{halloween}: hocus pocus.

behold, the black flame candle our weekend in salem, mass.

{greeted by c's brother's amazing hand-carved pumpkin display (16 in a row!) on friday night}

{one of the most preposterous of the accused witches: a 70-yr-old bedridden grandmother}

{the last words of an accused witch: "OH LORD - HELP ME.  GOD KNOWS I AM INNOCENT."}

i purchased this book in one of the little shops to learn more about the witch trials.  turns out it was basically just the first group of mean girls, bored with too much time on their hands, accusing their enemies of witchcraft.  that's the short, non-devil version, at least.  ann putnam, jr. was totally the original regina george.        

 

happy hallowe'en.

xo. di.

p.s. did you see our costumes on monday?

*images property of Diane Crary

{halloween}: decor.

i added these 3 pieces from tag team tompkins to our mantel this year, which injected just the right amount of spooky.

xo. di.

p.s. best wishes to all my east coast readers.  please stay safe in the wake of sandy!

*images property of Diane Crary

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 wicked weekend amongst the witches of salem.  no sanderson sister sightings unfortunately, tho!  today is costume-centric picture wise, but i'll share lots of pictures of the town on wednesday.   

pictures worth a thousand words:

{our group: halloween classics.  salem witch, nosferatu, headless horseman, frankenstein, bride of frankenstein}

 {frankenstein's monster and his bride}

{creeeeepy}

{the boys}

{the ladies}

{some little costume details}

{our shadows on our walk to the ball}

this week's blog love:  

• this apple cider sangria recipe via long distance loving sounds ah-mazing.
• i confess i have not seen vertigo, but i do love me so hitchcock and this living in from design*sponge is perfect for this time of year.
• why didn't anyone invite me to style me pretty's divine halloween dinner party?!  

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

xo. di.
    
*images belong to Diane Crary

fall for fridays: salem.

well we're off tonight for salem to join the witches and warlocks in their all hallow's eve celebrations.  my sister and her husband are joining us as well, so they'll get to meet c's brothers for the first time :)  will you be dressing up this weekend?!

have a wonderful weekend.  and happy almost halloween!

xo. di.

*image via martha

{halloween}: pinterest pumpkins.

i have been so impressed with all the awesome outside the box pumpkins all over pinterest this fall.  i'm not so great with the free-handed carving of the scary faces - i usually do about the same thing every year - so this inspiration has been really helpful.  i bought a white pumpkin this year and martha's gold metallic paint, and i plan on a little painting session on halloween night.  

 {clockwise: 1,2,3,4,5,6}

{clockwise: 1,2,3,4,5,6}

did you (or will you) decorate pumpkins this year?!

xo. di. 

{halloween}: cards.

"emails are good, but parcels & post are better." - author unknown.  

and that's why i send halloween cards every year to a few friends and family (with the added reason of it being my favorite holiday, of course!).  this year's cards come from mr. boddington's studio (these), quill & fox and wit & whistle.

{wit & whistle}

{quill & fox}

and i discovered these too late this year (and they're a little pricey for a quantity greater than one, but sparrow nest script is after my own heart with this 30 rock-inspired card: 

tracy jordan novelty party songs make every holiday better.

xo. di.

{halloween}: something wicked.

i put together the below inspiration board from the pins i've been collecting for months for my halloween costume this year.  since we're going to salem, mass. for the celebration, i decided to go super traditional: a salem witch.  i'm putting a lot of effort into it to [hopefully] make her (me) elaborate and wicked.  a real bone corset may even be involved...  

xo. di.

*images by rows, l to r: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15

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 fun football saturday with friends followed by a date-day with c on sunday, with halloween costume-making squeezed in.  speaking of halloween, i hereby designate this halloween week & a half (catchy, no?) on the blog, from today through the 31st.  spooky.

pictures worth a thousand words:

 {i've now finished both of my books of fall; moving on to the halloween tree today}

{did some damage at fleet feet to prepare for long runs in colder temps.  my first half marathon is only a few months away, eek}

 {our bar got halloween-ed}

 {sunday night spent at elizabeth restaurant with c - an amazing experience}

{one of my favorite of the 13 courses at elizabeth: corn bread with trout roe}

this week's blog love:   

• a lovely escape put together a couple of adorable halloween dress-up ideas inspired by movie characters.
• the idea of alfred hitchcock's the birds is terrifying (i don't like birds on a good day), but camille styles' party based on the movie is halloween perfection.
• even if you're not a fan of halloween, the sweetest occasion asks: can you really say no to a pretty dress and a cool mask?!
• the glitter guide shared a beautiful article on how to be a friend to someone who has cancer by hollye jacobs.
• am loving the halloween costume inspiration a glimpse of glamour put together using runway fashion.

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

xo. di.
    
*images belong to Diane Crary

fall for fridays: golden pumpkins.

aren't these spectacular?!  the pumpkins we picked at the end of september are still waiting to be carved, poor things!  i feel like october is slipping through my fingers as i desperately try to hold onto it.  we haven't even watched beetlejuice yet (which is now very special to us cause this).  should be able to spend lots of time on halloween things and movies this weekend, finalizing costumes before we head to salem next weekend to celebrate.  also squeezing in a trip to the joffrey ballet's fall program and a very cool and whimsical dining experience i'll be sure to share with you all.    

have a wonderful weekend.  what are you up to?  are you dressing up this year?

xo. di.

*image via country living october 2008 via camille styles   

snow white.

c and i tried, but we just couldn't resist the below silliness while at the apple orchard a few weeks back...

the fairest of them all?  more like the cheesiest actor of them all. 

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary