Monthly Faves : October

After seeing that red holiday banner covered in snowflakes at the top of my posts for an entire week, I'm happy to post something more seasonally appropriate! Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a festive weekend. I attended a costume party dressed as this (because it fit all of my "I'm not really a fan of Halloween" costume requirements: easy, cheap and minimal effort), and I was surprised at the number of people who had no idea who/what I was. Oh well.


• One of the best things I've read this month-- A Stress-free Manifesto, for those who are sometimes a wee bit skeptical of those bold calls to action to LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE, RIGHT NOW, TIME'S A-WASTING!
• Free worthwhile e-books: The Shy Photographer's Guide to Confidence {although I think it's applicable to all creatives, not just photogs!} and How To Be Beautiful, about quality online design {subscribe required}.
• Amusing: Anthroparodie. Because some of their stuff {and their styling} is just ridiculous, am I right?
• Want to know how to add the "Pin It" button to the bottom of your blog posts?
• Speaking of Pinterest, How (Not!) To Suck At Pinterest. In a nutshell: Stop pinning artists' and Etsians' original work as DIY/Make This/"So easy!" SUCH a pet peeve of mine.
• Pretty fall editions of online mags: Styled and Sweet Paul.
• A interesting extension of Occupy Wallstreet that turns dollar bills into infographics as a means to educate people.


• One Day on Earth is the coolest concept-- 24 hours of the same day captured on film in every country in the world.
• Crocheters, this documentary short of Helen Rodel's process is worth a watch.
• Oh good grief, I can't imagine my life without videos of cats and dogs on YouTube.
• Forwards Backwards through NYC.
• I think Jello is a vile substance, but this sure makes it beautiful.
• In the spirit of Halloween, check out this slideshow of haunted house goers caught on camera mid-scream. Hilarious. But also anxiety-inducing, because I HATE haunted houses.


• The single "Little Numbers" by girl-duo BOY is one seriously catchy tune.
• As is this one from Radical Face. But I'm a sucker for some hand-claps.
• Two fall playlists that are worth a listen. I especially love Lulu's, and since you can only listen to samples on iTunes, I re-created their playlist here. {The only change: I had to swap out Feist song's since they have an iron fist on sharing tunes from the new album.}
• Stereomood is an interesting music site concept that picks music for you based on the mood you select.


• I think there are more than enough DIY's from last week to fill the "Do" category: DIY gifts for Kiddos, Ladies, Gents, The Home and Foodies.
• Craftyminx is so awesome for offering Crochet School for those wanting to learn or improve their crocheting. There are lessons, videos (right and left handed), quizzes and even homework to help you along the way.
• 60 Years of Memories is such a clever and touching gift for someone, especially those who are particularly nostalgic and/or letter lovers.
• I will be making these soon: Five spice cider buttermilk pop tarts. They look like they taste like fall in pastry form.
• I'm addicted to these online games: Traveler IQ Challenge for travelbugs, and Kern Type for the design nerd.

And three bonus "anti-faves," all hailing from the media/advertising industry {which is what I studied in college-- I'm so glad to be done with that field}: 
• The latest hot demographic for marketers is the infant to three year old segment. Gross.
• Notice anything oddly similar about every single magazine cover featuring Adele? And Melissa McCarthy for that matter? {Just compare that to every other magazine covers shown in the sidebar on the blog...}
•A campaign for Skinny Water {first of all: WHAT?} that tells women, "Skinny always gets the attention."

Monthly Faves is a series featuring my favorite links and bits around the interwebs.