falling for fall

are you enjoying the beautiful fall colors and relishing the coziness that is true fall? the colors  seem to be at their peak over the last few days where i am, and i'm trying to savor every single moment. 

i'm off from work this week, and inside the house i'm burning harvesty scented candles for their scent and their glow,  and i'm boiling whole cinnamon sticks on the stove to squeeze out every drop of their aroma. how do you take your fall? are you loving it?

on display

yes, this is in fact the second time in a week i've made reference to melissa gorga's song. awkward. 

well, moving right along, i wanted to share some pictures from last thanksgiving. i was responsible for the decor, and decided that rather than the average flowers and gourds, i wanted to go more literal on the cornucopia idea. i visited the farmers market near my office the day before and picked up lots of kale, carrots, leeks, potatoes, onions, brussel sprouts and whatever else looked good. i corralled them in casserole dishes, vases, and on trays and placed them around the house. at the end of the night, i sent thanksgiving guests home with their own little cornucopia of fresh produce to cook throughout the weekend. i taught ina everything she knows about sending guests home with leftovers, didn't you know? me and ina, we're like two peas in a pod. or two brussel sprouts in a vase in this case.

i was really happy with the way it all came out, and i felt like it was worth the approximate $50 i spent on the produce itself, especially considering that the remains went home with people and continued to be used and used up. for a lot less money, i think you could easily make an abundant display with just a few, really cheap varieties. at the grocery store, you could buy 5 lb bags of potatoes in varying colors and pile them high in bowls placed around. i feel like the more purposeful they look, the less cheap they look. so you might buy two or three different color potatoes and i would display them monochromatically, so maybe on one surface, you'd do all the red skin ones and on the other, the brown or tan ones. you could do the same with the large bags of onions in shades of white, yellow and purple, and that would look gorg as well.

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?

first image; second image

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?

top image

essie 's carry-on collection for fall

what are your thoughts? i love that the fall collection is bag themed and i like how this year's fall collection lines up with last year's, seen together below (last year's, then this year's). it looks like neither a copy nor a departure, but an evolution, and don't we all love evolution where we can get it?

i'm interested in each of this year's colors, i suppose, especially very structured, case study and glamour purse. i'm confused by power cluctch which appears greenish above, though gray in a different image i've seen, and is described as a gray-green. i guess i'll HAVE to get a mani to get some clarity.

top image, other images

shoe-in

i really haven't been much of a shoe girl in my life, and i think that's largely been because most nice shoes weren't comfortable for me, and often didn't look particularly pretty on me. but now that i've lost so much weight, my shoes have gone down a size or two (yes, that happens!) and they generally look way better in shoes. i've been enjoying all kinds of sandals this summer...t-straps, ankle straps and other very thin, refined looking sandals. it's a revelation! so for fall, i have my eyes on a few pairs that i'm really excited about. none are expensive, because i still don't feel shoes are important enough to me to splurge on...i'd rather save that for bags.

love love love these leopard flats which also come in a wedge if you're more into height. and these gold glitter flats are exactly as glittery and sparkly as you'd want them to be - no more and no less. love the idea of these with jeans or even a buttoned up pair of slacks.

also on the gold front, i'm seriously considering these metallic lame oxfords you see at the top. will i look like the tin man? maybe. will i have the nerve to wear them? not sure. but i do love them. i feel like they're a cool, different take on fall's oxford moment. thoughts?

the other thrilling thing about right now for me is that for the first time in i don't know how long, i'll be able to wear boots because my calves are small enough to zip into them! what will they be? sparkly uggs? flat leather ones? furry ones? or maybe i'd just get these to put over whatever other boots i have...might i get cozy cable knit ones? or fuschia hunter boots with the cozy socks that fit inside? choices....

back to school

i try not to be shocked when stores jump the gun on back-to-school the same way they do for the holidays and everything else that generates revenue, but i always am shocked. this year, though, i'm welcoming it. i'm looking forward to dark nail polish colors, cooler climes and cozy, neat fall fashion. this gap campaign makes me feel warm and fuzzy for some reason (or maybe that's the 105 degree subway platform). it reminds me of that age-old feeling of back to school shopping...dogearing the pages of looks that i hoped i could pull off...velvet, corduroy and wool that i would undoubtedly wear when the temps were still a little (or a lot) too warm, but i just couldn't wait. 

so enticing was this gap ad, that i clicked through and discovered backpacks surely meant for children that i surely want to own. is it me, or are these sparkly backpacks fabulously adult-ready?

which color are you getting?

thankful

here's hoping today is a cozy day, filled with grace and beauty everywhere you look.

happy thanksgiving and cheers to the start of a happy, healthy holiday season.

images from martha stewart

thankful for fall

i know we're all already amping up for christmas and channukah (which comes scandalously early this year), but since it is thanksgiving week, let's take a moment to be thankful for fall and for the bounty of beauty that it brings.

i've been admiring the fiery orange mums and pumpkins that are gracing the front steps at my parents' house and i'm pleasantly surprised to find that some things are constant - i admired a very similar spread right here (and pictured below) more than a year ago. i don't know who's more consistent - my parents for gravitating towards the same combination or me for being smitten with it.

on my walks around our neighborhood, i've enjoyed the beautiful vibrance of the trees and they way they seem to glow against the periwinkle sky.

and i've been struck by how i've seen more than a few signs of supersized autumn. take for example the ginormo leaf below, pictured next to a normal sized leaf.

and a normal sized apple, left, cowering in the shadow of the godzilla apple to its right. guess nature didn't get the memo about it being a lean year.

i'm also loving how fall inspires people to be creative with color combinations...

i see it in the selection of mums and cabbages on peoples' lawns, warm earthtone wardrobes mixed with punches of rich jeweltones...even the bakers at whole foods created an inspiring palette - magenta, yellow, cream and brown. i'd love a party in those colors, or a piece of jewelry, or a room...
funny, the frosting has always been my favorite part, so this year i can just admire their color scheme. works for me.

what's inspiring you this fall?

top image from HBU, 7th image from flickr

baby it's cold outside

so today seems like a fitting day to talk about my latest cold weather accessory obsession, the faux fur leg warmer/boot cover. i wish there was one agreed upon name for the genre, but there isn't.

i love these because it means you don't have to buy a pair of faux (or real if that's your thing) winter boots, you can instead wear the same ones you've been wearing for years and use these as a wintry, warming add-on. also, if they get a little too shaggy from snow and rain and sleet, you're not dealing with a $300 pile of wet shag to feel guilty about.

i'd say the pair at the top from lulu's ($41) is my number one choice, though these wonderland warmers ($32) are pretty adorable as well (in white, black, gray or coffee):

oh, and these "chinchilla" ones (ami clubwear, $about $40):

although i don't find the furry shag boot covers i found on amazon quite as luxe looking, i think they're great in that they come in so many colors and so cheap ($18) that you can get a few and match them to the rest of your outerwear ensemble which is, in itself, kind of luxe, don't you agree?

and while we're on the topic of luxe, i just want to make sure you're aware of rachel zoe's faux fur vests on qvc...here are my two favorites, in silver and red fox (otherwise known as give it to me pleeeeease), both around $80):

okay and one more thing in the faux fur arena...check out this faux fur flagstaff jacket ($118) available for preorder at fred flare:

and since you're already there, see the buckled miwok vest ($60) as well - on trend, but a little different because of the buckles:

did somebody say head start on holiday gifts? okay i'm done.

except for this, for the dreamers. meet j.crew's mongolian lamb vest($800). nighty night.

if you're so inclined, check out the post i did at SHEfinds about this vest, or the whole fur wardrobe you can get for the same price.

stay warm.