{image via http://spaceforinspiration.blogspot.com%7d/
{a tree in our neighborhood, last year}
So here they are:
1. Switch out throw pillows to ones with warmer tones & cozier-feeling materials
{Image via pinterest & I couldn't find the original cource}
2. Add more throw blankets around the house or switch out existing summer throws to thicker, cozier ones. I really love my faux fur throws, especially for napping and bringing outside onto the back patio at night.
{image from homedecorators.com}
3. Even if you don't have time to bake, you can fake that Heavenly smell with candles and/or diffusers. I have pumpkin pie-scented candles & diffusers all over the house (and vanilla cake too!) and I want to eat them!!!
{image from Country Living}
4. Have healthy seasonal food around for the munching. (so you don't eat your candles} Bowls of walnuts or apples in the family room and/ or kitchen invite everyone to enjoy seasonal goodies. I'm always more likely to eat something when it's within reaching distance.
{my vintage peanut stocked with almonds}
{little bowl of walnuts}
{our mantle for Fall}
Bookshelves are another good place for this. Before I had two kids, I used to really rearrange our books by color seasonally.
{Some of my old "fall"-colored books... My English teacher husband doesn't approve of my seasonal genres.}
(I know it sounds like I must have been on crack, but I really kind of miss the book rearranging. ) In the Fall, I'd make the orange & browns & golden books stand out more by placing them most prominently and in the Spring & Summer, I'd pull out the blues & aquas. Now I'm lucky if the books are even on the shelves.
{our super-crammed living room bookshelf... not much rearranging happening here these days... I've now realized that by the time I have the time to do that again, I'll probably be missing my kids.}
6. Bring in leaves & branches from your yard. (or your neighbors' yards! ;) ;) hee hee. I found these cool orange-needled branches last Fall: (I told you I hadn't gotten much done this year ;) I love going on walks with the family & collecting things from outside.
7. Pumkins & gourds: They usually last a really long time & I pretty much always have pumpkins & gourds leftover from Halloween on the Thanksgiving table. Piling them on your porch and around the house makes it really feel like Fall. Kids love them too.
{Last year's Thanksgiving Table}
8. Have fires when you can. With a toddler in our house, our fires are a little few & far between but when we do have them, I'm in Heaven. It just seems to lead to good family hang-out time. On Fall nights, we love doing fires outside & roasting marshmallows.
{mmm mmm I loooooove s'mores!!}
9. Bedding: In the Fall we add extra blankets to our bed including a down comforter & a throw blanket for napping at the foot of the bed. It's been a fairly warm Fall so I do end up kicking them off a lot of the time at night.. maybe I made the switch too early this year??
{I love the faux fur blanket on Tia Zoldan's bed in this pic}
10. And finally... (you know I'd have to include some real eating in here)- Soup! We try to make weekly batches of soup or pasta sauce in the Fall & Winter. It feels so good on a cool day to be warm & toasty inside eating soup. My mom makes an amazing pumpkin curry soup in the Fall:
{I'll have to get the actual recipe from my mom but the amazing-looking pumpkin soup pictured above is from Sweet Peas Kitchen and you can view the recipe here: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/09/16/harvest-pumpkin-soup/ }
Anyway, would love to hear about the changes you've been making in your house for Fall. I'll keep you posted on my progress!!
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