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

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!!

SUGAR | Our Thanksgiving Pies

I sure hope you all had a "sweet" Thanksgiving.
Yep. Totally being intentional with a corny segway into me sharing the desserts I baked this year.

I invited a cheesecake to my table of pies this year.
Other than that, I stuck with three of my favorites...
In fact, the same exact pies I shared the recipes for last year.

The Only Pumpkin Pie

click HERE for recipe

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

click HERE for recipe

Crumb-topped Apple Pie

click HERE for recipe

Our Family Cheesecake

I apologize in advance for no recipe - my mother has forbidden me for years to share the recipe

which is why this is the only time you've ever seen me mention it on my blog. *eye roll*

I figured the cheesecake deserved four photos since it's never made an appearance on the blog before. *wink*

I sure hope you all enjoyed the time with family and friends as you celebrated Thanksgiving.
It was hard sending Ella back to school today and I'm already counting down the days to Christmas break!!

Love you guys!!

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
These desserts look almost perfect, don't they!?
Nope....

1. Pumpkin Pie - seemed too sweet to me this year for some reason? Also, the leaves were a tiny bit overdone. Thank goodness golden browns fit right into the Thanksgiving color scheme. Ha!!

2. Crumb-Topped Apple - the best pie on the planet. Again. Forgot to bring the vanilla ice cream though.

3. Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie - seemed exceptionally chocolatey this year? And it was nowhere as pretty as the pie last year. I couldn't add the pretty whipped cream accents with chocolate chips + pecan for the photos since we were traveling. I knew it would look like doo doo train after a 2+ hour drive. So I left it plain. Boo.

4. Cheesecake - doubled the crust this time to accommodate a new pan I was trying out. Mistake. Way too much crust for even this crust lover and was nearly impossible to slice through. AND...the 2 hours and 40 minutes of traveling to even get to Thanksgiving dinner caused it to soften - even though it was on ice. Oh let's be real people!! I also regretfully admit it's the first time I've ever under-baked a cheesecake - which added to it not setting up properly and being too soft by the time we served it. Wah!  Still tasted amazing though. Ha!

STYLING | Fall Front Porch

 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!!