Dear friends,
Why yes, I did already start decorating for autumn! We're in Florida, and we never get all of the pretty fall leaves anyway, so what difference does it make if I celebrate them a little early? I'm trying to think cool, cool, cool. Then, too, much of my spring & summer stuff has been up since January, so I want to give my fall favorites ample time before I decorate for Christmas in early December. Plus, my youngest daughter and I are about to start a home school unit study on the early colonial period, so if I put a few pilgrim figurines out, they'll fit right in.
I don't have everything out yet. I started with hanging some leaf garland that I just got at Walmart for $3, and found it wasn't nearly long enough. Then my 9 year old informed me that I had more of the same stuff in my autumn decorating bin (I had wrapped it around a berry wreath before), and voila, it did indeed match! So I had several feet of it to stretch across our foyer closets above the wooden Home Sweet Home sign. Well, once she got the bin open, we just couldn't stop ourselves from pulling everything out -- so much cute stuff!
I somehow acquired the Bless Our Home door wreath and the hallway Welcome wreath after autumn last year because I know I'd never used them before, even though they were in my bin. Where did I get them? Yard sale? Goodwill? I don't know, but they were a nice surprise! And they match!
The cardinal flag is from my mom's house. I inherited so many pretty things from her. Bittersweet, yes. I carry on her bird legacy. It is an honor.
I had two silk bouquets that were too tall for my tastes. I had used them in a door basket before I got the wreaths. The flowers looked awkward in any vase we had, so I took some wire snippers and cut the stems off of the bunches to shorten them and spread them out. (My arthritic hands weren't happy about that.)
Here we are! I bought two baskets at Goodwill for 39 cents each and filled them with the shortened silk flowers. This one is on my bedside table, and I see it the first thing when I wake up. "Give Thanks" is a great thought for morning!
My sister gave me these tall nearly faceless pilgrims when I was up in Maryland this summer. She bought them for own home at Plimoth Plantation, but had never even unwrapped them. They seem to go well enough with my cornucopia. (Ironically, there were made in China.) These are on a tall wooden cabinet in our front hallway. Underneath is a beautiful golden lap blanket that someone from my mom's church knitted for her while she was in the hospital.
I had just put a new battery in my clock and was about to put it back on the wall when I got the idea of putting a fall wreath up around it. Clever, eh? I don't remember where I got the wreath either, even though it too is a more recent addition to my collection. I just know I didn't buy it new!
I may end up rearranging my autumn decorations as I go along. This is just how I have it now. I've already been experimenting with different options.
I love to figure out new ways to use what I have and not spend a lot of money. That takes resourcefulness at times, but that's always a good skill in which to stretch myself.
Do you want to see my posts from previous years? Look here!
What is your favorite decoration here?
How do you decorate your home for autumn?
Leave a comment!
Virginia Knowles
www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com
P.S. The leaves remind me of a haiku I wrote last year:
"Autumn Breeze"
Dear Autumn Trees, please
Give me all your gorgeous
leaves.
More will grow. Love, Breeze.
Very Cute
ReplyDeleteOh what a great post. Such pretty fall things and with memories too! Thanks for sharing! And thanks for linking at the Fabulous Fall linky party!
ReplyDeleteVery, cute. I haven't put up much yet but I am working at it.
ReplyDeleteI love scarecrows!