Fall Tablescape...a place to gather

After finishing my fall mantel shown in my last post, I decided to carry over the theme of white pumpkins and pinecones onto my dining room table…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the mix of textures from the combination of pinecones, burlap table runner and white linen table cloth. Remember the brass plate chargers I found at a favorite thrift store, and shared about here? They look so pretty layered with white plates and mini white pumpkins…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The three larger white pumpkins started out as regular orange ones, but with a couple of coats of white chalk paint they have a whole new look…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the dining room table is set, and ready for fall…my favorite time to gather with family and friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 Sharing at...House of Hepworths

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Pumpkins & Pinecones…

Since first posting about my Fall Mantel here…I decided to change it up after finally finding some white mini pumpkins at the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the look of mixing White Pumpkins & Pinecones…

 

 

 

 

I found the above stems called Broomcorn at my local Trader Joe’s. Even though I now have one kid away in college, and one gone all day in high school, I seem to always have my other “helper” close at hand…

Curious?

 

 

 

 

If you can’t find larger white pumpkins in your area…you can simply paint an orange one with white chalk paint like I did…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I had a few mini white pumpkins and pinecones left over…I added them to a vase and placed them in the guest bath.

 

 

Add a few twigs from the yard and a birch wrapped candle and you’re done!

 

 

 

 

How are you decorating your fall mantel this year? Check out the Autumn Link Party over at Centsational Girl for tons of ideas and inspiration!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linking up to...My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Uncommon, House of Hepworths, Stuff & Nonsense, Common Ground, Redoux, 2805, {Primp}, Serenity Now, Thrifty Decor Chick


 

 

 

 

 

Today is the first day…

Yesterday morning I woke up, and the first thought that crossed my mind was this quote…

 

 

You see, yesterday was move in day for my son going off to college. When I came downstairs for coffee to get the day started, I quickly wrote this fitting quote onto our chalkboard.

 

 

The morning was busy getting all packed and loaded, ready to hit the road…

 

 

 

 

Clothing – check, bedding – check, supplies – check, bicycle – check…looks like he is all ready to go!

 

 

After a last minute visit from a friend to say goodbye and drop off some homemade and decorated cookies. Thanks Kendall, you are so sweet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom and Dad won’t be the only one missing him. It will be an adjustment for his younger brother too…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Definitely a new chapter for all of us! I hope both my boys will keep this quote in mind and remember to live each day to the fullest!

 

 

 

 

Good Luck Alex & have fun in college!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Pumpkins…12 décor ideas

I am loving the look of white pumpkins this year! Today I want to share 12 ideas to decorate this fall season with white pumpkins.

From tables tops to front porches, the look of wonderful white pumpkins is quite whimsical…

wrapped with bittersweet for your fall table

 

 

always pretty on a mantel or side table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mini white pumpkin wreath to frame a candle

 

 

mix mini white pumpkins with pinecones for texture

 

 

stacked in rustic urns…inside or out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

use a little Mod Podge and cover with leaves

 

 

 

 

And finally, my favorite white pumpkin I have seen this season…

 

 

 

 

Paint your own white pumpkin on canvas and hang it on your wall like Emily over at Jones Design Company did!

 

 

Beautiful!

 

 

 

How are you using pumpkins in your fall décor this year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

image source – 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

Celebrate the day…

Today is my birthday…so I am off to celebrate with friends and family.

 

 

Celebrate your day!

 

 

 

 

 

My Fall Mantel…

I have been having a hard time putting together a fall mantel this year. I can think of several reasons why, but perhaps the most obvious is due to the pile of supplies that are sitting in my living room in front of the fireplace…

 

 

As I have mentioned before…my oldest son is heading off to college this year. We have been shopping for dorm/school supplies for the last several weeks.  Most of his friends have already left, but his University is on the quarter system and classes do not start until late September. Therefore, his move in date is not until this weekend, so we are still collecting supplies and trying to navigate around this ever growing pile of necessities…

 

 

 

 

Now back to the mantel…if I can get to the mantel! As I mentioned in this post, I like to use simple and natural elements to decorate for fall. Unfortunately, here in California, the leaves do not change this early and it’s a little harder to find fall décor items outside in the yard.

 

I started with some clippings from a plant in my front yard, and placed them in a glass vase…

 

 

 

 

From there, I decided to use some items that I already had around the house and stored away in my fall décor box…

 

 

 

 

I was hoping to add some real pumpkins and gourds, but I went to the market twice last week and could not find any yet! So I just added a few artificial ones that I already had…oh and the funky little pair of red foo dogs that I found at a favorite thrift store and shared about in this post…

 

 

 

 

Well, we will call it done for now. I admit that I have been a bit distracted by all the college prep going on…not to mention a bit melancholy that my son will be leaving the nest and off to start college and begin his own life adventure…sniff, sniff. I am excited, and proud, and nervous, and sad, and happy, all at the same time!

 

 

 

 

Here’s to the change of seasons, and the change of this life chapter for all of us!