The Arrival of Fall

Today is the official first day of Fall!! So long, summer (even though it's still in the 90s here).

I was so ready to transition the house to Autumn this year. I was so over summer colors and the odd months of August and September. I never know what to put out! I'm such a sucker for seasonal 'accents', which is why I LOVE when spring comes after a cold, dark winter, when fall finally arrives after a blazing hot summer, and then Christmas is on the heels of that.

So, without further adieu, here is our fall decor for 2010:

I love my pumpkin sign. So happy to put that back out!

The front porch. I'll be adding some mums and real pumpkins in the next couple of weeks.

This is my third year to use this wreath my mom made. It still looks pretty good!

Now, let's go inside....

Welcome! 

I switched things up here from years past. These are all things I had, except for the branches, so it was nice to do some recycling and just 'shop the house.'

I can't remember where this wooden pumpkin came from, but I sure do love it! Next to it, I just arranged some cream candles on top of fake leaves in a tray.

Ok, I'm quite proud of myself here! I knew I wanted something branchy, twiggy and airy, so I made this arrangement myself. I had the vase in the living room already, and bought the branches half-off at Michael's...

I put a Styrofoam block down in the vase, stuck in the branches, and then added some moss filler. I had some colorful leaves, nuts and random pieces from some potpourri that I stuck in for some extra color.

I stayed with the same thing as last year in the dining room because I liked it so much! No need to reinvent the wheel here.

The mantle was a total re-do. Last year, I didn't do anything special to it, so this time around, I was ready to step it up. I went to one of my favorite cheap decor stores, Garden Ridge, and got all of the accessories for a steal!

Garden Ridge had all of these matching ceramic pieces in a variety of shapes and sizes, and each piece was $5 at most. I knew I could use them year-round, so I scooped 'em up! The branches in the pitcher came from Michael's at half-price, too!

The Ridge also had some cheap feaux pumpkins, and bundles of fall stuff (like acorns, mini gords, leaves, etc.), so I got a few of those as filler.

I got out my colorful wooden pumpkins, and added a new pillow from Pier 1 to a chair.

I also added our warm, cozy blanket and some soft burnt orange pillows to the couch. It totally transformed the room!

My big bowl of magazines is overflowing lately, I've got some reading to do!

I'm so happy with the way our house looks right now. I just want to cozy up every day after work with a glass of wine and light a fall candle. Here's to the weather getting cooler soon!!

Thanks for stopping by :)