pays to buy organic of any produce you eat a lot of, even if its not in the dirty dozen, and i'd say that just makes good, clean sense. 

what produce are you enjoying this week?

bag from h&m, list image

high/low...structured leopard clutch

loving these structured leopard bags...can you guess which is mcqueen and which is house of harlow? the top one is from our girl nicole and retails at $255 and the one below is a slamming $1450 from mcqueen.

and then there's this sparkly riff from savanna...

the lowest priced of the bunch is the one from free people, and do we really need more encouragement to shop there?

boot(y)

are you with me on loving the look of cuffed boots?  here are some of the nicest in my humble opinion...

the mrkt bea wedge boot:

the steve madden aspenn wedge boot (can i have these please?):

the adorable zigi soho stroll bootie:

these mid-calf cuffed platform boots:

and oh my god, these uggs:

and these:

and then i also love these legwarmer style things that you can put on existing boots...this is one of the best cheap wardrobe tweaks i've seen! i love these from payless and a faux fur pair i saw in the store but can't find online. i wrote about a bunch of these last year too...remember?

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