autumn home decor ♥

We are soaking up the last little bits of fall around these parts - even though a major snow storm is expected tonignt. i don't quite feel ready for winter, but who ever really is? :)

i share a lot about my home on instagram, but i thought it might be nice to have it all one place here on my blog - thankyou to everyone who has followed me on here over the years, i appreciate you all ♥ i've also shared about how over the past year or more, i have been simplifying how i decorate and scaling waaaay back on the amount of seasonal stuff i keep and store.

i've designated specific spaces in our home for holiday/seasonal decorations and i try to keep to those same spots to avoid over-buying (we all have those in-store "this is so cute but i don't have a place for it but i will figure it out when i get home and i love it so much so i will buy it" moments) and to keep it simple! I used to love having things & more things to decorate with, but as i get older i'm finding that less is more - and that "less" is so much more appealing... of course i love to decorate our home, of course i love to make our home cozy & comfortable & inviting with beautiful things ♥ but i discovered that the "managing & organizing" all of that stuff was weighing me down and controlling me! i wanted to be rid of the burden of having to always go though & reorganize storage spaces over and overrrrrrr again. 

so by keeping it simple and only applying seasonal changes to a few standard areas in our home, holiday decorating mainly, became a joy as opposed to something that i dreaded or felt like "i had to do" 

here is a short list of the areas on the lower level of our home

 that i decorate & swap/add things seasonally to :

entryway wreath

entryway bench

kitchen table

kitchen wreath

kitchen frame

pantry doors

living room end table

living room faux mantle

i like to add a wreath to the open shelves in our kitchen during the holidays 

(just for fall & Christmas) throughout the rest of the year there is nothing on it.

our kitchen is the most lived in area of our home - our table and island are always occupied and the open cabinets are stocked with things we use on a DAILY basis as opposed to stuff that just looks cute but has no function - the best thing i've discovered/learned throughout this whole process is that when i'm looking for ways to make the spaces in my home work functionally - functional can also look pretty & nice! ...for example, do you need new kitchen towels? look for some that you love and would be pretty to have out on display in a simple wire basket - on a counter or behind your kitchen sink - and all the while freeing up some space in your kitchen drawers :)

the doors to our pantry are white and hold two small wreaths or hangings very nicely.

i find those easy to swap seasonally with minimal storage - i have a few designated shelves in our basement for the wreaths i have - i store them in large white garbage bags that have the cinch pull tie things - i stack them on top of each other with a piece of cardboard in between for the ones i'm worried about getting crush or squished.

when it comes to frames i always buy white - they match and hold anything & everything

and they make whatever is in the frame stand out and pop.

 this frame from hobby lobby is on some corner shelves in our kitchen - there are several pieces of artwork stored in the frame - i swap them out for every holiday or just when it's nice to have a bit of a change.

my husband built this faux mantle for me a few years ago - the collection of white pitchers & laura ingalls wilder home wood sign always stays - the flowers & foliage for every season changes! spring flowers - small American flags for summer - fall sunflowers & white billy balls/wire snowflakes for Christmas. having a consistent neutral base to start with makes seasonal decorating so much easier.

i also like to change this small wreath in our living room 

along with a knick knack or two on the table below it 

this year i found the light up acorns at bed bath & beyond on clearance for only $1

when i saw them i visualized in my decorating head :) right where i wanted them to be.

i didn't have to think about where i would put them even if i didn't have the space 

or decide to just buy them because they were on clearance for a dollar then figure out what to do with them later.

remember just because something is on clearance doesn't mean you need it. 

one dolla is more expensive then no dollas :)

they were the only seasonal decor i purchased for fall this year (apart for some yarn to make the yarn wreath in the picture above) and i'm so glad i did! they fit in with my simple white theme and add a bit of twinkle to our nights in the living room ♥

how has your seasonal decorating changed over the years? are you overwhelmed and dread dragging the Christmas tree out or are you a pro at keeping it simple? i'd love to hear & learn from you all in the comments below & i hope this helps give new perspective on simple everyday ways to manage your home ♥ much love to you

autumn basket wreath

Fall is in full swing here in upstate NY - the leaves are on fire and the weather is chilly in the evenings

it's one of my favorite times of year here where we live. Life has been so busy and full with field hockey & volleyball games, senior year activities & a new teenage driver with her own car & new job (yes. tell me about it.) but I've been sharing on instagram about how i have been trying to simplify my holiday/seasonal decorating methods by choosing few but meaningful pieces to spread throughout our home while still keeping it cozy ...

