Fall Decor

I don’t usually decorate for the seasons, but this year I wanted to do something with pinecones. So with a little inspiration from Pinterest and some help from the garden, I redecorated the mantel and added a touch of fall to the dining room.

Here is the mantel before.

I started with the square hurricane vase. I filled it with popcorn, red kidney beans, green split peas, and topped it off with round spiky plant matter that fall off trees like pinecones (I have no idea what they are called, but they look cool). I put an upside down bud vase inside the hurricane before filling it with the popcorn, beans, and peas. That helped fill up some of the space inside so I didn’t need as much popcorn, etc. A couple pinecones surround the vase that’s tied with a strip of burlap.

Upside down wine glasses make great candelabras. They also display pinecones and a gourd. I tied strips of orange fabric around the stem of two of the glasses and used a brown ribbon for the third. I love this wine glass idea because it can be reinvented in so many ways. Different color ribbons and display objects can be used for a variety of seasons and events.

A pumpkin and gourd adorn the end of the mantel.

I used the extra gourds by the letter blocks.

I really like the final product. Simple, but festive.

In the dining room, I flipped the table runner to the brown side and set up three pinecone/gourd wine glass candelabras.

I also filled a couple bowls on the hutch with the extra pine cones.

Now I want to drink some hot apple cider!

Sources: The popcorn, beans, and peas are from the grocery store. I picked up the pinecones and the spiky spheres on the side of the road when I was out for a bike ride. The wine glasses are from Dollar Tree and hurricane vase from Garden Ridge. I got the round candles on clearance at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The pumpkin is from our garden and the gourds are from Walmart.

Subway vs. Goats

This weekend, the hubby and I took a trip to Eureka Springs, AR for a wedding. On the way through rural Arkansas, he mentioned that a house in that area with lots of land is better than a condo in Chicago. His main point to back up his statement is that you have room for goats in rural Arkansas.


After being on the road for a couple hours, we were getting hungry and looking for a Subway to stop and eat. While on a winding, rural road (with no restaurant in sight), we saw a yard with several goats. Here is the conversation that transpired...


Hubby and I simultaneously: Goats!
Me (sarcastically): You're right this is way better than Chicago. But they don't have a Subway.
Hubby (emphatically): You don't need Subway. You have goat milk!
Me (sarcastically, again): Because goat milk is so filling.
Hubby (still emphatic): You can eat the goats too. Just don't eat the goat if there's only one.

What's your opinion? Subway or goats?

Chicago!

I got to spend a week in my old city, Chicago, helping out with my new nephew! It was wonderful being able to help care for this adorable little boy.

Isn’t he the most precious thing you’ve ever seen?

While I was there, I also got to hang out with my young, cool, urban friends, L and K. L just got back from a trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley while K had just gotten back from a fabulous trip to Paris. So we met at their new favorite spot, P Diddy’s (aka Taverna 750) for dinner, drinks, and travel stories.

The drinks at P Diddy’s come with a sidecar in a bowl of ice. Nice! L and I both got the 750 and K got a Manhattan.

It’s kind of like Italian tapas so we got to try lots of different dishes. We finished off the night with this amazing chocolate lava cake. So good!

What a wonderful week in the city. I even got to bring home a few bottles of cheap wine from Trader Joe’s.  :)

Alabama!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had a free Saturday. When he suggested some sort of mini road trip, I immediately responded with, "Let's go to Alabama!" I've been keeping a tally of states I've visited and thanks to a trip out west this summer, I reached 40. But Alabama was not one of those 40. Despite the fact that it's the state right next to mine and it's only 80 miles down the road, it remained the only state east of the Mississippi that I had not visited. So off we went!


Here we are at the border. He was so nice as to pull over and pose for a picture with me.  :)

This trip did nothing but remind us that we were in the South. We passed a catfish barn, Discount Camo next door to the gun and knife store, and a dollar grocery with a tobacco-only drive through. This was all before we left Mississippi!

The highlight of Alabama was the signs for the Coon Dog Cemetery. Seriously?

We drove to Muscle Shoals at my insistence mainly because I recognized it from Sweet Home Alabama (it has the Swampers and they've been known to pick a song or two). We didn't find much there, but nearby was the home of Helen Keller.

We took the Natchez Trace Parkway back which provided some peaceful green scenery. We came close to going through Tupelo, MS which I have been wanting to visit even though my husband insists that it's not exciting. Similar to Muscle Shoals, my desire to visit is due to the fact that I've heard of it in a song. This one from The Proclaimers (of I Would Walk 500 Miles fame). "Sean I'd say the best one came from Tupelo, Mississippi I'll tell you now that grown men cry and Irish girls are pretty." We'll have to save Tupelo for another day.


41 states down. Only 9 more to go!