Fall Sprucing

I have an affinity for decorating of any kind. Whether it's putting a room together and adding the right accent pieces or sprucing up the room with holiday and seasonal décor, I'm your girl. I love nothing more than making a place feel cozy and like you're right at home, even when it's not your home. Fall, being my favorite season is no exception for some well-thought-out decorating. This year, because September came and I Pete and I were still not married, I didn't have my own place to decorate. So I got a late start, but I made up for it and invested some time and a little bit of money into some new pieces to really make our home feel like us during the holidays.

My word of advice for anyone decorating for the season and the impending holidays is to find items that can easily transition from one month to the next. For instance, I bought pumpkins, without faces or any trace of Halloween inspiration. Pumpkins are so easy to carry from September straight through November because they are a traditional Autumn icon. By collecting pumpkins of different shapes, sizes, and textures, you can really make a simple little gourd turn your seasonal décor into festive and unique pieces. And collect all kinds of decorations throughout the years until you build yourself up with a good stockpile. It will take some time, but it is so worth it and helps keep the cost of such décor low, especially when you go to look for items after the holiday/season has passed and almost everything is discounted. It's also okay to splurge sometimes on really key pieces (like my fireplace garland). Because one piece can really make up for a bunch of little pieces.

When it comes to putting it all together, I love to mix and match and put items together that might not immediately look as if they could sit side-by-side. But, to me, that's the fun in decorating, being able to take artistic license and make it your own. I am so excited to get some Thanksgiving pieces (just a few) to trade out for my couple of Halloween items. And if you haven't guessed, I am way too excited to decorate for Christmas. I've already been eyeing some really great stuff.

Here are some of the Fall touches around the Hill home:

^^This wood piece was a wedding gift, from Pete's oldest brother. How cool is it?!^^

And some of these decorations were gifts from two nieces who felt they're uncle and new aunt would need some fall pieces for their new home (see the pumpkin above, and squirrel below). They really were wonderful additions to our budding collection.

^^The fireplace is statement in the room and thus, needs a rotating touch of garnish as the seasons change. It's also one of my favorite places to decorate and I am so excited to finally have a fireplace of my own to adorn as I like!^^