Happy Friday! It’s been a busy and full week, so I’m keeping today’s post short--just a few of my favorite things for fall. I feel like this season just started, but it’s actually almost November (!!), so I tried to pick pieces that will also transition nicely into winter. A few of these are new things I recently got and love, and the rest are on my wish list!

From top left: Chestnut Tieks - These are my new go-to flats--so comfy and the perfect color for fall. / Margaret Elizabeth bracelet - It’s delicate and pretty, plus it stacks well with other bracelets too! / Gold flatware - I’ve been wanting some gold flatware for awhile. What do you think? Too trendy for a big purchase? / Leaf pie crust cutters - I just got these, so I can make cute fall pies. I actually found mine at Michaels for a lot less, but I couldn’t find the link to share (maybe check your local store). / Textured coverlet - Because I feel like our current duvet cover is too summery. / Good jeans - I usually try to buy inexpensive jeans, but Ben recently started working at Nordstrom HQ, so I figured I should take advantage of his discount and get some nicer ones. What’s your favorite brand? / Tall black boots - I loooove these ones. / Cognac booties - I just got these in black and they are super comfy. I’m hoping cognac comes back in stock in my size so I can snatch them up too.

What fun things have you bought recently, or what's on your wish list this fall?

One thing I like about holidays is that they push me outside of my normal decorating “comfort zone" and give me a reason to play around with different styles, color palettes, and ideas that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise. Take today’s DIY for example. I doubt I would have ever made a wine coffin if it weren’t for Halloween (or an eyeball garland, for that matter)…but it was fun brainstorming and creating both projects. So hey thanks, Halloween--and thanks to Kendall-Jackson too, for partnering with me on this post! You can find the DIY instructions over on their blog today.

If you’re attending any Halloween parties this year, I think this would make the perfect hostess gift. A bottle of wine is a classic choice, and this coffin box takes it to the next level! There’s really no better way to say Happy Hallo-wine. :)

Don’t forget to check out the DIY instructions on the Kendall-Jackson blog today…and let me know what you think of this project!

Thanks to Kendall-Jackson for partnering with me on this post.

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I mentioned in my Iceland recap that I had no expectations of it going in, so everything was a surprise to me. Italy was exciting in the opposite way. I’ve dreamed of visiting Italy for years, so it was surreal to be there in person and experience so many places that I’d researched and seen pictures of! This is the part of the trip that I was looking forward to the most before we left, and I was not disappointed. Italy really is sooo charming, beautiful, and full of character. Plus, I took Italian in college so it was fun to hear everyone speaking Italian and try to understand and communicate with them.

The main places I wanted to see were Tuscany and Cinque Terre, but since there weren’t any flights from Iceland to Florence, we started in Rome. Looking back, I would probably do that differently, as we only had one night in Rome so it was kind of a hectic start (we probably could have just switched airlines in London or something). But we did get to check off a few of the sights in Rome, including the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Colosseum. Yay!

The next morning, we rented a car and road tripped through Tuscany…which I LOVED.

We stayed in the Val d’Orcia area, which is what I consider to be the classic Tuscan landscape: rolling hills with charming brick farmhouses surrounded by cypress trees (my favorite). It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I seriously could not get enough pictures of those trees. These are only a fraction of the pictures we have from this area….but I mean, what do you expect when the scenery is this enchanting???

The town we stayed in was called San Quirico. It's right in the heart of Val d’Orcia and was the perfect hub. We stayed in this Airbnb, which was one of our favorites from the whole trip…partly because our host was super friendly and left us a delicious homemade tart. :) But the town itself was pretty dang cute, too!

On the way out from Tuscany, we stopped in Siena for lunch. This is the cathedral in the center of town…I loved that striped tower.

Then we spent one night in Florence! The Duomo was SO impressive in person, way bigger than I had realized and full of so much detail.

We ate at Le Menagere, this lovely restaurant/flower shop/boutique. The decor was super cute and our food was yummy, too.

That night, we walked along the river, up and down the many bridges. There’s something about lights reflecting on the water that feels so magical and romantic to me. I loved it.

Then the next morning, we woke up early and took the train to Cinque Terre! This was my number one destination pick, so even though we had a bunch of quick turnarounds in Italy, I thought it was worth it to have three nights there. I loved it as much as I had hoped (maybe even more). The colorful buildings, bright blue water, relaxed pace, and the food--my mouth is salivating just thinking about it. We had so much tasty seafood (including fresh anchovies--who would have thought that they could be so delicious?), amazing pesto and focaccia bread, and the best gelato I’ve ever had in my life.

If you’re heading to Cinque Terre, Gelateria Vernazza was our favorite. We got gelato there twice a day, every day. And every single flavor was SO GOOD.

Cinque Terre is a a string of five fishing villages on the Italian Riviera coast. You can’t drive cars between them, so the only ways to get around are to hike, take a train, or go by boat. We took a train to get there, which was super packed (as in standing room only, with inches between you and the people around you) and then the bathroom overflowed and pee went everywhere. Needless to say, we decided to hike or take a boat the rest of the time.

The village we stayed in was Vernazza, which was my favorite. It’s super picturesque and had the most variety, with lots of charming buildings, vineyards, great restaurants, a natural harbor, and a little beach. We climbed to the top of that watch tower (Castle Doria), which served as the town's lookout back in the day, when the villages would get raided by pirates.

Our second favorite village was Monterosso, the biggest (although it’s still tiny), with the best beach.

And our third favorite was Riomaggiore. All of the villages had similar buildings but I liked how Riomaggiore’s came right down to the water.

Even though our time in Italy was more of a “sampler platter” (except Cinque Terre--I think three nights was perfect there), I’m glad we got to see and experience as much as we did. It was all amazing! I figure we can always go back and stay for a longer time in certain places to get the “full meal” experience, but once we have kids and get older, it will probably be hard to do a trip like this, with so many different destinations packed into a short amount of time. So I’m glad we did it now! Plus this way, we didn’t feel like any of our time was wasted, and we know which places we want to go back to for a longer chunk of time.

Can you believe Halloween is in just two weeks? October is flying by for me, what with coming back from vacation, starting a new job, and getting a new routine figured out. I can’t believe summer’s really truly over and October is already halfway done (whaaat?!). But I’m excited to have my Halloween mantel up on the Home Depot blog today! To be honest, I've never been a big fan of Halloween, aside from the candy. Zombies and blood tend to freak me out, so most years I just decorate for fall in general. But this year, I wanted to try incorporating some typical Halloween elements (like dismembered hands, eyeballs, and spiders) in a more chic way. One of my favorite ideas was this eyeball garland that I made with wood beads. It’s inexpensive, easy to DIY, and Halloween-ish without being too creepy. Hope you like it!

To make this, you will need:
Wood beads
White, green, black, and red paint
A thin paintbrush
String or twine

Start by painting several beads white (I did about twenty). Let them dry.

Once the white base is dry, paint green circles in the middle of each bead. Let dry.

Add small black "irises" in the middle of each green circle. Let dry.

Using the very tip of your thin paintbrush, add squiggly red lines with red paint, making your eyeballs appear bloodshot. Let dry.

Next, simply string the eyeballs onto your twine, alternating them with plain, unpainted wood beads (I did five plain beads in between my eyeball beads).

If you have any extra “eyeballs," you can display them in a lidded mason jar like I did.

Head over to the Home Depot blog to see the rest of my Halloween mantel--and let me know if you end up making your own garland. Eye'd love to see it!