Building a Sinister Charcuterie

Wow. I am overwhelmed by the response to Monday's post. It is my most-visited post of the whole year! Thank you to those who read and commented on social media. Whether or not you agree, I appreciate it. 

And now, back to more palatable topics! 

If you're gearing up for this weekend's festivities, add this sinister charcuterie to your weekend plans. My friends and I love cheese plates. They make an appearance at every gathering that we have, and thanks to lots of practice, our platters have gone from basic to over-the-top. In the best way possible.

With Halloween in less than a week (!!!), I couldn't miss the chance to play-up the holiday with a spooky charcuterie. Everything from the slate platter to the bone-esque utensils, and from the fig jam to the pickled okra is from World Market. I've linked everything for you below. 

Get the scoop on selecting the best cheeses, the meats, and the other accruements over on Annette Joseph Style. I'm spilling how I selected everything, and sharing one of her go-to posts about how to build an unforgettable charcuterie. Don't miss it! 

Flower arranging Halloween-style

I've had such an overwhelming response to my Halloween home tour this week that I wanted to keep the holiday fun going. Halloween is the best, and there is so much room for creativity, especially when it comes to flowers. With the right container, you can boost your flower arranging skills taking them to new spooky heights. 

Thinking creatively about items that can hold flowers is what makes this even more fun. I picked up this skull cookie jar from Target last season, but I saw the exact same one this year. There are others floating around out there too, so just be on the lookout when you're out and about. 

My farmer's market always has the most beautiful vibrant flowers, and when I saw these that looked like brains, I was sold! If you don't have a farmer's market at your fingertips, head to your local grocery store. You can choose several bouquets and deconstruct them to get exactly what you want. I even think roses would be fabulous in the skull. If you tightly arrange them, you can really make a big, brainy impact. 

I created this creepy centerpiece for Annette Joseph's blog last year, but I've been itching to recreate it this season. I think a trip to the farmer's market is in order! 

Halloween Home Tour

If you've been around me for longer than 5 minutes, you probably know that my favorite time of year is fall, my favorite month is October, and my favorite holiday is Halloween. It started when I was a kid, probably because my birthday is just two days before, and I never really let it go. 

My mom did Halloween decor big in our house - she even hung yards and yards of black trash bags in our garage one year to create a spooky spot for my birthday party. One of my favorite Halloween decorations was an enormous blow-up pumpkin. Not the ones we have now - more like a giant beach ball. This thing had to have been a few feet big, or at least it appeared that way to me when I was under 10. The enormous pumpkin signified that Halloween was officially here. 

This is the first year that we've really decorated for Halloween, and it's the first year I've allowed myself to buy decor that will be with me for a while versus just for the season. I've been scouring unique spots for home decor since September 1st, and I just wrapped up my purchases this week. My goal was to buy things that would be fun for Halloween, but I could easily shift into Thanksgiving, and I think it worked great! 

We have truly had so much fun gathering things. Yes, I said "we." Hunter has really enjoyed helping me choose (and hang) things too. He's a trooper. I think I'll keep him! 

Outside, I chose to go all in with pumpkins of all shades of orange. Orange pumpkins have gotten a bad reputation over the past few years. Don't get me wrong, I love a white pumpkin too, but the orange ones look great outside and will look even better once the leaves start to change. 

We also picked up several cheap spiders from Amazon to hang on the house. I've never done anything like this before, and I think the effect is chic but fun. Tons of neighbors have them, but I was most inspired by Tierney's house (we live in the same hood!). Oh, and I can't forget about the Shop Josie B doormat. If you get the quote, we are BFFs. 

Inside, it was all about little details. One day I would love to have Halloween art and pillows, too, but we're starting small, y'all. I created little vignettes all around the house which makes every corner interesting and playful. 

I went to HomeGoods on September 1st (literally) and scooped up several mercury glass pumpkins and gourds and the wooden pears. This set-up on my dining room table will stay until it's time to decorate for Christmas. Well worth the $40! 

My bar cart got a little Halloween fun, too. I have a cocktail napkin obsession, and when the "Squad" ones from Target run out (gifted by a friend), there are several more styles underneath. All from the Dollar Spot! 

These three little items might seem like they don't fit with everything else, but they're probably the most meaningful decor items I have. My college roommate's mom gave me the witch ghost (so me), the little plush pumpkin is from my mother in law (she gave me two others, and Ryan ate them both...), and the pink skirted witch with the crazy hair is from my dad. When I was a freshman in college, he had my grandmother go pick up a basket of Halloween snacks and chocolate covered strawberries for me. This witch was in the basket. I still remember my Nana dropping it off for me. 

