The Homemade Oasis: Happy (almost) Fall...Y'all

While autumn's official first day isn't until the 22nd, today is the first day that feels like fall. It's cool, crisp and over cast. With a high of 59 and mid day rain showers, I believe today is the day to welcome back all things autumn...riding boots, down vests and cozy plaid flannel...warm soups, stews, chili and mugs of steaming cider. I am ready.

In honor of fall's unofficial welcome back I thought I'd share some of our autumnal decor. I have very few fall decorations, mostly because I like to keep the storage of such things to a minimum. What I do have is not overly "Halloween-y" but rather simply fall decor that can easily transition from Halloween to Thanksgiving...no need to do separate decorating for both holidays. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Most of my decorations come from the produce department at the grocery store. You can find so many gourds in beautiful shapes and colors that will look beautiful on your mantle now and taste delicious in a soup later. The good Lord certainly makes the best seasonal decorations and they are so practical and frugal. Yay.

I also like to shop the house. Metal containers with a pretty patina, mason jars, baskets and wooden crates all make great additions to fall vignettes. If you need to add height to a table scape try a book or a whole stack of them. Cover books with brown craft paper (or simply an old brown grocery sack) to make them blend with your decor.

While there will certainly be more pretty pumpkins and gorgeous gourds to grace our mantle and tables in the weeks to come, here's what we've got so far...

I just love this quote. What would the world be with out Octobers?

Our "mantle"

Note the patinaed silver bucket...snagged for $2.99 at the Goodwill and it actually hides tiny doll house pieces for the doll house that sits on the trunk below (see previous picture)...score one for form and function!