Pumpkins on Pumpkins on Pumpkins

October 30, 2014

There have been some pretty amazingly creative pumpkin carving and no-carve decorative ideas going around this year that I had to share. Pumpkins are looking very spooky chic this season. I am obsessed with this constellation pumpkin idea. I hadn't thought about using a drill to make small holes for patterned decorations before.A new trick of the trade to try this year.

We're going to be carving pumpkins tonight -so check out our end product on Instagram @decoreat.
Happy Halloween Everyone!







My Fiddle Leaf Fig Is Going Gangbusters

October 22, 2014


If Fiddle Leaf Figs had a spot on the hot/crazy matrix, it would be in the danger zone. This trees are beautiful, but have a bad rap for being really hard to take care of. Since these trees can be tough to take care of I wanted to share some tips I've picked up over the past 5 months with anyone who's trying to keep one of these guys alive. Here is my tree when I first got it. It had a lot of growth up top and was a little lopsided.


LEANING GROWTH
To fix the leaning, this was actually an easy fix it just took time. Like most plants, the tree tends to lean towards the light, so rotating it weekly will help keep the growth straight and even. Fiddle Leaf 

LIGHT
Fiddle leaf figs are supposed to have bright, indirect light. I think this has worked best for us in our western facing window that has more indirect light in the mornings and bright sun in the afternoon. In the summer, I watched the tree closely on the sun intake and on some days when the sun was just beaming in closed the blinds or angled them to make the light more indirect. Another funny thing I learned here is to dust the leaves, so they aren't block from absorbing the light.


WATER
When I bought the tree it came with some brown spots on the leaves edges and the buds looked pretty much burnt to a crisp when I first got the plant. I noticed the buds once I got home and really wasn't sure if they would grow again. It took my some time to figure out the right amount of water for the plant size. Around the time when I first got the plant I was be overly cautious about over watering. A few weeks in and some of the leaves at the top were dropping and felt more like leather than crisp like the others. I started watering a little bit more and the leaves perked right up. My pot has a 30" diameter, and I have been watering it once weekly with about 2 cups of water. No more brown spots have appeared and the buds are actually starting to grow again!


Making sure you're watching the plant closely can go along way.  I have yet to have to fertilizer (you don't fertilize in the winter), but would love suggestions. I've heard some fertilizers can burn the plant.

Would love to hear any of your tips and tricks in the comments!

Skinny Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

October 15, 2014

This is one of my favorite recipes for chicken pot pie that brings a healthy twist to your standard chicken pot pie recipe. Plus, it'll keep for about a week, making it a great dish to have on stock for the cold Fall nights when you don't feel like going out or cooking.


Ingredients
Refrigerated pie crust
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 can, condensed, cream of chicken soup with herbs or cream of chicken with mushrooms
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 teas. thyme
1/2 teas. poultry seasoning
6 large mushrooms, quartered
2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken (use rotisserie or poach 2-3 halves)
1 10-ounce package from vegetables (peas, corn, green beans, etc.)
1/2 teas. salt
1/2 teas. pepper
1/4 cup of white wine
1/2 tbsp. hot sauce

I'd recommend chopping up your ingredients first- onion, celery, chicken, and thyme and setting aside in separate bowls. You'll need to add ingredients quickly and there isn't much time in between. Also, let the vegetable sit on the counter so they can thaw. You can also cook them according to package, but when the bags says a timeframe like 8-10 minutes just do the lowest amount of time since they will cook slightly in the soup too.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and let stand for 10-15 mins. Saute onion and celery in butter or oil in a large skillet or pot for 2 mins. Add mushrooms and continue sautéing until soft for about 5 mins or so. Stir in 1 soup can, thyme, and poultry seasoning. Heat to a simmer. Heat to a simmer means to bring it to the point right before boiling. You'll see some small bubbles, but don't let fully boil.

Add in thawed vegetables and heat to a simmer. Feel free to have any vegetables you've been meaning to cook to the mixture. Add 1 can of chicken broth and white wine. Heat to simmer. Add the other half cup of chicken broth.  Add chicken and heat until hot.

For pie crust topping, use a large glass or bowl to cut dough into circles. Cook for 10-15 minutes.


Enjoy :)

Decorate For Fall

October 13, 2014

Autumn is finally here in Atlanta, so I spent the weekend ogling over Threshold's new Fall line and transitioning the apartment into the season. My goal for decorating was to make the house feel more like Fall without making it feel cheesy. My favorite pick (besides the metallic pumpkins, because let's face it I'm obsessed) are the spooky chic black candles.

fall-decorating-ideas

Get The Look

Weekly Roundup

October 10, 2014


This weekend, CT and I are in town! We are so excited to have a weekend at home and actually get to be in Atlanta. 

In other news...There are some awesome Columbus Day sales this weekend - 20% off at Piperlime with code Fall20, 30% off J.Crew with code WEEKENDPLANS, and 50% off Ann Taylor Loft with code EXPLORE. Shop my picks here.

