Organizing and Decorating the home.
Hi friends! Have you already started decorating for fall?
I have joined some of my blogging friends to share with you a ton of ideas and inspiration for the fall season. It is a Fall Blog Hop – My post will go live tomorrow and I will be sharing my living room space. In the meantime, below are the links to the tours that are already live. Everyday you can check back here and new links will be added.
I hope you enjoy it!
xo,
Maria
October is here and it’s a great time to start transitioning into fall decor! I typically don’t decorate every room in my home for fall, but I did already sprinkle some autumn love on my porch , dining room and my simple autumn-inspired mantel, which I am sharing today. You may remember what it looked like before when I shared how I organize the entryway but I wanted to start with a blank canvas (minus the lamp) which is the best way to decorate a mantel.
I live in Miami and fireplaces are rare (for obvious reasons) and therefor so are traditional mantels. Many of us use our buffets or long coffee tables to serve the same decorative purpose as a mantel and here is mine. This buffet is in the entrance of our home which holds everything but dishes!
I started adding and taking away elements and this was the result! What do you think?
I purchased this pumpkin a few years ago in Homegoods and I placed it on top of a wooden beverage dispenser to add height, interest and the perfect spot to nestle these beautiful hydrangeas!
The gold vase we purchased at IKEA 10 years ago and it used to be white. A few years ago I spray painted it gold and I love how it made the texture more visible. The wreath had actually been hanging outside my front door for months – yes, it was a really a little dusty but I cleaned it with a can of compressed air. It was the perfect finishing touch!
I love this print from Emily Ley. “I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection” – I love this message!
Here is the before and after and I love how it is simple, semi-neutral but it decidedly fall it turned out!
And now for more fun! I have joined a team of talented bloggers that are opening up their doors to show you their Fall home decor. Below are the links as they have been sharing their homes for days. Check them out as I will also be hopping over for some inspiration!
Thank you, friends!
Thank you for joining me for the
“Fall In Love With Your Home”
sponsored by The Everyday Home.
Please join these fabulous Bloggers to see what
amazing Fall Inspiration they are sharing to help
you “Fall In Love With Your Home.”
{Monday, Sept 28th}
{Tuesday, Sept 29th}
*links will not be active until 6amEST
{Wednesday, Sept 30th}
*links will not be available until 6amEST
{Thursday, Oct 1}
*links will not be available until 6amEST
{Friday, Oct 2}
*links will not be available until 6amEST
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BOOItForward #CollectiveBias
The holidays are not just for the kids and Halloween is no exception. On Halloween day we do make it about the kiddos and their cute costumes but I also love the idea of the adults getting together to celebrate before the 31st. Today I will share with you 2 things – How to put together a BOO kit (I will get to that later) and how to put together a little dessert party for your friends and family. I promise that both ideas are super easy and super fun!
First I want to share with you a little party that I put together and how quickly it came together. I chose an empty wall in my home and placed a small 4ft table against the wall. Then I placed a black tablecloth to cover the ugly little table (sorry table). Then I propped up a piece of cardboard on the table and rested it on the wall. I covered that with another black tablecloth and got to work on my favorite part – the decor!
Part of the ease of this little party is that everything is store bought. I purchased pumpkin scones and caramel apples and used the white pumpkin to hold the chalkboard sign. I found a pack of those chalkboard signs for a dollar a while back and I had not used them until now. I am not sure if they are re-usable since they are made out of cardboard but hey…$1.00? I’m not complaining.
Tip: Think of the backdrop for your party. Will it be greenery (if outside) or a blank wall? Adding a piece of cardboard to rest on the wall creates an easy and inexpensive backdrop.
I found these caramel apples at Walmart. I dressed them up with a little ribbon and placed them on a stand.
Tip: It is important when setting up parties to think of varying heights on the table. Cake stands can be used for more than just the obvious. If some items are high up and others low on the table, there is more visual interest.
Everyone loves tiny desserts, at least I hope they do because I made a whole bunch of these! These little containers and spoons are disposable which is a plus. Inside is greek yogurt (you can also use a quick cheesecake filing), caramel drizzle and a TWIX® for a finishing touch!
Delish!
