Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Much as I love this holiday (candy! black cats!), I really don't have big plans for it, aside from hanging out and munching on some candy corn, my favorite Halloween guilty pleasure. (Side note: I am pretty sure my favorite candies are the grossest. Mellocreme/candy corn pumpkins and Cadbury creme eggs, anyone? Basically, if you give me something sweet with the word "creme" in its name, I am practically guaranteed to love it.)

Also—I think I forgot to tell you this—my fridge broke last Wednesday and yesterday I finally got my new one. Despite how it's going to sound, considering so many in the Northeast are without power this week, I don't think I need to tell you what a pain it is to live without a fridge for a week (and how sad I was to throw away the half-batch of pumpkin cinnamon rolls I had in the freezer); one can only live without her Fage Greek yogurt for so long.

The fridge thing did make me think, though, about moving to a different space. (I am totally guilty of falling into that "something broke! Must start completely over with something new!" mindset more often than not; it's not good and I try to be as aware of it as I can, but sometimes broken fridges prevail.) I pushed around my furniture on Sunday night and am mostly happy with the result, but too many episodes of Property Brothers on HGTV are making me crave wood floors and more space. So we'll see where that leads.

How are you guys doing? I hope you have a spooky, black-and-orange, candy-filled day. xoxo

Hurricane Sandy.

Needless to say, Floridians deal with their fair share of hurricanes (the worst one I've ever been through left my family and me without power for 10 days. Ugh). They are always terrifying, even when you become somewhat accustomed to the idea of them. That said, 'round these parts, we've been known to joke about hoping for a tropical storm or hurricane day so we could have time off work—storm days are the South's version of snow days.

That doesn't seem so funny now.

In some ways, I can empathize with what my friends, family and countless others in the Northeast have to wrap their heads around today—opening your eyes after a night of listening to the wind howl and the rain lash against the walls of your home brings with it a specific kind of trepidation that I've definitely felt before.

But in other ways, I can't even imagine waking up to the kind of destruction and flooding I'm seeing online today. All I can say is that I'm thinking of everyone affected and hoping that they and their families (including their pets) are dry and safe and warm, and if they're not, that they're able to get that way as quickly as possible.

The sun will be out again soon.

xoxo

P.S. The stories about the nurses and hospital staff who manually ventilated sick babies and carried them to safety are amazing, as are the countless others about firefighters, police and other emergency personnel who braved the storm to help others. Kind of restores your faith in humanity, doesn't it?

Photo by Tim Gilbreath 

Baked! Cheesy, cheesy crackers.

Believe it or not, I don't only make sweet treats in the kitchen. I am actually a semi-decent home cook. Soups and pastas are kind of my thing, but lately I've been getting better with meats, too (I was a total vegetarian for six years, so cooking chicken and fish is still kind of new to me). I mean, sometimes you just want something savory, you know?

That was the case with these crackers. You see, I am also a girl who loves to snack, preferably at 3 p.m. (and preferably with a fresh latte). Usually I'll eat a yogurt or a Luna Bar or something, but sometimes I'll make popcorn for the saltiness factor. And then I saw the recipe for these crackers on Joy the Baker and knew they'd make the perfect mid-afternoon snack. So I made a batch. And you guys, they are tasty.

The crackers couldn't be simpler to whip up: Butter, tons of sharp cheddar cheese and salt and pepper are mixed together, then flour is added until a dough forms. The dough is chilled then rolled out, and little round crackers are cut from it and baked for like 13 minutes. What comes out of the oven is an intensely cheesy little morsel with the perfect amount of salt and crunch. In other words, the ideal 3 p.m. snack.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it yourself; the photos above are Joy's, but I promise my crackers looked exactly the same (my kitchen was just way messier, and the light was bad).

P.S. This lentil and chicken sausage soup is also killer; it's one of my favorite soups ever and perfect on a cool(-ish—I live in Florida, come on) October night with a cup of tea.

Sarah Seven.

I attended one wedding last weekend and I'm going to another this weekend, so I've got brides on the brain. If you're one who happens to be dress shopping, heads up: Sarah Seven makes some seriously stunning, romantic gowns. Love that styling, too.

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday, friends! What are your plans for the weekend?

I'm going to a wedding tomorrow night and I'm super-excited—not only to wear my beautiful Camilyn Beth dress (pictured above), which is so pretty and sparkly and well-made, but also because I just love weddings. I do. They're beautiful and fun and celebratory, and I know some people are not the biggest fans of them, but I am not one of them. Which is good, because I'm going to another one next weekend.

Anyway, aside from the wedding, I'm looking forward to a weekend that's pretty much exactly the same as last one: filled with time outside, time with friends, time in the kitchen and time spent sleeping in. After a busy, busy week, it should be a good few days off. And by the way, can you believe it's almost November? When did that happen?

If you're in the mood for some reading, here are three interesting links from around the web:

This post about pinkwashing and Etsy's involvement in it is a must-read (warning: you will cry).  It's infuriating, and I've been thinking about it since I read it. For me, it was a very, very poignant reminder that I need to be more aware of where the money I spend is going and how it's getting there. Hila and Jane wrote excellent posts about this, as well. (Pink Goose)

If nothing else, read this story about Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan for the format. It's fantastic. (ESPN has also done some similarly awesome layouts.)  I'd love to see other magazines doing more like it. (Pitchfork)

This is an older article, but I loved re-reading it the other night, especially as a person who bakes to decompress, as much as for the process as the end result: "These days when I wake, inexplicably, between 4 and 5, which is most mornings, I read, I worry, but if that does not work, I bake. The kitchen is a changed place in the wee hours, its clicks and hummings are louder, the pots and pans make a deafening clatter when I pull them out of the cupboard. But, as before, I am relaxed, my sense of smell is sharper. As I measure and weigh, I am more patient than during waking hours. I’ve always turned to flour and butter when I can’t sleep." (The New York Times)

See you Monday. xo

Photo: My own.