Beautiful Fall Porches You Don't Want to Miss!

It's that time of year where I'm REALLY in the fall spirit (it only took me a month to arrive!) and I thought it'd be fun to get inspired by some gorgeous fall front porches. Feast your eyes on these, friends!

This one is just simple and neutral, but that's usually my style!

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I'm not usually one for much color, but I'm really into this!!

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I pretty much adore anything Julia does, so no surprise I'm all about this sweet, southern front porch! I just don't think I'll ever have the budget for 30+ pumpkins and 16 mums-- Ha!!

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Again, neutral and just really pretty!

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This is SO classic and I love the black door. The boxwood wreath is awesome-- they could keep it for Christmas, too! The candlelight is lovely, creating some cozy ambiance. 

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I bet this is from Nantucket or somewhere on the East Coast, if I had to guess. All those pumpkins and gourds are so cute coming down the steps! 

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Hope this gave you some inspiration!! xoxo


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Friday Finds: Favorite Fall Boots

Happy Friday! Fall is in full effect over here in the Midwest! What about where you are? In fact, we're going up North this weekend to Traverse City to see the pretty fall colors. I can't wait!

Since we pretty much live in boots from October-April, I thought I'd share some of the boots and booties catching my eye this season. 

SHOP:

Do you gravitate more towards tall boots or booties? I always grab my booties first, probably because they're so comfy, but I do love my black Penny Riding Boot. I also secretly love my Uggs. When it's this cold, all style goes out the window. I got these cute one with bows last year for Christmas and I love them! Then I have a realllyyy bad black pair I wear to take the dog outside in (I've had them for 10 years...yikes!)
Do you have any favorite boots I need to know about?!
Have a great weekend! Be sure to follow on Instagram along on if you'd like to see some gorgeous fall color! 
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Decorating with What You Have: Fall Edition

Last month I wrote about how I was going to refrain from buying anything new for Fall, even though I really wanted to. I wanted to practice decorating with what I had + with a small apartment and plans to hopefully move to a larger place in the future, we don't need to be spending money on yet another pumpkin figurine only to take up space. 
My process for decorating for Fall with my existing decorations went like this:
- Clear off any specific summer decor (I mostly decorate with neutral pieces that could technically be used all year round, but there are some pieces I prefer to be out only for specific seasons.  - Get out all my existing fall decor items and lay them out. - DO NOT look at old pictures from past years. I wanted to use the items I had in (hopefully) a new place, although there's not tons of space in our place for things to go ;) - Try to find some other pieces that could pass as "fall" to mix it up. I found a couple textured or patterned vases I loved, I even dug up an old frame and print and put it out. I actually didn't even know I had this, so it felt new!
I actually don't have too much fall stuff to bring out, but the items I have, I've had for nearly 5 years. My challenge was to be joyful while putting out the same things I've put out for years, not feeling the need for more. I thought it'd be fun to show you some comparisons from last year to this year's decor placement!
2017: layered pictures

2018: found this white frame and pretty watercolor painting. Same candles, same sign. I just like them here :) But feels a little different with an existing plant.

 2017: Gather sign on the ledge

2018: cute wood sign and collage of layered pics. That little white vase is the vase I've had and decided to fill it with dried hydrangeas this year.

Cotton // Olive branches (found that I had bought there earlier in the year)

 2017: more color

2018: more neutral (found these houses that I used last year at Christmas and used them for fall instead!)

 Pumpkins on a stack of books // pumpkins by themselves in front of vases.

2017: pumpkin on the buffet tray

2018: pumpkin on the bookshelf

You see a lot of the same things, but it's mixed up just a touch! It was more fun than I expected. Hope this inspires you to use what you have first! It was a challenge that got my creative juices flowing :)
xoxo



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Our Fall Home Decor 2018

Hi friends! I took about a week off of blogging since my mom was here visiting. I can't wait to tell you about our trip and show you some pretty Michigan fall color. Before she came, I decorated our little home for fall. You may remember this post where I shared some pretty honest feelings about how I didn't want to decorate for the new season because I would be using all my old decorations. Well, once I got my feelings out there and talked to so many of you who were feeling the same way, I was actually excited to decorate for this new season and use what I had as a challenge. The only new things I bought were for my porch and even that, I stayed in a small budget.  Today I'm showing you our fall decor, but in another post next week I'll show you some comparisons of this year vs. last year's decorations and how I went about it. But for now, enjoy some simple, neutral Autumn touches!

The first thing you see coming up our stairs is this ledge and two windows. I'm so grateful for these windows because they let so much extra light into our apartment! Our gallery wall of a couple wedding photos are at the top of the stairs, along with a little basket for outdoor gear like mittens, hats, and Lincoln's leash.

After my last post about fall, a sweet reader wanted to send me a gift to help me decorate our apartment for the new season. It was the kindest thing EVER and made me smile all day! Angela of Hand Treated Home made this adorable wood sign for my ledge. I often say "I want to be at home and get cozy" (total homebody here) so it was just perfect! I added some olive branches I had bought earlier in the year (from Hobby Lobby) to a clear vase for some height and texture. I cut a hydrangea off the bush in our neighborhood and dried it for the little white vase. I love the pink color!