Fall is in the air and in your punch with this yummy fall drink. It’s a 2L bottle of 7UP®, 1 orange sherbet, 8 oz or orange juice, 8 oz of cranberry juice, cinnamon sticks, sliced lemons and oranges.
I rested the dispenser on a small, black cupcake stand and these cans were a perfect fit underneath it.
Cute straws also decorate the table. I have so many colorful straws in my party stash! They are inexpensive and I often buy a pack before I even need it. If I don’t use it for a party, my boys will gladly use them for their juices. I also scattered little M&M’s® on the table as little edible “confetti”.
In the beginning of this post I promised that I would help you put together a BOO kit. To be honest I had never heard of this but now I love the idea! BOO’ing is when you put together a kit that usually includes yummy treats and other Halloween inspired items and you place them inside a bag, and finally you drop it off on your neighbor’s doorstep. Although dropping it off at our neighbor’s is a great idea, this year I will use these BOO kits as teacher’s gifts! I love any excuse to treat my boys’ teachers and extend my gratefulness to them.
So here is what I did:
1- I printed the card and sign. You can download the sign here.
2- I cut the “We’ve Been BOO’d” sign. You can use this to place on the outside of your bag or inside so the recipient can continue to BOO others!
3- I folded the “You’ve Been BOO’d” sign and taped the edges. This card will be placed inside the bag. I signed this card with my boys’ names since they are giving them to their teachers.
4- I chose the bag that I would use for my Boo kits. I chose simple black paper bags.
5- I decided what I would place in each bag. I used chocolates, pencils, teeth, paper straws, soda can, necklaces and a little pumpkin.
6- I made tags that read “You’re a Spooktacular Teacher” and used a 2 inch round cutter to cut. If you don’t have a round cutter, you can use scissors and cut a square shape. You can find the free printable here.
I hope they love it because we sure had fun making them!
Take advantage of this coupon to create your own BOO kit: Save $1.00 on TWO (2) 2L or 6pk 8oz cans of any flavor Sunkist® Soda, 7UP®, Canada Dry®, A&W®, Squirt®, or Sun Drop®
Here is a shot of where I found the items at Walmart. Speaking of Walmart, make sure to enter (look below) for your chance to win the #BOOitForward sweepstakes for $1000 Walmart gift card!
You can also enter to win a $1,000 Walmart eGift Card! How exciting is that?! See below for details.
If there is ever a time for short cuts, the holidays are it. Today I am sharing with you 4 recipes/ideas that are sure to sweeten your holiday without you breaking a sweat. So what are the short cuts? I am using Sara Lee® frozen butter pound cake to make a pumpkin tres leches and Hershey’s® syrup to dress up a ready-made cheesecake – I found both of these items in my local Publix. It’s super easy but the desserts still look amazing. Let’s jump right in and get these done in no time!
The first dessert we are making is a pumpkin tres leches which is spanish for “three milks”. Traditionally, you would make your own cake and while it’s still warm, you would pour the three milks mixture over the cake and allow it to absorb. Today we are using the store bought poundcake and saving a ton of time in the process.
Ingredients for the tres leches:
1 – Store bought pound cake
1 – 14 oz can of Evaporated Milk
1 – 14 oz can of Condensed Milk
1 Cup of heavy cream or whole milk (I used milk)
1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin (not pumpkin filling)
Dash of Cinnamon
Ingredients for the pumpkin whipped topping:
1 Cup of whipping cream
1/3 Cup of Canned Pumpkin
2 Tablespoons of Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Dash of Cinnamon
1 – Mix all the ingredients for the tres leches cake (minus the pound cake) and place over medium heat in a saucepan. Allow the mixture to get hot and set aside.
2 – Meanwhile using a skewer, start poking holes in the pound cake…a lot of holes. Be careful not to break through the aluminum as you will be poring the liquid in the aluminum pan once you are done.
3 – Carefully (so you don’t get burned) pour the milk mixture over the poundcake and allow to rest for a few hours, preferably overnight. You will have to pour slowly to allow the pound cake to absorb the milk.
4 – Using a mixer (or by hand for the super brave) mix all the ingredients for the pumpkin whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Once the cake has absorbed the milk, cut a slice onto a plate and spoon extra sauce over the cut piece. Top with the whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and grab a spoon!
As if that wasn’t delicious enough, we are on to our second recipe using another short cut – a ready-made cheesecake!
