Autumn is my favorite season of all… finally, relief from all of those hot disgusting summer days! Pants and sweaters, hoodies and nice breezes… less humidity!
It’s definitely a time to celebrate.
This year, I did several decorations… a couple that I haven’t taken photos of (whoops! maybe I’ll add them tomorrow).
First, the garden. It used to look nice… now it’s getting too cold at night, and everything is dying (other than the dusty miller). Hopefully I can salvage some coleus and root it indoors over the winter… I love that stuff! Those rusty colored mums are so pretty, don’t you think? The little plants in between them are red/burgundy mums… they did puff quite a bit and look really pretty before they died. I told my preschoolers that the scarecrows are me and the two of them. They LOVED that idea. And note the wreath on the door, too.
I really enjoy our garden when it’s pretty, but it doesn’t seem to stay that way for long… besides monkey grass, is there ANYthing that will survive direct sunlight and all temperatures? … really, no? Poo. I think next season we might just grow dirt instead of buying more plants… too expensive!
I have another one of those wreaths indoors in the dining room…
Closeup with flash so you can see. It looks kind of stick-y in the photos but I think it looks nicer in person. I’m probably wrong though, because they were $10 at Big Lots after all.
Up close on the window sills… I love these tiny pumpkins! I got some glasses/vases/whatever from Big Lots for a dollar each and filled them with candy corn and a Yankee candle. The day I set this up, my husband came to me with a perplexed look on his face and said, “Those candles you got? …. They smell… fally.” I was happy to hear that, because that’s kind of the point! I would’ve done harvest corn instead of regular candy corn (more fally, less halloweeny) but would you believe I couldn’t find any!? Then again, I refused to go to Wal-Mart, so that’s probably why…hmm…
I got some little white pumpkins too… these are actually now on the little shelf by our front door, but same difference… There are also some on the dining table.
Zora helped pass out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. She’s got saltwater taffy in that bucket!
And this is her normal day-t0-day Autumn fashion!
I love when she looks up at the thing she’s balancing, like it helps her concentrate more. She also seems to think that the lower she makes her head go, the easier it will be to balance. Sometimes she gets all hunched down with her head nearly on the ground (still sitting though, not lying down) and I have to laugh at her and get her to stand up again to “reboot.”
I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
Wow, I randomly stumbled on your fall decorating ideas when I browsing for some ideas on google. I was so amazed to see that photo of your dog with the mini pumpkin on his head–Adorable!
I was so shocked, your dog looks exactly like my dog Timbu.How old is Zora? To be honest I’ve never seen a puppy that looks like our little pup Timbu, since he is mixed. Where did you find miss Zora?
P.S. I love your doggie photos:-)
-Belle
Zora is 3.5 years old now I think. We got her from a rescue in Mississippi.
I love your decorations…especially on Zora! My hubby wants to know how you taught your doggie to balance everything on her head!
Yeah, I just googled “coleus hallucinogenic’, and that was the first result. These folks seem into exactly what you said..getting high off their garden.
anyhoo…..
I have a nice cooked playdough recipe, if you’re interested. I’m not sure where to post that. I can just email you. Its cheap, easy, and it lasts for a long time in a ziploc. My 3 1/2 y.o. daughter enjoys it. I used to make it ALL the time when I was a pre-school/toddler teacher. Your preschoolers will love it!
How funny! What is that site? Everyone seems to be all “I want to get high off my garden!”
I’ll tell the kids they can only eat 5 or 10 leaves then.
http://www.totse.com/en/drugs/rare_and_exotic_drugs/coleus.html
hope this helps….someone would have to eat a whole plant……and then some, it looks like.
Wow, crazy! My home-childcare book had it on the safe list!
OMG I had to type this 3 times, cuz I keep forgetting to add the 2 numbers…duh!! Anyway, I can’t cite my source, but I remember reading somewhere that coleus was some kind of hallucinogenic? There may be many varieties of coleus for all I know, not all of which may be toxic. just FYI
Never mind on the Juniper… just looked it up and it’s toxic. I need to find some plants that aren’t toxic, since I teach preschool… Lantana can cause DEATH if injested! Whoops! And Chrysanthemums are toxic too… I didn’t do so well in this particular planting. I’ll have to do more planning and research next time.
Christine,
Thanks so much! I do really like Big Lots, though sometimes you have to dig to find the good stuff. Our dining room curtains are made from Jessica Jones fabric (Modern Flora collection) available at http://www.jcarolinecreative.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc? I did make them! They’re basically just rectangles that are hemmed on all sides… gotta love those curtain clippy rings!
SO GLAD you liked the focaccia! I made it one time with olives baked into it, and more olives + garlic salt + italian herbs on top… so delicious!
Zora loves being trained! It means she gets lots of treats.
So what if her treats are just little pieces of her normal food, doled out one at a time… she doesn’t care. 
I was thinking about planting some juniper for ground cover… though it’s not gorgeous, it’s green and I don’t think it would die. We won’t be getting any buttloads of snow anytime soon, but it does get down below freezing and it might snow a little bit one time.
I like the fall decor! The candy corn votive holders are pretty, and economical! Don’t you just love Big Lots! Since I have moved up north, I don’t have one right down the street like I used to, but there is Wal-Mart. The panels in your dining room are neat, did you make them? (I just love green)
BTW, the focaccia was AWESOME!! I think next time I will try it with the garlic baked right in…can’t have too much garlic.
What a good dog Zora is, it seems as if she responds very well to being trained.
I agree with you about the gardening, it can be expensive! Maybe some small evergreens would be good? At least they would survive being cold….how cold does it get down there? Here in Milton, NH, I’m sure we can expect a buttload of snow this year!
Take care,
Christine