Last week I had the task of dog-sitting my parents' hound, Major, while my parents were visiting the rest of our family out of state. Before leaving town, my mother had made sure to pull out all the autumnal stops, and when I turned the key and walked through my parents' door, I was immediately greeted by the familiar smell of home – warm vanilla and caramel and apples. My parents' home always smells the same (delicious!), and the way my mother decorates for the season is so cozy, no one ever wants to leave!
So I got it in my head that I, too, wanted to decorate for autumn, and promptly headed to Hobby Lobby. I mostly wanted a new centerpiece for my dinette table, but since I am very much centerpiece-challenged, this endeavor proved most difficult for me. "I wish I could just put things somewhere, and make them work like my mom does!" I thought. Seriously, my mom could scrape a dead racoon off the street and turn it into the most astounding, beautiful floral arrangement you've ever seen.
Not that she'd go anywhere near a dead racoon. Or the street, for that matter, since she's always home quilting or stitching or working or texting my dad to say that she's pretty sure he wants Arby's for dinner.
Anyway, when I was perusing the aisles in Hobby Lobby, I finally decided to stop over-thinking everything, and just BUY something already. I have a tendency to walk around the store with something I love, and then by the time I'm finished walking the store, I've thought up 35 different reasons why I shouldn't buy it, and I end up leaving empty-handed. I was determined this was not going to be the case this time, and I ended up purchasing a 3-tiered stand that I honestly had no clue what to do with. "But it looks like something my mom would buy," I thought. So I bought it.
As I drove home, I began thinking about what my mom would put on it, and then my buyer's remorse started turning into something a little happier… Here's what I ended up with, and I really like it!
As a matter of fact, I liked it so well, I took pictures from every angle!
After I was finished with the table, I moved on to the rest of the house. I decided I would decorate with all the Halloween models that were collecting dust in my dungeon basement. I had to do some rummaging bc they're all stuffed away in boxes, but I managed to find quite a few and got them upstairs.
Grim Gourds in the entryway…
Dead Man's Chess over the fireplace, next to Halloween Hornbook and Salem Sisters…
Here's mean old Emma Nettles…
And here's the next tombie sampler subject, watching me decorate…
Here's Ghoul, right behind one of The Boney Bunch figures from Yankee Candle…
Btw, this is the newest addition to my Boney Bunch figures (truth be told, I only have 3 of them), standing in front of Garden of Eerie…
Amos Figg… (his wife, Tillie, is hanging just above)…
(Btw, Mom got me hooked on these holiday candles by Bath and Body Works. This is one of my favorites! I also purchased a few more in Christmas scents, but I'll wait for the weather to turn brittle before I light them.)
I even placed a couple samplers in the bathroom. I thought Mehitable's epitaph was fitting for the back of the toilet…
(There's my first Boney Bunch figure, above, gifted to me by my mom as a fall present a few years ago!)
And here is Salem Sisters II on the wall nearest the sink…
Sophie loves the seasonal towels in my parents' bathrooms, so I decided to surprise her with one…
However, she decided to hang it on top of the crown towel my friend Chris got for me, which almost got the little Halloween towel returned to the store. 😉 Just kidding, Sophie!
Finally, here's one of the Blackbird Designs ornaments I stitched a few years ago to hang on my wire tree in the entryway. I have a few of them, and I love them all! (Who doesn't love Blackbird Designs?)
I had so much fun decorating this year! The pumpkins are on the front porch, the mums are blooming their burgundy best, and I even hung my Thimbleberries quilted pumpkin doorhanger on the front door. I can't wait for Sophie to start bringing home her artwork from school… the days of fingerpainting projects are gone, sadly, but I'm sure she'll have a new school masterpiece for the refrigerator this year. 🙂
I'm sure Mom would be proud of my fall decorating this year. I had fun with it, just like she always seems to. As a matter of fact, the only time I didn't see her having fun with decorating was when I was very little, and I'd bring home my school masterpieces.
But that's what my therapist is for.
Happy Decorating!
P.S. My sister got into the season, too!
