Feeling Like Fall

There's something about fall, about the falling leaves in sombre shades of red and yellow, the buttoned up jackets and tightly wound scarves, the gray skies and the bite in the air--something that puts me in the mood for lazy days, sad songs, and rustic food. You know? Right now I can't stop listening to Sometime Around Midnight and The Scientist, even though they're two of the saddest songs I know (and even though it's 10 in the morning). I also can't stop dreaming of a get together with late evening light, holiday spice cocktails, hearty recipes filled with squash, figs, or apples, and simple rustic decor. Any of these would be happily welcome in my imaginary fall party.

 

Images credits: Roasted fall vegetable pizza by Martha Stewart pinned by Tiffany | Apple ginger cranberry cocktails by Katie Quinn Davies pinned by Melissa | Fall table source unknown* via liberty deco pinned by Estelle | Fig brie & honey dessert by Sweet Paul | Car full of apples by Onward and Forward pinned by Carina

*please let me know if you find the source!

Inspired By...

I've had the most miserable day today and am in dire need of a little cheering up. And since none of my best friends can join me for a night of spritz-drinking, Mamma Mia-watching, and pity-partying, I gathered this batch of happy, sparkly goodies together instead. It's no substitute for girlfriends, but sparkles have a way of always making me smile.

...festive notecards that could liven up any care package.

Available at Jess LC

...old-fashioned champagne glasses with proper party pizzazz.

Photo by Katja Hall; Styled by Fräulein K. Sagt Ja

...a room I could gladly pen my memoirs from were I to become Queen of the World. (I only have realistic goals.)

Design by Linda Chase Associates

...a dress that accurately embodies my holiday spirit (and that I wish they made in grown-up sizes).

Available at Gap

...the perfect starry string lights to cozy up this dark time of year.

Available at Restoration Hardware

...simple placecard holders glammed up enough to grace my Thanksgiving table.

Photo and DIY by Centsational Girl

Image credits: Notecards from Jess LC via A Cup of Jo ⎮Champagne by Katja Hall for Fräulein K. Sagt Ja ⎮ Regal room by Linda Chase Associates via Rue Magazine ⎮ Dress by Gap via Say Yes to Hoboken ⎮ Lights by Restoration Hardware, pinned by Jennifer ⎮ Gold clothespin by Centsational Girl

Puppies!

I don't know about you, but few things bring a smile so easily to my face as puppies. (And if they do for you too, this app is brilliant.) Smushy, fluffy, cuddly puppies. Luckily for me, I'm apartment-sitting in Williamsburg this week for a friend who not only has the cutest apartment ever (she made her own map wall!), but also has the two cutest puppies I've ever seen (or gotten to cuddle and squeeze, at least)! These two little nuggets are all mine all week.

(Her adorable apartment--I could never pull off a framed picture of a matador in my living room.)

So far, we've cuddled, we've played, we've walked and chased squirrels in the park (I use the term "we" loosely, of course). And the beauty is, I get my fill of cuteness and at the end of the week, don't have to worry about vet bills. Or being woken up at 7:30a.m. on my days off by little yaps and toe-biting. I hope their little faces bring a smile to your face as they did to mine!

Puppy app via A Cup of Jo | Photos by me & my trusty iphone

Ombre Fall Garland

I whipped up this little leaf garland this weekend to add some fall flair to the apartment. It had been previously all decked out for Halloween, with spider webs, bats, and everything, but my fall sickness had other plans for me and our Halloween mini dinner party had to be canceled. Sniffle sniffle. There's always next year. (I did manage to watch a few horror movies though, as you know I love, so not all was lost!)

Berlin lacks maple trees, so I was originally going for just a yellow-and-orange garland, but was pleasantly surprised to find some reddish leaves on the ground near the Cuban embassy (it's right near our place. I didn't go spying on Cuba to search for leaves or anything...). So I decided to add some red in there after all and grabbed a couple fresh green leaves to finish it off.

All it took were a bunch leaves that weren't wet but weren't yet too dry, a bit of natural colored twine, and a hot glue gun. I considered using a needle and thread, but didn't want to rip the leaves.

Just put a stripe of glue across the back of a leaf, press on the the twine, and repeat until all your leaves are attached. Leave as little or as much space as you want between leaves. Et voilà!

A TV area that's a little bit more festive!

My Weekends in Pictures

A couple weeks ago, we took a stroll through Tiergarten and it only took me about 2.5 minutes of walking to realize I really was really sick. Again. The walk was lovely but the biergarten workers were not at all prepared for so many people to want to enjoy the lovely, sunny day there and totally dropped the ball on service. It was for the better, as I gladly headed to bed instead and ended up staying there the entire week with something similar to strep throat. Thanks for that, fall.

