Holiday Entertaining with No Rules

I see a lot of cool things happening in party planning right now. The trend in fall party decorating seems to be rustic, cozy and casual with some antique influences and best of all – no rules! You no longer need to go with the traditional “pumpkins and leaves” theme when accessorizing your home for a holiday party.

And you don’t have to spend a lot of money. Go to the thrift store to mix and match antique dinnerware and glassware pieces. The in-cohesive look is in style and so charming. An old beat up dinner table suddenly has chic appeal, so forget the tablecloth and dress it up with a lace runner or simple linen placemats.
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Fall Cleanup for the Holidays

In the spirit of “Spring Cleaning”, each fall I also like to give the house a good, thorough cleaning. Maybe because it feels like we are about to close up the house for the winter or are getting ready to hibernate. In addition to that, the holidays bring many opportunities to entertain family and friends.

While I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year, at least where cleaning is concerned, I will treat it as though I am.
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Travel Packing Tips

With the holidays fast approaching there is sure to be lots of traveling coming up, whether you’re going away for Thanksgiving or flying to see family for Christmas. This can be a stressful time of year and having to pack everything from suits to presents doesn’t help matters. That’s why staying organized with a few travel products, even when on the go, is the key to a low-key holiday season.
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How I Fit My Entire Family In My Home For Thanksgiving

As I mentioned before in my previous post, this year the arduous task of hosting Thanksgiving for both sides of my family has fallen to me and my wife. As I was writing about the best way to store and preserve all of that leftover turkey and stuffing, I recalled another hurdle that I cleared the first time I hosted Thanksgiving:

“How am I going to fit all of those family members into my dining room?”
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New Idea For A Jack-O-Lantern

Dry ice inside a pumpkin - I'm gonna have to do this! I think I'd add a green glowstick or a battery operated candle to make it even eerier.

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Tips To Get Your Kitchen Ready For The Holidays

With the holidays on the way it’s the perfect time to get your kitchen prepped for all that entertaining. Get a head start and whip that fridge and those cabinets into shape by ensuring storage is organized and everything is easy to find so you don’t have to make any last minute trips to the grocery store.

Making sure you have everything needed for a big family dinner can be daunting, but by stocking up in advance on the things you can you can means you’ll have less to buy at the grocery store right before the holidays.
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What To Do With The Leftovers

One of the holidays I enjoy most of all is Thanksgiving. Getting together with family, some of whom I have not seen in months or a year, and enjoying a home-cooked meal brings a bit of brightness to the dull, seemingly-weatherless late November days.
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Why I Just Can’t Let Go of my Vegetable Garden

For me, gardening feeds my soul. Of course it’s fun if it feeds my belly too, but getting my hands in the dirt, daily watering and fertilizing make up one of the pleasures in life that make my heart sing. So why should I give this up during fall and winter, a time when, frankly, my soul needs all the calories it can get?

Luckily, I don’t have to stop gardening during the winter, and neither do you.
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Gardening Indoors For Winter

Indoor veggie gardening - great for fall and winter! Who knew?

Shed Organization For The Non-Handyman

One of my favorite leisure-time activities is maintaining my garden and landscaping the spacious yard that surrounds the house. Unfortunately, winter-time in my region is not just hibernation time for bears – my yard tools and gardening supplies too have an extended stay in the shed awaiting them from October to March.

While I have the good fortune of owning a home on a large piece of land, my property only has one shed to store all my tools. Our home does not include a garage; it only has a carport that is built into the house, storing extra tools there was not an option because they would be too exposed to the elements.
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Getting the Guest Room Ready for Holiday Visitors

Let’s face it, most of us do not have a room that is dedicated just to guests. More often than not, our guests are sharing a space with a computer, a treadmill, toys, or some combination of those items.

During the holidays in particular, guest-stays tend to be longer and you want them to be comfortable, assuming you want them to come back, of course.

Here are solutions to some common problems that plague the guestroom:
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Yummy Fall Dinner Recipe

This is like a pot pie with a biscuit crust on top - yum! This one calls for home made biscuits, but I'm sure the canned ones would work for a short cut.

De-Stressing Holiday Travel

For many people, the decision to hit the open road for a long road trip during the fall season can be a double-edged sword. As I mentioned before in my last post, there is typically less construction during the fall and the weather tends to be more bearable (as in the weather is not too hot – I’ll get into the reverse of this later on). On the other hand, there are quite a few drawbacks to traveling during the fall and winter months. Some of these include the likelihood of inclemently-cold weather and devastatingly brutal pre-holiday traffic in October and November – not to mention the typical issues you deal with on a road trip during any time of the year. For me, the best way to stay cool, calm and collected during a long road trip in the autumn season is to prepare ahead of time. I ensure all of the organizers and travel comfort items I need are packed away, a key to successful travel.
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Logs As A Centerpiece - Who Knew?

