ALL HAIL HALLOWEEN.

Hands down, Halloween is my most favorite holiday. Christmas? Yeah, it's pretty darn good. But HALLOWEEN! Oh, it has no rivals in the holiday world. I anticipate Halloween like a child - planning my costume WEEKS (sometimes months) ahead of time. It's huge fun for me to run here and there around town piecing together the perfect knock-'em-dead ensemble. There is something magical and freeing about dressing in costume, even if just for one night. Have you ever noticed Halloween parties are the most fun of the year? People are friendlier, goofier, funnier. Costumes allow people to let their guards down and be someone else for a while, and that's serious fun. After all, I'm not me, I'm a magnificent lion tamer and you've been a very naughty lion! (Whip it good.) I instictively think others who don't dress up are somehow missing the boat. Who says that just because you pay taxes and go to work every day means that you can't be a chesty nurse for one night?

I have memories of trick-or-treating with my brother when we were little. We would take a pillowcase off of our beds and hit the streets in search of the good houses. We avoided the ones that gave pencils or Sunmaid raisin packets and apples. I don't want yer stinkin' fruit. I want sugary, chocolatey, insulin-overloading, teeth-rotting CANDY. My brother and I would return home with half of a pillowcase full of deliciousness. We'd go to his room and stand in the middle of the room, and dump our respective booties out in the middle of the floor. We'd hover over our candy like pirates over a treasure chest. After grouping and organizing by brand and size, we'd enter into a very complicated barter system. For example, one Butterfinger would be worth two or three snack size M&Ms packs. Snicker bars were really high up. So were Reese's cups and Three Musketeers. The middle of the road were Smarties and Sweet Tarts and Jolly Rancher sticks. The bottom of the barrell were those peanut butter taffy things in the orange and black wax wrappers, and maybe Double Bubble. You could barely trade for anything with those, and it was a bold move to try and get something as good as a Milky Way with them.

After the bartering was done, (this could take hours) I would pour the contents of my winnings into a blue and white speckled melamine mixing bowl. I would stash said bowl under my bed and eat candy for at least a week. I seriously remember eating Halloween candy first thing in the morning - right out of bed. Delish. After about a week or so, the only remnants left would be the bottom-dwellers; candy that had worked it's way out of the wrapper, raisin packs or pennies. (Who gives pennies for Halloween? The same people who turn their porch lights off, that's who.)

Ah, the memories. I just can't let go, and suspect I never will, of the fun and festivity of Halloween. Long live. What are you dressing up as this year?

CATCHIN' UP.

oooohh, happy friday y'all. even if i have work to accomplish over the weekend (like most weekends) i still love the sweet feel of friday. it's like the big collective sigh at the end of a hard worked week.

it's been a sweet week for miss pickles press in blogville. first up: a cool little feature via kirei nest called locale lovelies. nicole ossola, the lovely author behind this fresh inspiration blog chooses her favorite designers to put together chic hostess baskets representing the cities they are from. when nicole asked me to put together a basket for georgia, i was so excited to share some of the greatest little treats and sweets from the south. you can also download free "georgia" printables here. enjoy!


the second little bit of pickle goodness came via style me pretty in the form of the charming wedding feature of jamie and bryan, who were married at claxton farm in beautiful asheville, NC, this summer. (i love asheville and am a mountain mama at heart.) you can see the feature here, here and here. the homegrown details are to die for – captured by quirky and always delightful our labor of love – and miss pickles press was so thrilled to be a part of the big day. it's so rewarding to see all the details (both big and small) come together.

images via our labor of love.

