EXPLORING: GROSSINGER'S RESORT

Yesterday Justin and I went on a mission for possible photo shoot locations. We drove down to Liberty, NY to check out Grossinger's Resort. Or, more specifically, the shell of what once was Grossinger's Resort. It used to be a super sweet summertime destination in the 60s and 70s (see postcard above)...but it eventually closed in 1986 and has been abandoned ever since. The years have not been kind...but there is something undeniably magical about the state of decay.

STOCKINGS!

Check out this major stocking upgrade. I made them myself. And it was super simple. No knitting required. Just some awesomely bad 80s sweaters and a little bit if sewing.

DIY PAPER ORNAMENTS

New in my etsy store: cut-and-fold paper polyhedra ornaments!

I have gotten deep into folding crazy geometric shapes out of paper. Nerdy? Kinda. I mean...I have been cruising MATH sites on the internet. But now that I've done all the footwork I thought I'd share the love. I put together a set of templates in 8 awesome colors which make super sweet 3-D shapes when you fold them together. Perfect for tree trimming. Or just general hanging around looking cute. And you can tell your friends you know how to make a tetragonal trapezohedron. Sounds pretty darn impressive...right?

TRADITIONS

Justin and I got our tree on Sunday! We went back to Saltsman Christmas Tree Farm since our experience there last year was so awesome. (We scoped out another place in the name of research, and can confidently say that the vibe at Saltsman's is unbeatable. If you live in the area it is TOTALLY where you should be getting your tree.)

Last year we got a blue spruce...which wins hands-down in the looks department...but MAN, that thing was prickly. We had to wear GLOVES to put the lights on...and had battle wounds after hanging the ornaments. So we changed it up and went with a Fraser fir this year. It doesn't have the dreamy blue-green color that the spruce did, but it is still a VERY handsome tree. And it smells amazing. And it doesn't try to bite you when you touch it.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

I kinda can't believe it's Halloween. Partially because it's 33 degrees outside and it just SNOWED. And partially because Justin and I have been so busy recording that we haven't had any time to make costumes or carve pumpkins or go to any parties.

I did, however, manage to get some decorations up last week. I went with a Mexican style Diá de los Muertos vibe, and crafted up a storm. I made tissue paper flowers, papier-mâché skulls, papel picado votives, and then threw in anything glittery, and some pumpkins for good measure.

CARAMEL APPLES

I make caramel apples every fall...but this year's batch is definitely my best. The difference? I usually go all budget style and make them from a kit...or melt a bag of pre-wrapped caramels and dip away. But not this year. This year I made my caramel from scratch. And it made a serious difference. It turned out super creamy and buttery and fresh. And it was the PERFECT consistency! Not too hard...not too soft.

I found a bunch of different recipes for making caramel...but they are all just variations on a theme. Some use sweetened condensed milk instead of heavy cream...some use brown sugar instead of white...some add molasses. I went with this recipe because I happened to have all of the ingredients for it. I think the most important thing is to get the ingredients to the right temperature and then take them off the heat. A candy thermometer definitely helps.

Note: If you're gonna make your own just use a non-stick cookie sheet. They come right off when they cool. No parchment necessary. And the best part? I had leftover caramel. So I portioned that out onto another cookie sheet...

And when that cooled I dipped the discs in dark chocolate and sprinkled them with sea salt. SO GOOD! Like...maybe even better than the apples! Long story short: I've been indulging in sticky sweet deliciousness all week. And I think I'm gonna make another batch. Yum.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

I forgot to tell you guys. Justin and I shared some of our favorite web videos over at Portable.tv for their weekly What We're Watching feature.

The stills above are from one of my picks -- Basic Black from 1967. Shot by William Claxton and starring Miss Peggy Moffitt.

Here's the link. Go check 'em out!