And if you love Hand Treated Home's shop as much as me, stay tuned on my Instagram in a couple weeks! hint hint ;)

As usual, Lincoln looking extra stoic for his photo ;)

My bookshelf is really similar to how it usually looks. I just swap out a couple key things: new (but old to me) artwork in the frame at the top, a pumpkin next to it, and then did a vignette of candlesticks, a mercury glass pumpkin, a stack of books with some cute wood houses and a plant from this summer on them, and finally some vases along with my DIY white pumpkins I made 4 years ago. When in doubt, decorate in 3's and odd numbers ;)

In the living room I simply hung my Graced Designs magnolia wreath on the wood sign with a gingham ribbon I had left over from Christmas last year and threw on my "thankful" pillow cover.

Okay, I DID buy two candles from Trader Joe's this season for our house. So I guess I broke my vow there ;) But they've never had candles before and both the vanilla pumpkin and the Honeycrisp apple candle were amazing!! I couldn't pass them up.

My friend who grows an amazing flower garden let me cut a couple dahlias when we were over there the other night. It was such a sweet gift! They lasted for a whole week and I loved every second of them.

gather sign / lamp / wreath

floral pillows / thankful pillow

I also wanted to show you the pretty planter boxes my neighbor gifted me with about a month ago. They are so gorgeous and they make me so happy every time I see them! I zip tied them to our balcony and then tied them tight at the top bar of our railing with twine so they wouldn't slope when I water them.

And if you missed our fall porch, you can see that here!

Thanks for taking a peek!
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Fall Staples: For Your Skin

Woahhhh, it's October! That happened quickly ;)
Back this week with some more fall staples; this time for your skin! If you missed last week's post on fall staples for your closet, you can catch it here. Cooler weather also means it might be time to switch up your skincare routine to accommodate your newly dry skin (anyone else?!) One thing I do pretty quickly once the weather changes is get our humidifier back in our bedroom. This not only helps my throat but also my skin! The other things I love using this time of year are all below. I hope you enjoy!
1. Face Exfoliator- I love this Nourishing Cream for a gentle exfoliator. I also use my Clarisonic once a week (when I remember) to exfoliate a little extra. This is key, even if you think you shouldn't because you have dry skin, because it sheds our dead skin layers so that new skin can grow.

2. Soothing Moisturizer- This one (no scent) is my favorite. I use one for day and one for night. However, if you need something even a little heavier to restore your skin more at night, I highly recommend this one. I switch to it in the winter, but fall is never too early to start giving our skin a little extra moisture. And if your skin is dry year round, the countermatch adaptive lotion is my favorite one.

3. Mask- Charcoal mask for drawing out impurities, but Cleansing Balm to restore moisture (also can be used as a face wash and overnight moisturizer! This is one of our best sellers, for good reason. If you're a Colleen Rothschild cleansing balm fan, this is the perfect safe version to switch to!)
4. Hydrating Foot Care Routine- about once a week I use a foot scrub and then a pompous stone to slough off dead skin. My feet are dry, guys. Maybe because of wearing sandals all summer?! Then I apply a hydrating body lotion. This one smells like a dream. You know, like the creamsicle popsicles?! 
5. Conditioning Lip Balm- this is about the time my lips start going through some changes. They start to get dry from the new, cooler weather. I used to swear by vaseline, but after learning the health risks, I replaced it with this lip conditioner at night before bed and this nourishing balm during the day, which has a soft tint.

6. Face oil- this may seem counterintuitive, that we wash our faces to rid our skin of oil then are told to slap some more oil on our skin. BUT I assure you, this is a necessary skin care step as we need to replace our skin's oil with good, nourishing oil. This one is my favorite as it has vitamin C in it, which is one of the best things for our skin to drink up, but I've heard great things about these as well. I put this on my skin (directly) every other night and then if it's feeling extra dry, I'll add just one drop to my morning moisturizer.
Let me know what your favorite fall/winter products are for your skin! And if you have any questions about Beautycounter, let me know in a comment or email. I've been a consultant for the past year now (because I genuinely love the products and see a visible difference in my skin!) If you'd like more information on safer beauty products, you can sign up for my once monthly newsletter here. I'd love to have you join it!
Happy Monday! xoxo interior design website / services / portfolio

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Fall Staples: For Your Closet

Happy fall everyone! I savored the last few weeks of summer and now I'm ready to embrace the new season. I even picked up a couple fall-inspired things at Trader Joe's last week ;) (butternut squash pasta that look like pumpkins, butternut squash mac n cheese, and maple leaf cookies which are our new favorite thing EVER, might have to stock up!)

Last week was summer weather and all of a sudden, crisp air and a little breeze seems to be here to stay from the look of the forecast. I am excited for my mom to be here in two weeks-- hopefully her trip will align with the color changing here in Michigan!

I haven't switched out my closet from spring/summer to fall/winter fully yet, but I did pull out some fall staples. This year I think I'm going to live in a few key things: some basic long sleeve tops and tees (I love that mustard color below!), big cozy sweaters, booties (these are my favorites that I wear constantly in the light color) and scarves. I want to find a classic poncho sweater that will go with tons of things, too. I'm eyeing the black and white plaid one below. One thing I have in my closet that I wear on repeat in the fall is my army green anorak jacket, which is why I'm calling it a staple! It really seems to go with everything.

Long Sleeves:

Chunky Sweaters & Jackets:

Scarves & Ponchos:

Boots, Booties & Flats:

What are YOUR fall must-haves?  xoxo
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