"My favorite things" pumpkin remix

Halloween Post Day4

In the words of Maria von Trapp: "These are a few of my favorite things!" That is... in the form of pumpkins. I would proudly display any of these babies outside my doorstep. And yes, you can sing the captions to the tune of the first verse of "My Favorite Things."

Edward not Bella...

"Raindrops on roses..."

...and puppies not kittens.

"...and whiskers on kittens."

Singing and dancing and everyone's smitten...

"Bright copper kettles and warm, woolen mittens..."

... potions and Quidditch and endless flying...

"Brown paper packages tied up in string..."

...These are a few of my favorite things!"

(All that's missing is a Pride and Prejudice pumpkin.)

If you are a great pumpkin carver, feel free to e-mail me your photos! I'd love to post them!

What favorite things would you want displayed on your pumpkin?

*photos via flickr, Facebook, and Martha Stewart*

Orange you glad I posted this?

Halloween Post Day3

Here is a collection of rooms done in festive orange. I'm not going to lie. I'd be all-out reluctant to use orange in a room only because I know how bored I get right away. And with orange - I'm pretty sure I'd want to change it before the room was even put together. But I've got to hand it to these folks - these are some bright, cheery, edgy, down-right gorgeous rooms that I'd enjoy sitting in over and over and over again.

I'm confident in stating that you could replace the orange with any color - black, lime green, hot pink, pale blue - and this stairway would still be rockin'.

Like an Hermes box

Love how the bright orange accents the whites of the room.

This is actually a Borders bookstore cafe - how chic!

Again loving the white dominance with orange accents. And great window treatments (something I usually overlook)!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's special sing-along pumpkin display!

I know that makes no sense, but you'll see.

Happy Halloween weekend!

*photos by Denise Carbonell, Canadian House & Home, Brando Cimarosti, Defining Luxury, Tchockes, H. Wren*

LCY is movin' on up!

I don't know how, but I don't care... all that matters is LCY has been in the top ten for over a month!

BUT voting goes into December. If you have not already done so, I'd love your support by clicking HERE to vote for Live Creating Yourself as a "2009 Love! This Site Award."

You have to sign up for Divine Caroline to do so, but it's free and only takes a minute. I really appreciate all of your support!

And please pass the link on to anyone else you think would enjoy killing some time at LCY. Thanks!

Spook it up

Halloween Post Day2

In case you're in the mood for some last-minute spookifying (yes, I just made that word up), here are a few simple, low-cost suggestions. And who better to get decorating and entertaining tips from than the master herself? Martha Stewart.

Decorating Tips

Shivering Bats Shade

Super easy. Kinda creepy. Definitely scary.

Shadows in the Window

Enough of the cheesy, faux cobwebs. Add some spiders to the mix!

Spiders Welcome Sign

I think this is kinda great if you have a staircase behind your entryway. Can't imagine that's super fun to cut out. I think just a few would do the trick.

Paper Mice

In case you're entertaining, here are some fun, ghoulish baked goods to add to the mix.

Almond Brownie Coffins

Invisible Pops

I Scream Sandwitches

And some cocktails. Yes, please.

Spooky Halloween Spirits

Pina Ghoulada

Shrunken Heads in Cider

I present to you the Halloween guru herself: Ms. Martha Stewart!

Don't believe me? Here's a before.

Yea... I'm just throwing on a cowboy hat and a plaid shirt while holding a microphone and calling myself Miley Cyrus. Hey, at least I'm not a witch again.

Question for Comments: What are you dressing up as??

Everyone loves a shoe sale!

30% off select styles of women's shoes and boots at J.Crew today!

Get some holiday shopping done: for others or for yourself! Hey, I understand. We all have those holiday parties we need to dress up for... or just because.

Witches and pumpkins and pups - oh my!

Halloween Post DAY1

My brother and sister-in-law recently trekked across this beautiful country to the infamous town of Salem, Mass. Jessica, my SIL, is a bit of a Halloween fanatic (which I love about her as I too was raised in a house of ghost stories and witch movies - Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic being two faves), so this was on the top of her list of road-trip-across-America. I insisted they take photos of the homes, decorations, and anything else festive they saw. What a great Halloween post, right? I'm not sure any other town in America goes all out quite like Salem. I mean come on, this is the town of witches, people!

And this is "The Witch House"- love that it's black and the trees are perfectly orange

The House of Seven Gables upon which Nathaniel Hawthorne based the setting for The Scarlet Letter

Love the basic architecture of the town's homes, many of which date back to the 18th century - nearly every home has shutters, a beautiful entryway, and many are painted in fun, festive colors

the photo on the right has an original water spout from the 18th century - it's a tower of cups or funnels, one pouring into the other, to let the rain drain from the roof.

pretty sure the photo on the right is the house from Hocus Pocus (not the main house where the witches fly out of the cupola, but the home of the love interest female)

love these two homes: orange and purple. it doesn't much more halloween than that.

gaw-geous! just gaw-geous!

everyone dresses up in salem!

And if you're in the mood for a good Salem/witches/magic read given the holiday, I encourage you to check out The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. The author "is a descendant of Elizabeth Proctor, who survived the Salem witch trials, and Elizabeth Howe, who did not."

Thanks, Ted and Jess!

Question for Comment: If you moved to Salem, what color would you paint your house?

(I think we all know my answer.)