In The Afternoon Of The Year

One of my major comfort foods is baked ziti – and specifically the cheesy, tomato-y, slightly sweet baked ziti at this random place in Little Italy that my parents used to take me to when I was a kid. This recipe is it, pretty much exactly.

(For real: you have to make this, it’s ridiculous.)

Fall decor, to me, is a little tricky. Just the whole dried gourds/wheat/pinecones/orange/tartan thing…it’s very easy for it to feel dated and a little too fussy for my taste. I’ve been collecting Thanksgiving ideas over on my Fall Inspiration Pinterest page, and have come across some more modern, minimalist takes on traditional fall decor, so I thought I’d share.

Clearly mulled wine is delicious. But it also has this lovely side-effect of making your house smell (and feel) warm and cozy and wonderful, especially if you leave it simmering in a slow cooker set to low all day long. A perfect pairing with sweatpants, a camp blanket, and Botched reruns if I do say so myself.

I’m fairly certain this photo was taken pre-second child, because of how relaxed I look. But it still feels relevant, style-wise.

Mostly the idea of you buying Stuart Weitzman 5050 boots, if you haven’t in the past six years that I’ve been talking about them. They’re perfect. You will wear them forever, with everything, and they will never go out of style. Trust me on this one.

I put together this tablescape using a whole bunch of white and gold pieces from Noritake China…and my scarf.

Click through for more pics of this particular tablescape, because it was a good one – and the recipe is SO easy and delicious.

A few years back, I did a series of fall style shoots with TJ Maxx, and I remember absolutely loving this look. And now that I’m all about blazers again, I may pull it out for an encore.

…And a plaid shirt. This was for a style feature for NY Mag, but I still own (and love) those boots.

It’s officially slow-cooker season. Have at it.