Friday Finds and Fine Pin

It's quite a lovely fall day here -- wishing the same for all of you! How do you plan to spend your weekend as we move in to October? To get you through the last few hours of the work day, here are a few fun finds from the web this week, along with this week's Fine Pin. Enjoy!

Spotted through Crane & Co.'s Facebook page, this story of two pen-pals that finally met after 51 years of correspondence is so lovely and inspiring!

One of our favorite resources for great pet info and fun released their Fall issue this week! Way to go, Pawsh! If you've got four-legged friends, be sure to check it out!

Today is Mulled Cider Day -- how appropriate for the chilly weather! Head over to

Celebrations.com to check out their article on yummy cider drinks.

This mug, spotted on Anthropologie, would be perfect for sipping cider. The pretty

design is reminiscent of a scalloped pie crust!

Today's Fine Pin is perfectly fit for fall, and also for Mulled Cider Day. Isn't the woven

pie-crust topper so adorable?

A Halloween Wedding

This Halloween themed wedding is anything but scary -- in fact, it's oh so chic! The yellow and grey palette is a nice change of pace from a standard orange and black Halloween affair, and the details really set the scene. The candy favors are an absolute must, and the chair decor is perfect!

All images via The Sweetest Occasion

Rosh Hashanah Greetings

New Orchard Card by Checkerboard, available at FineStationery.com

Fun with Fonts

Here's a bit of fun for your Tuesday -- a font quiz! This short, interactive quiz is great if you're interested in learning about fonts, or would like to test your font recognizing skills. I'll admit -- I'm constantly recognizing font names in advertisements or publications, but there were some fonts that left me stumped when it came to

recognizing them in this quiz!

Click here to take the quiz

Homemade Halloween Costumes

When I was younger, I'd change my mind at least 5 times before I decided what I wanted to be for Halloween. My guess is that most children are just like that - their creative minds coming up with new costume ideas every day. When it comes down to finally selecting a costume, you won't want to spend a lot of money on a store-bought look, and you might not have a lot of time to come up with something. These homemade costumes are all relatively easy to pull off, and are all so much fun for kids!

Frog Prince and Princess, Spider Web, Flower Girls, Creepy Bug Costume

What ideas have your kids had for their costumes this year?

Fine Pins: Pumpkins

Today we're taking a break from Friday Finds and Fine Pin and focusing on pins only. We just can't stop pinning on Pinterest! Do you follow The Finer Things' pinboards? With fall settling in, there are lots of pretty pumpkin pins out there, and we'd love to share them with you!

All images from our Crisp Autumn pinboard on Pinterest

Ruffled Wedding Details

Ruffles always add a lovely, whimsical touch. Consider adding a few ruffled

details to your wedding look for a feminine and pretty style:

Ruffled cake via Martha Stewart, Gown via BHLDN, Ruffly shoes image via Pinterest

Ruffled lounge pillows via Pier 1, Invitation with swirls by

Checkerboard (available at FineStationery.com

DIY Project: Wax-Dipped Leaves

View the tutorial {here}

Tuesday Trends: Neon

Neon is popping up in fashion, home decor and accessories everywhere. The bold, glowing look is certainly shocking, and is bound to make an impression. If you're not quite fashion-forward enough to add the color to your closet, try adding it to your stationery wardrobe in the form of bright yellow note cards:

Notecards by Marsupial Papers, available at FineStationery.com

Bib necklace by kate spade

Neon colored pencils image via Pinterest

Heels via Zappos

Neon and nude watch band by J.Crew

Friday Finds and Fine Pin: The Fall Edition

Fall is the perfect time to cook with apples. Martha Stewart has an amazing collection of apple recipes that you'll want to check out. These Swirly Baked Apples look especially delicious!

This autumn wedding inspiration shoot from Style Me Pretty is stunning. If you're planning a fall wedding, be sure to take a look at the amazing photos and great ideas!

Joanna from Cup of Jo has been posting fall fashion trends lately. If your wardrobe needs a cold-weather makeover, check out her posts about four trends that will take you into fall {Trend 1, Trend 2, Trend 3, Trend 4}.

