Decorating the House for Fall

This is the second year in a row that I've missed decorating for Halloween.  I had plenty of time in mid-September and mentioned to Kyle a few times that I should get down the Fall/Halloween decorations and get crafty.  "It's too early," he'd say.  Or "nooooooooo....I don't want to think about it getting so cold!"  Okay, maybe that last one was me.  But anyway...

The point is I thought about doing it early (just like last year).  And we decided it was TOO early (just like last year).  So Halloween won't be celebrated, unfortunately (just like last year).  I knew I'd get really busy since the end of the nine weeks fall smack in the middle of October (just like last year).  So, instead, I decided to be early for once in my life and just skip straight to Thanksgiving (just like last year).

Normally I would do base fall decorating with leaves and pinecones and other autumn-y stuff.  Then I'd put the Halloween stuff sort of front and center but easily moveable to make way for Thanksgiving items.  Didn't have to worry about that this time.  Also, I have about a million strands of fall leaves that I normally put above my kitchen cabinets during fall time.  Didn't do that, either.  During the rest of the year I have this evergreen/gold stuff on top that is really for Christmas but I leave it up because it looks okay throughout the rest of the year since it matches our wall colors.  Without anything up there, you can tell that our house isn't level!  

I decided, though, for the sake of my sanity now and a month from now that I'd just leave the other stuff above my cabinets.  It seriously takes an hour to change it!  Positioning things just right and opening/closing all the cabinets to make sure nothing catches...plus I have to stand on the cabinets but since we don't have high ceilings I sort of have to hunch over.  Needless to say, I'm always in a bad mood after changing out the decor on top of the cabinets.  Seemed easier to just go without.

I love decorating for a new season, and I love shopping for seasonal decorations.  You all know me, though...I look for them on the cheap.  Many of the things I got for fall were either highly discounted or from Goodwill.  I never pay over $5.00 for anything seasonal in my house, simply because I don't keep it out to look at all year.  It's always a nice surprise when I open my boxes from the attic because I always forget what I have.  For about a week afterward, I sit around and revel in the fact that my house looks so good.  Then it gets dirty and I get used to the new decorations.  *Sigh.  

I wish I had a robot to clean my house for me.  But that's another blog post entirely.

Here are the decorating results:

Did I ever mention we had to get ANOTHER bookcase to hold all our movies?!  Yes, we're that ridiculous.

Plate I made last year!  Still love it this year (even though I chipped it when I packed it away last winter).  The turkey and pinecone package?  Goodwill find for like under $1 apiece.

My greatest secret about with the china cabinet?  We have a plastic Jack o'Lantern at the top.  Turn it around, and you have a pumpkin for the whole fall season!  Scarecrow, autumn sign, and little pumpkin beanie on the middle shelf?  Goodwill!

This was the most fun to decorate because we didn't have any of this stuff last year.  I love trying new ideas!  Scarecrows are from...you guessed it...Goodwill.  I rigged together the pot-idea with leftover wedding supplies.

Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that I put my old bedroom dresser in the dining room?  Great storage and I LOVE decorating it!  Scarecrow on the dresser and on the countertop in the background are from Goodwill. And so is the wreath you can see a little of on the kitchen door.

This is new, too.  I wanted something different for the table...nothing big and complicated.  So I rigged up this bouquet of leaves in a terra cotta pot left over from our wedding decorations.  I love it!  Leaf bouquet pieces are from...well, I don't even need to fill it in for you.

Well, house decorating is done for another month!  Our Thanksgiving decorations always have a "putting away" date, unlike all the other season's decor.  No matter what, we ALWAYS decorate for Christmas the first Sunday of the Christmas season after we get home from church.  My and Kyle's tradition.  These decorations get to outlive Thanksgiving by three days only!

I love fall...and I love the holidays!  We're getting close to my favorite time of  year!  The holidays seem to go so quickly, though.  I wish I could just pause fall!