Inspiration Daily: 09. 29. 11

Photography by Jose Villa, seen on The Bride's Cafe (via Maurice & King).

Color Crush: From Butter to Golden Yellow

There's nothing that puts the cheery right back into a grey Fall day quite like a burst of yellow. The color is: crisp frost-tinged maple leaves, freshly picked gourds, and sunlight all rolled into one, and I'm loving it for everything from fashion accessories to DIY home decor. xo Ez

1. First Frost Circle Scarf in Cider - Madewell | 2. Drawn from Fashion Art Print - Belafonte | 3. Color Dipped Mug - Poketo | 4. DIY Easy Fabric Flowers on a Fall Yarn Wreath - Evie S. | 5. Fine Milk Chocolate - Scharffen Berger | 6. Edgar Bentwood Chair - The Conran Shop | 7. Le Creuset 3.5-Quart Round French Oven - All Modern

DIY Painted Pumpkins

These DIY Painted Pumpkins by Alisa Burke are just too fabulous! As soon as I spotted them on Heather Spriggs blog yesterday, I knew I had to share them with you all. Aren't they amazing! They look like a lot of work, but seem to be a great alternative to carving pumpkins... especially if pumpkin rind makes your hands itch and sting like it does mine. Just might have to try this one out. See more photos and the tutorial on right here. xo Ez

Inspiration Daily: 09. 28. 11

Makeup from Paul Costelloe at London Fashion Week, photographed by Krisatomic. If you're not already familiar with her illustration work, I highly recommend checking it out pronto.

Waste Not, Want Not: Pumpkin Soup

"Waste not, want not"...this is a saying that my mom tried repeatedly to get across to me and my siblings when I was young. And even though I'm sure I secretly rolled my eyes at her then, I have to admit now that she was right (are you reading Mom? If so I hope those words made your day). Especially with the way the economy is these days it feels especially wise to make the most of what you have.

So when I mixed up a batch of Pumpkin Whoopie Pies over the weekend (more on that soon) and ended up with an extra half a can of pumpkin puree I decided that I just had to put it to good use. Queue my first ever batch of pumpkin soup (not actually the one in the photos...these snaps are from my second batch that I made last night). The end results were both savory and a little bit sweet...yummy! I do have to admit to feeling a tad bit shy about sharing my recipe, for fear that my taste buds are horribly askew and you all find it utterly revolting (okay, you probably won't...but maybe you can understand my nerves just a tiny bit). Anyhow, with that disclaimer of sorts out of the way, I give you:

Here is a printable version of the recipe (download will begin immediately) or just follow along below:

Pumpkin Soup — Yields 4 small or 2 hearty servings 

• ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 stalks celery, finely chopped with leaves removed
• 4 medium carrots, sliced into thin medallions
• ½ large bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 fresh garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf, whole
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream

Add olive oil and 1 teaspoon of butter to a medium saucepan and heat on medium high heat. Stir in onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper and garlic and sauté until vegetables have softened, about 15 minutes. Stir regularly. Once vegetables are soft, mix in pumpkin puree, broth, water, bay leaf and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to light boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Use a handheld immersion blender or countertop blender and blend until smooth, adding in 1 teaspoon of butter while blending. If you will be using a countertop blender, allow soup to cool to a reasonable temperature before blending. Once smooth return soup to pot and pour in heavy cream. Stir gently with a whisk until combined. Heat if necessary and serve with a swirl of cream and sprinkle of nutmeg.

Feel free to add in more or less of whatever you have on hand. Waste not, want not...and enjoy! xo Ez