a {mini} fall tour.

Decorating for holidays, and decorating just because, looks a little different than it used to, as we have been living with family since the flooding of our home.  I really and truly have loved almost every minute of it, but it has certainly been challenging, at times, for all my "roommates."

One of the wonderful things about being back at home is that my sweet mother has given me complete "creative control."  in other words, I am free to style, decorate, rearrange, etc. the way I would in my own home.  this woman is so gracious to do this because, you know, it's not even my house!  but to be completely candid, I think she has probably enjoyed it a little, because who doesn't want a live-in decorator?

that said, it is interesting to decorate a different house in these new seasons.  I never dreamed that last fall and Christmas would be my last time to decorate for the holidays at the tiny white house.  however, at my parents', I have a great canvas to work with.  for instance, they have a mantle!  I know, I know—what a luxury, right?  but this is something we didn't have in our first home, so it's fun to create something centered around this.

But enough with all the words! without further ado, I'd like to share the 2016 {mini} fall tour with you!

When I began to envision my fall decor, I knew I wanted to incorporate this oversized frame. I actually acquired this sometime earlier in the year. one afternoon, I was driving the little girl I nanny to her voice lesson. the church where her lessons took place was located near Good Will; so some days, if time allowed, we would stop by to see if they had any treasures for us. but, that's actually not where this came from. it was on the way to Good Will that I spotted a dumpster behind a store and what looked like a dresser sitting near it. so we took a detour and that's where I happened upon this piece! the dresser was beyond repair, but this frame was on the ground behind it. it used to frame a mirror, but I suppose the dresser + mirror fell and cracked so the store threw it out. obviously, they didn't realize they could paint it, staple some toile fabric in it, and place it on their mantle for fall decor, but that's neither here nor there.

In the spring, we hung a boxwood wreath in the frame.  but when our baby arrived, that wreath moved to the nursery.  so the frame sat empty for some months, and then September rolled around.  I got the idea to frame some fabric and then remembered I had a couple yards of toile fabric I'd bought from Hobby Lobby to recover some pillows.  it had been sitting under our bed, folded up, in the very plastic bag it left the store in last fall, waiting for its time to shine.  with some assistance from my mother, we stretched + stapled this fabric in the frame.  it's a little simple, maybe even understated; but, to me, it definitely shines.  this is one of my favorite projects to date.  and the best part is it cost less than $10 to make!

As I've mentioned before, silver is one of my favorite things to feature in my decor.  this antique silver ice bucket was a gift from my husband last Christmas.  clearly, he knows the way to my heart.  in the spring + summer, it was filled with hydrangeas.  for the fall season, it holds stems of cotton.

The ice bucket sits upon my great grandfather's Bible.  my mother has several Bibles that have been in our family for generations, and I'm jealous and I want them.  isn't that ironic?  to covet someone else's vintage Bible.  she says I can't have them [yet, anyway]; but since we're roommates, I am free to use them in my/our decor.

Of course, pumpkins are a staple when it comes to fall decor, and there's just something about white ones.  the oversized blue pitcher is a favorite of mine and adds a little color to this mostly neutral scene.

A wire basket filled with cozy blankets is a simple, yet decorative way to create storage and warmth—quite literally.

In the 2015 {mini} fall tour, I mention that simply placing pumpkins throughout your home adds a little touch of fall without much effort.  this lovely vignette is on the shelves of the hutch in the kitchen.  you already know I love blue + white dishes and greenery, throw in a pumpkin and I'm sold.  and would you look at that?  another old Bible I covet.

As pleased as I was with the way the mantle turned out, I couldn't help but feel as if the fall decor wasn't complete.  so, I decided to set the little drop-leaf table in the kitchen.  I used my favorite blue + white dishes, fresh apples + berries, and a few nuts I found in the backyard. 

I was excited to use these chargers I scored at Home Goods when we were visiting family in Texas last Christmas.  I found them hidden under some bowls on a bottom shelf and just had to have them.  I did feel a little bad, though, because I'm pretty sure someone hid them there with the intention of coming back for them.  but you know, finders keepers, or whatever.

the mismatched flatware is part of my collection that I've gathered along the way, from antique stores to garage sales and junk shops.  the antique linen napkins were another Christmas gift from my husband.  cloth napkins are another one of my favorite things to collect.

