Bye Bye Beloved Halloween......

Happy November !

I am leaving tomorrow morning for convention and since I have Addie today , I thought I would change up some of my decorating tonight.

Time to say goodbye to Halloween and gear up for THANKSGIVING.

I started with the Halloween tree.

Bye Bye witches , jack-o-lanterns and bats.

Hello pumpkins and gourds.

I broke out the cloches.

 I LOVE putting things under glass.

Added some new printables.

Courtesy of The Creative Paije.

Isn't it ADORABLE !

Thank you Paije for sharing your talent !

I love printables. Super cheap (free, except for ink and paper) and fun.

Another printable and some pumpkins.

Unfortunately, I can't remember which site I got this one from :(

I need to book mark better !

I am going to try to make another one soon , but it so much easier to use others talent, especially when I'm in a hurry !

Moving on to the entry.

Gone are the black and white pumpkins , crows and spiders.

Notice I have a thing for pears?

It all started with the paintings above the credenza.

They were painted by a friend of mine years ago. They were part of a series she did.

These are called , "a-pear", dis-a pear", re-a-pear".

Awesome, huh?

So the pear obsession began.

So , I stuck some under cloches

Em thinks it's weird , but again, I love putting things under glass.

I had more cloches but SOMEBODY broke some last Christmas season.

I'm not mentioning any names ( hubby)...

Not sure I really like all the moss.

And it wasn't easy getting all those little pears under the cloche !

Mini- cloche.

There it is .

The switch over .

Bye Bye Beloved Halloween...

Till next year .

I'm Linking the post to the Cloche Party at A Stroll thru Life.

Check it out !

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

And

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursday@ Shabby Creek Cottage

http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/2011/11/transformation-thursday.html

Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/2011/11/sys-blog-link-party-with-decor-tips-and-ideas

Fireflies and Jellybeans

http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/

Indian Summer

 We are having the most AMAZING  Indian Summer here in Northeast Iowa! We stayed home this weekend because we had a wedding to attend and actually I was pretty excited to have the whole weekend to putz around the house and get some projects done !

It was SO awesome outside , so needless to say , I spent most of my time yesterday on outside projects instead of inside projects. I'm hoping to get some of those done today ( if I can talk Hubby into helping me )

Anyway... I have to share some of yesterday's adventures with you.
I decided I wanted some Pampas grass for an outdoor display , so I called my sister to see if she wanted to go. We have a HUGE spread of Pampas grass at one of our farms and I wanted a bunch so I thought I would talk her into cutting too and it would go faster. On the way to pick her up , I was checking out the road ditches for interesting foliage I could cut also, I wanted some red Sumac for sure.
Well, we cut the grass ( easy peasy) and then I decided to drive around the corner to see if there was foliage that would be easier to get to , no such luck as everything was SO dusty from lack of rain and farmers in the fields. BUT, by a driveway I spotted some kind of tree/bush with black seed/berries ... way cool. When I got out to try to cut it , I noticed it was also covered in bittersweet , JACKPOT ! I was so excited that I guess I wasn't really watching where I was stepping , no I did not fall , I know that's what you were thinking, but Sis said  if I did she would help me up , after she quit laughing of course!
I came home with a trunk load of Nature's Bounty , some scratches and a few thorns embedded in my hands, but look what I was able to create !

This farmhouse table is one of Hubby's great finds in the flip house!

As is the wooden box and sign.

Bittersweet ! Gorgeous!

My curious cats

More "found" stuff from the flip house. White " chippy" chair, another table ( he was going to burn this one - NOT ) and an old milk box ( not sure if that's what you call it, but it was the box that sat beside your door and when the milkman delivered your milk , he put it in there ).

 A brown glass jug with a  broken top ( the bittersweet hides it ), another wooden fruit box from the flip house and a copper bird feeder with a broken chain ( might as well fill it with gourds then ).

The copper bird feeder.

Striper wanted his picture taken.

The "chippy" chair.

I LOVE  Indian Summer! Hope it stays around for a while !

P.S. I am linking this post to :

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/10/sns-102-summers-end-garden-party-2011.html

Check out all of the awesomeness at Funky Junk Interiors . It's one of my FAV'S!

AND

http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-outdoor-spaces-party.html

another FAV !

Wordless Wednesday....Almost....Fall in the Trailerhood

I Love Fall!  SO beautiful ! All those colors !

My privacy fence ( the corn field ) is gone. I love all the stalk bales lined up.Don't you just love all the colors on the trees ? I have the best view!

Looking up through my ash trees...LOVE them....Ash Bore , stay away!

One of my beautiful Maple trees

My most favoritist perennial for fall ! "Autumn Joy" Sedum

What would fall be without mums ? Not nearly as pretty , that's for sure.

One thing I don't like about fall is that it gets dark so much earlier...I know....good with the bad...

