A welcoming Fall foyer

My porch has been decorated for Fall for a couple of weeks now, and I'm finally getting the rest of the house decorated as well.

During this season of change in my life, I've been rather slow to decorate. I've discovered that my desire to decorate for Halloween has dwindled as my children have grown up (although my desire to eat Halloween candy hasn't dwindled a bit!).  Still, I want change things up a bit for this glorious season.

I sometimes find my foyer hard to decorate.  It's a nice-sized entry, but I like to keep it free from too much stuff.  I do have one antique dresser in the foyer, and it's always held a much-loved elephant lamp.  To add just a bit of Fall to the dresser, I created a simple vignette.

I was born and reared in West Tennessee.  My grandfather (not many generations back, but my dad's father!) was a sharecropper.  By the time I came along, he'd managed to buy a small piece of land for growing cotton.  My childhood memories include many images and smells of that cotton field.  When I think of crops being harvested, I think of cotton.  I was tickled to find these faux cotton stems from the Perfectly Imperfect shop that look so realistic!

To create this Fall vignette, I simply placed my cotton stems in a blown glass vase.  They "arrange themselves" beautifully, I think.  I found the free "Happy Fall" printable at Jones Design Company (thank you, Emily!).  I printed it at 80% of its original size so it would fit in my 5" x 7" frame.  I added a ceramic acorn and voila!  My foyer is ready to welcome Autumn guests.

Decorating doesn't get much simpler than this!  What have you done to welcome Fall at your house?

My prayer for this Autumn

Autumn is a season of great beauty.  But this Fall is shaping up to be an ugly time in our world.  So much fighting is taking place, so much hatred is being sown.

As I ponder what I might do to counteract the effects of evil, here's my prayer for this Autumn. Perhaps you'd like to make it your prayer as well.

Will you pray this with me?

Autumn on the front porch

It's finally Autumn in the South!  Of all the seasons, Autumn is my favorite, especially for sitting on the front porch.  Come have a look at my porch!

I know it's very much in vogue to decorate with all neutrals, but I love the colors of Autumn.  The area around my front door is bright with mums and gourds and pumpkins.  I added a demijohn and a pottery jug, both from Pottery Barn.

I purchased these large lanterns at Hobby Lobby a couple of years ago, and I change them up to suit the seasons.  Right now they're wearing a coat of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint and they're filled with ornamental gourds.

The wreath on my front door was handmade by a friend who brought it to me as a hostess gift.  She embellished a grapevine wreath with beautiful ribbon and faux botanicals.

To the right of the front door is one of my favorite parts of our house: the front porch sitting area.



This little area is pretty well protected from the elements, so I've created an outdoor living room.



I updated the porch this spring, and to "fallify" things I simply made a few changes.  I made quick covers for the throw pillows out of an old Pottery Barn tablecloth.  I've always liked the Jacobean print, and the colors are autumnal.  I also brought out my DIY Autumn Leaf pillows.



The lamp table is actually an antique desk to which I regularly apply Howard's Feed 'n' Wax.  The pull-out writing surface is perfect for holding a coaster.  I found the large green pumpkin at HomeGoods, and the little clock is part of the Better Homes & Gardens line at Wal-Mart.  The "relax" letters are part of the Letterpress line from DaySpring.



I added a fun Fall message to the chalkboard:

Wish you could all come sit a spell with me!