favorite October moments

I'm so looking forward to tomorrow… Halloween! We’ve got our pumpkins ready, our candy bowl restocked, and I might even put on a costume to greet the trick-or-treaters.

 

Here’s a snapshot of our front porch, lined up with bright orange pumpkins and little terracotta pots filled with my favorite orange and black pansies.

Can you spot or calico kitty, Jazzy? She loves the front porch, and you can always count on her to meow a cheerful hello to all that pass by.

 

Isn’t this arrangement so beautiful? The flowers a birthday gift to me from my sister-in-law, Deborah and her family.

 

These roses and ranunculus came carefully packed in a box and I styled them in this vintage copper bucket. I added a bit of greenery from the garden to fill things out. They’re the cheeriest color for late October, aren’t they?

 

Flowers, flowers and more flowers! They just make me soooo happy! This is another look I put together to showcase these lovely “Caroline” linens by Pacific & Rose.

 

This is the Caroline pattern in green. I just love how the bright orange mini pumpkins pop with all these vibrant colors.

 

And speaking of pumpkins, the mantel is done up in a more subdued tone, with feather butterflies added for a whimsical touch.

This soft color palette works perfectly with the mantel. Another arrangement of flowers I put together with my favorite pumpkin salad plates. The table linens are “Juniper” by August Table.

 

Here’s the Juniper napkin in another color creating a soft overlay for the pewter tray that’s serving up my favorite fall soup… Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, homemade of course! You can find the recipe here.

 

I’m currently setting the table for Halloween dinner and will share it all tomorrow. I’ve got an elegant but slightly spooky look I’m going for, and I think I can pull it off!

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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favorite fall tablescapes

Transitioning from summer to fall décor is a gradual process. I like to slowly start introducing autumn elements right about now but don’t go totally into “fall”  mode until September.  

Today I'm sharing some of my favorite fall tablescapes. It's always helpful to highlight favorite elements with my little list of go-to seasonal items:

ü Sunflowers

ü White pumpkins

ü Soft plaid throws

ü Raffia & burlap

ü Copper & gold accents

ü Earth tones and black & white

ü Wood elements

ü  Whimsical details

ü Vintage accessories

ü Subtle hints of orange

Small, fringed plaid throws are one thing I love to hunt for during the year. I’ve found some great ones in thrift stores and at Home Goods, over the years. 

In fact, I found a really cute small one this year in Savannah that will be part of a new tablescape soon!

Once you place them on a table, especially an outdoor table, they instantly say “Hello fall!”  

Another thing to spy at thrift stores during the year, but especially now, are pumpkin plates of any kind. The ones that are pumpkin shaped are so cute at a place setting.

An ombre color palette in gold is very appropriate for fall and brings a bit of glamour to the table.

Soft colored pumpkins are my favorite!

Placemats are the best way to add the necessary texture you need for autumn. I love how they frame the dishes, as well.

Black and white is the most elegant backdrop 

for the month of October with 

Halloween finishing off the month with a bang!

Wooden chargers and silverware help create a lovely fall look at this table. A macrame runner adds texture and the vintage amber glasses add sparkle.

This is an unusual look for me, and it was dictated by this fringed throw and these amazing pumpkins from Roger’s Garden. 

Scatter a little fresh greenery and twigs to soften the look. These are just clippings from my olive tree.

I kind of love this table I styled for Serena & Lily.

This monochromatic look was accented with their pretty napkins embroidered in orange and fresh peach roses and cabernet-colored mums at the center of the table.

Mini baby boo pumpkins fill out this wooden trough and get accented with soft green moss, dusty miller and webby cheesecloth.

Simplicity is sometimes the best way to go! 

Here we have a more whimsical take on Halloween. Again we have a black and white palette with just a hint of orange.

This is probably the most intricately layered table I’ve ever set. The mood I was going for was elegant Halloween with a hint of Harry Potter for fun.

The table runner was actually made from pages of a worn copy of a "Goblet of Fire" paperback. I just layered and layered... open books, plants, pumpkins and a few little critters.

