Bonfires & Autumn Nights...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well this fine October week! I have a ton to share as usual. To start, the business end. I have just finished listing some amazing vintage Halloween items over at STAG. Including the two 1940's era Halloween costumes used in my Halloween card shoot this year! These costumes were made by Halco, a big manufacturer of costumes back in the day and they come complete with their original boxes! What a cute idea for those of you who love vintage. I also listed some great vintage Beistle Halloween decorations that haven't even been opened yet with "Swingin' Watusi Action"... whatever that means. Oh, and a cobra candleholder and 1950's copper art. In other words, top-notch things just for you.

What else? Oh. In my ongoing effort to enjoy every last bit of Fall (I've been fairly successful so far), I've done more Fall baking. This time, I decided to try a recipe I've been meaning to do for over a year: a pumpkin cheesecake with a pretzel crust. Some savory, some sweet. Well, the recipe didn't exist, so I just substituted pretzels for the graham crackers and Folks, it came out really, really well. The pretzels caramelized around the edges and almost tasted nutty. (I consider this a recipe modification win, in other words.) Oh, and then a whipped up an old fashioned pumpkin pie that was also very good. I love Fall baking so much!

And then, a friend decided to throw a Columbus Day bonfire, complete with Mexican cuisine, a fire, some ghost stories and my pie. Needless to say, we all had a really good time. The weather was cool and drizzly, the laughter flowed effortlessly and there was pie. Which, winning. Fall in Maine. It really doesn't get any better.

It almost goes without saying that I love original art, being an artist myself. I have a ton of it in my home and I really enjoy looking at other peoples' work on a daily basis. So, when I came across the Drunktweets project by Josh Ellingson on Laughing Squid, I was completely charmed. When I found out he was selling the originals for a very reasonable price, I ran right over and snapped one up. The one I circled below is now mine. I love these. If you're interested in grabbing one for yourself, here is his Etsy shop. They're going very fast, so hurry and support an artist who does wonderful things!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Off to the Fair!!!

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all well and settling into Fall if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. The weather up here in Maine has been almost perfect: warm days, cool nights, plenty of days of sunshine. In fact, I took last weekend to make a trip to our Common Ground Fair up here and I have a ton of pictures of that to share with you all!

But first, I shot my annual Halloween card last week and I am very, very excited with how it's coming along! Here is a teaser of things to come. My adorable model Katie is sporting a vintage, 1940's Halco Brand cheetah costume with hood. Cute. And soon, it will be available for sale over at STAG for Halloween buying!

And then, I shot the next piece in my Rein It In Series (#5!!!!). These are going so well and they're such fun. I mean, how often do you get to put a grown man into fake mutton chops and eye makeup just to make him a smarmy sea captain? (Answer: not often.) These are looking terrific. I will post the finished shots very soon.

Okay, so now that we have my project teasers out of the way, I will share the fair shots with you! My good friend Brian and I ventured a couple of hours north to our Common Ground Fair, which is the more "natural" and "organic" (read: hippy) fair in Maine. A ton of great food, an entire section on alternate forms of energy, robust livestock: in short, it's beautiful and quiet. I found the quiet a bit odd given the number of people. I'm used to fairs with rides and 80's rock and yelling, but there was none of that here. It was delightful. We had such fun and so many laughs! And then I wrapped the weekend up at my favorite friends' house which is always full of sweet animals, good food and good humor. A perfect Sunday ritual that ends the weekend on a calm note.

Fall is off to a very good start, my friends.

 

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...