happy halloween!

 

Happy Halloween! 🎃 I wanted to pop in today to give you a peek at my Halloween table setting in the breakfast room. It's called the breakfast room, but we virtually have every meal in there!

 

To start off, I’ve gathered some of my favorite things to create a casual but slightly spooky vibe for today. 

 

The inspiration for the table were these fun black and white spider web print napkins. 🕸

I paired them with these gorgeous vintage cream-colored Wedgewood plates and my favorite oak leaf cutlery.

 

A DIY ticking stripe table runner, pastel pumpkins, and glittery votives finish off the look. 

We still needed a pop of something, so I went out to the yard and snipped a few eucalyptus branches to add some life to the table. Simple but festive for today. 

We're planning on having chili later today and maybe some homemade pizza. I can't wait to see all the adorable trick or treaters! What are your plans today? 👻 

 

 

 

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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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 butternut squash soup

 

My favorite month of the year, when there’s a slight chill in the air and pumpkin spice is a way of life. Today, I’m sharing my favorite soup of the season, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. 

I first started making this soup after watching the show “Napa Style”, ages ago on the Cooking Channel. Do you remember that show with chef Michael Chiarello? 

Anyways, I’ve been making this soup for a while, but as time passed, I added my own spin to it. 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup 

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups Roasted Butternut Squash 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon 

1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diced onion 

1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced celery 

1/4 cup (1/4-inch) diced carrot 

1 cinnamon stick 

Sea salt 

Freshly ground black pepper 

About 4 cups chicken stock 

1/2 teaspoon ground toasted coriander 

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger 

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated turmeric 

1/2 cup canned coconut milk, optional 

To Roast the Squash: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler. Halve lengthwise, discard the seeds, then cut into 1-inch dice. Place in a large bowl and season with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Pour squash onto a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender.

For Soup: 

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and cinnamon stick and saute until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add the chicken stock and the coriander, ginger and turmeric and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes. Stir in the squash until smooth, then simmer gently to let the flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick. 

Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. (The soup can be made ahead to this point, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for several days or frozen for about 1 month. It will thicken as it cools and may need thinning with stock or water when reheating.) 

Return the soup to the pan and reheat gently. Add the coconut milk, if using. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.  

4 servings 

I’ve simplified the recipe, and you can absolutely buy pre-cut and cubed butternut squash now at the market that would really save more time. 

The addition of ginger, turmeric and coconut milk adds so much depth of flavor to this soup and also keeps this recipe "Paleo".

This is the perfect soup for Thanksgiving too, and it’s also so delicious with a pinch of cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit! 

Stay tuned next week for the whole Thanksgiving tablescape reveal. You can see a peek in the third photo. I think you'll really like it!

ciao! fabiana

 

 

Shopping info* on table accessories: 

Napkin: August Table "Juniper"

Bowls: French Lion's Head Bowls

Spoons: Black Bamboo Flatware 

Pewter Tray: vintage

*some affiliate links used

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