Come on in! {Fall stuff}

I would love to invite you all over for a cup of coffee and an afternoon chat, but since I can't actually do that, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of things you might see laying around my house right now. 

I have always loved to decorate.  I credit my mom for this hobby of mine, and I am glad that this is one thing that I inherited from her.  ( I did NOT inherit her green thumb or talent for sewing.)  My sisters are all really good at this hobby as well, and my niece, and I love that it's something we share.  Have you ever enjoyed looking at other people's homes?  I have.  I am never ashamed to walk around someone's house, if it's my first time to visit them.  I'm always looking for inspiration.

I mainly decorate with seasonal things, and I like to blend nature with something pretty or whimsical.  For instance, I've used sticks to decorate my mantle before.  I did this last year, but I didn't save the sticks.  We brought them in from the backyard, and treated them for bugs, then sprayed a sealant on them to make them shine.  Unfortunately, I forgot about all that we did for those sticks last year, and I threw them away.  I also love signs, so you'll see a lot of them in my home, and I love candles.  They're a great way to add a little touch of coziness to a room, and I love the scents they put off. 

I may not decorate for each season, but I always keep things laying around for the season we're currently in.  And I keep my fireplace mantle lights up all year long, because they make my heart so happy.

See?  All year long.  I love the glow they give at night, when we're in the living room.

The things you see will stay in place until Thanksgiving night.  That's when tradition kicks in, and we come home from my mom's house, pull out all the Christmas stuff, and deck the halls.  That is my favorite and best time of year!  The cute pumpkin above is a new addition this year.  I love it so much!  I got this from my favorite shop in town, C.J. Lilly, on the town square.  The sign on the left side of the mantle is one I got from Hobby Lobby last year, and I still love it.   

I made the banner above, because I needed to practice for making another one, and I like it so much that I kept it there.  I remember my mom telling me that no matter a color scheme in a room, every room needs a touch of black.  Perhaps that's why I like it there.  I also love the contrast of that with the white fireplace. 

How precious is Twinkles in her cozy little bed?  We keep it up on the fireplace hearth because we have dogs that love to torture her.  They pretty much leave her alone when she's in her home. 

I keep these red containers on the fireplace all year as well.  Inside of them are candles, in case our lights ever go out.  My mom gave me these three pumpkins years and years ago, from a shop she used to work in.  I found them again this year!  I really need to get more organized in the attic, so I can better keep up with things.

I have had this pumpkin scarecrow thing since the boys were little.  I'm pretty sure it came from my sister Lisa.  Most things in my house came from her or my mom. 

See how simple?  I just have these little things that I place around what I have in place all year.  Even the grocery store has tiny pumpkins that you can buy very inexpensively.  I like to keep a mum or two on the front porch, as well, along with a cute door hanger.  I didn't get pictures of those, though. 

These little pumpkin people are something my mom gave me years ago, and though I love them, my kids think they're creepy. 

I love this little potted plant.  I recently moved it from the kitchen to the table by my chair in the living room, and I love it there.  I do that all the time~I re-purpose things in my home. 

I try to keep things simple and I tend to not get stuck on trends.  Trends fade as quickly as they come, and by keeping things simple, it never goes out of style.  (Things like little flowers in pots, pumpkins, cute signs...)  I developed this mindset way before the days of Pinterest, but thanks to that lovely time sucker, you have so many ways to make things, or get from outdoors. 

I also don't really have things out that are Halloween.  I do have those types of things that I've used in the past, but now that they boys are older, I mainly use just my fall decorations.  This is partly because I tend to be lazy and don't want to make the trek up the attic stairs.  I'm terrified of heights, and I hate going up there! 

That's about it, as far as decorating goes, but I do have this other tradition that I do every single October, and it's from Courtney Joseph, over at Women Living Well.  She used to have this tradition each year called Make Your Home A Haven, and it was so beautiful and simple.  I loved it for that reason, and all it involved was lighting a candle each day in the month, praying and asking the Lord for peace to abound in your home.  I did this for years, and loved it, but this year, she switched things up a bit.  Instead of only doing that, she incorporated a bible reading plan, called Rest And Release (#RestAndRelease). 

It's so simple!  Just read each day's plan, and journal.  I started this yesterday, and I used to HEAR method.  Highlight, Explain, Apply, Respond. 

I love to make things pretty, so I used a regular ole spiral notebook and some fun decorate tape.  This is what I got from that passage of scripture, and I thought I'd share it so that you can see how simple this method is, and how to go about it.  I've also used the SOAP method, which is Scripture, Observe, Apply, Pray.  It's all basically the same.  Anyone can join in this online community of women doing this in October.  Use hashtags when you post, like these: #RestAndRelease #WomenLivingWell

And that's all.  I still lit a candle, but I do that most days. 

I hope this inspires you to read the Word of God this morning, and to make your home warm and inviting. 

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.