If you’re like us, you’re just starting to focus on how to amp up the Halloween factor at home for the festivities this weekend. Fear not, it’s never too late to decorate! Here are five easy pieces that will help you to amp it up big time.

1. I can’t wait to sip a cold cocktail from one of these tall tumblers.They come in green and orange hand-blown glass, and they’re a great deal at CB2 for under $4 each.
2. For a big Halloween statement, deliver drinks to your friends on this sleek black and silver tray. It has a scary silver skull decal in the center.  It’s on sale at Pottery Barn for $16! Go for it.
3.We love these squash and gourd candles from Crate and Barrel. They’re so lifelike! At only $2.96-$5.95, they’d look great in numbers(at least five)on a dining room table or a mantelpiece.
4.We’re loving this scary black crow door mat. Creepy and cool. This one is from CB2 and it’s under $20.
5.Felt is one of our favorite materials, and these felt pumpkin place-mats are absolutely adorable. We’re definitely serving big bowls of chili on top of these sweet accessories. They’re $3 each at Pier1 imports. Happy Halloween!- S + L

Working for Martha Stewart’s creative team for so many years, I sat through hundreds of Halloween brainstorming meetings with artists, producers, and editors. Just imagine the number of original ideas we were responsible for coming up with and then executing each season! At times, it was daunting. Still, every year at our house we try and tweak what we’ve learned and come up with an inspired take on pumpkins past. Our friends and neighbors have come to expect this from us, and, we figure you’ll be interested, too. Here’s how we went about it this year. First, head for your the nearest pumpkin patch, or local nursery. Choose an assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors, with the stem in tact.

We’re taking a break from pumpkin carving this year and instead we’re all about duct tape. Cut the tape into triangular and square shapes to form the eyes, nose, and mouth of your pumpkin’s face. From a distance, it looks like you’ve carved them (particularly at night).
Paint the entire pumpkin with tacky glue using a foam paint brush (except, of course, where there is tape). Next, shake the glitter on to the
pumpkin until you’ve covered all of the skin. We used silver artists glitter from Michael’s Arts and Crafts store, but you can also order colored glitter at artglitter.com. Below, the finished results. What do you guys think? Look for more Halloween decorating ideas this week at GBGP. – S & L

With the holidays fast approaching, this is usually the time of year when we start scouting out that one piece we’d like to add to our wardrobes to really kick it up a notch—and it usually involves a little (or a lot!) of sparkle. Here are our top festive favorites this season (not to be worn at the same time!):1. Topshop Ultimate Jewelled Jacket, $410, I am crazy for this little number. It is such an amazing statement piece, capable of really turning up the volume worn with even the simplest pair of black skinny pants. I’ve also seen it in black, with blue colored stones. It’s a key, seasonless piece.
2. Made Her Think Wrap Your Stones Twice, $264, A unique bracelet that can be worn on its own, or stacked together with other bracelets from your own collection. It’s even chic next to a large watch.
3. Christian Louboutin Fred Glitter Lace-up Shoes, Talk about twinkle toes. By your third straight night on the holiday party circuit in killer heels, you’ll be wishing you were in these babies. Wear them with a short black dress/skirt and tights, or a cropped pant. Dynamite!
4. Topshop Double Quilted Gold Purse, $50, An obvious reproduction of the classic Chanel bag, Topshop does a pretty good job with this metallic cross-body purse.
5. Jimmy Choo for H&M, This is one of my favorites from what I’ve seen from the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection. We love the layered look of it, as well as its flowy shape. I’m sure it will be well priced too. Get it in stores November 14th.

And a last piece we’re both coveting is this J Crew Sequin Glitterglass Tank. The combination of the nude colored silk and light blue sequins creates the illusion of a sexy bandeau top. The back is plain silk, keeping the tank simple and elegant, and reminding us that sequins are great, sequin overkill is not. – L

Shhh! We’re going to let you in on a well kept fashion secret for those of you who need clothes to look stylish at work, or are simply looking for smart ways to refresh your existing wardrobe. The Connaught Group, a 28 year-old direct sales couture fashion company, has opened a new appointment only showroom to give women a unique, personalized private shopping experience. Most women we know are less interested in shopping in department stores right now, but still determined to make quality purchases with no room for error. Enter Connaught. It carefully hires and then trains “wardrobing specialists” who understand the construction of the clothing, as well as how to wear it. They spend an hour or more with their private clients to help them to put together pieces that work for their individual body type as well as the demands of their lifestyle. Apart from the new showroom in Greenwich, CT (and one in NYC), most of the wardrobing specialists use their own homes, country clubs, or hotel suites across the country to show the full collections, called Carlisle and Per Se. Below, a shot of Lauren and I test driving two of their skirts.
The Greenwich showroom is decorated quite lavishly, and, after being offered a glass of water or wine (we declined as it was early in the day, but maybe next time) we were taken in to a large dressing room where racks full of clothes in our sizes were effortlessly shuttled in. What service! We were lucky to have showroom manager Anne Friday as our design expert; Anne’s a real pro with a stellar luxury fashion background. In fact, many of the designers behind Carlisle and Per Se hail from top fashion houses like Oscar de la Renta and Escada. Below, the new showroom.
Here I am, below, in the pailette-appliqued suede “Stately” skirt from the Fall ’09 Per Se collection. I could also see it going more casual with a pair of high heeled boots and a tweedy blazer.
A close-up of the intricate craftsmanship at the bottom of the skirt.
Lauren in the “Upscale” skirt made of duchess satin and ostrich feathers. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she chose this. As flamboyant and “look at me” as it is, a feathered skirt like this will never go out of style. And check out those swiss dot stockings! They’re a must-have this season.

