Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the changing leaves, the crisp weather, spiced apple cider, candles, pumpkins, Thanksgiving...I just love it! Below is are a few tips on how to decorate for Fall taken from Country Home! Enjoy!

1. Be the talk of the town with a playful pumpkin version of a snowman. Stack three pumpkins in graduated sizes, drilling holes through the pumpkins and inserting a large stick to secure. Add stick arms and a face using a black marker.

2. Make a quirky topiary by placing a sturdy branch in a box or flowerpot, weighing it down with bricks or rocks that you then cover with nuts. Cut or drill a hole through the largest pumpkin, and place on the branch. Top with two smaller pumpkins.

3. Accent a door or wall with a swag of Indian corn. Use twine to connect the ears, knotting the twine after adding each ear. Tuck in pressed maple leaves for even more color. Then loop the twine at the top to hang.

4. Don't just throw all those tree trimmings in the trash this autumn. Place a bundle of bare branches in a large terra-cotta pot and weave little white holiday lights to create the perfect décor for your home.

5. Have a ball by wrapping colorful dried leaves around purchased plastic-foam balls from a crafts store. Glue the leaves on, then wind thin wire around and around to hold them firmly in place. Stack a collection of balls in a basket for rustic country style.

6. Make an autumn garland for your mantle with colorful apples. Use an awl or knitting needle to pierce through the apples from side to side. Pull twine through the hole and knot it to hold the apple in place. Spice up the display by alternating apples with gourds, walnuts, or leaves.

7. Lead trick-or-treaters to your door or dinner guests to the back patio with country luminaries made with old glass jars. Put a bit of sand in the jar and set a small candle in the sand. Line the sidewalk with the luminaries or even hang them from trees with wire.

8. Decorate a wreath for your front door with clusters of berries, ornamental grasses, and other fall finds. Purchase a wreath form at a local crafts store, then simply attach the berries and grasses with wire or hot glue.

9. Turn mini pumpkins into decorative candleholders. Just carve a hole large enough for a tea candle in the top of the pumpkin. Arrange a bunch across a mantle or down the middle of the dining table.

10. For a fragrant treat, fill a ceramic bowl or wicker basket with oranges, lemons, pinecones, nuts, and pieces of evergreen. Place the container just inside the front door for a special welcome home.

Happy Earth Day!!!

We live in an amazing world! There are so many moments/hours/days, when I forget about how important this earth, God's creation, really is. I am so grateful for what it has given me, spiritually, mentally, and physically. When I am stressed out and need to go for a walk, or sit on my hammock and feel the wind on my face...this earth that God has made is a huge blessing.
So, for this Earth Day, I am choosing to give back from this day forward!!! Please join me! Here are a few tips I found on the internet. And the great thing is, most of them are inexpensive and easy to do! And please, we don't have to do everything! Even the smallest step towards a healthier earth counts!

This list may be lengthly, but remember...the smallest change counts!!!

1. Buy organic as much as possible. The following are items that are the most important to switch: baby food, dairy, meat, poultry, eggs, rice, corn, wheat, peanut butter, raisins, apples, potatoes, green beans, strawberries...

2. If you can't buy all organic use this simple wash to clean your veggies and fruit to safely get rid of pesticides. Mix one cup of water, one cup of plain distilled white vinegar, with 1 tbsp of baking soda, 20 drops of grapefruit extract. Pour into spray bottle. Spray on fruit and veggies, leave for ten minutes, then wash.

3. Save time and a lot of paper: Switch to tree-free billing and pay those bills online with the click of a button or an automatic debit.

4. Cut down on plastic water bottles...AND do not reuse bottles intended for single use. Reused water bottles also make good breeding grounds for bacteria. Try switching to a long lasting SAFE water bottle like SIGG found at any outdoors store or AMAZON.COM.


5. Close shades and blinds at night to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows. This also applies during the day for warm climates.

6. Recycle everything you can: newspapers, cans, glass, aluminum foil and pans, motor oil, scrap metal and plastics. Call 1-800-I-RECYCLE to find out how and where to leave your trash.

7. Save electricity by turning off lights when you leave a room and radios, televisions, and computers when not in use. Replace light bulbs with energy-efficient bulbs; the initial cost is higher, but the long-term investment will save you money and protect the environment.

8. Bring a cloth bag to the grocery store instead of using its plastic bags. A lot of stores will actually give you a credit for bringing them in! I found this out last week when I went shopping at Safeway and they gave me 3 cents per bag I brought in.

9. Bring your own mug to Starbucks rather than using their paper products. Again, the coffee shop may credit your bill.

10. Shorten your showers. I know, I am definitely guilty of long showers, but for every two minutes you shorten your shower, you save 10 gallons of water....HUGE!

Happy Earth Day!!!