It's not much; but it's warm and inviting, and that's enough for me.

thanks for looking!  what do you think?  how do you decorate for fall?

life begins all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.
-Anne of Green Gables

a {mini} fall tour.

it's been a little while since I've shared a post, but since fall is coming to an end and winter [if it can even be called that in the south] is just around the corner, I thought I'd take you on a little fall tour of the tiny white house.

it's nothing too crazy or over the top, but I like to add a little touch of fall + warmth to each room. and sometimes that just means throwing a pumpkin on a surface and calling it a day. 

first up: my fall tablescape.

I bought several fake pumpkins for 98¢ at Walmart and painted them shades of blue, cream, and khaki. I used them as my centerpiece and as a little happy for each place setting.

I also gathered chunky acorns to use on the mini cakestand centerpiece. I baked them on 350 degrees for about ten minutes, because I thought that might kill any bugs and funk growing in them. I'm not sure if it did, but I never saw any bugs or acorns rolling around on the table.

one of the not-so-good things about our little house is that we don't have a fireplace. I so hope in our next home we do. so since we have no mantle to decorate for holidays and no reason, I use the top of our piano as a mock mantle. here's what that ended up looking like:

one simple decor idea I came up with was to frame a packet of pumpkin seeds. I emptied out the packet, found a favorite chunky frame of mine, and used double sided tape to secure the seed packet in place. I think it turned out kind of cute. what do you think?

for the coffee table, I used a wooden dough bowl I found at a thrift store and filled it with cotton and a giant acorn I found at TJ Maxx. pretty simple, but adds a little taste of fall.

I also threw a couple pumpkins around the house, on shelves and counters. it adds a little bit of fall and takes almost no effort. 

like I said, nothing much, but it's funny how even little things add a little something extra. like so many other [white] girls, I love the fall. and not just because of pumpkin spice lattes—which I've never had, by the way. it's one of my favorite seasons... mainly because I am a heavy sweater so I sweat less in these months. but I also love the beauty of the changing leaves and scenery, how things seem to slow down, and all the time spent with family. football games are another plus, but that has less to do with the actual game [no offense, athletes] and more to do with the fine cuisine at the concession stand.

I hope you're enjoying these last days of fall and I hope your thanksgiving is filled with lots of family and laughter, delicious food and a grateful heart. after all, we all have so much to be thankful for.


"it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful."
David Steindl-Rast

"give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!"
1 Chronicles 16:34

a simple tablescape.

for the Fourth of July, I threw a few red, white, and blue things on the table. we weren't hosting any parties or even home that day, but I wanted to do something. it wasn't anything fancy, but I liked it!

the next week, everything got pushed around and my patriotic tablescape disappeared. you see, sometimes [read: a lot of the time] our table acts as a catchall. after I cleared the thing off, I was ready for something different. a little more formal, yet very simple. I had a picture in my mind of exactly what I wanted, so I set out to make it happen. we all know less is more and that phrase perfectly sums up what I had envisioned. here's the finished product:

I spread a strip of burlap across the table to use as my table runner. then I carefully placed some of my white dishes to make four place settings. after racking my brain for a centerpiece idea, I decided to use an old tool box that belonged to Drew's grandfather and fill it with white hydrangeas [my favorite]. I'm not sure if this is against "design rules," but you should know my flowers are fake. I adore fresh flowers just a much as the next girl, but I prefer to use fake when decorating because 1) they last longer and 2) they can be used over + over again in so many different ways.

after arranging the flowers just so, I went out to my front porch and snipped some pieces of boxwood. I rolled + fluffed a white cloth napkin through a silver napkin ring and tucked a boxwood snippet into the ring. I did this four times and set one at each place setting, then finished setting the table.

one of my favorite features of this tablescape is the silverware. instead of using our regular, matching silverware, I used antique [and some real!] silver I happened upon one day while antiquing with friends. the best part: it's mismatched! I didn't buy one complete set, but several different brands + designs of silverware. collecting antique silver is one of my new hobbies, as well as polishing silver. I know, kind of weird. but it's both relaxing and rewarding! you can see the results right before your eyes.

as for my drinkware, I decided to go for a simple + southern look. so naturally, mason jars were my glass of choice.

and there ya have it! my simple, almost effortless tablescape. what do you think?