Behind the scenes, this was difficult to photograph. The floating candles were a must but a challenge to get just right on film.

In fact, to get just the right final "overhead" shot, I had to move the entire table, which didn't fit through the doorway upright, into my family room. My dining room has low ceilings, and I couldn't capture the whole table, so what did we do?

My husband and I slid the whole centerpiece of the table onto a board, moved the table, and then slid the whole layered look back onto the table. 

I've learned my lesson never to do that again!  

Next are two Thanksgiving tables that got their 

inspiration from a simple little “Be thankful” Charm. 

Simply tied with raffia, these little charms speak volumes whether they’re adorning a little twig wreath or two elegant pheasant feathers. Simply placed on your best china, these are always a fan favorite!

It’s been four years since I found these, and I’ve used these lucky charms for every Thanksgiving so far!

Today I’m headed back to the Orange Circle and will hopefully stop by some of the great antique stores there! 

May the treasure hunting begin…

ciao! fabiana

that orange door!

How do you create a fun and charming impression for friends and family walking through your front door?  Consider painting your door a happy color like orange.  

Fall is the best time to make this transition into the fun color palette of all shades of orange!  What do you think?  Here’s some of my favorite eye candy for you to enjoy…

ciao! fabiana

my favorite pumpkin spice cookies

The addition of pumpkin spices 

makes these spritz the perfect cookie for fall

The pumpkin shape and aromatic flavor of these

cookies will definitely get you in the mood for fall.

Celebrate the arrival of fall with these easy-to-make pumpkin spice butter cookies that will be sure to tingle your taste buds and put you in that perfect autumn mood. 

Traditionally known as spritz, these light butter cookies are usually made around Christmas, but now with the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, they’re perfect for fall. 

Warm all your senses on those cold autumn afternoons, with Pumpkin Spiced Spritz and a hot cup of coffee.

Did you ever make spritz cookies growing up? I have vivid memories of decorating spritz during the holidays when I was a little girl and being amazed at how beautiful the cookies were when they came out of the oven.  

Tingle your taste buds and put yourself in that perfect autumn mood with these delicious Pumpkin Spice Spritz.

These adorable holiday cookies are so easy to make with the help of one simple kitchen gadget, a cookie press, which comes with a variety of different disks.

Create your own little blend of glittery sprinkles by combining different colors of sparkling sugars.

My cookie press came with this adorable pumpkin shape, but leaves and circular forms can easily be dressed up for fall. Additional disk shapes for other holiday and themes can also be purchased and added to your collection.

A custom mix of sparkling sugars gave me the desired

shine I was going for on these little pumpkin cookies.

The recipe for these cookies is very straight forward and foolproof. I found that the cookies stick better to metal cookie sheets, as opposed to parchment paper or a silpat. 

The first cookie probably won’t turn out pretty, so just throw it back into the bowl of batter. It just takes a little bit of practice to figure out how much clicking is needed to get the perfect cookie on to the baking sheet.

For this batch of cookies, I created my own little blend of glittery sprinkles by combining orange, yellow, gold and white sparkling sugars. This custom mix gave me the desired festive look I was going for. 

In addition to the glittery colors, I used natural food color in the batter to give the perfect pumpkin hue.

Pumpkin Spice Spritz Cookies 

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

natural orange food color (optional)

Sprinkles for garnish

Instructions

1.   Preheat oven to 350.

2.   Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on medium-low until well combined and airy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

3.   Add the vanilla and the egg; mix to incorporate.

4.   If desired, add a few drops of natural food color and mix until combined.

5.   In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.

6.   With the electric mixer on low, add flour mixture slowly to the butter mixture. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.

7.   Fill the Cookie Press with cookie dough.

8.   Press the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets.

9.   Decorate cookies with seasonal sprinkles.

10.  Bake until firm and golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.

11.  Remove cookies from oven and let set for 2 minutes.

12.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pumpkin Spritz Cookies will keep up to a week in an airtight container.

Makes about 4-5 dozen.

Feel free to add your own special touch to this recipe!

ciao! fabiana

This article originally appeared on Romantic Homes online.