I love this idea! Especially with the canning jars and mis-matched glass - beautiful!

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Another Cote Fall Decor Idea

Oh! I'm SO doing this! I always wonder what creative thing I could do with all the colorful gourds besides just laying them around.

Come see our Fall Decorating Pin Board!

Incorporating Fall Colors into your Home Decor Scheme

Of all the seasons, fall has the most distinct, recognizable color palette, by far. It also happens to be one of the most soothing and user-friendly color palettes, a cinch to incorporate into one or more rooms of the home.

Whether you are wanting to make long-term changes to your room’s decor scheme or just simply want to get in the mood for autumn and the upcoming holidays, I’ve got some great picks and ideas for you!
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Fall Clothes For A Fall Mood

Now THIS gets me into a fall kind of mood!

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Getting Into The Fall Spirit

Every time the season changes, I like to throw a party to celebrate it. Not necessarily on the actual date, but when it really starts to feel like that season. As we all know, winter tends to drag on, spring pushes itself as far as it can, and summer (especially this year) just can’t seem to let go. So right now I’m making plans for my “welcome” party for fall. And boy is it welcome! I am so ready for a change. Fall’s party is always really exciting for me because it’s my favorite season change. By this time, I’m sick of sunny days and warm weather. I’m tired of hearing that monotonous drone of the air conditioning unit. I don’t need another backyard barbeque!
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Make Something That Says Fall

I love to crochet, and this is the season. Think I'm gonna have to try this pattern!

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Tips For "Cozifying" Your Home

Fall may have officially started already, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to prep your home for what’s to come: shorter days, cooler weather, and finding pleasure indoors. I have a word for this, and it is “cozify”. I just got started on cozifying my home, even though it still feels a little like summer. What I do is introduce cozy items to my surroundings like plush fabrics and pull out appliances like the slow cooker and electric tea kettle. To me there is nothing like a cup of hot tea, a comfy chair, a warm blanket and a good book on a rainy autumn day.
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Winterize Your Home - Part 2

Now that we’ve had our fun in the garden, it’s time to get serious about winterizing our homes.

But don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple.

We are not going to cover some of the more serious items, like pipes, as you may want to turn to a professional for those important items. Instead, we will focus on what the average person can do to get ready for winter.
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It's Soup Time!

Fall weather makes me a sucker for soups. Here is a great pin with crock-pot soup recipes!

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Give Your Guests The Spa Treatment

Have visitors coming to stay this holiday season? Give your guests, and yourself, an excuse to indulge with some decadent items for your home. By choosing items for the guestroom and guest bath that you can enjoy too you’ll get the most for your money and have a happy house guest.

On crisp fall days getting out of the bath to wrap up in a warm towel is a luxurious bathroom touch. The towel warmer is a convenient and portable way to keep towels toasty. Keep this warmer in your bathroom and then bring it in the guest bath filled with fresh bath linens so visitors can enjoy it too. This warmer is a great way to give any bathroom a spa like feel.
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Tips For A Great Game Day

Think you have everything you need for game day? Make sure you don’t end up empty handed with these must have tools. From remotes to snacks there are a few key items you want within reach of your favorite seat so you don’t miss any of the action.
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Fall Leaf Decor on Pinterest

My home has a lot of fall colors year round. I guess I'm just drawn to them. Isn't this gorgeous? I have the perfect spot by my front door!

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Fall Decor - Lighting

What a gorgeous fall lamp! Come Pin with Stacksandstacks!

Fall Veggie Recipes on Pinterest

Here is a pin that will appeal to gardeners and foodies alike - a site with some fabulous looking recipes using colorful fall veggies.

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My Fall Prep Plans

It’s difficult to think fall when the weather doesn’t agree. Days this week have been in the upper 90’s and low 100’s here in Wine Country. But it’s still not deterring me from preparing my home and heart for the inevitable cool and wonderful fall weather that’s surely on its way.

Here are some of the things I’m doing this weekend to prepare myself and my home for fall:
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More on Decorating with Fall Leaves…

I LOVE the idea of decorating with fall leaves! Fall leaves have the same fleeting beauty as spring flowers.

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Decorate with Fall’s Bounty

Fall is such a great time to decorate, whether it’s just for the season or for expanding the long term decor plan in your home. Because of all the autumn beauty nature provides us at this time of year, it’s a cinch to get yourself in the fall-mood by simply looking at what is already around you. Here, we will focus solely on seasonal decorating, with the next post taking a look at what elements of fall you can incorporate into your home decor scheme to last a lifetime!

Fall Seasonal Decorating:

Pumpkins - Not just for carving or eating, pumpkins make great seasonal decorations inside and outside the home, and are a must-have at any fun fall get-together.
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