happy halloween

Happy Halloween! Get your day off to a spooky and scary start with the best Halloween song ever (sorry for the crappy video quality):

[infographic via Vulture]

halloween costumes

What are you going to be for Halloween this year? A sexy pizza? If you've been procrastinating like me and don't have a costume yet, the internet has some good ideas for you:

Buzzfeed has a round-up of hair tutorials to take a basic costume to the next level (some of these are definitely beyond my hair braiding ability, but this Medusa one looks pretty easy)

Refinery29 has 3 ideas for last minute costumes under $25 (although I think #2 could potentially be free if you just go the dry cleaner and ask them for a few plastic bags and hangers)

The Huffington Post has some clever- and mostly easy- costume ideas (I like the "guy in a hurricane").

Also, did you see Kristin Schaal's send up of sexy costumes on The Daily Show? Hilarious. 

[sexy pizza photo from bonanza.com]

queen mary

This Queen Mary cocktail sounds delicious- like a light, fresh version of a bloody mary. I might have to make some this weekend while there's still good tomatoes to be had at the market. I can't believe its already the end of October, I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer produce!


[photo by Molly Wizenberg via Food 52]

arcade fire

Did you hear Arcade Fire is streaming their entire new album Reflektor on YouTube? The album wasn't supposed to be released until October 29th, but the band released a lyric video today as what's being called a "full length preview". According to this article, the band decided to release the stream after a record store in Ireland started selling the album early and it flooded the internet. The video features the album streamed over the 1959 movie Black Orpheus.

You can watch it below, or on their website:

You can also check out the crazy interactive music video for "Just a Reflektor" here.


[top image from justareflektor.com]

baked oatmeal

Now that the weather is cooling off, I find myself wanting something warm and comforting for breakfast. I like regular oatmeal just fine, but its no comparison to baked oatmeal. My favorite is from Heidi Swanson's book Super Natural Every Day. It is absolutely delicious, and provides a healthy dose of whole grains, fruit and protein with just enough sweetness. The best part is, you can make it over the weekend and the leftovers provide you with a quick breakfast for the rest of the week (I just reheat in the microwave, adding a little milk if it seems dry).

Click below for the recipe:

pumpkin time

I'm always sad to say goodbye to summer, but if there's one thing that gets me excited for fall, its pumpkins! I love pumpkin pie and all things flavored with that delicious mix of pumpkin pie spices. 

For all you fellow pumpkin lovers out there, Trader Joe's has your back. Each fall they seem to add more and more pumpkin offerings, and this year is no exception. I got their "Fearless Flyer" in the mail this week and ran out to stock up on pumpkin goodness. Last year, I got addicted to their Pumpkin Greek yogurt (its like pumpkin pie you can eat for breakfast!), and I can't wait to try it with the Pumpkin Spice granola for a DOUBLE PUMPKIN BREAKFAST!! 

Pumpkin season doesn't last long, so get them while you can...

[all product photos from Trader Joe's]

house full of plants

Inspired by my friend Michael's lovely collection of houseplants, I've been trying to add more plants to my home. I love the fresh pop of green they add to a room, there's something so cheerful about a little potted plant. 

Our current apartment doesn't get a ton of natural light, so its been a bit of a challenge to find plants that will survive in our mostly indirect light conditions. Click below for tips and photos of the plants I have been able to keep alive, as well as the ones that didn't make it...

color test

How well do you see color? Some of us may not see it as well as we might think. According to Apartment Therapy, "it is generally believed that around 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men may have some degree of color blindness." Many people I've met with some color blindness have no idea that they're not seeing colors properly until they take a test or someone points it out to them.  It's strange to think that you never really know if you're seeing the same color as the person standing next to you. 

Want to find out your Color IQ? Take this online test from X-Rite.

I was relived to score a 16 (the test is scored out of 100, with 0 being a perfect score). I've always thought of myself as a good judge of color, and often need to work with color in my job, so it would be pretty bad news if I didn't have at least an average sense of color. 

My husband on the other hand, did not fare so well. I've noticed in the past that he has trouble with some colors (as do several of my guy friends), but apparently its worse than I thought. According to this test, he's almost totally color blind! 

[Hillary Clinton pantsuit spectrum via The Huffington Post]

makeover day

I've been working on a little makeover for KPG today- hope you enjoy the new look!  Lots of changes are afoot and more posts will be coming your way (I think that's the first time I've actually used the word "afoot"). You can still expect the usual Monday posts, but be on the lookout for additional posts of great things I find around the web throughout the week.

[August 1953 Vogue photo via Jessica Cangiano]