The weekend is here!

My dear readers, are you as excited as I am about autumn in New York? I can’t stop dreaming about pumpkin patches and apple picking and warm bowls of clam chowder. Definitely a few of my favorite things! So, I ask, what’s on tap for your weekend? I’m hoping to see The Town starring Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm — I keep hearing such good things! Here, for you, a few happy posts from the web to get your weekend started right:

Bewitching invitations for Halloween. 

Lauren Santo Domingo on the street in New York.

Country living, including a trip to Cold Spring!

In Montauk: the ocean’s varying moods.

One more post about the ocean: live vicariously and wade in!

A color palette for fall.

An ode to ballet. Which reminds me, is anyone else planning to see Natalie Portman in Black Swan?

Success in the kitchen: delectable apple and pear tarts.

A shout-out to the premiere of Modern Family. So happy you are back!

(Photos by Max Wanger via 100 Layer Cake)

Ping pong a la Susan Sarandon

New Yorkers, take my advice — the next night you have free, play ping pong at Spin, Susan Sarandon’s new club near Madison Square Park. I finally had the chance to check it out and, oh, what good times we had! Grab a bite to eat at Ducks Eatery before and prepare to hit the tables yourself by watching the pros play. The bleacher style seating next to the courts is the perfect pre-gaming decor. It’s the best way to get your adrenaline pumping before picking up a paddle to play!

The Sing Off 2: Brown Jabberwocks

It’s like an a cappella dream come true! Now that NBC’s a cappella hit The Sing-Off has been green-lighted for a second season, rumors about possible contestants are swirling around the Internet. Who has my vote? I agree with Yahoo’s “Reality Rocks” music blogger Lyndsey Parker — the Brown University Jabberwocks are it

Seeing Lyndsey’s post about their winning potential made me think back to my college days. As a member of the Wheaton College Wheatones, the Jabberwocks opened for us many a time, much to the delight of our audience members and fans. On the December night pictured above, they wowed the crowd with a little John Mayer, Prince and the most crowd-pleasing version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” I’ve ever heard. 

Straight from YouTube, check out this clip of the Jabberwocks at a recent show. Something tells me that after watching, this group will have your vote too.