Lost without a mantle

I love my house. Really, truly, love it. The more we settle and live in it, the more I love it. However. As the nights are getting colder and the leaves on the twin maples outside are turning bright red, I am really wishing that we had a fireplace with a mantle.

Don't get me wrong, I still love this house! But I can't help feeling like I'm missing out, not being able to decorate a fireplace mantle for the seasons. And what about Christmas?! Where in the world will we hang our stockings? This will require some creative solutions.

So that I don't feel left out, I've decided that our recently refinished telephone table will act as our makeshift fireplace mantle. So I decorated the tabletop for fall.







It's not as good as a roaring fire, but it will work for now. :)

I also filled the red bowl on the coffee table with some gourds and decorative green balls to add some texture. Lucy doesn't seem to want to use them as chew toys yet, but I'm keeping a close eye on her just in case.



You can see the telephone table fall mantle in the background. And NBA 2k10 happening on the tv. Boys.

In case you haven't noticed, I'm in full-on fall mode. I even broke out my leather riding boots for the first time this season. This weather makes me want to be productive, and we have tons of projects on our plates, as always. On the list for the next couple of weeks is putting up the fence in the backyard, finishing the tiles in the mud room, and installing a shelving unit in the office closet. (Plus those big trees we love so much out front are making quite a mess of the front lawn, so some heavy duty raking will be going down.) I'll hopefully have lots of progress to share very soon, so stay tuned!


P.S. "mantle" is a very strange looking and sounding word when you see it over and over again. Just me?

FAAAAALLLLLL!

It's official. Fall is here! It's chilly, in the mornings the windshield in my car needs defrosting (okay, so it's mostly fogged, not frozen, but close enough), and the leaves on the trees have hints of red. It's my favorite time of year, and I'm totally ready for apple cider and pumpkin bread. Maybe it's the super hot and steamy summer we had that makes me want the crisp cool air even more than usual.

I've gotten into the fall spirit early this year and added some simple decorations around the house. First, we obviously needed a wreath on the front door.



I plan on picking up some pumpkins soon for the porch steps. The posts on the stairs will be perfect for some perching pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns.

I've been mixing and matching with some different fall centerpieces for the dining room, too. I just love the warm colors.












Pretty soon the two gigantic sugar maples in our front yard will be dropping leaves all over the place and we'll be raking indefinitely. I'm so excited for fall that I'm even looking forward to raking! Something must definitely be wrong with me.