Absolutely swooning for these gorgeous carved squash centerpieces over at Paper, Plate and Plane. Thankfully she offers a how to, so we can have ‘em at our table, too, rather than just coveting hers. Via Craft.

If you’re not lucky enough to live in Hawaii or California, here’s a helpful list of powerful SAD fighting foodsto get you through the dark and gloomy months ahead, at CultureMob.

Walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, and giblets are a girl’s best friend — but NOT garlic : Marilyn Monroe’s dressing recipe (in her own handwriting with misspellings aplenty), via Roger Ebert’s Twitter page.

CasaSugar gives a peek inside the inaugural Elle Decor Showhouse in San Francisco — and we like what we see….

A house in Malibu constructed from a salvaged 747at ShelterPop. The comments are primarily negative (and often off topic), but we kinda like it. Can’t wait to see it in its finished state.

Readymade throws down a DIY gauntlet: Can you make this $575 mirror out of recycled corrugated cardboard?

Thanksgiving help for the meatless masses: 101 Cookbooks vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe roundup.

When I moved into my 1925 Craftsman Bungalow, I just assumed I would replace the ugly brass doorknobs with pretty new knobs.  Then I counted my 12 interior doors and realized I was looking at hundreds of dollars to replace the mortise-lock hardware installed by the last owner. I decided refinishing the knobs would make them look better while I saved up money to replace them one-at-a-time. And giving the knobs an “oil-rubbed bronze” look made them more period appropriate.  Fifteen dollars spent on black spray paint,  polyurethane, and a tube of Rub N’ Buff in “Spanish Copper” gave me beautiful door hardware that matches the rest of the finishes in the house. It worked so well that I used the same process on air conditioner vent covers and switch and outlet plates! Here’s how it works:

1.     Remove all of the hardware you wish to refinish and take it all apart. In my case, I couldn’t remove the glass knob from its brass base, so I used painter’s tape to cover the glass completely.

2.     Clean the hardware using rubbing alcohol or a kitchen disinfectant. Let it dry completely.

3.     Spray paint all of the hardware with matte black paint. I used the 99-cent stuff from my local hardware store. Make sure you cover the entire surface. Let it dry completely before trying the next step.

4.     Put a small bit of Rub N’ Buff on a clean rag that you don’t mind throwing away. Rub the product all over the hardware, focusing on the edges and details like screw holes or designs.

5.     Let the hardware dry overnight before applying the polyurethane. I achieved the most even finish by using a polyurethane spray I found in the spray paint aisle. The more coats of polyurethane you apply, the better the finish will hold up to everyday use.

6.     Put everything back together and back on your doors. Admire your refinishing and money-saving skills. –Cassie D.

In a perfect world, I’d have a cabinet full of Kate Spade china and gorgeous Waterford crystal stemware. I’d also love to be blonde, a self-made millionaire, and never shiver through another Chicago winter again but that just isn’t me. I’m a brunette, I pay with coupons, and I love these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle tumblers ($29.95). Colorful, witty, and all sorts of nostalgic fun, the turtles on a half shell have been immortalized in 16 oz. glasses from Neatoshop. Dibs on Michelangelo! –Katie D.

As a kid, my favorite part of Thanksgiving was the cranberry sauce. I was morbidly afraid of the stuffing (I mean really, what was in there?!) and stuck to a safe plate strategy that tended to be very biscuit-heavy. But the cranberry sauce was what I looked forward to most. Thanksgiving is the only time we eat it, and I was enamored with everything about it: the color, the taste, the sugar content and perhaps best of all, the way my mom could get it to slide out of the can and onto a plate in one glorious can-shaped piece of jelly heaven. I was mesmerized. (And, by this logic, you’d think I also liked Spam, but let’s not get crazy). We were a jellied cranberry sauce house, and my allegiance was firmly in that camp, so you can imagine my surprise when we ate at a neighbor’s one year and they served a whole berry sauce. You’d have sworn someone put a plate of prickly brambles in front of me to eat. I was horrified. Since then I’ve come to embrace both varieties, but when I have a choice, still relish the dichotomy of sliding a slick knife through a can-shaped piece of awesome and serving it on our best china. Serious Eats put the store-bought brands to the taste test and crowned a winner in both camps, but let’s get to the heart of it: When it comes to cranberry sauce, which team are you on? Jellied? Or whole berry? – Sarah C.

Need more store-bought recommendations? Stop by Serious Eats for the turkey gravy and stuffing taste tests as well!

