Meet Miss Jones

October was a pretty busy month. In case you couldn’t tell from, y’know, the fact that I didn’t make a single solitary post on this blog. It wasn’t that busy, but just enough so that when I did have some spare time to write, I wasted it on 30 Rock or reading my backed up Google Reader (it’s about time to “Mark all as read” for sure).

Since I didn’t really give you anything to read this October, I thought I’d at least share what I’ve been up to…

We kicked off the month with a baby shower for our friend Allison, whose baby boy will be arriving any day now!

To celebrate our anniversary (it was September 29th), Mr. Jones and I got tickets to see Death Cab for Cutie in Orlando. It was hands down the best show I’ve ever been to in my life. And completely worth the fact that my car broke down on our way from the hotel to the House of Blues…

(This is post-show, after running to shelter through the pouring rain while we waited for Caleb’s brother to pick us up.)

Since the show was on a Saturday, and they couldn’t tow my car until Sunday, we spend most of the next day wandering around Orlando with the other Mr. Jones (Caleb’s dad). We were so glad he could come pick us up from Orlando, and that my car (on its 240,000th mile) still lives!

October is the perfect time for picnics with friends on the fort lawn at Castillo de San Marcos. I’m hoping that some of the warmer weather will creep back in, because the past week has been chilled by the wind and dappled with rain.

The weekends were also perfect for bike rides, including trail riding through Guana State Park.

When the weather finally did take a turn for the cold, I loved spending time with cider, good music, an inspiring friend, and lots of art projects.

Carving pumpkins also got checked off my fall list, and Mr. Jones came up with a pretty amazing skull (sadly, not pictured).

We closed out the month by celebrating our friend Melissa’s birthday at a killer Halloween Bash. In case you can’t guess, we went as Calvin and Hobbes (if only my hair had been blonder). There were lots of amazing costumes and tasty treats, plus the perfect mix of old and new friends.

And that’s October! Hopefully November will have a few more entries to fill it up, now that fall is settling in and the holidays aren’t quite yet upon us. I’m heading to Savannah this week for Geekend, so I plan to do a little exploring while I’m up there.

In our last two apartments, I’ve avoided putting anything on our front door. I don’t really know why–I’ve seen many a cute wreath, door sign, etc. I think it stems from looking at wreaths in stores one solitary time and seeing high prices. Door decor is not something I’ve ever considered an area I wanted to excel at, so I shrugged off the whole DIY idea as well. I just resigned myself to keeping our front door minimal and empty.

But then.

Then I saw this sweet, welcoming wreath on Etsy.

I was in love. And I said to myself (as I’m often wont to do at places like Anthropologie…and the internet), “I could make that!” Except this time, I actually did.

Now, of course the best (and most nicely made) option is to simply buy the wreath, but since the seller is on vacation (and I really did want to try my hand at some felt flowers), I went straight to the craft store.

$4.99 got me an 18″ grapevine wreath, and I grabbed a a spray of 99¢ fake hypericum berries, along with few felt sheets in gold, light/dark brown, cream, and pink. I would have preferred coral felt, but apparently it’s nowhere to be had (not kidding, I checked two Michael’s and two Hobby Lobby. I really like coral). If I’d had more time I would have ordered it from a seller on Etsy, but sometimes you just have to get a project done.

I found some great tutorials on making felt flowers, and the round ones were incredibly easy. The puffy ones weren’t quite as simple, but they’re definitely doable. Just be careful, or you’ll end up with some nice hot glue gun battle scars.

Once the flowers were finished, I hot glued them to the wreath, stuck in the spray of berries and hung it happily on my door.

My future sister-in-law (yay!), Angela, recently wrote on Twitter, “Time to flip the switch from admiring to making for the evening. And go.” I’m really glad I didn’t let this DIY project pass through my mind like so many have before. Sometimes, when inspirations strikes, you have to turn off the computer and start the making!

1 :: Fall in Florida means there’s just a slight chill in the air–well, in the mornings anyway. It’s the perfect weather to start layering, and the Play it Cool Blazer from ModCloth is ideal.

2 :: This terrarium display from A Beautiful Mess is easy to make and fun to look at. I can see it set off with some small gourds for fall, then taken into the holidays with pine cones and ornaments mixed in to the display. I have a bunch of black and white photos that I’d love to use in this–now to find some small (free) jars and a place to set it up on our little apartment.

3 :: Photobooth Dogs–it just doesn’t get much better than that. This book is filled with photobooth pictures, both current and vintage, of one cute dog after another. The older photos of dogs with their owners are especially charming.

4 :: The Owl’s House print from Darling Clementine is one of my favorites, and it really shines on this simple white Scandinavian tray. It may not be covered in orange or brown, but it still feels like fall to me!

5 :: This warm, rich recipe is the risotto version of waldorf salad. Jamie Oliver’s Apple and Walnut Risotto is spot on for a splendid fall evening.

6 :: I love vintage pyrex, especially their casserole and refrigerator dishes. I have a few different patterns, but I’m still on the lookout for a good deal on something with the Amish pattern (a little throwback to my Pennsylvania Dutch roots).

1 :: Cathe at Just Something I Made continues to make me smile with her free vintage downloads. These address and name tags are great quality and would be swell on a handwritten letter or a note tucked into a loved one’s lunchbox.

2 :: This week marks the release of Creative Inc., a new book from Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Cho (of Oh Joy). The book is filled with tools and information for freelancers in every kind of creative field. I can’t wait to read the whole thing, but in the mean time, follow along on their blog tour, starting with Poppy Talk (be sure to watch their fun stop-motion “trailer” for the book).

3 :: The Partner dress from Shabby Apple is a great fit as the weather cools off. With longer sleeves and a tailored fit, it’s perfect for anything from work to a stroll downtown.

4 :: I’ve been a big fan of Susie Ghahremani of Boy Girl Party for quite some time now, and I always enjoy seeing her new designs. These tiny notebooks are super cute and would make a delightful gift for someone starting back at school.

5 :: I’ve never actually cooked with figs, but this fresh fig tart and yogurt tart with almond crust from Nourished Kitchen looks like an ideal way to start. Figs have such a lovely fall color and taste, plus they’re chock-full of nutritiousness.

6 :: Ban.do has an incredible collection of handmade hair pieces, most of which are made from vintage materials. Their couture collection is gorgeous and has fall written all over it (and yes, it’s modeled by Alison Sudol from A Fine Frenzy).