Yes, you read right: Christmas carols already. I can't help it. The advent of fall, and cooler weather, signals (to me -- The Man would disagree) the advent of advent, and advent means Christmas music and all the other delightful things that go with the celebration of Christ's birth. Don't get me wrong; I love fall, at least in theory, but Christmas, now that gets me excited. The other day at the thrift store, I found some lovely Christmas ornaments that I'm looking forward to putting on my tree. The fact that they have a shelf set aside for Christmas all year reassures me. I'm obviously not the only one with this unseasonable desire.
Despite my early Christmas kick, I do enjoy decorating for autumn as well. Just yesterday I found some adorable pumpkins made out of grapevines, on sale no less, which are now sitting on my mantel. Last year I got a pretty gold-coloured, leaf-patterned tablecloth, on sale again, at Fred Meyer that is actually big enough to cover our rather enormous table. And...okay, and that's about all I have for fall. Still, I'm just getting started. There are lots of years to collect fall decorations, and the right ones, too.
This is where sites like Pinterest and Houzz come and invade my life. I spend way too much of what little free time I have searching things like "Christmas" and "fall decor" on Pinterest, and while I find lots of lovely ideas, it seems that very few of them are actually practical. Especially with kids. And a dog. And a husband. I mean, really, glass jars on my coffee table full of red and green striped mints? Beautiful, but shattered and eaten (the jars and the mints respectively, I mean) in no time flat. Homemade berry wreaths hanging from the mantel look too much like those monkey bar rings on the playground for my littlest guy to leave them alone, and are far too time-consuming to make, to boot. No, I think that grapevine pumpkins, well out of reach, and a clear-vinyl-covered leaf tablecloth are as good as it gets for now, and, all things considered, are darn good.
Not that there aren't things I would like to get to spruce up the house for the fall season. I really would love an orange berry wreath to hang in the stairwell (I can see it mouldering on the front door, so the stairwell it is), and Chinese lantern makes me squeal and bounce up and down a little bit. A nice autumnal display in the front planters would be nice, too. The Man could care less, I think, but I do like the house to look seasonable. But, as I said, there are plenty of years to get there, and to gather ideas along the way. Everything is a process.
It really is - and I think that's a wise point that has become far too easy to forget in today's world, where we rush constantly, are bombarded with images of "perfection" (care of everything from magazines to TV to site like Pinterest, which, don't get me wrong, I love, but I know don't represent how everyone lives by a long shot), and are forever struggling to catch up with those pesky Joneses. It's all a process - and journey, for which getting there can be just as much fun as the destination itself.
ReplyDeleteHave a beautiful week - and countdown to Halloween!
♥ Jessica