CB2 has to be the coolest store on the planet: Not only do they make affordable, modern, well-designed furniture, but they also allow their stylists to get creative with their products for catalog staging. And cooler still, they often post how-tos for these crafty hacks on their blog, In the Loop. The blog is brimming with tutorials from their most recent edition, like the minimalist snowball wreath shown above. I think the idea to use a ladder as an impromptu tannenbaum is really fun, (and I’ve heard it’s a Kinderclausen tradition). And for folks who don’t have room for a tree in it’s entirety, or just need a high-impact item over the dining room table, this branch chandelier is a striking and inexpensive way to go. Check out the site for more ambitious holiday tutorials, as well as great inside tips from the folks behind the cool. –Megan B.

If you’re bringing lunch to work or are a leftovers lover, Tupperware is a must. We’ve covered the fancy stuff, and in our house we have a color-coded set much like the Snapware varieties that we absolutely adore, but I may be making more room soon for the Box Appetit. The Cadillac of lunch organization containers, the Box Appetit has it all: a removable inner dish that allows the separation of hot and cold foods, a locking lid, a fork/knife that snaps into the lid, and my personal favorite, a small receptacle for your favorite sauce or dressing. Goodbye, soggy salads, hello intelligent food storage! Designed by Black + Blum, the container is also dishwasher and microwave safe and BPA free. At $22 it’s pricier than your average Tupperware, but it would be an ingenious solution to some of my lunch hour woes. The Lunchbox Revolution cookbook, $8, is a nifty compliment specially designed to make filling the thing even easier. Now the question is, will it fit in my stocking? – Sarah C.

This recipe has a bit of a backstory: The first holiday season that my husband (then boyfriend) spent together, my mother-in-law-to-be made us a HUGE batch of his favorite cookies. These cookies, or “nut rolls”, made from a recipe she got from her mother-in-law, were delicate, buttery, and yeasty, and filled with a not-too-sweet ground walnut filling. After one bite, I was hooked. Next time I saw the M.I.L, I made a point of asking for the recipe, thinking she would be excited to share it with her son’s new love. She said sure, but that it would be a while before she had time to type it up. So I waited. Almost a full year. And I asked again, with a similar response. So I kinda gave up on them, and hoped that someday, I would earn the right to the recipe. As luck would have it, I was reading through one of my favorite cookbooks, the Fannie Farmer Baking Book, and stumbled upon a recipe which sounded EXACTLY like what these “nut rolls of mystery” tasted like. So I made the recipe — in the book entitled “Sugar Horns”, and lo and behold, they were the same. Victory! Over the years, I’ve made these so many times that I’ve kind of evolved them into my own thing, subbing out the walnuts for pecans, and adding finely chopped fresh rosemary to enhance the almost-savory quality of these lovelies. They are incredibly good right out of the oven, warm, with a hot cup of coffee and keep beautifully if sealed well. They look beautiful too, and one batch makes so many that they are a great choice for holiday gift giving and potlucks. Hopefully the recipe will become a closely guarded family heirloom for you, too! –Megan B. Click for Grandma B.’s Rosemary Nut Rolls! (more…)

Let’s be politically incorrect for a moment, shall we? Forget counting calories, trans fats, and whether or not you’re supposed to eat carbs. Donuts are awesome. There are no two ways about it! Donuts are also a huge pain to make from scratch. Think Geek has taken all the hard work and burning oil out of making them with their Mini Donut Factory ($20). Now indulging in the mouth-watering, melt-in-your-mouth pastries is as simple as navigating a waffle iron and as quick as four minutes. Bonus: since they aren’t deep-fried, they’re (slightly) healthier than store-bought varieties. Just don’t go all Homer Simpson on them- moderation is key! –Katie D.

I purchased our mailbox from Chiasso (and still love it) but sometimes I find their catalog a little overwhelming. They’re not very good at “editing” rooms for photos, which tend to be a nauseating hodgepodge of modern furniture that would be nice if there wasn’t so much of it in one place, plus about ten too many goofily overdesigned accessories. (Rubik’s cube salt and pepper? Giant paperclip wall art? No.) So go figure that every time I see this silver lilly headboard I dream of owning it. It’s so tacky and wrong, but something about it is just so right. I would settle for the shiny silver marie side table, too. But not that room divider-y thing with the big circles to the right — that would just be too much. — Mary T.

Our mad terrier made off with two Scrabble tiles, so we are currently without our favorite board game. Until replacement tiles arrive, I’m amusing myself by looking for other board games. Ard-ri, an ancient Scottish board game, has potential. The goal is to use the King’s guard (white) to help the King (blue) escape from the throne room before the invading army (black) reaches him. Handcrafted in Michigan by Etsy seller ancientgamecupboard, it can be yours for just $45. — Sarah L.