Woodsy Decor

In a few weeks I'm going to be digging out all of my Christmas decor, but right now I needed something to transition from Autumn/Halloween into the Holidays.

I decided to use some things that I had around the apartment and make a little woodsy decor theme.

I used the pinecones and bark chips from my large pillar candle hurricane and added them to the candle holders I made earlier this Fall.

I am in love with these candle holders. When they are lit, it adds so much warmth to the room! Its one of the first things I like to do when I come home from work.

The Maltese falcon always looks great in the candle light. This is one of those pieces that no matter where I am in the world, I'm going to take it with me. All my love of cinema lies in that stoic bird.

I also placed a beauftiful beeswax candle in the middle of another dish and filled around it with the remaining pinecone and bark pieces that I had. Its adds a little warmth to the kitchen while I'm chopping veggies.

What is it about the smell of beeswax that is just so wonderful? Yum!

I also swapped out my table decor for three of the four egg vases that I bought last year at Pottery Barn clearance sale. I used them last year for a dry arrangement in the bedroom during the Holidays, but this time I left them on their own. I am in love with the different textures!

It doesn't take much to change a place, but it can make a real difference in how a room feels. If I had more resources (and storage!) there are a few things that I would like to add to the woodsy decor:

I would love to replace my normal knit throw for one of these Faux Fur Throws ($149) from Pottery Barn. I gave my Dad a simliar one a few years ago for his birthday and it has quickly become everyone's favorite blanket to curl up with and watch a movie. So rich, lush and cozy.

Another splurge I would love to make is on this Antler Candelabra ($129) from Eddie Bauer. I'm a big fan of the faux antler craze. Its a more animal friendly way to bring a little of the outdoors inside.

I've been thinking about making one of these Cable Knit Throw Pillows (Eddie Bauer, $59.50) from an old sweater that I have. They just look so cozy and inviting! Maybe thats something I'll have to add to the growing list of projects that I want to take on!

I also would love to make these log candle holders! I have no idea where this picture came from, but I saved in about a year ago and only recently came back to it. Another thing to add to the list!

How do you do the transition from Halloween to the Holidays?

I have a few friends who already have their trees up and others who refuse to put up even one decoration before December 1st. I'm usually a bit in between. I start to decorate around the end of November because I know I won't have time as the Holidays get closer. And who am I kidding? I can't wait to put the decorations up any longer.

Caramelized Pumpkin & Squash Seeds

One of my favorite parts about carving pumpkins is getting to eat all the wonderfully nutty seeds! Usually I just roast them with a little olive oil and salt, but this year I wanted to do something different. Then I came across this recipe from Cooking with My Kid. that caramelized them and I knew that I had to try it. I made a delicious a mix of pumpkin and squash seeds. I saved the seeds from my spaghetti squash and butternut squash in the freezer and then just thawed them overnight in the fridge before I made this.

These are ridiculously good. Crunchy, sweet and salt all at once. They kind of remind me of the kettle corn that I tried at the Queen West Art Crawl. Give them a try this Halloween!
What you'll need:
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh Pumpkin or Squash Seeds
Olive Oil Cooking Spray
2-3 tbsp Brown Sugar
pinch of Kosher Salt

Clean and pat dry seeds. You want to get rid of all the orange gunk.

Put seeds in a dry non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Toast them in the pan, constantly shifting them around so that they roast evenly and don’t stick to the pan.

When they start to pop and peel, take one out and taste it (make sure it’s cool enough first). If it’s crunchy it’s done.

Turn the heat down to low and spray the seeds with olive oil cooking spray.

Sprinkle sugar into pan.

Stir seeds while sugar melts and sticks to the seeds. Turn heat off and sprinkle with salt. Let cool and serve!

These are extremely addictive!

Let me know if you try them and tell me what you think! I know I'll be making more this weekend :)

Printable Version

This recipe is linked up to:



      

Fall Walk

We've been really lucky to have a nice Fall this year in Ontario and I've been taking full advantage of the beautiful weather every chance I get by going out for long walks and bike rides.

This is a lake near where I grew up. Just looking at this reminds me how lucky I was to grow up near all this beauty in nature.

Even people's gardens are lush this year with gorgeous coloured grasses, mums and scrubs. As much as I love getting snow in time for Christmas, I'm going to be sad to see this all go this year. But thats the good and bad of living in a place where you get four seasons.

Have you gotten outside yet to enjoy the nice Fall weather this weekend?

A Few Halloween Decorations

Last month I dressed the apartment up for Fall, but now that Halloween is getting nearer, I wanted to add a few things before the spooky night arrives.

In honour of Whiskey's Halloween costume this year, I added lots of tissue paper bats along the walls. (I'll be posting a tutorial on his costume next week, so be sure to come back!). At night, they add a eerie look when the lights are dimmed and I light all the candles.

I placed a few votive holders in amongst the leaves and gourds, to create more shadows.

They have little designs on them, which went lit, create spooky shadows.

To make the bats, I drew a bat shape on paper, then pinned it to tissue paper that was folded over multiply times. Then it was just a matter of cutting the design through all the tissue paper at once. You could also use this to make a bat garland, by not cutting the design at the outer tips of the wings. (Please ignore my weird ironing board cover)

I forgot to show this picture when I posted about Thanksgiving, but here is what I did at my parents place this year. I took pumpkin lights and a leaf garland and wrapped them around all the banisters of the house. To make them ready for Halloween, I'll turn the pumpkins so that the Jack-O-Lantern side is out and add some hanging bats and skeletons. Spooky!

What decorations have you put up for Halloween this year?

Just a few odds and ends, or do you go all out? I'd love to hear about it :)

pumpkin picking

Vintage Pastel Swiss Dot Dress - courtesy of Parlour Vintage

Vintage Black Cardigan - Thrifted

Black Oxford Flats - Etsy

This past weekend, Neil and I drove out to the country to pick some pumpkins! We ended up with a family of pumpkins - one tall and thin, one short and fat, one little baby, and really dusty feet.

Aria at Parlour Vintage (be sure to check out her blog! she's super adorable) was wonderful enough to give me this beautiful robin's egg blue dress, and with its lace trim and ladylike length, I knew I'd have to wear it right away. You guys, I think I've found my dream dress.

The dress is super feminine, so I thought I'd make it a bit more masculine with some plain oxfords and a black cardigan. I really want to find a cable knit ivory sweater to pair with it next, maybe even a pullover. I'm definitely looking for ways to winter-ize it.. any ideas?

I've talked about wanting to incorporate pastels into my cool weather wardrobe, and this is a stab at that. Mixing dusty black with creamy Easter egg shades reminds me of something Karen Elson would do, and following in her footsteps is never a bad idea.

Yay for fall!