Are you itchin to start decorating for Christmas?!
Or have you already started?!
I can’t wait!
But I have 3 girls in my house who feel very strongly that Thanksgiving doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving if the house is already decorated for Christmas. And I don’t want to cheat them out of feeling the full meaning of Thanksgiving! 🙂
And since I host our Thanksgiving lunch, I will hold out on decorating…until I’m finished eating lunch.
And then the boxes come out of the attic!
Until then, I will just make plans and dream of what I’m going to do…
…but I do know that magnolia is going to play a big role in my decorations this year.
And all I’ll need to do is add a big bow to this wreath to have it ready for Christmas.
Here is how to make a Magnolia Wreath:
I love magazines.
And until my last yard sale…I might have been a magazine hoarder.
Every time one arrives in the mailbox, I can’t wait for the next break I’ll get to sit down and devour it cover to cover.
Some I love more than others.
Southern Living has been at the top of my list for years.
My mom has always had a subscription.
The pecan pie recipe that we both use {and get rave reviews with} to this day was from as issue from the 70’s. {She kept the copy of that magazine for years. It was lined up with the books at the bottom of the bookcase…I’m going to have to check next time I’m home to see if she still has it?!}
When my Southern Living arrived just a couple weeks back; my jaw dropped when I saw the cover.
And my wheels started spinning as how I could recreate that look on my own front porch.
Here is how to make this Southern Living Inspired Fall Wreath:
Today as I hurried all over town getting my to-do list taken care of…
…the thought occurred to me that we leave for the beach in just a few days…
…and I don’t have a swimsuit.
I was tempted to put it off.
{Which is why I currently don’t have a swimsuit.}
It’s one of those things that’s so easy to put off.
In fact, I prefer putting it off…
Yay! Today we are having another Hospitality Filled Home Tour! Today is all about Fall Centerpieces!
Make sure you visit all of my friends at the end of this post!
I’ve been thinking about my grandmother (my Muz) all day.
You see, I’m using one of her prized possessions as a part of my fall centerpiece on the dining table.
It belonged to her parents. It was given to them on their 50th wedding anniversary.
It’s now one of my prized possessions.
So as I arranged the magnolia leaves and added the tiny gourds and stacked the plates up in a pleasing arrangement…
…my thoughts drifted to my Muz.
If given the choice to decorate or clean…I’m going to decorate every time!
But the other day, I forced myself (and maybe my children) to clean the front porch. Like really clean.
Because the stack of wood, the half dead plant, the rust stains, the abandoned birds nest, and the legions of bugs and their abodes just weren’t doing it for me anymore.
And let me tell you…the results were well worth the effort! There is just something refreshing about a clean front porch.
Welcome to our first ever Hospitality Filled Homes tour!
My sweet friend Sonya {At Home With The Barkers} and I will be hosting tours here and there all year!
Today will be all about fall wreaths!
Our hope is that you will be inspired to do those little things that will make your house even more welcoming and inviting. This is not about perfection. This is about those little details that will inspire you to open your home to others!
I grew up in a house that always had a wreath on the front door {and several more scattered here and there throughout the house!}
My mom loved making wreaths. She made them for herself. She made them for friends and neighbors. I remember her coming home with bundles of silk flowers and setting up her hot glue gun and getting to work. By the end of the day, all of the neighbors would have new wreaths on their front doors!
Sweet memories. 🙂
So here is a simple wreath that can be made in no time…
{And make sure that you check out the other wreaths at the end of this post!}
Somewhere on the mission to make my house feel like a home…
…I got distracted with paint colors and fabrics and the perfect piece of art.
Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE paint colors!
I’m struggling.
My sweet girls are back in school and their schedules are running 90 to nothin’…
…and I can’t keep up!
So this morning I am sitting down to the calendar and putting a game plan into action!
This week I won’t feel like everyone else knows what’s going on except for me…I will have dinner ready at night…I will have food to pack lunches…
…this week I can no longer deny that summer is over! 🙂
But I did take the time to make a few wreaths this week.
And here is how you can make your own…if your life isn’t too crazy! Ha!
Hello sweet readers! I’ve missed y’all!
I hope everyone has had AMAZING summers! For some of you, the summer continues {jealous} and for other, like myself, you sent your kiddos back to school this week {sad face}. And for others, there are no kiddos and you are just ready for the heat to end!
I haven’t posted in months…I just couldn’t resist spending my extra time with my girls. They are growing too fast and I don’t want to miss a minute!
Quick recap of our summer {my husband is a youth minister, so we basically follow him around all summer and have a BLAST in the process!}
June was church camp and a camp called Impact at David Lipscomb University in Nashville.
July was Mexico to a children’s home called The City of Children and New York to a camp for inner city kids from the Bronx called Shiloh.
And during our times away from home, we had workers coming and going knocking a wall out of our house. Which of course, led to new floors and light fixtures and crown moulding and paint…
{Thanks Fixer Upper for all of the inspiration that had me not being able to sleep at night trying to figure out which wall I was going to knock out. 🙂 }
So here is what we’ve got:
People. The event that I have been waiting for is finally about to happen.
If you love a flea market…or a barn sale…or fabulous…amazing…one of a kind treasure…
then the Country Living Fair will be your paradise.
I have seen it advertised in the magazine. Pictures of women walking around with their hands full of their finds. I have drooled over the booths that I feel lucky enough to have just seen pictures of.
And now…
The Country Living Fair is coming to town…right to my backdoor!
Hip Hip Hooray!!!
And I’m giving away a pair of tickets!