Fall Mantel

It's fall and it's my favorite time of the year. Today,I'm linking up to Layla's Fall Mantel party happening over at The Lettered Cottage. My mantel is definitely leaning to the Halloween side and that is for the little guys. A and J love them some Halloween almost as much as I do. We have a tradition that we started when they were babies. Right before they go to bed we bring up bins from the basement. While they are sleeping I decorate and in the morning they "discover" all the Halloween decorations around the house. They love it!




Showing up on the mantel is my beloved mercury glass. The candle stick is from PB and the pumpkin is from Home Goods. Looks just like the ones in the PB catalog but only cost me 12 dollars.

I found these adorable small "trick/treat" frames this weekend at a tiny town Harvest Festival. So easy to make...spray some dollar store frames, add some scrapbook paper and adhesive letters. I was going to borrow her idea, but she only wanted 15 dollars for the set so I cheated and bought hers.

I added a couple of pics from our entertainment center. I cut some branches off our Japanese maple tree to add some fall color. The bat candlestick holders are from Pier One. The candles bleed red. That's about as spooky as we get around here.

Here is a wider shot. Thanks for visiting!

Not ready for takeoff

Summer isn't officially over, but it might as well be. As if on cue, cold and rainy weather rolled in simultaneously with the first day of school. I had a wonderful summer with the boys. We enjoyed babysitting for Grant and Claire twice a week, Wednesday playdates with their friend and meeting Daddy for lunch. We went to movies, threw rocks in the river, swam in our blow up pool and never missed a chance at some ice cream.

We've only been back to school for a week, but I'm already mourning those lazy summer days. I'm fortunate to yet again have a flexible part time work schedule this school year. The boys started their second year of preschool last week. They go twice a week for a full day. So far things are going well. They have a new teacher and new friends and best of all a much smaller class. Today their teacher complimented them telling me what good and sweet boys they are. My heart swelled.

It saddens me to think this is the last year the boys will stay sheltered at home. In just a short year, they will be off to Kindergarten and no longer spend a majority of their lives safe within the confines of their beloved home coddled by their family. I don't want them to go, I don't want this time in their (our) lives to end. I want them little and starry eyed forever.