Fall Table-Scape

I'm a little late with sharing my Fall-inspired tablescape (isn't that the best word ever?), but it's been so fun to see every day that I just had to share it anyway!

I'm all about simple and cheap decorating, and this was both. The mini pumpkins were less than $5 for all of them, the candle was also less than $5 at Wal-Mart and smells AMAZING, and everything else I already had on hand.

We had a Halloween party at our house this weekend, and this also fit right in with that. So nice and easy!

Speaking of Fall and Halloween- it's been the BEST Fall. We have packed in so much goodness in these short months, and my Autumn-loving heart is happy. We had a get-together for my dad's birthday which culminated in a pumpkin carving party! So fun. 

Evie was a ladybug for Halloween. I had wanted to make her a costume, but then we found this on sale at Jo Anne fabrics and it was just meant to be! 

Then for a Halloween Party at our house, I had fun re-creating the "floating candles" from the Harry Potter movies. These pictures don't do it justice unfortunately, but it was a really fun effect! It took forever to make the candles and hang them from the ceiling, but it was so worth it. If anyone is interested, here's how I did it: bought "faux" lighted tealights (24 pack) from Jo Annes (the batteries are supposed to last 100 hours!), wrapped cardstock around them to create different sized candlesticks, and used hot glue to make "wax drips" on the sides, then hung them from the ceiling using fishing line and white thumbtacks. This is one instance where I was actually thankful for our popcorn ceiling! It hides the tiny thumbtack holes really well. =)

Everyone dressed up for the party, I was so glad! I didn't ask if I could share photos of the other costumes, so I'll just share ours. I was "Little Miss Muffet" and Josh was supposed to be Ron Swanson, but at the last minute he decided to be a Russian soldier. =) Boys. 

How was YOUR Halloween?

Fall Camping

I've been dreaming of going on a Fall camping trip for a few years now, and we finally made it happen! I thought that just maybe it would be the best way to camp, since the main things I hate about camping (bugs, mosquitoes, hot tents, general stickiness) have to do with Summer. Sure enough, Fall camping turned out to be absolutely wonderful.

We originally planned to bring Evie with us, but then realized it would probably get too cold at night for her. So she had a fun night at Grandma and Grandpa's instead! 

  

We only stayed one night because we had other weekend plans too, and I wish we could have stayed longer! Friday night we enjoyed dinner, tea and coffee, and dessert around the campfire, as well as a gorgeous midnight walk.  

                                                      My sister Elsie and her husband Kyle came with us, and my other sister Morna and her husband David just came to hang out for dinner on Friday. The guys had fun using their hatchets to chop the firewood. 

It got pretty cold that night, I don't know the exact temperature but I do know that it was at least as cold as our refrigerator! The butter that we left out overnight was still as hard as rock in the morning!

Originally I thought it would be fun to try and make it a "glamping" trip, but the only thing I ended up doing was bringing a few mason jars for candles. Oh well. 

We brought the air mattress too; definitely better than sleeping pads on the cold ground.

In the morning, we had sourdough french toast, sausage, and coffee over the fire. It was SO delicious. There's just something about being outside and cooking over a campfire that makes everything taste a million times better than normal!

We made up a great game too, called "which one of these sausages doesn't belong?" It's amazing how creative you can be without a television. 

So, the Fall camping trip was a total success. I loved being surrounded by the colors of Autumn and feeling that delicious little chill in the air. Next year we will have to do it again, and maybe I'll even have time to make it more glamorous! 

Have you ever been camping in the Fall? Do you even like camping at all? I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. =)

Fall-ified

With the cooler weather we've been having, I decided it was about time to change some of the decor in our house to keep up with the Fall-ish feeling in the air. I had fun shopping with my mom at a few craft stores to find some items that would lend an Autumnal feeling to our decor. I found the bouquet at Michaels and thought it would look perfect with my little owl collection.

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of "fake" anything, but let's face it, I don't have a backyard to scrounge around for twigs and leaves and such, so fake is all I got. I look for decorations that have some natural elements in them, like the "flowers" below that are partially dried, with faux-stems.

I couldn't resist a couple bags of leaves as well, they are so fun and colorful and fit this vase perfectly. 

My little owl from Anthropologie (below) got to come out of hiding and be the star of this vignette atop our pie cupboard. I love the fanciful colors and the fact that her head comes off so you can store stuff inside! Hehe.