BIG NEWS!

greetings, love doves! i'm back from a week in the florida keys (good times, good times) where handsome hubs and i celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. what a trip: massive infusions of pina coladas, scooters, sunset sails and yummy seafood. just what the doctor ordered for an overworked, stressed-out small business owner. i feel energized and ready to rumble for fall 2009.

so let's kick things off with an exciting update, shall we? i have been sitting on some big news for awhile and am so thrilled to finally share the exciting developments going on at miss pickles press. we now have an official stationery gallery/client meeting space! YAY! the studio has never been an ideal option for client meetings because, frankly, it's more of a working space and there are always bits and pieces of paper goods, shipments and orders in progress everywhere. but we desperately needed a charming place to meet with clients, discuss projects, showcase recent work and offer assorted retail goodies from time to time.

enter perfect solution: my longtime friend and fellow creative lady, ashley blencoe of ashley blencoe photography, offered up half of her photography gallery space in the super cute little city of crabapple (near alpharetta/roswell/milton for those of you local to atlanta). so our businesses now live together in one sweet little cottage. it's been a brilliant solution for both of our businesses, as they ideally feed into each other as we share clients and some marketing efforts. (speaking of, have you checked out our holiday 2009 minishoots and holiday cards? total steal if i say so myself.)

the cottage is open by appointment only, and we also plan on hosting some fab client and vendor meet-and-greets in the very near future. if you'd like to schedule an appointment, just get in touch!

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS.

i don't have any hard feelings when it comes to summer. me and summer generally get along. but around these parts, summer ain't got nothin' on fall. it's the most magical time of year (i got married last fall and am a november baby – coincidence?) and always gets me feeling cozy and ready to hunker down under a soft blanket with a cup of spiced cider. i know...so cliche.

however, in honor of the first day of my beloved #1 season, i wanted to post about some of the goodies i'm most looking forward to and love so much. break out the pumpkin spice and chai lattes, girlfriends.

{1} oversized, warm chunky knit throws. find a lovely, reasonably priced west elm version here.

{2} the smell of logs on a fire. my husband and i are avid airstreamers + campers. luckily, hubs is an overgrown boy scout so lots of blazing campfires are pretty much a given.

{3} boots, boots, boots. hello, zappos, zappos, zappos. big fan of the equestrian styles and some good old fashioned frye boots.

{4} fall fashion! hand-knit scarves and wraps. lovin' this wrap via etsy. and don't forget hats, gloves and coats. isn't that mustard cropped wool coat great? (from j. crew, available here.)

{5} delish fall comfort foods. homemade chicken pot pies with pastry crust, chili (i have a knockout low fat recipe for this that blows the roof off...err, bad pun), sweet potato casserole, and really decadent hot cocoa (sorry, no carnation instant for this girl). i actually spice my cocoa with a bit of chai powder and it's really good, if you're into chai.

{6} the sound of a high school football drum corps. i think this goes back to high school days...i can never hear a high school marching band without yearning for a crisp fall night.

{7} a sunday drive to a pumpkin patch when the leaves are turning to pick out pumpkins for halloween. and also mums for the porch, and if we're feeling like pulling our fillings out, a caramel apple for the ride back home.

{8} speaking of...halloween! as long as i can remember, halloween has been my favorite holiday. maybe it's my dramatic side coming out, but there's no other time of year adults can get away with being so outrageously ridiculous and are actually rewarded for it. i love dressing up and pretending to be someone else, even if just for a night. people who don't dress up for halloween parties are LAME. that's right, i said it. laaaaame. my halloween costume for this year might involve a snuggie, pink foam hair curlers and a box of wine. just sayin'.

{9} good (non humid) hair days and flushed cheeks. nature's beauty bounty delivers! and oh – if you want to fake your flush, you can do that with a little help from here. love this stuff.

{10} anything pumpkin. candles, bread, pie, the color, butter, lattes, you name it. gourd of the gods, pumpkin be thy name.

what are your favorite fall treats, sights, smells and sounds? do tell.