I was searching for some simple fall inspiration to replace the lemon wreaths on our pantry doors,

when i stumbled on these $3 tobacco baskets in the target dollar section

with some wool pumpkins i had leftover & wire florals i found on clearance for $2 at Joanns -

i layered all three together with some hot glue

i used command hooks to hang them on our pantry doors

and my fall decorating is now complete :)

If you pick these baskets up to make your own, 

you can fill it with any combination of things for any season or holiday - 

changing it up for Christmas would be so easy.

With life being as busy as it has been, I've been doing lots of reflecting in my down time ... on how this season we're in feels alot like fall too - our girls are getting older and will soon have their own lives apart from us - like everything we've done as parents up to this point is now a culmination of how they will choose to live out life and the paths they choose to take - it's a strange scary feeling - like something is coming to a close and it's almost time to let go. I don't handle lack of control very well that's for  sure...

 As a mother you spend so much time watering, grooming, teaching, protecting, guiding and then just like that their true colors, personalities & individual choices are out on full display -from all the little + big somethings to the end results - like the trees and their leaves outside my window.  

... but as always and as hard as it is to do most days, I am trusting in God to fill in the gaps i left and taking comfort in the absolute knowledge that He's holding on to them much tighter then i ever could. 

what season of life are you in friends? tell me in the comments below

i'd love to hear your stories too. ♥

game day chex mix ♥

With sports season in full swing, we're at so many games during the week - between field hockey and volleyball - it seems like we're forever looking for game time munchies to hold us over till we get home to dinner...

My girls & I made this fall snack mix a few weeks ago and it was really good -

we found the recipe here and adapted it just a little bit 

we had trouble finding the caramel bugels that the recipe called for 

so we used regular ones and doubled the brown sugar topping instead

mix the chex, pretzels & bugels all together in a really big bowl

spread it all out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

mix the melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar & pumpkin pie spice 

pour the topping over the dry mix and bake!

add candy after it's cooled - as much or as little as your heart desires ♥

put your snack mix in a cookie jar, add a cute scoop and enjoy! 

we munched on it the whole week and took snack bags full with us to enjoy with a cup of hot chocolate at all the outdoor games :)

Enjoy!

print recipe

Game day chex mix ♥

by Jaime Favor October-9-2017

Ingredients

• 4 cups Honey Nut Chex cereal
• 1 bag original flavor Bugels
• 2 cups pretzels
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup peanut m&m's
• 1 cup caramel m&m's
• 1 cup candy corn
• 1 cup candy corn pumpkins

Instructions

1. Combine dry ingredients (cereal, Bugels & pretzels) in a large mixing bowl, set aside.2. In a medium glass measuring cup melt butter in microwave, add brown sugar, vanilla & pumpkin pie spice, stir together. 3. Pour butter mixture over dry mix, stir to coat well. 4. On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper spread mixture out in a single layer 5. Bake at 275 for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. 6. Let cool completely, sprinkle with candy and store in a pretty glass container on your container - add a measuring cup or scoop for easy snacking :)

Details

Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 10 cups

yarn wrapped fall wreath ♥

i love fall in upstate

it's so pretty here

and the donuts and cider are everyyyyywherrrrre.

yum

i always get an itch to make a new wreath in the fall

and when i accidentally stumbled upon this beaaauuuutifuuul yarn in michaels last week

(i was looking for another type of yarn that i can't find anywhere)

i knew i had to make something out of it

guys. this yarn is plush

it's so soft and luxurious

i'm wondering now if there was other variations and i missed them because i was mesmerized with this one. 

i picked up a styrofoam wreath form on the way out in isle 9

(just kidding i'm not really sure which isle the wreath forms were in but nine sounded good)

and wrapped it around and around and around

do this step while Jimmy Fallon is on - doing his Donald Trump impersonations

 it goes faster if you are watching Jimmy Fallon

you can use hot glue to secure the ends onto the styro

in my case i was upstairs on my bed (watching Jimmy Fallon)

and i was too lazy to plug in my glue gun

so sewing pins work great too!

added a little Martha metallic paint to all the tips of a package of white feathers (from michaels too)

(ps i love Martha's paint. it has the best thickness and THE BEST colors)

(cause well duh. she's Martha)

i used pins to secure the feathers (or again hot glue would've worked great) starting near the bottom and working my way up towards the side

i dug through my ribbon stash and used some navy satin ribbon to wrap a sort of "cuff" around the one side hiding the feather tips that were left showing at the top

and that's it! are you gonna make one?!

so easy. so fun

wreath. check

mums. check

pumpkins. check

i think my front porch is ready for fall!