And now for my favorite purchase to date: these hand made tealight ghosts from Mollie Jenkins Pottery. Y'all, I have been stalking Mollie Jenkins' ghosts since this time last year. I think I checked her shop every day in September, and when she updated her shop on Monday, I purchased two sets immediately. They are even better in person than I could have imagined. I hope to add another set or two to my collection. They're just so dang cute! 

I have a few more little nods to Halloween here and there: pumpkins on our breakfast table, a bat night light in our powder room, a gilded pumpkin on my bedside table. I love it all. 

Happy Halloween! 

Start Fall at the Door with Doormat Decor

In my head, Labor Day basically means the end of summer and the start of fall. Sorry not sorry, y'all. We've had a few cooler days this week which means I've had soup for lunch, worn a pinch longer sleeve, and have been scouring the web for the best fall decor. 

Since we're in the "new house" this fall, I need some new fall decor. I have dreams of basically making my house a fall paradise, but realistically know that the budget won't allow for it. However, I know that if one thing is going to make me happy, it's seeing my porch doormat every time I walk in the door. I have stumbled upon some super cute mats this year, so I wanted to share them with you. You better believe that one of the Hocus Pocus ones will be making its way to our house ASAP! I freaking love fall. Happy September! 

Monday, My Day

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? We were in Auburn with some of our friends enjoying birthday parties, tailgates, and a big Auburn win. While the weekend was super fun, I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty pumped about this week. October is my favorite month (have I mentioned that once or twice?), and this week is full of wrapping-up work for the month, getting started on next month's client content, and celebrating everything from Halloween to my birthday. Woo! 

Here are a few of my favorite links and happenings:

Birthday months mean tons of birthday coupons. One of my favorites to use every year is my Kendra Scott 50% off. What should I get this year? I think I'm deciding between a statement and a classic. 

Speaking of birthday coupons, I also love love love getting an extra percentage off at Anthro. Has anyone tried these?

I'm over on Annette Joseph's blog today sharing a spooky and downright beautiful Halloween floral arrangement. You'll never guess where my vase is from...

Hunter and I are heading to the Atlanta symphony this weekend to see Nightmare Before Christmas. Our symphony shows the movie and plays the score live. Such a neat introductory way to experience the symphony. 

Speaking of Halloween fun, I've gotten back into my favorite seasonal podcast, Lore, over the past few weeks. Have you tried it? 

What's your favorite magazine subscription? I'm LOVING my Cooking Light (thanks, Linds!) recently and the double holiday issue is on point, y'all. Totally worth picking one up at the grocery store. 

Growing your Halloween collection with Yankee Candle

It's no secret that I adore Halloween. In fact, on my list of favorite holidays, it ranks at the tip top and well surpasses Christmas. What can I say? I was born just two days before All Hallows Eve, and as a certified Scorpio through and through, I can think of no better holiday than one where strangers gift you with free candy and Hocus Pocus airs on repeat all season. 

Because I love Halloween so much, I usually get a head start on decor around my house. I start small with displaying pumpkins here and there, and before you know it, there are witches and ghouls all over the place. This year, I scoped out the Halloween home decor at some unsuspecting places and found a few favorite new items at Yankee Candle. Halloween candles inspired by treats like candy corn? Say no more. 

The beauty of Halloween decor is that the color scheme is always consistent, so you can build your collection over time. With shades of purple, green, orange, of course, black, you can mix and match everything without creating a hodgepodge look. I was able to pull out a few old favorites like the chalk-board wicked sign and complete the look with a few new finds from Yankee Candle. I paired my Deadly Diva tea light holder, who is described as "a sultry songstress with cold-hearted intentions" (too cute), with an adorable Steam Punkin hat, a watchful sequined owl, and a beautiful mercury glass pumpkin. These items look great together, and I love seeing my collection grow over time. 

For a limited time, Yankee Candle is offering you the chance to get a buy one, get one free coupon just for taking 30 seconds to watch this freakishly good video all about decorating your home for a frightfully fun Halloween season. Just click the image below to watch! 

I love the silhouette haunted house seen in the video and will most definitely be adding that piece to my decor, too! After all, Deadly Diva has to have somewhere to sing her soulful songs. 

Naturally I had to give my collection of travel ghost story books some air time in today's posts. I've been collecting ghost stories from all over the world at each haunted location I visit. While I'm the first to admit that I'm a total scaredy cat when it comes to stories like these, I also appreciate folklore and history behind the tales. I have an entire shelf dedicated to ghastly tales on my office built-ins...which is exactly where you'll find the rest of my Yankee Candle Halloween decor as Halloween continues to approach. 

As you start to see Halloween items here and there in stores, don't hesitate to head to Yankee Candle for all of your decor needs. After all, you have that buy one, get one free coupon practically burning a hole in your pocket, right? 

Check out my other Halloween decor posts here, and learn how to host a bewitchingly fun Halloween wine tasting party here. In the meantime, enjoy prepping for Halloween!