a little roundup of things that inspired me this week

1. Something wicked

The moment I saw this gigantic Halloween-inspired poster, I knew it was for me. Created by the uber-talented Melanie Burk of Fifth&Hazel, you can download your own copy for just $5.00 (that’s right, $5.00—and you get more than one design!) at Caravan Shoppe. The post gives great instructions about how to print the poster (mine cost $6.00) and then create a crafty “frame” out of painter’s canvases. Love!

via @camillestyles

2. Pumpkin X10

I had a brief moment last year in which I took a (rather private) stand against October’s trendy pumpkin obsession. My platform? I loved pumpkin when pumpkin wasn’t cool.

This year, I’ve decided jump back on the pumpkinwagon and turn it into a big ol’ no holes barred hayride. AEB this gorgeous collection of Best Pumpkin Bites by Cara Greenstein of (my lifestyle fave) camillestyles.com. I plan to make every single recipe.

2. The Josie Russell

Photo courtesy: Ernest Hemingway Photograph Collection, John F. Kennedy Presidentail Library and Museum, Boston

Do you love Hemingway the way I love Hemingway? Wouldn’t it have been something to hang out with him for a weekend?

Here’s the next best thing, via Garden and Gun magazine: a cocktail recipe handwritten in his fishing log (!) in June of 1933. According to the article, the Josie Russell pays tribute to Joe “Josie Grunts” Russell, “a close friend of Hemingway’s who ran liquor from Cuba to Florida during Prohibition and, immediately following its repeal, opened Key West mainstay Sloppy Joe’s.”

Mix up a batch, grab that well worn copy of The Old Man and the Sea, and soak.

Happy October, the very best month of the year.