October Promises

I love October. I always have. The evenings become crisp and cool, and the leaves are turning to rich ambers, reds and russets. I love to throw an extra quilt on the bed! I love that it gets dark earlier. Some people hate that, but not me. I find it comforting after a long hot summer. I like to make thick soups and have a fire in my fireplace. I like to make crafts with my boys and make plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. October holds the promises of all these things!

Let me say upfront that I am not a Halloween person. I don't like how 'dark' it has become. I do, however, love some of the elements of Halloween if they are really artsy or vintage. Here are some of my favorite 2009 finds:

These messy, graffiti painted pumpkins by Alisa Burke are so cool. I want to make them for my front porch! Check out her blog and she'll tell you how.This macabre plush owl, aptly named Chillingsworth by artist Ann Wood, is constructed from an antique bodice. Isn't he great?! I would keep him out all year long.

My favorite pumpkins are created by artist, Vergie Lightfoot. They each have their own distinct personality and charm. They are incredible.

FYI: Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to talk trends with Tiffany Windsor of Inspired At Home blog radio. Each month I choose a couple of topics that are trendy and she interviews me. I really love sharing trends with the listeners who love to craft. On October 18, you can listen to find out which retro decades are inspiring our latest fashion trends, and why. Then on November 1, you can hear me talk about the reason plaid patterns are so popular.

Trend Talk

This has been a hard month for me. I traveled to Las Vegas the end of August to attend Sourcing at MAGIC and came home with a cough. The cough turned into Bronchitis and I missed four days of work. Four days! Well, here it is, the end of September and I am just now getting over that cough. Of course, I have been to the doctor and had to take prescription meds - twice - to kick this thing. Having said all that, I am doing better and back to blogging. Just a reminder, if you missed hearing me talk trends on Inspired At Home blog talk radio, you can listen here. The picture above is of somewhere in North Carolina. I found it online and I loved it and wanted to share it.

Glitter

I am very excited! My friend, Kathy Cano-Murillo - aka, The Crafty Chica - has written her first novel and I get to read an advanced copy. I remember when Kathy and I went to lunch quite a few months back, we discussed one of the characters in her book and the changes Kathy was trying to make that would greater define this person. I felt privileged that she would even ask for my input. Luckily, I had a few trendy insights to offer Kathy. And now, here on my desk sits her book, Waking Up In The Land Of Glitter. In case you didn't know, glitter is Kathy's very, very favorite thing. Here's how the book is described: If Amy Sedaris and Ugly Betty teamed up to rewrite The Friday Night Knitting Club, you'd have this hilarious, heartwarming debut novel.

Remembering September 11

This morning my husband and I sat together watching the news and reverently observed a minute of silence in reflection of the events of September 11, 2001. I remembered back to that morning eight years ago, I was sitting in my chair with my new baby in my arms, watching the news about an airplane that hit one of the Twin Towers. As I continued to watch, a second plane hit the remaining tower, and I remembered the horror I felt as I realized that America was under attack.

Today I am thinking about all the things we as Americans enjoy because we live in safety and freedom. May we never, ever forget the events of September 11, 2001. And may God bless America.

Red & Black

Last weekend I went to Las Vegas with a colleague to attend the Project and Pool shows that are part of the Sourcing At MAGIC show. We loved walking the shows and seeing all the offerings from the different vendors. After hours, we took some time to walk around to see the city and check out some of the high-end stores that are within some of the casinos. What we continued to notice was the obvious color combo of red and black. It was all very dramatic and very chic. It was also very Gothic and romantic. Very, dare I say, 'Edward and Bella' inspired, if you know what I mean. (Think, vampires, 'Twilight' and 'True Blood'.) If you are unfamiliar with the cover of the Twilight book, it's black and red. Have any of you noticed the black and red palette in advertisements in the fashion magazines? Every other page is black and red. But more than that, the models have cool, pale looking skin (to the point of looking bloodless) with deep red lips. Do vampires really have the power to influence fashion? Most of these vampire romance books are written by women for women. Movies and TV series are made based on these books. Teens love them, but so do adult women. It's all about escaping from reality anyway. The uncertain economy is real and scary. The economy affects pop culture. Pop culture is reflected in fashion. See how one thing bleeds into another? And the next thing you know, we're all wearing red and black and standing in a line to see 'New Moon', the next movie installment of the Stephenie Myers 'Twilight' series.

Results of the Survivor's Quiz

Well, bad news for those people who love me. Apparently I have a "slim chance" (read my results, above) for post-apocalyptic survival, at least according to the Survivor's Quiz. I guess I really do need to learn to camp, work out and buy some waterproof matches! By the way, I don't even watch that much TV or drink that much coffee. I am just not that into camping and getting dirty!

The Colony

Two Sunday's ago, quite by accident, my husband and I stumbled upon a new reality series on the Discovery Channel called The Colony. The premise is this: the world as we know it has just undergone a simulated cataclysmic disaster (nuclear war, pandemic, natural disaster, take your pick...) which has destroyed civilization, and a group of 10 people with various sets of skills and knowledge must now figure out how to survive in an urban setting within a devastated Los Angeles. There are engineers, a nurse, a machinist, a handyman, and a doctor - and the show is about how they use their skills to interact and survive.

The series is one of many apocalyptic stories that seem to be the trend these days. There's Jericho, 2012, Knowing, and upcoming movie The Road. The Colony begins each show with these words: "We are on the edge of a global catastrophic disaster. Human conflict, nuclear bombs, natural disasters, chemical and biological warfare. Without warning, the world as we know it can come to an end." It really freaks me out! After about the third episode, I turned to my husband and said, "I am not sure how long a 'trend specialist' (me) would survive if something like this happened to us." Of course I was kidding, trying to infuse a little humor into our fearful observance of The Colony. "Maybe we should start working out..." I continued. I kind of let that last comment dangle out there. We laughed, nodded our heads, got serious again and finished watching the show. It's interesting to watch how the people use their skills to create needed items like water purification systems, showers, power sources and weapons from found objects gathered from the warehouse in which they now are barricaded. These people even face looters and marauders (obviously sent in by the show to wreak havoc on the colony without physically harming the colonists) who steal from them and rock their sense of safety.

Even though it's just a TV show it really does get you to thinking about how fragile our lives are, and how useless so much of our prized stuff probably is in light of a disaster. It makes me want to get my house in order, have a plan, be ready! For now, I am just ready to watch the next episode. Check it out! Take the survivors quiz online to see if you are a survivor.