Though it's not fall-related, we've got a fun article for you to read from the National Stationery Show's e-newsletter about stationery trends. Can you guess who it's written by? Take a peek at the newsletter here -- the stationery trends article is about halfway through. Enjoy!

Today's Fine Pin is fall themed, of course. Check out the rest of the fall pins on The Finer Things Crisp Autumn pinboard.

Wedding Inspiration from Blogs

When you're first engaged, your mind wanders in a thousand directions -- the dress, the tux/suit, the venue, the flowers, the cake, the music, the food! There's so much to think about, and so many decisions to be made before your walk down the aisle. One of the best ways to gather inspiration is by reading a few wedding-focused blogs. The Finer Things brings you wedding inspiration each week, and today we'd like to share with you a few other blogs that are great to bookmark if you're in the planning phase:

100 Layer Cake, Brooklyn Bride, Green Wedding Shoes, Love & Lavender,

Ritzy Bee, Ruffled, Snippet & Ink, Style Me Pretty

From ultra-glam weddings to rustic, DIY ceremonies and receptions, this list of blogs should cover every bride's tastes. You'll find gorgeous images, great tips, vendor lists, and inspiration galore!

Be sure to stop by The Finer Things each week for your dose of wedding fun, and please let us know if there's a wedding topic in particular that you'd love for us to explore!

Images from Style Me Pretty and Ruffled

Won't you join in the Live Chat?

Today we're sending out a big "Congratulations" to our great friends at Celebrations.com!

To celebrate reaching 10K+ Facebook Fans, planner extraordinaire Shawn Rabideau (you may have seen his wedding planning talent on the hit TV show, Bethenny Getting Married) is going to be live chatting with the Celebrations.com Facebook Fans! Be sure to visit the Celebrations.com Facebook page, give it a "Like" and drop by tomorrow, September 15th, from 1:30-2:00 EST to ask Shawn any entertaining, holiday, or Halloween questions! He'll be there to live chat with you directly. How fun! FineStationery.com will be there to participate in the chat!

Looking for other great ways to connect to FineStationery.com outside of our blog? You can check out the FineStationery.com Facebook page for fun news, or tweet to us on Twitter!

Tuesday Trends: Leopard Prints

Leopard prints are making quite an impact in fashion, home decor, and even stationery this season. Take a walk on the wild side and add brown and black leopard spots to your look in a variety of ways, from your shoes to a personalized stamp:

Purse image via Pinterest, Notecard by Boatman Geller (available at FineStationery.com),

Scarf via J.Crew, Stamp by Noteworthy Collection (available at FineStationery.com),

Pillow via West Elm, Loafers via Tory Burch

Candy Coated Decor

For Fall decor that's not spooky or haunting, or involving spiders and bats, look to Halloween's other icon -- candy! These two great wreaths are crafted from simple craft store wreath forms, candy and ribbon. Simply choose your favorite fall treat, and pull out your hot glue gun for a fun look!

Candy Corn Wreath via Woman's Day

Wrapped Candy Wreath via Martha Stewart

Friday Finds and Fine Pin

We're at the end of what was a short work week, and headed into the weekend -- hooray! What do your weekend plans include? Hopefully you find yourself enjoying time with family and friends. Here are a few fun things we spotted on the web this week, along with this week's Fine Pin:

Many children headed back to class this week for a fresh, new school year. If your little one experienced their very first day of school, there was probably a bit of anxiety mixed in with all the excitement. Celebrations.com put together a wonderful list of ideas for calming those Back to School jitters. You'll want to check it out!

If you find yourself with a sweet tooth this weekend, or in need of a fun dessert to bring to a party, these cookie bowls, spotted on Celebrations at Home, are sure to be a hit!

Speaking of sweets, this amazing and bright Willy Wonka wedding inspiration shoot was a big hit on Green Wedding Shoes blog this week. Check out the edible chocolate bouquet!

This week's Fine Pin is sweet as well -- a tower of individual pies! It seems like the perfect alternative to wedding cake for an autumn wedding! For more sweetness, check out our Cupcakes and Cakes Pinterest board, and our Wedding Cakes Pinterest board!

