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?

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.

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!

top image

the scented letter

i spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning out closets and drawers with so much more to add to my seemingly endless clothing donations. i sorted sunglasses and found a new, larger home for all my beloved bracelets, since the collection has grown like it has. 

as i went through drawers and cleared out garbage and things i'd been clinging to just because, my spirits were lifted by the lovely scent of my lavender drawer sachets, which is all the more reason i know i'd love a beautifully scented sachet with my initial on it like this one. in the category of little extras, who wouldn't want one or a few? would also be a lovely hostess gift for a beach visit to come or a darling token for a bride-to-be with the initial of her new last name.

need more ideas for hostess gifts or bridal shower gifts?

fun for the fourth

 are you entertaining this holiday weekend? or maybe just looking for a fun idea for you and your nearest and dearest while lounging outside...i'm obsessed with the notion of sangria pops...how fun! check out this website for a recipe for sangria pops and also bailey's pudding pops and mango lassi pops. 

i think using these examples, you could actually figure out how to make any number of cocktails in pop form. just remember what you're licking and don't get in the car! 

and can you believe this cake? unbelievable! glory from glorious treats does an incredible tutorial here that actually makes me think i could do this. i don't actually think i could do it, but you get the idea...

i'm also loving the idea of a lobster or clam-bake themed dinner. there's something so comforting about the idea of a down home summer party like that...everything can blend together in various states of match and mismatch and it all just signals a good time. i love martha's instructions for lobster place cards and these sweet boat bowls from wisteria would be perfect for the trappings of a fabulous summer meal.

ps...i also love one of these bowls on a key table for change or in a bathroom for summery soaps.

i'm not sure what could be more fun thank eating your delectables off these ikat melamine plates, also from wisteria, and i love the way they'd unexpectedly mix with the nautical theme, especially for a coastal evening. in either colorway, the look could be roughed up with these seagrass tumblers, perfect for wicking away condensation...the cardinal sin of an otherwise good time.

for drink ideas, how about a cucumber and lime gin fizz...how fun and summery does that sound? i gag at the thought of gin and even i think it sounds good. 

then again, i like any drink that involves the word fizz...do you remember my peach fizz from a couple summers ago? here are some other fun drink ideas. and more still, with a roundup of great glasses to boot.

 and for a hearty summer meal (or even a light one), no paper napkins will do. i love cloth ones and i usually find the cheaper the better. my personal favorite is the tekla dish towel from ikea that can be washed and washed and washed again, but i also love these options from crate and barrel and anthropologie.

and if you don't feel like bothering with dishes or glasses at all, the best option is a rustic, delicious display like this lovely image from frolic today and some bubbly in a can.

perfect.

summer reading

every once in a while, i rediscover how wonderful reading is. it's such a treat...how is it allowed, and pretty much free? i'm reading the corrections right now (it's taking me forever but i'm enjoying the slow burn) and every magazine under the sun.

what are you reading right now?

image

tiny treasures...a lavender swipe

you're gonna thank me for this one. favorite new thing ever. EO lavender hand wipes. i buy them individually wrapped or in a package of 10 at whole foods...they smell divine and they're perfect for newsprint on hands on the morning commute. nothing worse than that.

in the mood for more tiny treasures? or more deliciously lavender smelling things?

a sweet farewell

i'm sad to see peony season come to a close...are you? it's too short! this year, i bought one bunch of them and kept them in my bathroom in little blue and white porecelain cups. i added some sprigs of fresh lavender from my balcony and enjoyed the little bunches' sweet presence for almost a month. 

i know people say that all good things end and i know that's part of what makes them special, but i think peonies would still be special, even if they stuck around just a little while longer...


alas, we know they'll be back next year no matter how things in life might change. there's a certain comfort in that, don't you think? still, i'm sad to see them go.

second image

time out(side)

 

i've always felt like a special place outside is so important to my mental health. it's huge to me to be able to sit somewhere quiet and enjoy a breeze, a cool drink and watch the trees sway. it's a bonus if there are birds and flowers and a windchime.

over the years, mitchell and i have lived in places with abundant outdoor space and places with less, but i've learned that even when you don't have a lot, it's what you do with it that counts. i'm totally inspired by these pictures which show different ideas with all kinds of spaces...some large, some small, some with everything perfectly matching and coordinated and others that look like they came together at a moment's notice, from the necessity of having somewhere lovely to be.

do you have a place to be outside? if you don't, could you throw one together this weekend? i bet you could do it without spending a dime...

images from here, here and here

follow the glow

i'm still quite taken with the look of a luminary-lined walkway for any sort of gathering. of course a wedding for sure, but even a casual summer barbecue. what a treat for guests to follow the glowy lights to where the action is. it reminds me of being a kid and following the balloons to the backyard. it's like a visual version of following your nose to where the delicious smells are coming from or your ears to where the music and dancing are. and if it were all of the above? well would be some party!

and as an extension on the idea, i love the thought of using luminaries as placecards...each guest would pick theirs up (the paper bag variety is best since they don't get hot like jars) and would walk to their with it, so there would be a glowing, ethereal sense of motion in the room for just a few precious moments. then they could set them down at their table (hello, incidental centerpiece!) and the tables would each be glowy beacons.

images and image

a squeeze of lemon

one of my favorite parts of getting a manicure or pedicure is when they bust out the steamed towels...i find it exhilarating, and the hotter the better. i particularly love when the towels are faintly scented with lemon and ginger. similarly, i love to breathe deeply when towels like that are passed around at asian restaurants, and i fondly remember the chilled towels in the gym at this resort being scented that way as well. i just love multi-sensory experiences like that, don't you?

i've often considered buying a towel warmer for my own home...i've come shockingly close to doing it more than once. maybe one day...for now, though, i might just take a page from the resort gym and chill some lemon towels this summer...want to join me?

still life

aren't these photos the loveliest? they're from ahsley, of the blog butterflyfood, and she also (thankfully) sells her gorgeous photos on etsy. i just adore her work. i love the way her artistic eye has perfectly captured the extraordinary nature of truly ordinary things.

 

 

 

i would love to have a few of these framed simply and hanging in my kitchen. hmm....perhaps i will, since they're unbelievably affordable ($10.95 each or 3 for $25).

 

 

ashley has been sweet enough to offer the 5x7 black and white wooden spoons print to one lucky reader...comment on this post and be entered to win!