How I [Almost] Skipped Fall

I think I missed a season…. The weather has been so warm, here in Houston, Texas that it didn’t feel like fall. At all. I was waiting for the temperatures to cool down to take out my fall décor and to make a pumpkin craft or two, but I guess this isn’t going to happen! Thankfully, I had already put up a fall wreath on the front door a few weeks ago ~ just so that I could keep up with the neighbors ~ and a wooden pumpkin in the kitchen, where I spend most of the day. And all of a sudden, my Pinterest feed is all about Christmas! Realizing that Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and that our home wouldn’t be adequately decorated, I spent an hour this morning doing a little decorating. After all, fall is my favorite season!

This house does not have the grand entryway of the San Francisco home, but it’s a lot more cozy.

Right by the entryway, I placed a basked filled with huge natural pinecones, all collected from my old San Francisco neighborhood, along with some DIY moss covered pumpkins, instructions here.

I dried the large pumpkin a few years ago by letting it sit outside, protected from the rain, all winter long.

There is just enough space in the hallway to accommodate a small console table, previously in the family room.

That’s where I have more pinecones; These are half dipped in chalkpaint  – instructions here – and they’ re so elegant that they will stay with the Christmas décor. The DIY gold lined lampshade (details here) was one of my first projects and it still looks amazing. However, the table lamp that originally came with it did not make it after an indoor soccer game. This new (old) one is a $10 thrift find.

The study is right off the entryway. The orange upholstered armchair is perfect for all seasons, but especially for the fall, while the colors of the triptych painting connect the entryway with the study.

The round pedestal table did not fit in the entryway, like it did in the San Francisco home, so instead, I placed it in the study. The beautiful pomegranate/chestnut pillow cover, perfect for any fall décor,  is from MV Creations and it’s actually from a real piece of art.

On that same table, some more DIY pumpkins – instructions here – found a perfect home. The greenery is from the garden and the supersized orange vase is an end of season sale item from years ago. I use it mostly during this time of the year.

In the kitchen,  a Pottery-Barn-end-of-season-discounted-with-a-little-crack wooden pumpkin keeps me company when I do the dishes.

Last, from my collection of photocopy pumpkins, instructions here, I chose one for the girl’s room.  I will use the rest of them on my Thanksgiving table.

On Thanksgiving evening we always start decorating for Christmas, so I hope the weather gets a little colder. It was 83° F this morning while I was writing this post!