The ingredients are:
1 cheesecake
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup of store bought caramel
1 small apple thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
In a medium saucepan melt the butter and add the apples with the brown sugar. After the apples have cooked down a bit add the caramel and the pecans. Heat through and remove from heat. This mixture will have to completely cool before adding as a topping to the cheesecake.
Once cool, spoon mixture over the cheesecake and voila! Doesn’t it look delicious?
Up next is not another recipe, but a super simple and delicious idea! Simply pour some of the Hershey’s syrup on the cheesecake (leaving a slight rim of the white cheesecake visible) and decorate with fresh berries. Doesn’t get easier!
Finally I wanted to share a cute idea that you can use for the upcoming holiday. Using the Hershey’s syrup bottle, make perfect (or incredibly imperfect ones like mine) circles on the cheesecake. Then drag a toothpick or a sharp knife through the syrup creating a web design.
Tip: I make sure the syrup is really cold before I draw the design on the cheesecake so that it doesn’t run.
These recipes were a lot of fun to make and incredibly easy to put together. Of course you can still feel free to sprinkle flour on your face and look like you have been baking for hours to cash in on a foot massage. I’m kidding. Not really.
Receive a FREE 17-24oz Hershey’s® Syrup when you buy any ONE (1) Sara Lee® Frozen Dessert item now thru 10/09/15 while supplies last.
If you follow me on Instagram then you probably know that we are building a pool and we have been for months. Basically, our front yard and back yard look pretty scary which means that I can skip decorating for Halloween…it’s scary enough.
I actually considered not decorating for fall either. I mean with everything else looking so bad, (my apologies if you are my neighbor) why bother? But sometimes you have to create beauty where the eye can’t find it, right? And the “why bother” attitude doesn’t suit me. So last weekend while my husband was bringing down a large canning pot from one of the top garage cabinets, a pumpkin literally fell from one of the boxes onto the garage floor. Of course I took this as a sign, and so did he – I thought it was confirmation that I should decorate this fall and guess what the hubs thought? That it was a sign that the fall decorations needed to be pushed back even further in the cabinet and that I should’ve closed the bin’s lid last year when I put it away. What a silly interpreration. Of course, it meant that I had to break out the pumpkins! My sweet husband obliged and brought down all the fall boxes.
I am still in the process of decorating the house and I shared my fall table with you last week, and this week I concentrated on the porch. Here is the view of the porch as you exit my front door. I won’t show you a view of my front yard because I love ya and want you to enjoy your day.
If you remember last year I shared images from my front porch during fall and you will notice that I changed the positioning of the bench. I think I like it better this way since I can place a wreath right above it. What do you think?
All those big wreaths can be expensive and I buy them when they go on sale right after the season is over. You just have to get to the stores right away because the pretty items run out the fastest. I also check online for clearance wreaths. One of my favorite stores to buy wreaths online is Kirkland’s and of course Target has beautiful ones as well.
Since I live in Florida we pretty much have to “inject” fall colors into the outdoor spaces because it is green and sunny here year-round. I found this orange-stripe throw online and on clearance at Crate and Barrel. It’s not meant for outdoors so I won’t be leaving it there during the day, but it’s nice if we sit on the porch at night. Of course, in Florida we aren’t keeping the chill at bay, it’s the mosquitos that we shield ourselves from.
The green pillow is meant for outdoors and I have had this one outside for over 8 months and it still looks new. I splurged on this one pillow because I was tired of throwing away others that kept getting yucky from being outdoors. I love green because it works for summer, spring, fall and even winter decorating.
I am using all these faux pumpkins to decorate because there is no pumpkin patch open this time of year by my home. Also, I love how feather-lite they are and how long they last. This white one is sitting on a beverage dispenser stand. Of course it adds height but it also makes it easier for me when it comes to cleaning the porch, since I avoid getting the pumpkins wet.
This urn stays here year round because I love it and because it weighs more than I do. I added this monogrammed pumpkin that I purchased a few years ago in Kirklands.
And that’s the porch! Next I will share my fall mantel, but first I have to decorate it and empty it of miniature race cars.
Are you decorating this year for fall? What are your favorite colors to decorate with – white pumpkins and neutrals or warm orange tones?
