As I mentioned in my Fall Porch Idea No. 1 Post, 

I was craving charm and simplicity with a warm welcome.

So, I decided to change things up and eliminated the bright orange pumpkins, the sprigs of wheat, pinecones, and some of the other decor and replaced the iron basket with a simplistic $2 thrift store basket to hold my pumpkins.

I added a pretty piece of pottery filled with natural reed grass, a simple blanket next to the basket of pumpkins and a rocking bench cushion topped with a pillow and blanket. 

I'm in love with the overall vibe. 

This was more the "feel" I was going for.

I want to know what YOU think?

Is Idea No. 1 or Idea No. 2 more your speed for Fall decor this year?

Hopefully this post will help you pause when you are decorating your own home - seasonally or every day decor - and ask yourself if the direction you are going is speaking to you. Trends come and go. Decide what makes your home "feel" like home...and go in that direction. You won't be disappointed.

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration.

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KEEPING IT REAL

The changes to the front porch made SUCH a big difference to the overall feeling I get every time I walk out there to water plants or when I'm sitting on the rocker snuggling my Ella Pie. I love it.

STYLING | Fall Porch - Idea No. 1

I did two different fall porches this year...

My goal was to use things I had on hand and not purchase anything additional. 

This meant no real pumpkins. So, I gathered together my collection of faux pumpkins, and a dried gourd I picked up in an antique store one year, and placed them in an antique planter - taking center stage on my front porch bench.

I added pinecones and lanterns, a splash of more fall color with the use of a piece of fabric used under the planter and I tucked in sprigs of wheat and reed grass to the centerpiece as well as other items on the bench for additional touches of fall.

I loved it.

It screamed "fall" with all of the pinecones, pumpkins and wheat.

Neighbors loved it too and it really did look pretty.

Done.

Right?

Well...something just wasn't sitting well with me. 

It didn't "feel" the way I wanted my Thanksgiving to feel.

Craving charm and simplicity with a warm welcome...

I decided to change things up.

Go see how my second attempt turned out.

Let me know which one you like best - click on the link below!

FALL PORCH - Idea No. 2

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration.

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KEEPING IT REAL

When Jay came home one night and saw this fall porch decor for the first time his response was, "Wow! We've got a lot going on up here."

And with that...he solidified my own personal feelings for wanting to change it up. Lol

DIY | Pretty Fall Leaves Wreath

The Fall wreath I created two years ago popped up in my photos over the weekend and upon seeing it and remembering how much I loved it, I was inspired to create another one this year. 

I especially loved the simplicity of it and that's the vibe I'm trying to create on my front porch this year - with hopes of setting the stage for calm + cozy during a month that historically tends to be associated with chaos for our family. (three birthdays, Thanksgiving and prepping for Christmas makes for a crazy November). 

We, (Ella, myself, and a friend of hers), collected beautiful leaves together over the weekend and then yesterday I grabbed my glue gun and created this beauty.

The leaves were gorgeous on their own and I could've left the wreath alone. However, I  really wanted to add a softer element to it and remembered I had some leftover dried florals I had picked up at Fresh Market earlier this month.  I added the plumes and love how it turned out.

It's simple.

It's natural.

It's beautiful.

And it does a fantastic job representing fall in all of its splendor.

I sure hope you'll try this fun, easy, pretty fall wreath.

It took me longer to collect the leaves than it did to put it all together.

PS - Let's stay cozy + connected in-between posts...find me on Instagram for daily inspiration. 

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MATERIAL NEEDED:

1 - grapevine wreath - here's one similar to mine 

     but don't shy away from local craft stores - take advantage of their 40 + 50% off coupons.

1 - glue gun w/glue sticks - similar to mine...simple + tiny

Armful of Fall leaves - quantity really depends on the size of the your leaves + wreath

Dried Fall Florals - I used something like this reed grass

Ribbon, Twine, fishing line, or a wreath hanger - for hanging. I used THIS. 

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat up your glue gun.

Lay your grapevine wreath on a flat surface.

Place larger leaves on wreath to determine placement before gluing. 

Start hot gluing the leaves to the wreath.

