Fall Mantel and an OOTD

Hey there lovelies, happy Monday (almost Tuesday!) I hope everyone had a nice Halloween weekend. Mine was pretty uneventful: Matt was out of town and I worked most of the weekend. (Most of the weekend meaning Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, ha!) Since I don't have kiddos to get trick-or-treat ready, I volunteered to work so the moms with little ones could focus on costumes, candy corn, and caramel apples. But just about the time I got home from work last night, Matt got in from the airport, so we managed a little festivity with homemade chili and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."  And maybe a few handful of mini Butterfingers between the two of us :)

Even though I wasn't able to get too much into the Halloween spirit, that doesn't mean I've been lacking in the fall spirit!  I have been meaning to show you my little fall mantle for weeks now, but I kept wanting to get a better picture of it.  But since that didn't happen, here's an quick picture of our apartment's little slice of fall...

For years I've stored up holiday decorations like an acorn hoarding squirrel, but unfortunately, when we moved from Texas, I lost the ability to store holiday decorations at my parents house.  (Ok, I lie, they are actually still sitting at my parents house, but I lost the ability to store them, use them for a month, then restore them if you know what I mean.)  Shucks.  So, when we moved, all I brought with me were two measely bins of Christmas decor.  Two bins Christmas, no bins fall.  Grr.  So my goals for this fall mantle: cheap, easy, and not too over the top.  I had two hours to buy and assemble everything, and I wanted to keep it under $20.  So after a quick trip to the Dollar Store and Big Lots, I came up with this.  Because our apartment is pretty small, I just focused on the manel.  (I call this all in one spot tactic the "pack the punch approach.")  Another trick for the budget conscious apartment dweller is to use glass containers (vases, jars, cylinders, etc) because they can be incorporated during every season with different filler.  (Trust me,  you'll see these same lovelies at Christmas filled with red berries or silver jingle bells.)  Quick, easy and cost effective.  Hooray for all three!

And here is a quick half OOTD shot from this past week...

Blazer: The Limited
Sweater: Banana Republic
Jeans: J.Crew
Belt: Ann Taylor
Scarf: from a London market excursion with my mom

This outfit is indicative of two recent things for me: bolder color combos (navy, mustard, and leopard) and adding an extra item before I leave the house.  I originally was going without the scarf, but to get into the full fall fashion mode, I've been pushing myself to layer more and add an extra piece before I leave in the morning.  Whether its a scarf, a layered tee, a belt, or another stack of bracelets, I'm working to add another layer.  And so far, I'm really liking the effect.  My outfits have felt much more layered and luxe.

So tell me, how was your weekend, whatcha got going on this week?  Anyone else trying to add an extra layer before you leave the house?