Oh, the weather outside is frightful . . . .  Well, actually, it’s not frightful at all, it’s rather delightful.  Shame on me for singing a holiday tune in October!   It’s the middle of fall y’all and getting a little chillier around here.  Time to bring out those knit scarves and cozy throw blankets to add a little style while still staying warm.

Today I’m talking about getting cozy with knits over at The Inspired Room in Melissa’s series 31 Days of Autumn Bliss.  I get to be Day 20, yippee that’s me!  C’mon over and say "Hi" why don’t ya, and take a peek at some of my favorite cozy knits this season.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to announce the three winners of Custom Stamp Set giveaway brought to you by The Paper Cafe and Three Designing Women.

Congratulations to the following THREE lucky peeps:

#41 Kristin of Sepia Tone Lovin who wrote, "I would pick the Medallion gift set, and I would gift it to myself.  I’m not ashamed to admit that!"

#162  Katrina who wrote, "TDW Custom Stamp Gift Desk Set Toile! This is totally me, love the pattern….black and pink make me want to sing!!!! I would totally keep this for myself and send cute little notes to my mommy who lives on the way in TEXAS! (I live in NYC)"

# 653: Chris Vanderstoep who wrote: "Definitely the damask, and most definitely for myself! I have been looking for a stamp for letters, and these are gorgeous!"

You three won your choice of a Custom Stamp Gift Set like these!

Who else wants one?   Use the code centgirl15off  through November 2nd only, and get a 15% discount when you order.   Sssssssh.  It’s just for you CG readers, yeehaw!  So spread the word.  :-)  Shop for them here.

Now hop on over to The Inspired Room ~ we’ll talk cozy fall knits!

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My friends, I’m inspired this week.  Inspired to make changes, inspired to inject color, inspired to make my home serve our needs better.  Why?  Why the lovely Elaine Griffin, that’s why!  You may recall I reviewed her book last year, and was delighted to find so much practical advice from one of the Top 100 Designers named by House Beautiful.

I had the opportunity to talk to Elaine last week, and it was like we were long time BFFs.  She has the most valuable advice to give, and quite frankly, one of the kindest voices in the biz.  It goes without saying I am a fan forever.  In anticipation of the big Mom Cave Link Party coming up next week (ladies, mark your calendars!), here’s a few Q & A’s exchanged between the incredible Ms. Elaine and little ol’ me.

Q: How did the idea of the ‘Mom Cave’ originate?

HomeGoods conducted a national poll of 1000 people and it revealed that 56% of moms don’t have a space to call their own!   Of those moms, 7 out of 10 said they would "love a space all for me"!  They asked me (Elaine) to come in and help visualize what a Mom Cave would look like so that any woman (moms or not) could have one, no matter what size space they had or budget.  So I designed three spaces as examples to kick off this new concept and inspire ladies to create a space that belonged just to them.

CG Note:  Having a hard time focusing when gazing on these incredible saturated teal paneled blue walls with white, green, and gold accessories.  Swoon.

   

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Are you like me?  Is the first question you ask when you sit down at a restaurant, "What’s your soup of the day?"  That’s always my first question, especially when it’s cold outside.   I’m a soup lover, a lover of soup.  A super soupy lover.

Sunday was our first rain of the season.  After my mad dash in my pajamas to drag the outdoor cushions into the garage, I smelled that smell.  You know the one:  First Rain.  That first rain of the season that makes the earth smell so good you wish someone bottled it.  There’s got to be a candle somewhere called "First Rain", anyone know where I can get it?   In my world, rain goes hand in hand with hearty soup.

There’s this Italian restaurant in my town that makes the best minestrone soup I’ve ever had.  When I was a working girl, and felt myself coming down with a sore throat, I would phone in an order of a large minestrone and pick it up on my way home from work.  It always brought me back to life and saved me from the impending ailment.  In fact, my husband and I joke that this restaurant’s minestrone is so good, it can cure anything.  So I set my sights on capturing the same flavor at home, and this quick and easy version certainly tastes just like it.

Personally, what I love about this minestrone is there is no pasta in the recipe.  Even with my Italian grandmother’s blood pulsing through my veins, I’ve finally come to terms with the absolute fact that I’d rather skip those mini shell pastas in my minestrone.  And I must have rich tomato flavor.  And white beans.  And hearty fresh squash.  And fresh shaved parmesan.  And crusty bread.  Nuff said.

#1: Tasty Thirty Minute Minestrone

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The Paper Cafe is back with this weekend’s wonderful giveaway!  There’s a new Custom Stamp Gift Set available from Three Designing Women, and they graciously sent me one of these delightful sets to try it out.

These are absolutely lovely.  They come with 20 stylish note cards and envelopes, two coordinating ink pads, one personalized self inking stamper of choice, all beautifully packaged in a chocolate brown box with robins egg blue band.  The ink cartridges fit right into your stamper, making them self inking and therefore mess and worry free.

Here’s a few more examples of the gift sets available:

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