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Thursday, November 11, 2010

A Case For Pumpkins

When I asked for Thanksgiving and Fall decorating suggestions on this post, I received a mixed bag of reactions.  Some emailed me offline a few ideas they had fine, a couple tweeted me, and a few said "why bother?"  I have to admit that for a few minutes I thought to myself, "why do I bother?"  I do have enough stress in my life right now to keep me company (and if you don't believe me, you should see the cold sore I have on my lip the size of Texas; a tell-tale sign that I'm stressed).  The thought process behind not decorating seemed to make a lot more sense than decorating.

I even got into a philosophical discussion with Miranda on Friday night over a glass of wine on why I feel the need to decorate.  Words like crazy and people-pleaser were thrown around, I assure you all in a loving way.  I  actually spent quite a bit of time thinking about the "Why", because besides being a worry-wart, control freak and overachiever, I also think things into oblivion and beat them with a dead horse.  So before I do that and beat this topic with a dead horse, I will just say this.  For whatever reason, decorating for holidays actually makes me less stressed.  Much like a clean house, an organized closet, or a well cooked meal would make some women less stressed.  Coming home to a warm house with reminders of good things to come, relieves stress for me.

So after a trip to Moskatel's on my lunch hour last week, I brought home a few goodies and my trusty side kick, Taylor, helped me change over the seasons.  And while I know my decor will never be featuerd in a magazine, I love it just the same and it fits our family just perfectly.  A mixture of handmade items, fresh flowers, somethings old and somethings new.

We started with this Give Thanks banner I found here.
 We used food items we already had in the house including wild rice, couscous, quinoa, polenta and split peas.  I cut out the paper and traced the letter in glue and then Taylor did all the rest.  She really had a good time doing this project.
The mini pumpkins are from Trader Joe's and I stuck them, and the mums below in my apothecary jars without the lids.
 I saw these birch branches at Moskatel's and instantly thought of our buffet.  I added some votive holders, mini pumpkins and some moss.  Aren't I regal with my buffet?
 I love this little owl candle holder my mom picked up for me at Marshall's. 
So there you have it.  Nothing crazy or overboard.  Nothing that spent hours and hours to do.  Simple, warm, perfectly us.  I love it and without a doubt, was worth the effort for me.

Why do you decorate?

7 comments:

  1. I should totally do the Give Thanks banner as a project with the daycare kids. But my OCD tendencies might kick in and I'd be fixing all of their "mistakes".

    Your decorating is simple & gorgeous. You don't make it fussy... you make it practical.

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  2. I am thankful that you can make me sound like a total maniac and yet with all we disagree on we can still be friends!

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  3. I like to decorate for Thanksgiving because I think it gets lost between Halloween and Christmas. People put up gobs of Halloween decorations and we all go a bit crazy for Christmas, but Thanksgiving, well, it gets the shaft.
    And I think it is such a valuable and special holiday. One I want my kids to love and celebrate and care about. i want the meaning of Thanksgiving to matter. And for that to happen, I need to make it a bit more special--so I decorate. Like you, nothing extravagant. A give thanks banner, fall leaves, gourds and winter squash. But they notice and they like it.
    Great post Andrea!
    Love from,
    Greta

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  4. i like the change of season and love the cozier feeling the fall brings. it's a nice bridge between the normalness of summer before the over the top christmas. it's cozy. and mmmm.
    i agree. thanksgiving gets the shaft. but not at my house. because we eschew halloween and go straight for the harvest, thanksgiving gets its due around here!
    thanks for some beautiful ideas!

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  5. I love the banner and all the flowers! Looks great.

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  6. This will be a great project when the kids don't have school for a week during Thanksgiving vacation.
    p.s. I can't tell you how much I love your white pottery.

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  7. Decorating and making my house a home is so important to me. And even though our house is kind of disgusting right now, at least it smells like pumpkin spice, and there are little hints of fall hidden here and there. With just a little bit of effort, my home instantly felt more comfy and cozy~ just like yours looks and feels! (The give thanks banner is my favorite!)

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