Thanksgivingukkah food and decor...

For the first time since 1899, Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah will be celebrated on the same day. And it won't happen again for 70,000 years. In light of this very special occasion, I've decided to do a mash-up for my menu, tablescape and decor.

Orange and blue happen to be one of my favorite color combinations. I was flipping through some shelter mags this week and couldn't help but notice that the covers of House Beautiful and Cottage Style both feature rooms in blues and oranges. Purely coincidental I suppose. But a nice jumping off point for my holiday inspiration.

My mood board:

{evidence of my lovingly used Paper Source rubber stamp collection}

 

Twists on my regular menu:

• Latkes instead of mashed potatoes. No need to cut your knuckles grating potatoes or splatter grease all over the kitchen when you can use frozen latkes from Trader Joe's.
• Maple cinnamon roasted butternut squash (Short cut: Use Trader Joe's pre-cubed bags.)
• Challah stuffing
• Brussel sprouts with pomegranate molasses

Recipes for these sides can be found on one of my favorite blogs The Shiksa in the Kitchen. I am, after all, a shiksa and slowly learning about Jewish cooking. I like Tori's blog for a lot of reasons. She's cute, her step-by-step recipes are easy to follow -- she does tutorials on stuff like how to peel, seed and prep butternut squash -- and she doesn't use a lot of mixing bowls, because she doesn't like to do dishes. Her History Kitchen tells the stories behind our favorite foods. Plus, she has an adorable yellow lab named "Marley." A girl after my own heart.

I'll be back soon to show you how my vision comes to life. In the meantime, check out my Thanksgivingukkah Pinterst board for more ideas.

Fall into fashion: 5 trends this season...

Finally getting cold and blustery here in Atlanta. Guess it's time to get your fall wardrobe in order. These sources will help give you a jump start.

1) I don't do heels, so I was happy to see Matchstick Magazine's (my fave. e-mag) 10 best flats for the season. Calf hair in dots and leopard prints abound. Lands' End has a cute pair of calf hair flats at a moderate price point.

2) Fall Crush: the bootie. What do you think -- love or loathe them? Seeing them everywhere, including my go to: Boden. Not something I could get away with. Rachel from Pink Peonies is currently craving these six styles. She can pull off just about anything. I, on the other hand, can't. But I could see myself in these. Oh and here's Rachel's fall boot guide.

{Riis Bootie by Billy Reid $495}

3) Riding boots are always in vogue. LDV's top 10 ten. Paloma has excellent taste. I love that she includes a pic of my girl crush Gwyneth. I'm craving the Charlotte Olympia boots, but at $1,395 I'll have to settle for the Mercer boot by Jack Rogers in black -- a bargain at $298.

4) If you're jonesing for some plaid this season like City Sage's Ann Sage, check out her fall style essential -- buffalo plaid. InStyle featured tartan plaid as a 2013 fall fashion trend. Rock it in a provocative way. So as not to seem too prim, InStyle suggests giving plaid some "bite" with crazy hair and dark lipstick and eyeliner.

Naughty...

{via InStyle}

Or nice...

{Rach Pink Peonies}

Which way will you be wearing plaid this season?

5) Ann Sage also includes the wide-brimmed hat as a fall style essential. Made By Girl Jen is into hats too. Annie Hall anyone?

5) Quilted minis are in, as well as bags, foot ware and accessories. Adri of Adri's World loves this trend. I'm digging it too. So Chanel.

It goes without saying that scarves are a must have accessory this season, especially if you're feeling bad about your neck. Ann Taylor offers a chic collection. And, speaking of scarves, it  wouldn't hurt to take a scarf wearing refresher course:

Photo image: 1

Jenis splendid ice creams...

Good news. Jeni's recently opened on the West side. Yay! Elizabeth F. and I had to go check it out immediately. We were not disappointed.

So what's all the hype about? Jeni's happens to be the best ice cream I have ever had hands down. The secret to her artisan American ice creams: flavor, texture and creamy consistency. With ingredients like whole milk, heavy cream, cream cheese and the best quality chocolate, extracts and fresh seasonal farmer's market offerings -- how can you go wrong? Jeni's sells signature -- like sea salt caramel -- as well as seasonal flavors. Right now the late harvest collection includes: sweet potato with torched marshmallows, Cinderella pumpkin, sweet corn & black raspberries and whiskey & pecans. Yum!

Jeni's storefront is a adorable. Let's take a quick peek.

 {welcome to Jeni's}

{come on in}

{colorful streamers, ice cream, gravel toppings, marble top tables -- so cute}

{my order -- sea salt caramel and brown butter almond brittle ice creams with salty graham gravel}

I've had my eye on some pumpkin/ginger ice cream sandwiches I saw on the Canadian blog Chocolate Shavings for my Thanksgiving dinner spread. I plan to use this big soft ginger cookie recipe filled with Jeni's Cinderella pumpkin ice cream. Of course, I'll have to practice and do a lot of taste testing before I get the sandwiches just right for my guests. I found some cute chevron paper bags for the ice cream sandwiches and a bunch of other baking and party accoutrement at the Pink Lemonade party shop on etsy. I'm sorry, but I can't resist showing you my fave. item in that shop -- Mr. Macho Man cake topper. Here he is!

Mr. Macho Man is available in different skin tones, hair colors and speedos.

If you're feeling really ambitious this holiday season, you can make your own mouth-watering Jeni's ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet. More than 100 "addictively good" recipes can be found in Jeni's New York Times best seller Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. She offers pairings for each recipe. Nice touch. I have her book and an ice cream maker on my holiday wish list.

In other foodie news…

Look what I saw at my pilates studio Urban Body yesterday. Please tell me you didn't know that Diet Coke has created a tall, skinny Taylor Swift Collector's Edition. It's available for a limited time only. You Taylor fans better go get it while supplies last.

{"If you're lucky enough to be different, don't ever change." Yes, that quote is actually on each can along with her signature.}

Last, but certainly not least, the winner of my Metrofresh give-away…drum roll please…is Robin P. Congrats Robin. Can't wait to try your white bean stew recipe.

Happy Monday!

Anniversary give-away!

{Metrofresh turkey chili - yum!}

Bluemopheads celebrated its one-year anniversary October 30. Yay!

I started this blog while I was temporarily insane. [Note: Read this post again -- guaranteed to make you laugh.] The mophead boys had been home for what seemed like months with various illnesses, including pneumonia. Plus, my friend Susannah had started her successful blog Out Went the Light and she encouraged me to go for it. I've really enjoyed writing it and hope to make some improvements very soon.

To celebrate this milestone, I'm offering you dear readers a giveaway from one of my fave. places. It's starting to get brisk and blustery in Atlanta. I'm in a soup kinda mood. When I'm hungry for soup there's only one place to go -- Metrofresh. I've been a metrofreshusual since my kids were in preschool.

For your chance to win a $20 Metrofresh gift card simply leave a comment here or on my facebook page providing me with one of your simple, go-to soup recipes. The winner will be announced next Monday, November 11. Oh, and you must be a subscriber to win.

I'll start. This quick turkey and rice soup recipe from Martha Stewart is yummy. Great way to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey. And, I love using root veggies this time of year.

Good luck and bon appetite!