Once I was feeling better, we decided to go check out the new Hofbräuhaus beer hall that opened at Alexanderplatz on this weekend, but much to our chagrin, there were bouncers and a line outside! Hard to believe, for such a large location, but as Micha so aptly put, he wasn't "about to wait in line for Bavarian beer" (His Berliner-ness comes out every now and then in such exclamations). I just wasn't going to wait in line for anything in the cold, so we moved on to a great bar around the corner (Volksbar) where they were playing some awesome '20s music with an electro twist.

On Sunday, we headed to our friend's new house that they just bought and are in the process or renovating. Sadly, they'll be getting rid of that chair-lift. I think it really adds something to the stairwell, don't you? Following a tour a coffee break, we headed to the forest to get our lumberjacking on, only to find out that Micha's rusty old saw was no match for real trees. He barely made a dent in them! (I have big plans for woodsy Thanksgiving decorations, you see, and he's so great he was willing to try to cut up some tree branches for me.) But on to plan B...

And apparently, I have a nature walk. It's kind of an ewwww-why-is-nature-so-yucky, prissy walk, I now realize, and I'll pretty much have to avoid nature from now on so as not to been seen by anyone else walking around this goofy-ly again.

I'll be back a little later with a fun project using some pretty leaves I collected!

Inspired By...

...a breakfast nook that I want to co-opt as my own right now. I love the zigzag chairs, the pink sofa, the tulip table, and the framed art (and the cake stand of waffles, of course!). It's a fact that I adore walls of framed pictures, but I'd never thought to layer them right up next to each other--what a great idea and a beautiful result!

Photo by Laurey W. Glenn for Southern Living

 ...a rainbow rug that is straight out of a fairy tale. I know it's made for indoors, but all I want is to put this in a garden and pretend I'm back in my five-year-old wonderland.

Available from Angela Adams

...geographically influenced memo pads that would make jotting down my on-the-go lists and reminders so much more whimsical!

 Available at Canoe

...a method of jewelry organization that had to have been created just for me. I'm a sucker for any small, cute bowl or dish that I can fit jewelry into, but usually have to withstand from buying them or the limited surface space in my room will be covered. I'd never thought to simply store them in a drawer (I sense shopping in my future...). Genius!

Photo from Martha Stewart

 ...pretty striped baby blankets from the Purl Bee. Anyone (ahem, Nicole) want to make one for me in an adult size?

Knitting kit by The Purl Bee

...a beautiful yet simple new way to wrap gifts. With the holidays just around the corner, my desire to wrap gifts in fun and innovative ways is bubbling to the surface. This mix of ordinary brown butchery paper, elaborate doilies, and white twine is just too pretty, don't you think?

Photo and DIY by mondocherry

Image credits: My favorite breakfast nook styled by Anne Turner Carroll pinned by Jamie | Pathways rug by Angela Adams via Oh Joy! | Altitude memo block by Canoe via Design*Sponge | Stylish jewelry storage by Martha Stewart pinned by Tiffany | Baby blanket by The Purl Bee via Eat Drink Chic | Creative gift wrapping by mondocherry 

A Little Reading Inspiration

Okay, I'm about to admit something mildly embarrassing about myself that my roommate recently discovered when she saw my ever-growing collection on our living room bookshelf: I love reading kids' books. Not picture books--I do read at higher than a first grade level--but pre-teen and young adult books. I don't know why, but those are the books that got me hooked on reading when I was a kid (like Goosebumps, remember those?!) and I've never gotten sick of them since. I of course was on the Harry Potter bandwagon, although I never could get into Twilight, and now I am so hooked on The Hunger Games. Usually I try to find my books at the library (yes, I still use the library, and sometimes I feel I'm the only one, but I'd have a personal library to fill a three-storey house by now if I didn't) or order them on amazon, but I was so desperate to start Catching Fire, the second book of the trilogy, that I had to go out and buy it at my local bookstore right away. Don't you just love books that are powerful enough to suck you into their world and not let you go?

Anyway, needless to say all things Hunger Games are on my mind since I'm reading the book every chance I get--at the gym, on the subway, before bed. The forest, camping, hunting, gathering edible botanicals, Katniss Everdeen's mockingjay pin, her leather hunting boots...I could go on and on. These are some of my pretty Hunger Games-inspired recent finds.

It probably goes without saying, but even if you're not into, or too old for, Young Adult books, read the Hunger Games trilogy. It's addicting! Then tell me what you think.

Clockwise from top left: Feathers print by RiverLuna | Silver sparrow necklace by Tiny Cottage Treasures | Zip-up boots by Ash pinned by Kayleigh | Botanical calendar by  Miles of Light