We know that weekends always come and go so quickly, and we can get caught up in different fun activities and parties, but wherever you are this Sunday, we encourage you take a moment of time to reflect on the tenth anniversary of tragic 9/11. Remember those who were lost, injured and changed forever.

Autumn Amber Wedding Inspiration

Autumn's color palette is simply stunning, from rich reds and warm browns to earthy oranges and burnt golds. Perhaps the prettiest color to incorporate in your fall wedding plans is amber. Glowing details that range from light amber to a darker copper color are sure to light up your ceremony and reception.

Choose a white and amber orchid bouquet for yourself and your bridesmaids -- Style Me Pretty

A shimmering bodice on your wedding gown and amber-gold earrings will only add to your bridal glow -- Dress via BHLDN, Earrings via kate spade

If you can, choose an assortment of amber toned glassware for your tabletops -- Image via Pinterest

Opt for outdoor photos if the weather cooperates. The beautiful fall colors will set a gorgeous scene -- Photo via The Perfect Palette

Paper lanterns hung above the dance floor will create a lovely glow -- Style Me Pretty

This copper and ecru invitation, featuring embossed leaves, is the perfect choice -- Invitation by

Chloe B., available at FineStationery.com

DIY Project: Paint Swatch Chandelier

DIY projects involving paint swatches are quickly becoming popular (much to the dismay of home improvement stores, I'm sure!) This paint swatch chandelier is one of the prettiest projects to date, with a trendy ombre-look to it.

Get the full tutorial on Hey Gorgeous and create your own paper chandelier today!

Yellow and Green Baby Shower

If you're planning a baby shower that will be held during the grey winter months ahead, look to brighter colors for inspiration -- like yellow and green! The color combination of yellow and green is lively and works well for a gender neutral baby shower. Mix fun patterns like polka dots, stripes and paisley to add more fun to the decor.

Cookies that look like polka-dotted onesies will be so cute on a dessert table with small lemon bites and bottles of fresh lemonade or flavored water -- Cookies via Hostess with the Mostess, Lemon Bites via The Knot, Lemonade image via Pinterest

Using a variety of fabric swatches, create small pouches for candy and close them with a diaper safety pin -- Rebecca Thus

Use pale green or yellow linens for the tabletops and add fresh flowers. Encourage guests to take home a small bundle of flowers at the end of the shower -- Martha Stewart

A simple layered invitation in green and cream works well, and lovely with a satin ribbon accent -- Invitation by San Lori, available at FineStationery.com 

Friday Finds and Fine Pin

It's not just Friday. It's Friday and the kickoff to a three day holiday weekend! What are your plans for the last big weekend of the summer season? I'll be hosting a few out of town friends and hopefully spending a little time in the sun and eating yummy foods. Wherever your weekend takes you, I hope you enjoy it! Here are a few fun finds to add some extra fun:

Boatman Geller is hosting a fantastic giveaway, in which one lucky fan will be the recipient of a bright and bold personalized stationery set. Be sure to head over to their blog, Live Your Style, for all the details (pssst... you only have until Monday to enter!)

Did you get engaged over the summer? You'll want to take a moment to read this post: Brooklyn Bride shows a few great options for outfits when it comes to engagement photo shoots, plus a list of tips for styling the perfect look.

Once the long weekend is over, and you're headed back to work, these cute pinwheel pushpins and vintage camera inspired photo/note holders will make sitting at your desk much more fun!

This week's Fine Pin, a refreshing Sangria popsicle, is a mini tribute to the warm summer nights we've had for the past few months. Cheers to sunny days, outdoor fun and endless sun!

Say Cheese!

While exploring the Martha Stewart Weddings website, I stumbled across this fun wedding favor idea. Candy bars wrapped with photos of the bride and groom -- as children, while dating, etc. How fun! Some wedding guests might only know the bride and groom as adults, so wouldn't it be fun to show off a few fun childhood photos? Select your favorite images, print them on either photo or copy paper, and wrap them around a candy bar. Tie off the bars with ribbon if you'd like, or secure the photo with tape on the back side. Ta-da! Personalized favors!