Fall Home Tour 2015

Hello friends! So glad you could come and meet me At the Picket Fence today for my stop on the Finding Home Farms Fall Tour.

If you are coming over from The Handmade Home, welcome, welcome!

You know, when I was a little girl, the opening of the box of seasonal decorations was always met with great eagerness and anticipation. And while there was definitely more decor for Christmas than any other time of the year, my mom always had a few items for each season that she would set around the house.

I always knew that fall officially had arrived in our home when the orange ceramic pumpkin candle holder made it’s grand entrance.

And I couldn’t wait for the moment when the little candle in the back would be lit and my mom would turn off the lights so we could see the glow emanating from those upside down triangle eyes and crooked toothed mouth.

I would get myself right to where I was eye level with that orange ceramic pumpkin and be flooded with feelings that at the time I’m sure I could not have properly put into words.

There was so much comfort in seeing it each year. Not only was it a tradition, it provided us with such a sense of consistency in times when our lives were full of change.

We moved a few times when I was growing up. But each year, no matter where we lived, that orange ceramic pumpkin did it’s job of ushering in Autumn.

That orange ceramic pumpkin represented home to me.

And now, each year, the highlight of opening up my own bins of seasonal decor is the moment when I pull back the tissue paper to reveal that orange ceramic pumpkin candle holder.

And my own daughter eagerly awaits the inaugural lighting of the candle. We dim the lights and she leans down so she can be eye to upside down triangle eye with it.

In a time when we are flooded with a steady stream of new ideas and trends, it’s so easy to get caught up in having to have the latest and greatest in our homes.

One year everything is neutral and the next it’s bright, bold colors.

Or you start buying up all of the shabby chic decor you can find only to realize that everyone has moved on to farmhouse style.

And it’s tempting, so very tempting, to think that those things are what the seasons are all about. To think that they are what will be remembered.

But the older I get the more I realize the truth.

The seasonal decorations are so much fun and I thoroughly enjoy adding nods to each new season throughout my home.

But decorations do not the season make. 

The first whiff of fall carried on a cool breeze.

The sunlight that streams through your windows suddenly beginning to shift and fade earlier and earlier.

The moment you trade your flip-flops for boots.

The realization that your kids are 6 inches taller than the last time you were at the pumpkin patch.

The colors on the trees that are so vibrant and so beautiful they actually make your heart ache a bit.

All of the things that can’t be packed up in plastic bins and stored in the attic.

They are what I look forward to the most at this time of the year.

And the decorations? Well, I think that they are simply our way of trying to capture all of the feelings of each season and make them more tangible.

Even if that means they come in the form of an orange ceramic pumpkin. 😉

I’m so excited to be joining 16 other bloggers this week as we fling open our homes to fall and to you. Grab a cup of coffee and start at the beginning of the tour by paying a visit to Finding Home Farms, the beautiful home of our host Laura.

And we’re all so thrilled to be teaming up with Better Homes and Gardens again this  year!

BHG and some of the bloggers want to see your fall decorating ideas.  Follow the directions below so that you can be part of us sharing some of our favorite fall ideas this week on Instagram.  You can find me on Instagram @findinghomefarms.

Share pictures of your fall decorating on Instagram and use the two hashtags:

#BHGCelebrate for a chance to be featured on BHG’s Instagram

and

#findingfallhometour for a chance to be featured by me or one of the other bloggers participating on Instagram

Now, be sure to head on over from here and take the tour of Angela’s gorgeous home at Unexpected Elegance.

And thank you so much for meeting me here today At the Picket Fence!