It was hard to decide which piece to give away to our readers, but after much thought, we settled on this fantastic pheasant feather embellished silk georgette pencil skirt from Per Se’s Holiday ’09 collection (retailing for $595). Extremely versatile–could easily go from day to night, and so special! We’ll give away one of these skirts in the winner’s size (available in 0 to 18) next Monday, October 26th. Just comment below to enter. Good luck! – S & L
If you’d like to visit the new showroom in Greenwich or Manhattan, or find a Carlisle/Per Se consultant near you, click here. And for Lauren’s top 5 picks from the Carlisle/Per Se collections,

Congratulations to Pamela C., you won yourself a fabulous new skirt!

Yesterday we were invited to a book signing for Rachel Ashwell’s new book, Shabby Chic Interiors. The audience was small, so we were all able to sit around on a comfortable sofa and chairs in the Lillian August store in Norwalk, Connecticut to share what felt like intimate conversation. Rachel couldn’t have been more lovely. Born and raised in England, the designer known for her ultra feminine aesthetic now lives in Malibu, California. As admirers and collectors of all things vintage, we’ve always appreciated Rachel’s style. It’s all about combining mismatched faded bedding, interesting antique finds, and glass chandeliers, all flanked by crisp white painted walls.
This year marks her 20th year in the retail interior design business, and though she certainly has reached an enormous level of success, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. In fact, her company filed for Chapter 11 several years ago. As a result, she’s come out of the experience with a hint of fear, but the calm of knowing. In person, Rachel comes across as an incredibly resilient person, with a soft and genuine personality. She could barely contain her delight at having an opportunity to reinvent her business on a much smaller scale, with just two stores, in Los Angeles and Soho, as well as a line of furnishings, bed linens, and bath accessories for Target. Rachel spoke about keeping things simple, and incorporating treasures and trinkets in her rooms that soothe the soul. Below, Rachel (right) and me (sorry for the poor photo quality!).

The new book is absolutely beautiful. The best parts are the detailed photos (taken by Amy Neunsinger) of her home in Los Angeles. She has an incredible knack for using furniture and accessories sparingly, without letting rooms look unfinished. She makes it look easy, “I believe in cozy, relaxed settings where kids are free to put their feet on the sofa and guests can place their cups on the coffee table without care,” she says. We couldn’t agree with her more. – S & L

One of the things Lauren and I look forward to most on our collecting excursions is meeting people from all over the world who share our passion. At the Rhinebeck Antique Show this weekend, we bumped into a collecting force of nature, Ginger Kilbane. Ginger’s passion is her family; she has two grown daughters, but next to that, she collects vintage hotel silver–and she does so unlike anybody else we know. Ginger and I first became friends almost eight years ago, during my producing days, when I invited her to be a featured guest on the Martha Stewart Living Television show for a collecting segment. Ginger’s collection is totally unique (seen in the images below). She has impeccable taste, and she knows exactly where to go to find the finest quality vintage hotel silver. This means traveling to Paris and London (and other exciting cities) to forage for collections when hotels are looking to sell off their inventory.Her collections come from the finest European hotels, restaurants, ocean liners and even the earliest trains. Ginger has been in the darkest basements of some pretty spectacular hotels, photographing and cataloging pieces in an effort to bid on lots of silver. Not an easy gig, but like I said, she’s passionate. And if you saw the quality and the beauty of pieces she collects and then sells, you’d be amazed. All you need is to hold one piece, and you’ll understand how beautifully these items were handcrafted. Below, Ginger (right) and I.
Below, a rare art deco coffee and tea service with ivory handles. Wouldn’t this make an extraordinary wedding gift?

What’s great about Ginger (one of the many things) is that she encourages her clients to use these pieces in everyday life. After all, they were made to undergo plenty of use. She recommends using containers to hold herbs or cutlery on the kitchen counter, and to lean platters, trays and even ice buckets as decoration (when not in use) on a mantelpiece. The effect is always the same, evoking a feeling of luxury, and reminding us of another era.

Ginger also has a well established reproduction business. You can learn more about Hotel European Silver if you go to her website: hotelsilver.net. – S