Fall Decorating Inspiration

 

I absolutely love decorating during the Fall. 

I have slowly started a collection of decoration for the season over the years.  The best thing about the Fall though, is that you can pull so many things from nature.  Leaves, sticks, acorns and grasses.

I pulled these inspiration photos from Pinterest.

A Few Updates

Day 3 of 31 Days

Sometimes adding the littlest touches can change a room so much.  I love to change out the pillows on our sofa with the seasons.  It's an easy, inexpensive update and can make the room feel new. I have a chalkboard behind the sofa I change the wording on every once in a while and something that small makes a big difference!

I promised Adam I would keep this project on a serious budget and I've been pretty good!

While I'm at it, I figured I would point out a few things I've done on a super budget that may inspire you to do some little updates for yourself around your home!

Before a Few New Pillows

 

I have a collection of down pillow inserts in my attic so I didn't have to spend money there which is nice.  Little tip...I used to buy the worlds ugliest clearance pillows at TJ Maxx or Home Goods just for the inserts. 

We Interrupt...

Today's regularly scheduled programming (also known as 31 Days Post) ...

To Wish a Happy Happy Birthday to my best friend, my baby daddy, my partner in crime, the cheese to my macaroni...Mr. Adam Harvey. 

Baby,

Your birthday is my Christmas.  I love the day you were born. 

You get so much better with age. 

I can't imagine anyone more fun to grow old with.

Love you.

Moving Furniture

It's only day two of The Nester's 31 Days (maybe day three for those of you that started ahead of me) and I am already so excited about what this 31 Days of "Fall"ing back in love with our house is doing for me.

Our living room furniture has changed a lot over the years but the lay out has stayed relatively the same.  It always seems just when the time is right my husband starts speaking my language.  The language of furniture re arranging that is. 

No one is claiming this is the best use of space.  But it works for us.  If there was a word I would use to describe the feel I am going for in our home it would be "COZY" and I think that's just what we've achieved here. 

BEFORE

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

 

 

I really love the way we moved everything around.  The chair and a half was my parents and they were trying to get rid of it and these days comfort/function trumps space saving.  It's a Mitchell Gold piece and so comfortable!  On Friday nights we push the coffee table up against the wall and make a giant pallet on the floor and have movie night. 

 

I have my eye on a pair of new lamps for the buffet table so I'll do a re post if I buy them!

 

 

31 Days...

I honestly went back and forth for days on whether or not I was going to link up with The Nester and her 31 Days Posts this year.  I've always wanted to do it but wondered what I would ever write about for 31 days.  It's a commitment y'all.  Then I was sitting around the other day and it came to me. 

A little back story first.  Our house has been on the market twice in a year.  We really felt like we were ready to move somewhere new.  We didn't know if it was to a new city or just to a new house but we were having an urge to just get out of this house.  Maybe it was the one bathroom? I don't know.

So, if your house has ever been for sale, you may very well know, the first thing your real estate agent asks you to do is "de personalize" your home.  Family photos have to go, your nick knacks go straight in to boxes and you can forget about spending time to do any extra decorating because what's the point? You're moving!

Until you aren't.  Just like we felt like it was time to go, the more weekends we spent in the car looking for a new place to call home, the more we were drawn right back to where we started.  Here. Except we had emotionally disconnected from this house and it was a mere shell of the home I had worked so hard on for the past seven years of us living here.

There's something about the fall that draws me in back in to this house.  Maybe it's because it's my favorite season to decorate.  I always beef up on my DIY projects this time of year.  It's almost like I set us up to hibernate here for the winter.  It may be the feeling that I need to be in love with this house again for my boys to feel comfortable here.  It's part of my mom guilt.  Whatever it is, I figured this 31 days will be the perfect opportunity to bring this place back from the dead and back to our home.  I'm dusting off all those old family photos, I'm getting my groove back in the house wares department and I'm falling back in love with this house this fall.  HAPPY 31 DAYS!



Visiting the Cemetery

I

We took Aidan to the cemetery to show him where his Great Grandfather was buried.

It's a crazy thing trying to explain death and heaven and the concept of being buried.  It's even harder to explain that we believe life goes on after death and in our hearts we believe Grandpa is in the greatest of places.  But we're talking through it everyday and it helps he's in religion classes everyday and we've started back to church.  

Speaking of church, after Mass this morning Aidan took it upon himself to totally blind side our priest in a group of people and tell him his Great Grandfather had passed away.  All I can say is Thank God for Father Franks quick, sweet words and ability to easily speak to children otherwise we could have been there awhile.  

But I've totally gone off track.  Back to the cemetery. We took Aidan to the cemetery.  When we first walked over to the grave, I could tell Adam was a little weepy.  And rightfully so.  Totally unprompted Aidan clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at Adam and said "he was a good man".  To which Adam replied "yes, he was" before we all broke out in laughter. It was the sweetest thing and just what we needed. 

Adam's Great Grandmother is also buried in the same spot.  The flowers that were in one of the vases looked like they had been there since she passed away in the late 70s and the cement vases were literally crumbling.  

I made a call to the office at the cemetery, had them replaced and ran out and put together two small arrangements to spruce the place up for the fall. 

It was fun to do with Aidan and it gave us a chance to hear stories about Adam's childhood with his Grandfather.  He was more of a Dad than a grandfather so he had some good tales to tell.  And I know Adams Grandmother was touched we spent the time out there.  

Any day is a good day when I'm with my three boys but this was a really special Saturday morning.  

(Not a silk flower fan at all but that's the name of the game around these parts. Wait til' you see what I've got cookin' for a Christmas arrangement) 

Kellan 9 Months

Our munchkin is creeping up on his first birthday in December!  He turned 9 months old on the 12th!  And has officially been out of the womb longer than he was in.   He truly is the sweetest, happiest baby.  Just like his big brother was. 

He now has 3 teeth, walks around when he can hold on to something (ie coffee table), gives us nice open mouth kisses, calls "MA MA" when he wants my attention, waves "bye bye" and spells his name in five languages.  Only one part of that is a fib.   He could possibly be walking any day.  When he is tired or shy he nuzzles his head right in to our shoulders and it's the cutest thing!

We have been so lucky that he has been completely healthy because we are in between pediatricians and he hasn't been to the Dr. in months.   Hence the reason I have no idea how much he weighs or how tall he is now.   Although since he is so mobile, he is thinning out.  I don't think the word "thin" will be used to describe him anytime soon but he is dropping a few lbs.

He scares us to death every day when he eats.  It feels like he chokes on EVERYTHING.  I may have stated that before in a post.  He loves food (can ya tell)  but we are so limited on what I will actually feed him because I am so terrified he is going to choke. 

He is dying to be on the go with his big brother.   Everything Aidan does, Kellan wants to do.  Typical of siblings.  Luckily, Aidan LOVES his baby brother.  He welcomes him in to his room and lets him play with his toys daily, picks him up and kisses him when he gets home from school, they snuggle up on the sofa and Aidan will watch a movie while Kellan just stares in awe of his brother.  It's pretty much the cutest sibling relationship ever.  I hope they are this in to each other forever.  Adam and I really have tried to foster it but is has been easy because they just naturally love one another to death.  The squeal Kellan lets out every time he sees Aidan is amazing.  

We are just so crazy about this baby. 

We love you Kellan.