Orange You Glad It's Halloween?

Trick or Treat! Are you ready for the ghost and goblins to come knocking?

 

Pumpkins carved?

House decorated?

 

Stocked up on candy?

I hope that your All Hallow's Eve is full of more treats than tricks! 

Images from Martha Stewart, Vogue and Country Living

Have a Smashing Pumpkin Fest, friends!

Candy Corn Chic

Happy Halloween weekend, all! Will you be dressing up and haunting a party or two? Any good costume ideas?

My Illustration

I have a confession -- I'm crazy about Candy Corn -- it's one of my favorite Halloween treats--although it may be for the bright colors as much as the hit of sugary goodnesss... and those brilliant colors gave me some costume inspiration: 

My Illustration

What do you think? Candy Corn Chic? Is it a trick or a treat? And another question that I've been debating with friends: Which is the top of the corn -- the white pointy end or the wide yellow band?  Would the proper shoe choice be yellow... or should they be white for a candy-correct costume?

And if a head-to-toe look is too corny, there's always these festive finger tips -- I would probably have a tough time not nibbling them, though.

What's your favorite Halloween candy to munch on?

Whatever you're up to, I hope you have a spooky, sweet, fun weekend!

Great Pumpkin Time

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch he thinks is most sincere...I don't see how a pumpkin patch could be more sincere that this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see." -- Linus Van Pelt

Sincerely, I wouldn't miss a date with Linus when Halloween rolls around -- It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! airs tonight on ABC and I will be curled up in front of the TV with a giant bowl of popcorn and candy corn (seriously, great together -- it's that salt/sweet thing!) as sure as the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. It's one of my favorite Halloween traditions.

Another favorite tradition is all the great pumpkins that pop up in our neighborhood. Each year, the local preschools deliver these masterpieces made by the kids for all the businesses to hang in their windows.

Each morning, when I drive down our main street toward my office downtown, I catch sight of them out my car windows and their bright orange faces can't help but make me smile!

 This one popped up at the bank:

This one's just hanging out at Red Ticking...

But this one, hanging in the prime Starbucks window space, has to be my favorite -- it's by Cole, one of our most talented local artists.

You can't get much more sincere than that! The Great Pumpkin is definitely going to pick our neighborhood this year, for sure!

Any favorite Halloween traditions for you and your ghosts and goblins?

Happy Birthday Red Ticking

Many of you out there know and love Pam Robinson and her wonderful store Red Ticking. She's made our lives more beautiful with her fantastic finds and her priceless friendship.

Beautiful Pam in her home as seen in Cottage Living

When I first met Pam, Red Ticking was in it's early stages.  Pam worked out of her apartment, selling her amazing stash of vintage linens, handcrafted into lampshades and pillows, along with fantastic pieces of vintage furniture hidden away in her garage.

 Red Ticking pillows (photo by John Granen)

Eleven years later, she's one of my most treasured friends and Red Ticking is the best vintage store in Seattle, while her interior design business continues to grow and thrive. 

Red Ticking (Photo by John Granen)

Pam's road to Red Ticking began with many years in retail, working for the likes of Ann Taylor and the Limited in all manner of jobs from selling to buying, merchandising and design.

 Rolls of vintage linen (Photo by John Granen)

Even then, she was building the inventory of what would come to be Red Ticking. "Whenever we went to Paris for work, I always made sure I hit the flea markets and began collecting loads of wonderful vintage fabrics. Stock piling. Wondering... what in the world will I do with all of these lovelies?"

Piles of fabric (Photo by John Granen)

Pam confesses to being a full-fledged workaholic in those days. "I was travelling all the time... Asia, Europe, NYC, LA," she says. "I knew it was time to make a change. Finally, I woke up and did something about it. I quit my job and began working from my apartment. I had no idea what I was doing or if I could make a living. I just knew I had such a passion for creating something special and had to explore it."

 Creating something special, an after-hours Christmas party at the Ticking

The most beautiful things in my home are from Pam, from the sweet red striped French bowl that sits on my kitchen counter and greets me every morning...

 My favorite French bowl 

To the chandelier that hangs in the dining room, presiding over the table at each dinner party like an honored guest.

 Our chandelier...

 ...An honored guest at the table

I still have the first piece I ever bought from her -- a pillow made of the most gorgeous fabric -- I like to imagine what it might have been and where it lived before it came to me. 

My first Ticking purchase--it's moved three times with me

Pam has the most amazing eye, a talent that seems to simply come naturally and started at a very young age.  "My collection began as a teenager," she says. "My parents purchased several pieces for my bedroom. I will never forget feeling like the luckiest girl in the world! We went to a wonderful antique dealer and I got to select each piece.  It was wonderful. So the HUNT began."

 Pam's dreamy home (Cottage Living)

And it's the hunt that remains her passion, "For the most wonderful things in life...I simply buy what I love."  Does she fall in love at first site? "Yes! all the time," she laughs. 

 These little bowls must dance in the store after hours--to Madonna, Pam says (photo Red Ticking) 

 And of course this lovely settee joins the party, too (currently available on 1stDibs)

Her finds have a way of becoming woven into your life. The feathers in your nest. The things that say the most about you and how you love to live.  I can't imagine throwing a dinner party without something from Red Ticking on the table top.

Ironstone compotes, votives and Libeco linens all from the Ticking

Pam is as beautiful as the treasures she finds. When asked what she is most thankful for, she's quick to respond, "My faith, family and friends."  She counts the relationships she's formed as the most welcome and surprising gift her business has brought into her life. What gets her out of her cozy Mateo-sheeted bed in the morning? 

 Mateo Linens at the Ticking (Red Ticking)

"Knowing that something unexpected will happen! Every day is truly a gift."

Happy Birthday, Red Ticking! And congratulations, Pam, on 11 inspiring years. Can't wait for many, many more. Thanks for your friendship and all the beauty you bring into our lives. XO

Can't Live Without: Coffee

For I have known them all already, known them all;

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. -- T.S. Eliot 

Canadian House and Home

Is it just me, or does coffee taste even better on a cool, gray, cloudy fall morning?

Telegraph UK

That first shot of espresso.  A latte later in the day...

Garance Dore 

Coffee is my favorite vice.  Truth be told, I think I'd sooner give up wine than my daily cup of joe.

Hotel Jardin de L'Odeon

Garance Dore

That moment of contemplation.  A bit of conversation. Or a daydream. A treat. A break. A breath.  Time off for good behavior.

Candice Antoinette 

  

Canadian House and Home

Oliveaux

Won't you put your feet up and join me for a cup?

Garance Dore

Does your day not really start until you've had that first sip of coffee? Or is something you can live without?

Falling For Falling Leaves

Happy Fall Monday, all! Did you enjoy your weekend? For most of the time here in Seattle, the sky looked liked this:

 

My Illustration

Gray clouds racing against a backdrop of blue. Brightly colored leaves twirling in the wind, dancing to the ground. The perfect weekend to cozy up indoors and listen to the rain on the roof. 

 My Image

But when the sun broke through for a few moments on Sunday, we raced up the street to the Washington Park Arboretum to take in the fall color show.  A wet summer resulted in some spectacular leaves this season -- even Mr. H., who hails from New England, is impressed with the vividness of the autumn hues.

 My Image

My Image

Don't you just love fall leaves? The color, the crunch, the smell. I can't get enough of the outdoors this time of year. 

Veranda

And want to bring some of the brilliance inside... 

Canadian House and Home

 

Style Me Pretty

 

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart

Country Living

Martha Stewart

Have the leaves peaked yet where you live? How do you enjoy the every moment of their fleeting color show?