Tis the Season

I finished up my Fall decorating over the weekend and I thought I would show you around today.  When it comes to decorating I don't do anything complicated and I try to spend very little dough.  It's sometimes surprising how thrifty you can be when you try. 

Here's our front porch area.

I made this wreath on Saturday.  It's just a grapevine wreath from Hobby Lobby, some stems I picked up there also, and a bow I purchased at a Farmer's Market.  I'm challenged when it comes to making bows so I purchased this one pre-made.  

My kids think I should take the flowers all the way around the wreath.  I had planned to only go this far.  What do you think?    

The dining room...

Would you believe I scored this tablecloth for three bucks?  I found it at KOHLS.  The original price was $25.99 but it was on sale for $12.99.  I had a $10 off coupon good on anything in the store.  My coupon brought the price down to $2.99 and with tax I paid $3.27!

These stems are from Hobby Lobby again.  My mother in law gave me the cool light up branches and I just love them.  I got the metal can for $10.  It was originally $19.99 at Hobby Lobby but was on sale 50 percent off.  (Have I mentioned I *heart* Hobby Lobby???)  I really like the chalkboard part on the front of the can.  You could write any sort of clever thing there. 

This is the area in the foyer I show you in pretty much every decorating post.  That's because I change it out a little bit for each holiday season.  

I picked up this little Halloween flag for a couple of dollars last summer when all things Halloween were very cheap.  

I didn't do a whole lot in the kitchen but I did put out a pumpkin tablecloth.  I prefer vinyl in the kitchen.  With six kids it's just too hard to have a cloth tablecloth on the table where we are constantly eating.  

Lastly, I'll show you the fireplace mantle in the family room - another little spot I change frequently.  I've gotten hooked on banners.  You've probably noticed that.  

Do you enjoy decorating for Fall?  Where's your favorite area to add some seasonal cheer?

Ringing in Autumn

It's finally Fall, y'all!  Are you as thrilled as I am that the Autumn season is here?  I won't tell you how many Pumpkin Spice lattes I've already had. 

We celebrated Fall's arrival with a trip to the Apple Orchard.  Oh.my.goodness.  We loved it!  (We visited Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, Georgia if anyone is interested.)

Only six of us could go.  Our oldest had class and our second oldest had to work.  I was thankful that my honey had the day off of work and was able to go with us.  We really enjoyed our day.  We picked sooo many apples!

Not only did we pick a lot of apples, we ate a lot of apples!

She thinks this should be her new nickname.

We enjoyed the tractor ride out into the orchard as much as we enjoyed picking our apples.  I kept thinking about the beauty of this place which led me to thinking about Heaven.  God's world is so incredibly beautiful.  Can you imagine what Heaven must look like?  I can't imagine! 

Thanks to our special trip yesterday we had Apple Donuts for breakfast, and I'm right now making applesauce in my crock-pot.  We've even got an Apple Pie tucked away in the pantry to enjoy tonight for dessert after church. 

I will post my {very easy} applesauce recipe tomorrow.  In the meantime, please tell me how you and your family are ringing in the Autumn Season.  

November - The Thanking Month

Ahh...November, you're here my friend.  I love your crisp mornings and your cool nights.  I love your bold colors and your scent.  I love you most for reminding us all how much we have to be thankful for.  It isn't that we aren't thankful all year long.  It's that November draws our hearts and minds to a place of remembering.  We remember our blessings and our gifts in a special way.

How does your family give thanks?  Over the years we have made posters and lists, a Thankfulness Tree, and we've filled jars with slips of paper.  This year I decided we would hang pumpkins on our clothesline in the hallway.  We'll write the things we are thankful for on our pumpkins and display them for reminding.

 I also picked up some place cards for our Thanksgiving dinner table where we can write our thankfuls down.

I'd be so very grateful if you would share with me what you do with your kiddos in November to encourage their thankfulness.  Send me an email or leave it in the comment section.

I know I'm super late to the fall decorating party but I finally have some pictures to share.  The month of October was crazy busy around our house - much busier than I thought it would be.  I intended to get a fall decor post up before now but it just wasn't happening.

Want to see something funny?

This was the first picture I took of my scarecrow on the porch.

Notice the window.  

Crazy boy.

I can't guarantee you will hear from me again this week.  One of my sons is having surgery tomorrow so we will have to see how everything goes.  I will be back when things are calm around our house again.  Oh, maybe I shouldn't have put that.  That might be never.  I'll be back soon!

Dinner and Dessert

Hi, All!

I don't usually go a week without posting, but then again, I don't usually have a week like I've just had.  I'm hoping for a completely uneventful week for at least the next seven days.  Here's to boring!  (Please.)

I have a couple of my favorite things to make in the fall to share with you today.  Two recipes in one post, you know, to make up for the fact I've been MIA.  

My kitchen has been warm and cozy this week, cause even when things are scary, crazy, overwhelming, you still have to eat.  Right??

Taco Soup

My family loves when I make this because it's sooo tasty.  I love it when I make this because it's sooo easy.  Oh, and we love anything that goes well with chips and salsa!  Most everyone makes taco soup.  This is my spin on it.

• Brown 1 lb ground beef and drain.  ( I cook my ground beef with chopped green pepper and chopped onion.)  Pour in large crock-pot.
• Add 1 can Pinto beans, 1 can Black beans, 1 can Kidney beans, 1 can Mexican corn, 2 cans chopped tomatoes, and 1 envelope of Taco Seasoning.  
• I like my soups to cook all day in my crock-pot but all that you really have to do with this is heat until bubbly.  (It's perfectly fine to make it on your stove top, I just have a love affair with my crock-pot.)
• Serve with a dollop of Sour Cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips.  Mmm Mmm good!

And for dessert...

Pumpkin Muffins

We love, love, love us some Pumpkin Muffins.  We eat these for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert!  If you stop by our house during the month of October I can almost guarantee there are some Pumpkin Muffins in a large plastic container somewhere in my pantry.  I've already made four batches and we're just getting started.  If you want to get the party started at your house, here's what you'll need.

• Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 cup canned pumpkin (100 % pumpkin)
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves

I always add a little more than 1 cup of pumpkin.  I usually put the whole can in.  What is that, a 15 oz can?  I think so.  I also don't measure the spices when I dump them in and I'm certain I'm putting more than the recipe calls for. We like it like that.  Mix up for 2 minutes.  Bake according to the directions on the cake mix box.

Oh, and one more thing...

We eat ours like this.  A little whipped cream makes them p-e-r-f-e-c-t!

October Rag Wreath

I was so inspired by the Fall Rag Wreath Katie from Fun Home Things made...

I decided to make one myself.  I wanted a wreath I could hang on our front door in October so I went in a black and orange direction and added some lavender and green.

I found these fabrics at Hobby Lobby.  I just loooove these cute owls!

I cut my fabric into strips (approximately 1 1/2 inches x 10 inches).  I used about 1.25 yards of each fabric.

Then I tied them onto an 18 inch wire wreath form.

I will say this project took a while, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

So, what do you think??

This post is linked up with sixsistersstuff.com and A Wise Woman Builds Her Home