& the slipper still fits

Operation Decoration - Fall

Hello everyone!
I would say welcome back, but since I've been the one gone, I don't think that sounds too rational. Anyway, my vacation was very lovely and I'm even more happy to be getting back into the blogging swing. I have to say, its very boring out there when you can't check your twitter or stalk your tumblr for a good week, but the disconnect was wonderfully refreshing. I guess it was a good break for me to have.

And speaking of breaks, I'm taking a break from my regular bedroom decor for the bright and vibrant colors of fall.


Decorating for fall always puts me in a good mood and I think its all the vibrant colors that I get to fill my world with. My mantle gets a whole new look, and my work spaces gets just a hint of a face lift. I change out the books piled up in places -- they all turn to Gothic novels or horror stories or monster mashups -- and fill vases full of very bright and sparkly leaves.


For my mantle, its all about the details. Everything on it (and on my desk for that matter) are found pieces from our fall boxes and other parts of the house. The pumpkin pie looking runner was a scrap of material from my fall quilt. The pillar candle holders are glass covered with scraps of material and the pine cones filling the bottom of the vase on the right were found in Sequoia National Park in California and brought cross country with us.

My favorite part is getting to change up my "featured" books. I love mixing classics with current fiction, hard backs and paper backs. When in doubt, placing a copy of Dracula or Frankenstein amongst your fall decor, will add just a hint of that Halloween feel to the room.


My work area gets a little face lift with another cut of pumpkin pie material and a few little fall details. Of course, moving some of my regular stuff around helps freshen up the corner. Like the mantle, its all about the little details. My only real Halloween item sits on the bottom shelf. While I would drown myself in Halloween creepy, I want to make my fall decorations sustainable for as long as possible. If you only put out a few Halloween-like items, it will give you an understated spooky and be easier to clean up at the end of October.


Feel like filling your space with fall but don't have the time or funds to make it happen? I have 5 easy tips that will help you to fall-i-fy your room!

5. Put out something orange. Even if its place mats or a sweater. For fall, color is key and just a few little pops laying around will help change your color palette. Since there is more gold, red, and orange filling nature outside, your eye will be drawn to those same colors inside.

4. Rearrange your room. If you are putting out some fall items, don't layer them on top of your normal set up. Remove a few items and rearrange others. Trust me, it will make everything look fresher.

3. Put Halloween in context. Remember, fall lasts a whole month after that 1 spookatular night of the year. Adding just a few touches will make it easier to transition into Thanksgiving and help your look stay fresh after October.

2. A pumpkin spice candle goes a long way. Your nose is considered one of the best memory receptors. Smelling pumpkin, or spices that sing fall, will help put you in the autumnal mood. Pumpkin Pie Harvest is on sale at Christmas Tree Shoppes for 2.99. Just saying.

1. Deck out your computer/phone/nook with a new wallpaper. Your computer screen acts just like a picture frame for your desk. Filling it with the scenes of fall will remind you just why you're in love with the season, even if the view out your window doesn't look like New England in November.

Gone Vacationing



Hello lovelies!

I'm sure you're having just as fantastic a September as I am. Tomorrow, after a surprise meeting in the state capital, I'm whisking off to the beach with my favorite soundtracks on play and Dunkin's coffee in my hand. So, while I'm sure I'll tweet, I probably won't be able to respond to tweets or emails for the next week. But I promise to bring back some fantastic photos and a fresh new take on our favorite fall (and winter) costume dramas.

See you soon <3

Inspiration Color - Fall

As much as I really dislike winter dear reader, I adore fall. I think I went to a New England school just for the changing colors and that haunted Halloween feel to everything. And so as the air gets colder at night and night seems to come on faster every day, I start to antsy for the bright and vibrant colors just out of reach.

This fall, I'm all about the "luxe" trend. I know, I'm still a whole style season behind. But the colors are just too beautiful and rich. Lets look:

Photo: http://weheartit.com/entry/3229031
The deep ruby color of pomegranates has always been one of my favorite colors to wear. And you can really pair any type of jewelry with it. I always remember the beautiful dress Marianne wears in the 2008 Sense and Sensibility and how vibrant and mysterious the color looks on her.

Photo: http://weheartit.com/entry/13804643
Who doesn't love mustard? Really! When this color came back last year I was so happy.  My favorite scarf is mustard color and I always feel so proper with it wrapped around my neck. Mustard is a great option if you're dead set against bright oranges or sunshine yellows. Its just the right about of powerful color and classy understatement.