I also added some branches to the arrangement on the table to fill it out and add more of a natural element.

In the living room, I brought out some candles (because nothing says "Fall" like candles, right? Unless, that is, you are lucky enough to have a fireplace...) and some sprigs of fall-ish things. 

I really love the orangey-red colors and the miniature pumpkins. So cute! 

The orange really works in our living room since we already have some orange in there as an accent color. Perfect!

Also, you may have noticed that the wall above our couch is sadly barren. The shelf we had up there was starting to tilt forward too much, and I worried that someone was going to get smacked on the head by falling objects. So, the shelf had to go. We are living with the clean, wide-open expanse of wall for a while until we fund something that will work well there. Any suggestions? 

So there is our home, Fall-ified. As you can see, I really like to keep it simple. What's your favorite way to decorate for the season?

Lesson Learned

The other day, I arrived home from work to see this lovely tree right outside my house had turned a bright, fiery red. I thought "I better take some pictures of that."

Then I though, "In fact, I will take some right now!"

So I did.

The very next day, I woke up in the morning and the tree was about 60% less leafy, thanks to a blustery storm front that came through.

The moral of the story? Don't procrastinate when taking pictures of leaves.


Also: Fall comes and goes MUCH too quickly for my taste!

Fall

Fall is a pretty wondrous time of year. Leaves are turning, and the air is turning cool and crisp. I can pull out all my cozy sweaters and start wearing them again...

When I was growing up, one of the biggest signals of Fall's arrival was my mother. Seriously, before one leaflet fell off the big oak tree in our yard, she was bundling us kiddos up and dragging us to the Apple Orchard. We would fill up our bellies with warm apple cider, apple donuts, and apple turnovers, then take a hayride through the orchard to see the trees dripping with ripe fruit.

During the Fall, my family's home became a shrine to the season. Bright orange, yellow and red accessories vaporized from seemingly nowhere. Leaves, real and fake, graced every available surface of the house. We even had a cornucopia.

The most magnificent smells would waft through the air: pumpkin bread, spiced cider, apple pie, everything signaled the arrival of Fall.

Now that I have my own home to take care of, I can see why my Mom chose Fall as her favorite season. I love pulling out accessories that give off a Fall-ish vibe, and baking yummy things that fill the house with the scent of Fall. I love having family and friends over to sip hot coffee and chat over good food, and visiting the Apple Orchard. Fall reminds me that no matter how hectic life gets, there is always a place to call Home.

Oh hey Fall, it's you again!

Yup, Fall is here again.

And with it comes that inexpressible joy that bubbles up every time a crunchy leaflet falls to the ground.

I love Fall.

I love hot apple cider with mulling spices on the stove, warm wool-y sweaters to wrap up in, thick layers of socks, bonfires on cool, crisp evenings, trips to the Apple Orchard. Just thinking about it is getting me all excited!

So, to celebrate these first Fallish days, I pulled together a new look for our little "mantle" above the couch.


I finally found the perfect spot for these fantastic plastic wall thingies!


My owls are right at home near this stack of books! Aren't owls supposed to be avid readers or something? I thought I heard that somewhere...

(P.S. this owl has a hollow tummy that fits a tealight, and it makes his eyes light up! Teehee. Perfect for freaking out the hubby when Halloween comes around...).

I think my favorite part of this little vignette is the picture:


I got this from my MIL- I believe it used to belong to Josh's great-grandma.

So there's a little sneak peak at what's happening around here. How about you? What is your favorite season?

Fall

It's that time of year when the leaves are falling, the days are getting shorter, and I can't stop drinking hot beverages. I also can't believe how fast the time is going. It seems like yesterday I was saying my marriage vows, and suddenly I have a home and a husband and an urgent need to decorate.

All my life I have dreamed of having my own home to decorate and entertain in. Now that it's a reality, I can't decide whether or not to be overjoyed or freaked out. It's almost Christmas! I barely have my house put together, and now I have to find some way to make it look festive! OK, I will stop panicking. It is, after all, only the 2nd of November. Most (sane) people don't start decorating until after Thanksgiving, right?


Of course, I will be turning to my trusty friend Goodwill. She never lets me down. My latest obsession, if you will, is milk glass. I'm not a milk glass expert, I just know what I like and what I don't like. This is what I like:


A pretty little arrangement of milk glass on an antique trunk behind a vintage couch. Can it get any better?