Happy Veterans Day all!   A big salute to the veterans and troops today!  Did your town have a parade?  Ours did, and so many came out to pay tribute!

I’m working my way through my list of holiday crafts, and I finished up one half of a project today!   We’re not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I am helping with the table setting, so here’s one of my contributions: glitter leaf hurricanes!  Or should I say hurricane singular . . .  I still have to finish the second one, but no worries.  This is such a simple and quick project anyone can finish in under an hour.

What you’ll need:  pattern or design of choice; glass candle holder or vase; spray paint; glitter; adhesive vinyl; cutting board; box cutter or X-acto knife; cotton swabs; mineral spirits or paint thinner (for cleaning up with spray paint).

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Happy Halloween weekend y’all!  Do you have a relaxing weekend planned or is your calendar packed with costume related events?  We happen to fall in the latter category, but the rain is putting a damper on all the festivities planned.  No worries, we’ll just trick-or-treat with our umbrellas and rain boots!

Meanwhile, here’s a few fun and inspirational links that inspired me this month, enjoy!

Melissa’s autumn walk at 320 Sycamore

Ashley’s simple and salvaged tablescape at Pure + Lovely.

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Hi all, how’s your fall?  Are you enjoying the cooler weather, the falling leaves, and the colors of the season? 

How gorgeous is this display at my local grocer around the corner?  A perfect harvest scene!  It just doesn’t get much better than this . . .

Except when you arrive home to find a little treat bag on your door, and you have no idea who left it there.  This is the second time this week a treat bag has arrived anonymously on our front porch.

We’ve been BOOed!

I had never heard of this Boo Game until this year, my family and I are smitten with it!   These anonymous ‘Boo’ treat bags are akin to the ‘Secret Santa’ and they are a fun way to spoil your friends and good neighbors.  Perhaps you’ve been BOOed too?

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Right now, I have pumpkin pie and harvest menus on the brain, plus the excitement of the Halloween weekend is just days away!   My kids have finally settled on their costumes (a black cat and Stormtrooper) and we’ve even made our plans and travel arrangements for Thanksgiving.

But I have a confession to make.  It’s absolutely true that I have already fondled and nearly purchased admired a few sparkling Christmas baubles on display at local retailers, and I may or may not have made the decision to deck my halls with mostly blues with mixed metallics this year.  Yes, it’s true, I was quietly humming a holiday tune earlier today.  So it goes without saying, I’m definitely looking forward to my copy of ‘Holiday with Matthew Mead’, which will be mailed to my doorstep next week!

"Holiday with Matthew Mead is a book-azine that encompasses all that I love about the holiday season: the traditions, celebrations and magic that is the holiday season. The pages of ‘Holiday with Matthew Mead’ are filled with fresh, easy ideas that can be achieved in two or three steps. It’s a novel approach to almost everything holiday, and I hope you take a chance to pick it up and see how these updated ideas might inspire you.

With 144 pages of holiday inspiration – featuring well-known and admired designers, bloggers and top-notch stories – and printed on beautiful paper (while not drowning in ads!), we consider ‘Holiday with Matthew Mead’ part book/part magazine – a publication that you will keep from year to year and add to your collection of holiday decorating, crafting and cooking magazines and books."

~  Matthew Mead, author and stylist

Matthew Mead is a expert stylist and regular contributor to Better Homes & Gardens (I always look for his table settings and seasonal vignettes!).  He is also a co-editor of Flea Market Style.

Want to win yourself a copy of the book-azine ‘Holiday with Matthew Mead’?

Well I have two copies to giveaway!

All you need to do is leave a comment answering this question:

What is your most prized holiday decoration?  Is it your inherited vintage ornaments, your nativity, or your novelty Santa doll that shakes his booty to the tune of "Jingle Bell Rock" ?  (Our family has one of those.)

Eligibility to win one of two free copies of Holiday with Matthew Mead:

1)  Leave a comment naming your most prized holiday decoration.

2)  Want a second chance to win?  Either tweet or post about this giveaway on Facebook, then leave a second comment telling where you linked (FB or Twitter).

Giveaway ends Thursday October 28th at 8 p.m. PST (so the winners can be included in the first mailing).  If you simply can’t bear to wait, you can purchase a copy here and it will be in the mail to you next week!

Tomorrow, I shall return to my autumn state of mind.

See you then!

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