Photo: http://weheartit.com/entry/12663234
I might be the only person to think this, and if that's the case, I'll put my foot in my mouth: figs are sexy. Figs, dates, sugar plums -- it doesn't get better than luxuriously eating one on a Sunday evening with a glass of wine. And the fig color is just as sexy. Purple -- soft ones with a hint of red to them, just hold a danger and a mystery you want to figure out. There's a reason most brothels in period pieces are the color purple or red, you know.

Photo: http://weheartit.com/entry/13844089
Its a list of fall colors people!! And I love my oranges! Blood orange is not pumpkin, but makes me smile just as much. Its not fall if you don't see those brilliant leaf colors spiraling through the air. Colors like blood orange remind me of walking my college campus during midterms; and seeing the color against bright white just makes me long for New England.

Photo: http://weheartit.com/entry/13858917
I always think you need one accent color that is completely different from everything else you're looking at. That's what aqua (okay so close aqua...I think...) is for me this season. All year I've had this love affair with old fashioned seaside looks and Hampton chic; aqua in this fall line up is an extension of the seaside trend for me.

I'm sure you're thinking this build up towards fall is WAY too early. But I love fall and I want to have as much time to bask in its glory as physically possible. So I start early and hold on to it for as long as I can, even after the last leaf has fallen. I hope you feel the same way about a season. I'd love to hear about it!

Wendy

So dear reader, I've been scavenging around for new fall fashions and music for the last 2 weeks and keep coming across this commercial:


Can it be? They are actually making a modern Peter Pan story?! Now, I'm a sucker for modern classics retold, Peter Pan being one of my tops, but I remember how horribly the Tarzan retelling went on the WB and am not necessarily hopeful. That show had a former Calvin Klein model and well-known stars filling its cast--and that didn't even save it for 1 season.

Wendy has been created by the same people who bring us The Vampire Diaries (a plus) and features relative new comers Meaghan Martin and Tyler Blackburn (which is refreshing). Now I haven't seen Pretty Little Liars...but if you're pimping your new Peter to be the next Ben Barnes, I hope he can back it up. Blackburn can, however, sing. Hence how I found out about this new webseries.


The song, I love. I've already listened to it ... a lot. And its not fair they have this great song that gets stuck in your head with semi-referential lyrics to Peter Pan. Darn you mad men! Needless to say, I'm just a little hooked to the song.

The whole plot has been kept pretty tightly under wraps. We know Wendy has a boyfriend and is forced to choose between "the boy of her dreams and her real boy"... and that's about it. This new venture (okay, for me a new venture) into webseries world comes with me being very confused, but I'm optimistic that the show might actually have something to it. And if it doesn't, its about Peter Pan: I'll be watching anyway.

What has me so cautious about Wendy is its clear marketing connection. The producers of the show are Marcy's and Alloy: two large corporations ready and willing to strike at the teen market in fresh ways. You can already purchase any of the clothing featured on the show at Macy, and this blogger wonders where subtly went. Is Wendy just a shot in the dark at selling clothes and capitalizing on the fan base of the Vampire Diaries? Or do they believe "hot" boys sell girl's clothes now?

These are the sad, cynical questions a no-longer teen asks. And maybe I'm looking too hard into this. When new shows come on, I tend to be really stand-offish to them, because if I do like them from the start, it is sure to be the death of it. (Don't snicker dear reader! This is my version of baseball curses.) Shows that I start loving from the beginning either tank 2 seasons in or get canceled after 3 episodes.

Still, I'll be good and be hopeful for Wendy.
The series airs September 15th online. To find out more visit the Wendy facebook page. And you can download the new song too, which was really what I just spent 20 minutes figuring out how to get.

Author(s) of the month

As Austen is my Spring author, the Bronte's define my fall. There's just something about cuddling up with Jane Eyre or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall when the leaves are tumbling down from the trees that enchantes me. Of course, Gothic themes during my 3 favorite months were gothic themes are in vogue certainly helps.

And since we've focused a great deal on Jane Eyre (and it will be the primary focus of our adapation run down at the end of the month), and no matter how hard I try, I can't get through Wuthering Heights, I'm focusing all my energy on reading Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey.

Like Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey is about a Governess, struggling to find her way in the world. This, is where much of the similarities ends, where Jane blossoms with her close connection with Rochester, Agnes suffers isolation, indignation, and incolense. Anne is considered the "realistic sister" of the three, and roots her imagry and plot within the mindless structure of true society. After reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, a novel and really adored for its main characters, I can't wait to throw myself into Agnes Grey. I know it will be nothing like the rest I've read.

Books by Charlotte: Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, The Professor
Books by Emily: Wuthering Heights, Poems
Books by Anne: Agnes Grey, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Bronte resources:
The Bronte Parsonage Blog
BronteBlog
Bronteana