Anyway... I got this picture of the moon coming through the trees. Wish I was a better photographer or maybe had a better camera....I wish...I wish ....I wish

I can't have a Wednesday post without a picture of my lil pumpkin ! She decided she could carry Tippy and Striper at the same time. They , however did NOT think it was such a great idea. I'm lucky I got this shot , she didn't have them long :)

And that, my friends , is a little glimpse of Fall in the Trailerhood !

Laziness......

It was a cold , rainy , yucky day here in Northeast Iowa. I have been lazy, lazy, lazy all day ! I decided to make a list of things I MUST get done this week and if I make it known , then maybe , just maybe , I will accomplish them.

#1 . REMOVE all of the "stuff" sitting all over my kitchen, dining, and living room that needs to go to the store. I'm tired of my home looking like a flea market ! I need to find a way to organize all of our "finds" until they are ready to go to the store and my living room is NOT the place to store them.
#2. REORGANIZE  the guest room. It has become a catch -all for smaller treasures and half finished projects also for the store .....GEEZ...I'm seeing a pattern here.

#3. CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN . My dust bunnies have been breeding like rabbits and those cobwebs in the corners are NOT Halloween decorations ! Speaking of which....

#4. CONTINUE with the Fall decorations. I got off to a small start last week ( see Antlers and Acorns ) but have much,  MUCH, more to do. I am hosting a bridal shower for my niece- to -be  AND having a " girlfriends" party at the end of the month and my house is far from ready for the festivities !

Am I getting an of this done ?..... Well no, not really.... I have however found some great inspiration on Pinterest. LOVE , LOVE, LOVE,  this site . What a great way to waste time .... get inspiration from other people.

Here are some Halloween/ Fall ideas I plan to put my own spin on :

Perfect for my front step.

Love this idea. I have a perfect birdbath for this !

Defiantly going to do a version of this display in the entry. Picked up crows at the Dollar Store the other day , already have similar containers and plenty of spiders, just have to find some hedge apples....Hmmm

Last but not least. I love this vase. Super easy and I have everything to put it together.  Beautiful  example of an all natural display !

Now just to get off my lazy bum and accomplish something .....I'll keep you posted !

Antlers and acorns....it's a start.

Well... I did it. I just had to . I could not hold back any longer. It was 37 degrees when I went to work this morning and a whopping 57 when I came home . Therefore , I could NOT stop myself. I HAD to get some of my fall decorations out ! Just a few.  I felt I exercised a little self -control . If I hadn't there would probably be a Halloween tree up ( don't think I wasn't tempted).

But no, I started small , some bittersweet , faux pumpkins , acorns and gourds. And one print , just one. My beautiful witch on canvas is still in the Halloween closet ( I'm not kidding, I really have a closet dedicated to all that is Halloween ).    
I LOVE antlers . Can you tell? Hubby has been a hunter since before I met him and that's a REALLY long time. But most of these antlers are sheds, meaning in the spring when the deer shed there antlers , they fall off and regrow new ones. Hope that doesn't gross anyone out. It's the natural way of things. I find them fascinating. Each antler tells the story of the animal that shed it. Some are from young bucks, some bare the scars of battle with other bucks and some have laid so long before they were found that they became a source of calcium and vitamins for other forest creatures like squirrels. Some husbands bring their wives roses, mine knows I am much happier with a new antler! We even  have a shed antler from an elk, it covers the entire top of my china cabinet. We did not find that in the woods or even in a field, we found it in a home decor/consignment store , really , funny huh?
I love to decorate with my antlers. In the spring I use bird's nest and moss. In the fall, it's acorns and bittersweet. In the winter , pine cones and evergreen. 
Other elements I use in fall decorating are of course , pumpkins, gourds, acorns and bittersweet. Natural elements. I use a lot of nature in my home. Partly because we are country people and partly because Hubby is a real outdoors man. I feel strongly that your home should reflect the like and interests of all those living there.
I have to stop and say here that although the elements of this arrangement represent nature ,they are not natural, they are faux ( a much cooler word for fake, don't you think). Normally I HATE faux ! One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is people that put FAKE ( I had to use that word ) flowers or plants in their outdoor planters. I mean , really, if you can't take care of the real thing , don't use anything ! PLEASE ! I hope that doesn't offend anyone , but I feel very strongly about this ! I do use the real thing, but mostly in my outdoor decorating. You only have to have a fresh pumpkin or gourd go bad and leak it's guts all over one of your favorite baskets or antiques to never do that again ! I would LOVE to use fresh bittersweet , but it is very hard to come by and it's not nearly as pliable .   

Here is a close up of my first fall arrangement of the year ! YAH!  I wish I was a better photographer, cause it really is pretty awesome.It's not much, but it's a start.

Bring on the Fall!