I made a batch of these pumpkin muffins (minus the frosting…gotta draw the line somewhere!) the other night and couldn’t help but notice how fast I go through a certain quartet of spices at this time of year. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves are key ingredients in all of my favourite pumpkin recipes and they’re classic staples in fashion and interiors too. I wear my saddle-brown leather boots every other day on average and dream of having walnut stained hardwood floors one day…

Undecorate

This wild and rustic table setting is a recent favourite…I especially love the unexpected pop of bright orange! It would be perfect for all seasons and so easy to insert another feature colour into, don’t you think? Fresh herbs and greenery always bring such a welcoming and organic quality to a tabletop…

Photo by Jasmine Star for Style Me Pretty

Frye “Melissa Trapunto” Boots at Nordstrom

Emily Henderson

Handsome Coffee via Mom.Me

Salted Caramel Bars by What’s Gaby Cooking?

Keiserens Nye Traer via NIB

Toffee Crunch Cupcake by Bakers Royale

Paired with white, other neutrals, warm metals or topped with creamy frosting,  it’s pretty tough to go wrong with these nutty flavours, er, colours of nature…sorry, those cupcakes are far too distracting!  Love the look of rustic wood but not sure where to start? Crates and reclaimed furniture are affordable options as are smaller wooden serving pieces and cutting boards. We have some gorgeous boards in the shop made locally by Tack Woodwork, not to mention some seriously covetable harvest tables and stump stools! Using natural materials as a base will never go out of style, especially when layered with texture and pattern to warm things up. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Halloween is just around the corner and we’ve already got our pumpkins, fresh from my father-in-law’s back field. We’re well on our way with costume planning too although I do need to track down a few more finishing touches at the local pop-up costume shop. I’ve always avoided buying the generic “licensed” costumes so readily available at the big box stores and try to come up with something relatively creative and inexpensive each year. Easier said than done though! This year, my girls both want to be black cats (easy, phew!) and Gabe’s deciding between Teen Wolf and Clark Kent…we’ll see which one is the least complicated to put together! I don’t generally decorate the house for Halloween but I am loving this moody Great Expectations themed table by Cassandra Lavalle of below…

Photo by Julie Harmsen for Coco + Kelley

Especially loving the masses of lush greenery and spooky little details! Here are some other fun and festive ideas for kids and adults alike…

Owly Shadow Puppets

Say Yes to Hoboken

Queen’s Card Castle

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies

Sweet Paul

Oh Happy Day

Jolly Mom

Lacquer & Linen via Camille Styles

I haven’t tried painting a pumpkin yet but think this is the perfect time to get on the bandwagon. My father-in-law donated a truck load of pumpkins from his patch to the shop so we might have to give a few a little makeover with our CeCe Caldwell’s line of chalk paint. I’ll keep you posted on how they turn out :)

The weather has turned once again so I thought I’d leave you with this gorgeously warm and light filled Scandinavian home, to get the weekend started off on the right foot! The combination of light wood and rich colours against white walls with plenty of gold accents is giving me some serious home envy. It may be time to layer some new colours into my own space, starting with a new living room rug. I especially love this patchwork looking kilim + pillows and the Tom Dixon pendant lights are sublime! My budget is tight (let’s be real, it’s non-existent right now) but a girl can dream, right?

Design by Moodhouse via Hitta Hem. Photo by Kristofer Johnsson.

Design by Moodhouse via Hitta Hem. Photo by Kristofer Johnsson.

Design by Moodhouse via Hitta Hem. Photo by Kristofer Johnsson.

It’s been another busy week already and I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever be able to sit back and put my feet up…not for a while, I’m thinking! The shop has been really steady and there’s always something to do between ordering new stock, hunting for “new” vintage treasure and reorganizing the space itself. Yesterday I brought a load of pumpkins, fresh from my father-in-law’s back field, over to the shop and the front porch is finally looking ready for the Fall. I also snipped quite a few trimmings from around my backyard and its amazing what some colourful (and free!) branches can add to a corner. Do you have a certain harvest look for the Fall or do you wait to dive in at Christmas? Rich autumn hues are so easy to work with (as are most of nature’s colours) and I love the warmth they bring to a space…

Krickelin

Photo by Bjorn Wallander for Country Living

Photo by Jen Huang for Design*Sponge

Flower Patch Farm Girl

Katie’s Pencil Box

Stylizimo

Beach Blues via One Wed

We got a great demo of our new line of CeCe Caldwell’s chalk + clay paint on Monday night and I’m excited to dip in and try it out on some unsuspecting pumpkins at the shop today…and maybe a few spare canning jars too! I’ll see what happens before promising to share pics though :) I also tried out that Lemony Pesto Pasta recipe on my family the other night and guess what? They liked it! And it literally only took me 15 minutes to whip up. Win win. Did you know that its Small Business Saturday across Canada in a few days? Celebrate small businesses and entrepreneurs in your neighbourhood by shopping local this weekend!

After being spoiled with seemingly endless days of sunshine this Fall, the past blustery weekend of rain brought us all back to reality here on the West Coast. Although I would never complain about the sunshine, I have never seen our lawn so burnt and must admit that it felt pretty cozy cuddling up on the couch with the fireplace on once again. And now that I’m settling into a bit of a work routine, I’m really looking forward to getting back to cooking healthy and hearty meals for my family. With the recent meat recalls, I’ve been thinking a lot more about where our food actually comes from and will be trying to sneak a few more meatless meals into the rotation…extra vegetables are always a good thing! Here are a few delicious looking recipes that got my mouth watering…

Kale, White Bean + Potato Soup by Fit Sugar

Beet, Goat Cheese + Arugula Sandwich by BS in the Kitchen

Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies by Kumquat

Lemony Pesto Pasta with Edamame + Almonds by The Kitchn

Pumpkin Rolls + Borscht by Gobo Root

Butternut Squash + Sage Lasagna by Martha Stewart

Spinach + Cheddar Muffins by Foodbeam

The fellas in my family are a bit more picky than us gals when it comes to vegetables so I may have to get sly with some extra blending to hide them away but I think it’s important to keep bringing new tastes and flavour combinations into the mix, don’t you? How do you manage picky eaters in your house? Have any favourite recipes for Fall? Please share!