{blankets via west elm, boots by frye via zappos, pumpkin patch girl via ashley blencoe photography, spread the love custom labels via miss pickles press, wrap via etsy seller homelab, coat by j.crew}

I'M STILL STANDIN'...YEAH YEAH YEAH!

laaaaaame.

i know! it's been, like, uhhh, 2 WEEKS since i've posted. shameful. just a quick scribble to announce that i have not fallen into a storm sewer and washed out to sea. JUST. SO. MUCH. GOING. ON. allow me to jot down the collective hot mess that has been the past few weeks:

- totally reorganized my studio space and it is like night and day, people. have you seen that new show on A&E called "hoarders"? i swear, i felt like my old space was like that. couldn't get out from paper whatnots and craft supplies and shipping stuff. a fruitful trip to ikea for a new workspace and some organizing help (thanks, mom) has made such a difference. CLEAN SPACE=CLEAN MIND. (well, sort of.)

- keep an eye on design sponge for a sneak peek into our home in the coming weeks! so so so excited about this. {thanks again amy!}

- miss pickles press (with ashley blencoe photography) is excited to offer some fab photo card templates for the 2009 holiday, so getting ready to launch. more on this later. i will not be one of those people who talk about christmas before halloween. boo.

- in my former advertising life as an art director, i taught advertising concepting and art direction classes at the creative circus (located in atlanta) here and there over the years. since moving back to GA in february, i've picked up the teaching gig again and continue to love it. it's end of the quarter madness, so that means grade sheets. shiny apples and flattery welcome.

- so excited to be working on small business branding with merci new york, humanstory films, and merriment events, among others. i adore helping build other creative companies. there are some very talented and inspiring folks out there!

hope everyone is enjoying the beginnings of a lovely fall. it's going to be a fantastic season!

THE C-WORD.

i know. i just kind of put it out there, didn't i? but i do love cardigans. really. and for so many reasons. boyfriend, three-quarter sleeve, ruffled collar, embellished buttons, cashmere, cotton, whatever. all good. they're incredibly versatile in that they can be dressed up or dressed down. cold at the sub-arctic movie megaplex? bring along your trusty cardy. hot at the picnic? take that thang off for goodness sakes. not a fan of the 'ol upper arm area? instant coverage. you see what i'm getting at. you know how james brown was dubbed the hardest working man in show business? well, i dub thee cardigan the hardest working thing in your closet. the jack of all trades and voted best all around.

i especially love a sweet little tailored cardigan with a tea-length wedding dress. i don't know if it's because of the 50s throwback or because it's just such a sweet detail that can really keep things from getting too stuffy. perfect for a fallish outdoor casual wedding. in fact, i had a beautiful anthro cardigan for my own wedding to handsome hubs but it was hellooooo indian summer last october so i couldn't bear to wear anything that would raise my body temperature, no matter how stinkin' cute it was. but the intention was there.

i got the new j.crew catalog in the mail the other day and opened directly to a page with some a-dor-able cardigans on it. i just love them, so thought i would share with all of you. i think a few of these would be so gorgeous for a wedding. perfect for bridesmaids, too. ohhh hurry up fall!

which one is your fave? and how would you wear it?

{all cardigans available at j.crew.com. styles shown are sequin peekaboo, flutter bow and ruffled san remo.}

THE LITTLE POSTCARD THAT COULD.

well, we all know by now what a nut i am over paper products. any kind of paper product. labels. cards. notepads. wrap. the whole lot of 'em. handsome hubs and i were recently in a great little store in 'nooga (er, that's chattanooga) called blueskies. it was your typical i-could-spend-an-hour-in-there kind of place. all kinds of little design doodads and fab stuff for your home. being an avid vintage travel trailer lover, i spotted the cutest little postcard with an old school retro- styled trailer on it. cute, cute. but what really topped out the cute factor was that it was made of thin wood. i've seen these before and have always thought they were pretty neat. what an extra special treat to send or receive. i mean, really, when's the last time you got a piece of handwritten mail? on wood?

a few weeks went by and i kind of forgot all about it and found it in a little gift bag today. i looked up the artist online and she has lots of others for sale in her online shop. they are all pretty dang cute. of course, i pulled some of my favorites to share with you, dear bloggees. also, because i believe in the spirit of showcasing other designers...be sure and check out these fab little finds, by spitfiregirl.com. enjoy!