A Little Autumn Decorating

I had a few things left over from my rainy afternoon the other week. I decided to add a few more inexpensive items to the mix & see what I could come up with.



I spread everything out, sized it up, & started arranging. And rearranging.



We've had a bit of a cold snap lately, so I brought in the mums & the pumpkins.

And the faerie.



The boys weren't quite sure what to make of her.

After a while, the lounge started to shape up.



My daughter & I got a bit silly at the store, & thought adding some stripey "Halloween" stockings would be a fun idea. The orange twinkle lights added a nice touch.



Here are some close-ups of the details:






There was an extra string of twinkle lights left over, so we dragged out the little tree that sits near the fireplace. The front porch had been looking a little sad & lonely once the mums & faerie had a new home, but not any more!



And the nice thing is that most of the decorating will carry over until Thanksgiving, so part of my prep for the big day is taken care of already!

Caramel Apple Pie

'I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year (yay!), so I"m already starting to go through the recipes. I like to mix things up a bit & add something new every year. Don't get me wrong, we always have the traditional fare; I just like to add a twist here & there.

So Sunday, I decided to get a bit creative & try something new.

If you've read my list of 20 (40 actually) favorite things about Autumn, you know I love caramel apples.

Yum.

So, I thought, why not put the flavors in a pie?

The results were delicious!!!

Caramel Apple Pie (Click the link for the full recipe.)





At this point, things got a bit messy & I didn't want to be digging flour out of the camera with a toothpick! Plus, I got a little side-tracked while the pie was baking (blog to come).

But once it came out of the oven?



Enjoy!

Autumn Porches on Parade

When the "drive by" challenge was first proposed by Melissa at The Inspired Room, I knew immediately which porch I would "shoot" first. (Click on her link to enjoy the tour!)

Every year, the family that lives near the High School decks out their porch & yard for the big Homecoming Weekend.

After that, I took the camera with me on errands, back & forth from Marching Band, to work (ok, admittedly making me a tad late on a day or two), on extra drives around the town.

I found a number of porches decked out for Autumn. Some of the pictures are a bit blurry, unfortunately, as I had to zoom quite a ways to try & get a good shot.

I chose my favorites, broke them down by category, and here you have it: My Autumn Drive By.

Best "Themed" Porches. Special merit for most original use of a pot belly stove for the porch in the lower left.





Best "Curb" Appeal, for the porch decorating that started at the street.



Best Wreaths


Best "Extended" Porches





And My Favorite Porch Overall, closeup.



Phew! Now my daughter can stop hiding under the seat when I drive!

My Own Front Door

Inspired by all the Fall decorating going on around the blogs, I got my own entry way ready for the "Drive By".

Now, I have to admit, I haven't been much for Autumn decor in the past few years. I guess I'll fall back on the excuse that I was just too busy. Or, maybe I was creatively zapped. Or maybe I just go so used to coming in through the garage that I barely even noticed my front door anymore!

I'm glad to say that a little inspiration (and a lot of mums) goes a long way! And I was able to incorporate a lot of things from my "Things I Love About Autumn" lists!