all hallow's eve.

this year's halloween cards, by rifle paper co.  i fell for them when i read that they were inspired by the wicked witch of the west.  naturally, my inside message had to be wicked too.

trick or treat!

xo. di.

*images by me

much love monday.

i like to use monday as a way to reflect on the previous week, to start anew, and to send a little love into the world.  won't you join me?    

today i am grateful for: 

a fabulous halloween weekend!  i spent most of it with jet black hair.  annnnd our bathroom is pretty much destroyed from it.  worth it!

pictures worth a thousand words:

{beetlejuice + lydia.  we took 3rd in a costume contest on friday!}

{my office building's pretty fall landscaping}

{lydia remnants}

{watched lots of favorite halloween movies + made a haunted gingerbread house}

{in love with these repurposed window panes found at the randolph street market}

this week's blog love:

•  i'm obsessed with design*sponge's living in: practical magic post.  that house.  a character of its own.
• a beautiful fall round-up from alaina of live creating yourself.
• loving the images in this halloween post from six twelve place - and the links attached!
• am loving danielle of breakfast at toast's orange + black ensembles.
• another fabulous and thought-provoking post from jess of makeunder my life on success.
• go behind the scenes at banana republic with jamie of from me to you.
• this halloween nails round-up at a glimpse of glamour is so fun!

here's to another grateful and love-filled week.  

xo. di.

p.s. bonus post coming later today!
    
*images by me

fall for fridays: october 28, 2011.

a simple concept: a picture of autumn to send you in to the weekend.

have a wickedly good weekend!

xo. di.

*image via from me to you

stationery giveaway winner!

thanks to all who entered my jess lc + fig.2 design stationery giveaway!  and we have a winner...

congratulations to... 

sydney of take me for a twirl!

who has fallen in love with cheers!

sydney, i'll be in touch shortly :)

thank you to all for entering, you guys are the best!

xo. di.

*image 1 via random.org, image 2 via makeunder my life

dress up.

these girls?  are the cutest. 

so what are you dressing up as this year?!  c and i are going as beetlejuice and lydia.  and i can't wait to act all emo and lydia-esque.  i love halloween.

xo. di.

*images via

my kind of town.

when i was home in michigan a few weeks ago, i finally got to see where my sister and her fiance purchased their first home: the precious town of plymouth.  although it's only about 40 minutes from where we grew up, i'd only been to plymouth once before, 10 years ago, in the middle of winter.  i was not expecting the fabulous antique shops, beautiful and unique homes, or halloween spirit on full display.

doesn't this last house just seem haunted?!  plymouth is made for halloween.

xo. di.

p.s. don't forget: the jess lc stationery giveaway closes today at 5 pm central!

*images by me

all hallows read.

"you know, there aren't enough traditions that involve giving books." 

- neil gaiman, october 23, 2010

and with that blog post just over a year ago, mr. gaiman, a favorite author of this here blog owner, created a tradition that took off immediately.

it's called all hallows read.  and the concept is simple: "on hallowe'en or during the week of hallowe'en, we give each other scary books.  give children scary books they'll like and can handle.  give adults scary books they'll enjoy."

"new books or old or second-hand, beloved books or unknown.  give someone a scary book for hallowe'en.  make their flesh creep..."

c took up the challenge immediately, gifting me let the right one in last hallowe'en, which i am too scared to read (i'm a wimp).  but this year?  it was salem's lot.  my first stephen king read.  i finished it in less than a week.  wow.  terrifying.  and awesome.  but mostly terrifying.  

but that's ok.  it is hallowe'en, after all.  a scare or two each october is good for me.  

i like to display my favorite hallowe'en books during this time of year.  ones from my childhood, like happy birthday little witch and scary stories to tell in the dark, right next to newer favorites, like wicked, dracula, and practical magic.  books are so good at holding memories.   

my suggestion for the perfect all  hallows read book?  neil gaiman's own the graveyard book.  technically for children but so well-written that any adult will enjoy. 

now go buy someone a book!

xo. di.

*images by me

much love monday.

i like to use monday as a way to reflect on the previous week, to start anew, and to send a little love into the world.  won't you join me?    

today i am grateful for:

despite an irish loss, a perfect college football saturday in south bend.  plus, with halloween one week away, am fully in the spirit.

pictures worth a thousand words:

 {first night game in 21 years!}

 {game day accessories}

 {a little halloween decor - and a hint at our halloween costumes this year!   book purchased here}

{ghostly accents}

 {looking thru my martha halloween collection for last minute inspiration}

{potions on the book shelf}

this week's blog love: 

• thinking about starting a business?  then makeunder my life's how i'd use $100 is a must read.
• ashley of little girl, big world has a delicious sounding pumpkin spice latte recipe for us to try.
• how much do i wish i could have participated in the rl rugby tweed run last week?!  check out from me to you  and unabashedly prep for fabulous recaps.
• sequins & stripes color of the month is GOLD!  what a stunning collection.

here's to another grateful and love-filled week.  

xo. di.
    
*images by me 

fall for fridays: october 21, 2011

a simple concept: a picture of autumn to send you in to the weekend.

happy weekend!

xo. di.

*image via martha stewart

paperphile + giveaway!

hi, my name is diane and i'm a stationery-aholic.  and i'm thrilled to announce that my girl jess lc is now feeding my addiction with a limited time stationery collaboration with fig. 2 design studio!

and here's the real exciting part: i'm giving away an 8-card set of either of the below designs - the winner chooses her favorite!

how to enter:

become a google friend connect follower of a spot of whimsy and tell me which
 one's your favorite - cheers or merci - in the comments.
(include your email address or make sure it's in your profile so i can notify the winner)
  if you are already a follower, then just leave your comment!

for extra entries:

1.  tweet about the giveaway
include my twitter - @aspotofwhimsy- and jess lc's - @jessconstable - in the tweet!
then leave another comment right here telling me you did.

2.  "like" jess lc's facebook page

then comment again to tell me that.

3.  "like" fig. 2 design studio's facebook page
then comment one last time to tell me that.

entries close next wednesday, october 26, 2011 at 5 p.m. central time.  winner will be selected through a random number generator and will be notified on thursday, october 27! 

good luck! 

xo. di.  

*images via makeunder my life, photographed by danielle of breakfast at toast
**i'm not receiving anything for hosting this giveaway   

which witch?

a witchy mood board i put together for you today...

10 days til halloween!

xo. di.

p.s. come back later today for something pretty!

*images clockwise from top left 1,2,3,4

coco.

this was love at first sight for me:

"there is nothing more comfortable than a caterpillar and nothing more made for love than a butterfly.  

we need dresses that crawl and dresses that fly."

-coco chanel, circa 1920

xo. di.

*image and quote found in real simple, august 2011

carousel.

finding myself obSESSED with louis vuitton's spring 2012 show.  anyone else?!  take a look:

oh hello, kate moss!  and you must watch the video.

xo. di.

*image 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8