decorating – Page 3 – Sweat & Sparkle

I feel like I just pulled out the boxes of fall decor for September 1st, and now I have already boxed all of that back up and started tugging out the many, many boxes of Halloween decorations!

Every year, I tell myself I have more than enough fall and Halloween decorations. And every year, I buy more, anyway.

The inside of the house is decked out with ghosts, spiders, skulls, and jack-o-lanterns, but the show everyone is waiting for hasn’t started yet. My husband takes over for the outdoor display, and I turn the reins over to him. He’s been kicking around and mulling ideas for months now, and he has collected yet a few more items for the yard.

We have actually had neighbors come by in years past and ask when he is going to decorate, and cars have stopped so people can get a closer look once he has everything set up. He gets excited to show me something new, or when he changes something and wants someone to see it right away. It makes me smile to watch him get so into it.

I can’t believe it’s October already. Around here, the transition to fall just means the temps aren’t quite reaching 100 anymore, hovering around 85. I can’t wait for the first cool, breezy days. I can’t help wanting to shop for sweaters and sweatshirts, even if it’s still hot outside! It’s fall, damnit. Time for the weather to catch up.

Ever since I was little, I have taken pride in my space. I must have been the easiest little kid, at least in terms of never having to be told to clean my room, tidy up, or stop being messy. (I am quite sure I gave my parents plenty of headaches in other ways to make up for it.) I remember reading home decor magazines as a teenager and decorating my room with plants and vases of flowers from the yard.

Even my college dorm room and my tiniest studio apartment, my first place all on my own, were meticulously clean and accented with plants. That studio apartment was in a horrific part of town, but everyone who visited me there commented on how cute it was. I took a lot of pride in that.

This afternoon, out of the blue, my husband texted me a picture of the front of our house, with this:

That is one of the best compliments I have ever received: “You make it a home.” We both work very hard on our home, so I can’t possibly take all the credit. My husband has fixed and built things I wouldn’t even know how to begin to tackle, and he spends as many hours sweating and laboring in the yard as I do.

But for the most part, when it comes to decorating, he steps back and turns me loose and gives me free rein. He has said that he likes watching me decorate for holidays and that no one else he has ever lived with has gotten into that, changing the fireplace mantel or dining room table or front door wreath for holidays and seasons. It’s a lot of work sometimes, especially for big holidays like Halloween (well, that’s a big holiday for us, anyway!) or Christmas, but I love it.

When I do something like proudly point out that the sparkly crystal in the candle holder in the living room matches the crystal in the dining room chandelier, he smiles, somewhat amused, because he already noticed, knowing it’s the kind of detail that I would pay attention to…then he bought beautiful candle holders for the mantel with the same matching crystal! Definitely, he’s a keeper. I knew that already, though.

I have loved transforming our house into a home. It’s our sanctuary, our peace, our small corner of the world that we have built together and share. As soon as I walk through the front door, I am happy. That’s something that no interior designer, no magazine, no shopping spree can create for you, because it has to come from your heart. Sure, that sounds pukey, but it’s true. It takes time, love, pride — a reflection of you. And our home reflects love, which makes me happiest of all.