By now y'all may have guessed, I'm obsessed with fall.
Being a Pennsylvania girl, fall means a lot to me. Fall means dad goes turkey hunting. Fall means really crisp New York apples like Macintosh and Empire. Fall means watching football in a fuzzy sweater and cool nights with thick scarves. Fall means gnarly pumpkins and steaming crocks of soup with tiny shreds of cheddar softening under the steam. Fall is not just a season. Fall is a memory, a menu. Fall starts in your home.
Fall decor is pretty important. Fall decor stands the chance of being displayed in your home for 3 months. When compared to Christmas decor, that is triple the shelf life! Ha. Do you see what I did there?
So when you invest in that silky spray of pheasant feathers, or that collection of sparkling faux gourds, just remember, you'll see these a lot longer then you will see those 10 tubs full of Santa figurines. You laugh. But my sweet husband has 10 Rubbermade tubs full of Christmas-everything. And I am only working on my 2nd tub of fall lovelies. The score needs to be squared.
Well one night after work I was very tired, but quite ready for fall decor to emerge from the depths of the basement. So my sweet husband brewed a perfect pot of dark roast coffee, poured in a splash of pumpkin spice coffee creamer, turned on some Colbie Caillat Pandora Radio, and set to work being the perfect autumn assistant.
Inspiration started to flow. Colbie Caillat brings back every beautiful fall memory I can think of. Drew's first Pastoral job was in Maryland, it was 2008. We lived in the church-owned parsonage on the corner of the dusty parking lot. We had only been married a year. My sister would drive the long 4 hour drive from the mountains of Virginia to Mt. Airy Maryland to celebrate Fall Break. We had bonfires and overindulged ourselves on Maryland Blue Crabs. Colbie Calliet sang on the radio and we made chili and played board games until 2am. We went on hikes and knitted our own scarves. Drew set mouse traps all over the parsonage as the temperature dropped. We threw the old pig skin and carved spooky faces on fat pumpkins. It was practically perfect. Minus the field mice nestling in, of course.
Do you ever turn on a genre of music and so many special memories swing into view? It brings tears to my eyes as I type this. Not longing for what was, but just wanting to rest in a very special time in our lives.
Pulling out the decor only makes the memories more vibrant. Maybe just 12 short months ago, your grandmother stood by your side, fluffing the cotton on your own fall wreath. If you don't think sharing these sweet stories of years-gone-by with your family is important, think again.
The year Drew's lung collapsed, his mom helped me pull all the decor out of this same old rubber bin. Other years at The Birchwood, my mother and sisters would help me decorate on fall break. The girls would travel down from Liberty University just to decorate something other then a dorm room. We'd make oatmeal pumpkin cookies and go downtown to window shop.
Don't look at seasonal decorating as "the same old, same old". Look at seasonal things as memories you must display. Tradition you want your children to grow fond of. There's a story behind everything that someone wants to hear.
Below is a collection of the fall vignettes I've started to piece together in our own home. Please enjoy our Eclectically Fall Home Tour and use as inspiration! Also! Please enjoy the hashtag #eclecticallyfall and love all the inspiration from other sweet bloggers! Happy Fall Y'all!
