Chill

The mornings are chilly now and we are greeted by a blast of cold air upon leaving our building to walk the few blocks to the subway. October moves quickly and I'm looking forward to walking down my favorite blocks near Central Park to see the stately brownstones all decorated for Halloween.

Interior design:

The October issue of Lonny is live!

I'm loving this incredibly colorful Finnish apartment over on This Little Street. Found by Audrey for her "Live Here, Eat This" series, she pairs the home with a gingered watermelon juice so you can sip in style.

If you're in the market for a new sofa then check out this roundup of relatively affordable JCPenney couches from Camila at Effortless Style. I'm really digging that Oasis Darrin sofa in a deep grey.

Food:

I like to make pancakes every saturday or sunday morning. Last weekend I made lemon poppy seed pancakes that kind of blew me away. This weekend I might try out these whole wheat apple cinnamon pancakes with cinnamon syrup from the lovely Maria and Josh at Two Peas and Their Pod.

You have until October 15th to enter this giveaway from Aran at Cannelle et Vanille for an assorted mix of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flours, but I'd suggest heading over there straight away because she also provides recipes for some apple scones and apple and cardamom brown butter cakes.

Adrianna at A Cozy Kitchen is celebrating her birthday (happy birthday, Adrianna!) and like the nice person she is, she's hosting a giveaway for us! Enter to win a cute purse, the newly released Spoon, Fork Bacon book, and coloring pencils fashioned like twigs.

I can't help it, I'm totally into curried soup at the moment. Naturally Ella has a tasty looking recipe for curried pumpkin and coconut soup that sounds perfect for a chilly Sunday afternoon. I'd serve it with some buttered Irish brown bread.

Oh what I would give to attend this food photography and styling workshop being run by Bea at La Tartine Gourmande in County Clare next autumn!

Fashion/style:

Gabrielle of Design Mom is in Ethiopia at the moment as part of The ONE Campaign, touring schools and helping find ways to combat starvation and malnutrition. Her dispatches are incredibly interesting and showcase this gorgeous but ravaged land. Here she tours some schools and visits their library and here you get to see how beautiful the land is. Also enter to win $175 to spend on a cool backpack, lunch bag or diaper bag from So Young.

Gourmande in the Kitchen is hosting a giveaway of a super stylish ONA Bowery camera bag. Simply head over to leave a comment to be entered to win.

Ok I'm off to watch the VP debate on my DVR. I hear there is lots of snide giggling by both!