With all our traveling, we somehow missed the Buckhead Development popping up and...OPENING! Seriously being a born and raised Atlantan this project has been decades in the making, and is so exciting to finally see it come to fruition. Did I mention they are also working on an 8-story Restoration Hardware? If the new swanky buildings don't catch your attention while driving down Peachtree the insanely long-line for the New York hailed Shake Shack for sure will. 

Found this new way to do perfume, and it's pretty awesome. Scentbird is a new company where you get to choose a 8oz spray of any of their 300+ fragrances each month. Would you try it or are you a signature scent kind of girl? 

The Threshold Fall Collection has launched at Target with decorative white and gold pumpkins and more.

The pictures on this blog are beautiful.

In case you missed it this chili recipe is the bomb.

To anyone reading this with a blog, I always love to read new blogs so please let your URL in the comments and I'll check it out!

Happy Weekend Everyone - TGIF!

A New Shop For Affordable Art

October 09, 2014


I am a huge supporter of the arts as a painter myself, which is one of the reasons I decided to create a gallery wall over our TV. Wedding planning and traveling has been taking a lot of our efforts these days outside of work and the gallery wall has definitely suffered with a few empty frames since I put it up this summer. As a part of my save the date research I ended up finding the site Minted.com, and their art marketplace that supports independent artists - LOVE.

ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR // FIVE // SIX // SEVEN



This is one of my favorite prints I've found on the site and a perfect fit for the currently empty spot over our couch. This brings some masculinity to the room so I can decorate with more girly accents. I am struggling with what color to choose for the frame. What do you think - black or white frame?





Next up is just deciding what to choose for the gallery wall! Here's my first stab:


New Design Crush - Brown Velvet Sofas

October 07, 2014


When I went through my extensive sofa search I was so set on getting a light and neutral couch that I didn't even explore options with color and lucked into the navy. I picked up swatches of the chocolate sofas at Pottery Barn and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams but quickly discarded them for being too dark. A miss on my part because whoa can you make a chocolate sofa look luxurious and glamorous. 





Get The Look:




{image sources // 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 }
flowers // gray wall // fireplace

Spicy Turkey Chili Recipe

October 03, 2014

Chili is one of my favorite dishes when the weather starts to get cold. And how can you not love a meal that's better the next day? This month has not slowed down as far as traveling goes and we are off to another wedding this weekend, so a meal I can make once and serve two nights is a keeper.

I like my chili to be a little spicy, with turkey meat instead of ground beef, and tortilla chips and sour cream. If turkey chili isn't your thing feel free to sub for ground beef.


Servings: 5

Ingredients
1.3 lbs Ground Turkey 
3/4 packet Taco Seasoning
3/4 packet Ranch Seasoning Mix
1 can (28 oz) Crushed Tomatoes
1/2 can Rotel, green chilis
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can White Corn
10 dashes Tabasco Sauce
Cheddar Cheese
Low-Fat Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips
Olive Oil

Pour a teaspoon of olive oil in a medium sized skillet and place over medium-high heat. Use a spatula to chop up the turkey. Add taco and ranch seasoning to turkey. Stir and cook until pink is no longer showing, I cooked mine for about 10 mins.

Mix remaining ingredients in a large pot and add 1 cup of water. Add turkey meat in once cooked and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the saucepan and simmer for 30 mins. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese garnish with tortilla chips.


Have any go-to recipes for cold weather?? 

Shopping For A Cause

October 01, 2014



Happy first day of October everyone! October is one of my most favorite months with Fall festivities in full swing. 

As you all know, October also brings a full month dedicated to the worthy cause of Breast Cancer Awareness. I love how this month brings everyone together to really rally around the cause. In Atlanta, you'll see people marching down Peachtree Street in pink for the Breast Cancer Walk, and pink everywhere from stores to the player's shoes on Monday Night Football.  

I always love the premise of a donation to a worthy cause being a part of a purchase, like Toms Shoes, so I pulled together some companies that are giving a portion of their sales to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness and/or Research.

ONE + TWO:Accessory Concierge, has created unique jewelry like the "Fight Like A Girl" bracelet and "Tough As Nails "necklace above where 20% of proceeds to breastcancerfund.org.

THREE: This one is a bit of a tease or wishful thinking since it's not for sale anymore, but I HAD to share. How awesome is this lady plant by The Sill. Would love for them to offer this and benefit the cause!

FOUR: Bobbi Brown has created a Pretty Pink Ribbon lip gloss collection, and they are donating $12 (12% of purchase) to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

FIVE: Stella and Dot is supporting the Noreen Fraser Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research and creating awareness for early detection. They have created this unique bracelet and are donating 100% of proceeds this month!

SIX: Land's End has created custom embroideries for their tote bag, and are donating a portion of the embroidery fee to BreastCancer.org.

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