Use smaller leaves to fill in any gaps - securing with glue.

Cut the reed grass stems until you've got maybe 1-2 inches of the stem to work with.

Tuck dried florals into the wreath, stem side first, along the outside and inside of wreath.

Use grapevines to continue tucking dried plumes into the wreath to your liking.

No need for gluing if they are tucked well in the grapevines - and will allow you to reuse them.

Use ribbon, twine, fishing line or a wreath hanger to display.

NOTES + TIPS

1. Face your leaves up, down, and sideways to create more character and dimension.

2. Be sure to allow some of the leaves to lay on the inner and outer sides of the wreath to add more

   interest. 

3. Stand your wreath up (or better yet, hang it on something), after you've got most of the leaves glued on. This will provide you with a better view of what it will look like when it's actually hanging and will help with placement of the remaining leaves. 

4. When gathering leaves, don't shy away from the "imperfect" ones. The rips, holes, curls and discoloration adds to the authenticity of your fall wreath.

5. I used raw muslin to hang my wreath by using three flat tacks to secure it at the very top of my door. Tacks cannot be seen and door still closes. Yay!

6. Although it may have been easier to start with the dried fall florals since they are the largest element of the wreath, starting with the leaves allowed me to fill in where necessary and avoid getting hot glue on the dried florals I'm hoping to reuse. 

• • • • •

KEEPING IT REAL

I was super busy with a Harry Potter Classroom transformation last week. (you can see it in my Instagram stories "HP Reveal" saved in my Insta highlights). 

So...I didn't get my Ranch Dressing or Taco Mix Recipes posted yet. Those are coming - and then so is the Chicken Ranch Tacos recipe! Although I'm seriously tempted to skip all of them and get straight to the pies! #pieismyfavorite

HOME DECOR | Fall Home Tour 2018

We are now 6 days into December and I'm sitting here wondering what happened to November.
What happened to these beautiful pumpkins?
And the wheat sprigs?
And the grateful?

I actually have a love-hate relationship with the month of November.
And that's unfortunate because it's my birthday month...
and a wonderful month filled with 2 other birthday celebrations in our home...
THREE birthdays under one roof...
within one month.
AND then...Thanksgiving.
Phew.

It's wonderful...
and wretched at the same time.

I would love to relish in the celebrations...
and soak them in...
and gobble them up. (pun intended).

Instead, I find myself strategically going from one celebration to the next.
There is no time to soak it all in or gobble it up.
There's barely time to breathe at all let alone breathe it all in. *wink*

So...despite it being December...
and despite the Christmas festivities and the decor that swooped down upon us all as soon as the last slice of pumpkin pie was dished out...I am taking the time to celebrate the touches of fall I was able to enjoy when Autumn visited...even if was for just a second.

Our table behind the couch was decorated with a giant "pumpkin cake" - which essentially means I created a stack of pumpkins to resemble layers in a cake and then added beautiful fresh + dried florals to the layers.

It was inspired by Erin's pumpkin cake over at Cottonstem.
Ours are considerably different as far as the florals are concerned but I just realized when I went to grab the link to her site that I ended up using the same color scheme of pumpkins - in the exact same order.

I loved using dried wheat mixed with fresh seeded eucalyptus and other greenery all over the house to create an organic vibe in our home this year. I also used a faux garland to run down the middle of our dining table, again mixed with fresh greenery and dried wheat. (more on that in a minute)

I was also excited to try my hand at baking pie in a different way...using a different pan.
If you follow me on Instagram you know I attempted my first "slab pie" - which was my original plan for Thanksgiving dessert this year. (i was testing out my skills early...I realize...but I was excited).

When it came right down to it though, we had a smaller scale, more intimate Thanksgiving at my house this year.  So I scaled back the desserts by doing a couple of "Mini Slab Pies" - the pumpkin one above and this mini pecan slab pie below. 

LOVED them.
Here's why...
They are smaller versions of our classic pie recipes...using only half the amount of pie filling you would normally use for regular pie-plate pie.

