The Great Jack O' Lantern Blaze Day trip

This month I’ve taken advantage of the warm weather October was throwing at us. My parents came to visit and I was excited to take a trip to the Historic Hudson Valley and share the Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze together. If you’re not familiar, it’s a two month long run of thousands of carved pumpkins by local artisans on display outside at Van Cortland Manor. Each pumpkin is carefully arranged into an incredible installation fully lit! It honestly is one of my top to do’s in fall so I had to share! They even have cider, doughnuts, wine, and yummy dough nuts to enjoy during your visit.

I highly recommend getting tickets early because they sell out fast, especially for weekend evenings. If you’re looking for more to do in the area check out the Historic Hudson Valley here. The event is easily accessible from the city by taking Metro North and you arrive under an hour at the Croton Harmon stop. If you’re looking for dining there’s a yummy delicious pizzeria serving up Italian in the plaza next door to the manor. I't’s really good!

I’ve attended The Jacko’lantern Blaze past two years and have seen some new installations of jack o’ lantern’s such as the “Museum of Modern Pumpkins” and some repeated ones like the moving carousel and tall statue of liberty. The event is perfect for a group, families, or even a date taking just about an hour to walk through.

There was one similar set up on Governor’s Island in the city. That one also has some incredible artists carving the surfaces of pumpkins to various theme, without a doubt the Blaze is done so well!

Just thought I’d share since the event is still running and will go through the month of November.

Let me know if you check it out! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanksgiving Table Scape

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I’ve been playing around with different decor options throughout this month before fully transitioning into winter mode. When we moved into our new place we got a new kitchen table and although the round shape wasn’t my first choice we’ve been making it work and I’ve enjoyed putting the different place settings together using the gold chargers I had kept after our wedding.

I love how they add an extra touch to pull the setting together. I was obsessed with the texture of these layered leaf placemats that have brushes of gold throughout. They were a great way to bring together those accents with the rest of our place and coordinated with the gold pumpkin centerpiece.

This table setting can changed into a range of possibilities if you’re hosting a Friendsgiving this year or Thanksgiving Day.

We always have our bar cart out and styled along with whatever holiday it is and it makes for an easy way for everyone to help themselves. I usually put out a cheese board and fill it with some dried fruits, nuts, and fig or pumpkin jams this time of year. I usually pair a hard, soft, and robust cheese and a variety of breads and flavored crackers ahead of time so it’s ready to go when guests arrive. My favorite crackers are the rosemary flavored ones that I actually found at Target, they’re by Archer Farms & so yummy! I usually grab our cheeses from Whole Foods/ Traders. Trader Joes always has some seasonal favorites I like to try and some great florals for dressing up a table if you need it with something fresh and natural.

If you’re interested in seeing where I found all of the table scape pieces be sure to click on the widgets below! Many of the products are on sale and marked down for end of season, or will be by Black Friday next week so book mark your pages and go back to restock for next season. The placemats are gorgeous and under $2 each right now!

Many of my pieces I keep and reuse year after year. I just change up where I put them around our place to refresh everything. I’m thinking of looking for some gold silverware to match the chargers once sales start and saving for next season or using them for Christmas time when we have guests over.

I hope everyone enjoys their upcoming Thanksgiving with their loved ones. We’ll be traveling upstate back home and cannot wait to spend much needed time relaxing with family and maybe seeing some snow! We’ve only had one snow fall here in NYC and the first one is always so exciting and made me instantly want to finish up my holiday decorating! (Which I’ll be doing the rest of this weekend before we get traveling.) Happy shopping season friends!

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Table Top Decorations

Velvet Pumpkins/ Homegoods or TJMaxx

Love this Place card Holder Velvet Pumpkin

Resin Pumpkin/ Pier 1

Gold Pumpkin /Target

Mini Pumpkins / Target

Eucalyptus Stem

Apples, Pumpkins, & Fall's Country Vibes

This season New York has been warmer than usual for early fall so I'm slowly transitioning into layers and easy denim for a relaxed weekend look outdoors. Blanket scarves are a must for chilly days ahead. Plaid prints, distressed denim, and laid back booties or comfortable slip ons will update a look without being over stated. Cheers to fall and bringing this country look to the city girl! 

As an original upstate New York girl I surprisingly never got used to our cold winters with below negative temperatures. Though after hot summers I always looked forward to the end of September and October for crisp fresh air that fall brought forward with the warmest of foliage in the trees. I'm a girl of my word so I try my best to hold true to traditions, especially around the seasons. This fall I'm continuing a longstanding tradition of apple picking, wine tasting, and pumpkin picking both outside the city and back upstate in hometown land.

Upstate New York and the finger lakes region is home to some of the best vineyards and when living back in Buffalo I had one of my first dates at an orchard. Fast forward 6 years and we've kept it a ritual to apple pick our transition into fall. Though much has changed since our move to New York we found a way to keep our outdoors festivities alive. We love heading out of the hustle and bustle of the city to see the sites of fall and get out into the fields to apple pick and eat way too many cider doughnuts (who can resist?!) We look forward to a good fall festival at an orchard we visit once a year. 

I can't help but get giddy over the idea of baking pies, fall drinks, and seasonal scented candles. Let’s not forget oversized sweaters, boots, and the scarves!