Before we kiss our pumpkins goodbye and bid farewell to Thanksgiving + the lovely Fall season, I wanted to share our Fall Front Porch with you.

This new house of ours has all of the charm I've ever dreamed of; The front porch, the craftsman style home, the HardieTrim® boards, the shake shingles...even the subtle minty blue I would've never chosen on my own but really love. 

So, with all of that "charm" it's been fun decorating the front porch AND somewhat of a struggle. Choosing the right plant containers to use out front has been challenging because I didn't want to use anything too substantial or regal for our "cottage" home OR something so simple it would seem boring. I knew using ornate urns was never an option so I never tried those. I did however try some cute baskets and even some smaller clay pots. Although I loved the look and the idea of using baskets, they proved to be completely impractical. The baskets started to mold inside from watering - gotta love Florida humidity. The standard clay pots were just too orange and too short next to the brick columns. I was looking for height...and...well...charm.

I'm happy to say I found just what I was looking for after several visits to the garden center at Ace Hardware - and a special order...for these Les Fleur clay pots that have evidently been discontinued. So much for simple. 

They are the perfect faded clay I was looking for and with the addition of these pretty white florals, (White Knight Alyssums), that will apparently last through the Florida winter...I think they're pretty perfect. I'm happy with how it came together. Now...enough talking...I'll just let you scroll.

I have to also mention I lucked out when I found all of the pretty pumpkins you see in this post at a little general store called Andrew's Homestead. It's such a sweet little find and Andrew is such a great guy. I will be sharing more about this little local gem and the treasures Andrew carries...like Kombucha Juice on tap! More on that later.

It's Pie Day tomorrow everyone!! *wink*
And my heart is grateful.
I'll pop in quickly tomorrow to share all of my Thanksgiving desserts with you.

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Did I tell you how much I LOVE the pretty white flowers?
They actually stink but they're so pretty and cottagey and just my style...I can deal with the smell.
And they do shed some but the positioning on the porch allows the wind to blow the pretty little petals away. Kind of like having an invisible, personal porch Roomba®. Ha!!

WE ARE MOVING

It's pouring down rain on this Tuesday afternoon as I begin writing this blog post.

I think the gloomy weather is apropos for the state of mind I seem to be in most days since our decision, back in January, to have Jason accept a position with another company. The new position brings with it a lot of opportunity and promise for him. Unfortunately, it also brings with it the need to move from the area our family has come to know and love for nearly 16 years now.

I've been in denial mostly. I keep thinking something is going to happen to intervene and the process isn't really going to play out. Turns out it's playing out all right. When the "For Sale" sign went up in the yard I think that pretty much squashed any disillusionment I had about the fact that we are packing up and heading a bit north on a new adventure.

Yeah. I keep calling it an "adventure".  That's what you have to do, isn't it? When you are faced with something you don't really want to do but you know you have to do it anyway...you call it an adventure. You pretend it's going to be amazing. You find all of the positives about the situation you can possibly gather and you create a bouquet of "it'll all work out". And honestly, I do have faith things will all work out.

So let's end on something super positive...
I've been filling my home with lots of fresh cut flowers lately.
Like the ones in the photo that are sitting on my perfectly made bed right now looking as though we live in a model home. Ha!!

But hey! There you go...a clean home filled with fresh flowers.
That's a really good thing.
That definitely brings me joy.
And I'm just going to hold onto that for today.

Between posts, you can find me on Instagram sharing more details about the move!
I hope to see you over there too!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPING IT REAL
Phew!! I ended this just in the knick of time...my phone alarm to remind me to go get Ella from school just rang!

DISCOVER | The Secrets of Tulips

Aren't they pretty!!??
On a whim, I stopped by Terri's Eustis Flower Shop last week and picked up this gorgeous fresh bunch of tulips. While there, I learned a couple of things about tulips (+ flowers) I never knew.
I was amazed at this first gem of information...