I highly recommend that you buy THESE PANS to make your next pie. They are relatively inexpensive - especially compared to my favorite pie plate! 
To put it into perspective, I bought three pans for the same price as one pie plate.
And they create a beautiful scalloped crust! I absolutely love them!

I also added a few small pinecones which I always think adds a charming rustic touch to fall decor.

Truth be told though, my favorite part of my fall decor was the "pumpkin cake".
It was sitting on this table for a bit but then about 5 days before Thanksgiving, I moved it to the front porch for the rest of the world to see. She sat right outside our door and greeted family and friends as they poured into our home for Thanksgiving Day.

I really wish I would have photographed her sitting on the porch, along with the pumpkins and other front porch decor. All I have is video from Instagram when I shared it. Are you following me over there? If not, you are missing LOTS of behind the scenes.

Speaking of which...
I shared the how-to on this table garland I created for our Thanksgiving dinner table...on my Instagram stories.

There are a few things I absolutely adore about this table garland.
1. It's really skinny and doesn't take up a lot of space for plates, glasses and food.
2. It's a mix of a faux and fresh florals and greenery - along with some more dried wheat.
3. I intentionally created it to flow right into Christmas...I'll tell you more about that in a minute.

Yes! That is my Christmas tree in the background. I know!!!
Honestly, it had been up since September when I was photographing product for Hershey.
I almost took it down but then changed my mind...and here's why.

I figured November was so busy with birthdays and Thanksgiving I just really craved for a more simple December. One of the ways to achieve that was to decorate EARLY so when it actually arrived, I could enjoy it.

So yes...the house was a mix of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Thanksgiving on the front porch and dining table.
Christmas everywhere else.

And you know what?
I think I'm going to stick with that theory from here on out.
I love Christmas tree lights and the peace they fill my home with - always have.
If it wasn't weird, I would leave it up year-round. Ha!

Back to the table garland for a second...
I chose a green faux garland as my anchor so-to-speak.
I selected something that didn't lean toward any specific holiday so that it was more versatile.
I then chose some "rusty red" faux florals - which works for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I added some faux creamy/beige "wheat-like" florals along with some dried wheat.
I then added some fresh greenery I picked up from Trader Joe's.

The addition of amber glass really gave the table some fall warmth as well and now...
for Christmas...
all I had to do was pull the dried wheat to get rid of the fall vibe.
I'll be sharing the Christmas version of it soon.

So that's it friends!
I hope you don't mind me taking a minute to reflect back on November.
It did my soul some good to take a minute a look back on it all.

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Friends! I am making a dream of mine happen today.
I'm hopping on a plane to visit Waco, TX - to soak in everything Magnolia.
Follow along on Instagram!!

FOUND | Antique Copper Treasures

Raise your hand if you're into the copper accent trend? Me.
I could kick myself for letting my mom get rid of her copper pan collection about 5 years ago.

But...that just means I get to go out and hunt for copper treasures and this weekend I did just that. I found some antique varieties while "pickin'" with Rachel from Rachel Elizabeth Creates. We met for lunch and then she took me to her favorite spot for the day.

The verdict is out on whether or not I will polish these up. I don't intend on using these for anything but decor purposes but I prefer the copper shine through just a little bit more than their current state. What would you do? I've read conflicting views about whether or not polishing effects the value of antique copper pieces. Anyone have any feedback or insight you'd like to share?

Here are a couple of other copper treasures I'm currently crushing on:
Copper Tea Kettle
Old Dutch Solid Copper Tea Kettle
Copper Whisk
Restored Vintage Copper Cookware - super out of my price range but stunning!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying this Hallow's Eve!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
So I showed up 30 minutes early when meeting up with Rachel...completely by accident.
I was apparently super excited to have some girl time but it was pretty laughable considering this is only the 2nd time I've met Rachel. Ha! Her mom came along too this time and was such a treat to spend time with.

Oh...and I may or may not have a mirror Rachel found that I will be delivering some time soon since there was no way she could fit it in the car on their two hour drive home with kids in tow AND we may or may not have come up with this intentional plan to avoid any unnecessary conversations about "spending" with her hubby. Ha!!  (she lives close to where we just moved from...and I moved to where she grew up and where her family is from). So crazy, right?