Fall is in full swing and I’m excited about fall food, decor and sweater weather! Halloween is around the corner and I have my costume ready along with ideas for decorating pumpkins and my front porch! I have so many things I want to share with you today…so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this post!

Last week was such a busy week for me in part because I attended a two day event called Design Matters in Chapel Hill North Carolina at the beautiful Carolina Inn! This was the third year for this fundraiser which benefits the Fitch Family Comprehensive Pediatric Rehabilitation Program at UNC Children's Hospital which is such a great cause to support!

On the first day of the event, the speaker was Tori Mellott. Tori is the Style Director at Frederic Magazine (if you haven’t seen this magazine, you must look into it) and has just written a new book called Southern Interiors - A Celebration of Personal Style! Tori took us through the different homes she highlights in her book and hearing her speak was so interesting. Tori isn’t from the South, but she certainly has an appreciation and understanding of Southern homes and the way we entertain here! Everyone who attended the event received a copy of the book to take home and I’ve been pouring over this beautiful book ever since! The photography is stunning and it’s so full of amazing decor and architecture ideas! It’s a classic book that I’ll keep forever!

On the second day, our speaker was Beth Webb who is an interior designer extraordinaire! She has worked with world renowned architects and has some very famous clients. Tori Mellott actually interviewed Beth during the event and asked the most wonderful questions and her slide show made me want to completely redecorate my home! Beth has written two books…the first is called An Eye For Beauty - Rooms That Speak To the Senses and her second book called Embracing Beauty: Serene Spaces for Living is available for preorder now.

The event also included a fabulous display of gorgeous tabletops created by local designers (see pictures below) and a pop-up shop where we could purchase items from local businesses. I’m always so inspired by the creativity of these designers and immediately come home to create my own tablescape.

The collage above contains pictures of some of the fabulous tabletops from the Design Matters event! As you can see, there was inspiration everywhere!

I purchased a beautiful tablecloth and napkins from Christina Dickson Home which was one of the local businesses in the pop-up shop at Design Matters. I had been looking for a round tablecloth that would fit my front porch table and she had several that I loved. I ended up choosing the one on the table below along with the floral napkins that coordinate so well with the tablecloth. I think these linens will be great most anytime of the year and I knew they would be perfect with my dishes from Haand Pottery (I was right).

I was so with how this table turned out…

Fresh greenery and artificial pumpkins added interest around the flower arrangement and a small selection of cheeses along with some nuts were placed on a brown platter with a flower sprig.

I love to combine my silver flatware with pottery because I think the contrast adds visual interest.

The Christina Dickson napkins were placed on top of the brown plates with a green bowl on top of the napkin. The cute bottle of rosé (from Dry Farm Wines) sat on top of a small plate from Haand and I added champagne flutes from West Elm along my most loved wine glasses, also from Haand. There was a small additional vase of flowers as well…it was too pretty not to use! This table would be perfectly beautiful for Thanksgiving and I may just recreate it when the time comes!

In addition to the Design Matters event, I also drove to Raleigh (an hour away) to attend a fashion show at Vermillion…a local boutique that has the most fabulous things! Believe me when I say that I could have easily gotten into trouble because I wanted everything (see my Instagram stories for video). One of the things that really caught my eye was a pair of shoes from Toteme! They were a little more than I wanted to spend, so I did a little digging and found the pair below from Mango for only $99! I think they’ll do just fine and will match everything!

While I was pursing the Mango website, I was amazed at how many cute things I saw and the prices were mostly very affordable! I’ve linked a few of my favorites below! They’re having a flash sale if you spend more than $220 and offering 30% off everything with code EXTRA30UD!

I’m always reading a new personal development book and this one is excellent! My belief is that the more I read and the more I learn and put into practice, the better my life will be and as a result, the people around me will be happier because of me! It’s a ripple effect. The best way to effect change in the world is to start within!

Martha Stewart has inspired me for the better part of my life and continues to inspire me to this day! I started a catering business when I was very young and wanted to be just like her! I have most of her cookbooks and absolutely love following her on Instagram! This movie about her life promises to be every bit as inspiring as anything she’s ever done and I can’t wait to see it! On Netflix October 30…I’m counting the days!

And…in case you missed it, my recipe for Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Goat Cheese was one of my favorites from the past week!

And a few timely Amazon finds…

I’ve been adding to my Amazon Shop nearly every day and I created this casual Weekend Style look from some of the fabulous things I found! Everything is linked below and be sure to check out my Amazon Shop for more Affordable Fall Fashion Finds!

//Long Sleeve Crew Neck Tee//Light Wash Jeans//Gold Earrings//Trench Coat//Summer Fridays Lip Butter//Silver Loafers//Snakeskin Mary Janes//

I can’t believe it’s going to be Halloween soon and having grandchildren makes Halloween so exciting because they get so exited! I’ve already decorated my dining room table and I’ll add a few spooky items to my front porch decor this week…including the bats below! We’ll carve a pumpkin or two and string a few Halloween lights as well!

I’ve already gotten my witch costume (also love this Mary Poppins one) and I’m making goodie bags for the children in the neighborhood because they get a little something special! Be sure to check out my whole Amazon Halloween List for more ideas!

//Hocus Pocus Pillow//Candlesticks//Witches Hat//Pumpkin Carving Kit//Halloween Tights//Halloween Lights//Hanging Bats//Mens Clown Mask//The Spell Book//

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! I have a great recipe coming up tomorrow that you’re going to love so be sure to check back! Happy Sunday!