I love fall! – Sweat & Sparkle

In Her Honor

A 4-day weekend flew by in the blink of an eye. How is it possible for time to unravel so fast when I want it to slow down?

I got a lot done, though, including decorating the porch and the yard for fall. I lit a pumpkin clove candle, put on the fall leaves t-shirt that my husband got for me, and went to town, diving in and out of boxes full of multi-colored leaves, pumpkins, and sunflowers.

It hasn’t actually cooled down much here, but I sneaked a look at the forecast back home, where I grew up. The seventies during the day, dipping into the fifties at night…ahhh, real fall weather! My mom would be delighted, flinging windows open, leaving the screen door open to the crisp, cool air. The shift from summer to fall was always her favorite time of year, too.

This is my fourth time decorating for fall without her. She was in the hospital when I decorated in 2022, but I thought she would be coming home. I never got to show her the pictures I took of our decorations that year. I didn’t know I never would again.

I finished the fireplace mantel, which I always save for last because it takes the longest, and I took a few pictures. One of my stepsons stopped by later that day, and his girlfriend instantly commented how nice everything looked, which made me smile. I put a lot into decorating our home for holidays.

Later, flipping through the pictures, I tried to push the feelings away, but they crept up and sat on my chest anyway. This is when I should be emailing the pictures to my mom, because she had given me some of the decorations, and she got a kick out of seeing them worked into our displays at our house. This was something we always shared, something we had so strongly in common, and the excitement of fall will now always walk hand-in-hand with the ache of wanting to share it all with her but not being able to.

In her honor this year, I featured one of the items from her house as the centerpiece of our mantel. I like seeing it surrounded with fall foliage and lights and colorful pumpkins. I miss her, but I will celebrate her, honor her, through our love of fall and decorating. It is one way that I have found to stay as close to her as I possibly can.

September

Can’t Wait for Fall

I am so ready to wave bye-bye to this hot, sticky, humid summer and finally welcome that first cool breeze of fall with wide open arms! Living in the south, I still have quite a wait, though.

But hey, today Bath & Body Works has their 3-wick candles on sale for $11.95, so I loaded up on fall scents: pumpkin, cinnamon, latte, apple, all the warm and cozy scents of my favorite season. I might just light a fall candle, crank the a/c, and bake cookies this weekend!

Go Away Already!

About a week ago, summer toyed with me. Temperatures dropped to the 70s, and a few mornings actually bordered on chilly. I got excited, climbed onto a stepladder, and sorted eagerly through the sweaters on the top shelf of our closet that I can never reach. I was hopeful that it was time to wave bye-bye to hot, humid, sweaty, muggy days.

What happened this week? It’s back up to 90 degrees, and to say that I am not happy about it is a massive understatement. For the love of god, summer, just go away already! You’re as bad as a clingy ex who won’t just move on (ahem).

It’s almost November, and it’s still summer here. Summer needs to take its suffocating self far, far away, and let my beloved autumn slide in, with its cool breezes, softly falling leaves, chilly nights, and cuddle weather temperatures. I’ve been waiting for fall a long time, and it can’t get here soon enough!

October Already?

I can’t believe we are not only into October, but almost halfway through already. Weren’t we just celebrating the new year yesterday? I don’t believe a year has ever gone by as quickly as this one.

This morning was a touch cooler than it has been, and I am enjoying it immensely. Not chilly yet, but at least not hot and humid. I’ll take it.

I definitely took to heart the “go over-the-top with fall decorations” part of this quote. From our front porch railings to our door wreath, from our living room to our kitchen and even bathrooms, our home has been dripping with colorful leaves, pumpkin scents, and autumn-colored flowers. My younger stepson joked that all I need is a sign that says “Happy fall, y’all”, but thankfully, I am not quite that far gone yet (that saying makes me cringe so hard!)

Hurricanes have held up our Halloween decorating. If the weather is ready to cooperate, we might get started on that over the weekend. I leave most of the outdoor Halloween display to my husband, though. He has an impressive collection of life-size skeletons, tombstones of all sizes, ghouls and ghosts, and he rigs up a different display every year. People stop to take pictures of it, and our neighbors have actually asked in the past when he will do it again, if they feel he is tardy in entertaining them.

Soon we will be unpacking all the Thanksgiving decorations, then the red and green, the gold, the sparkle of Christmas. I am 99% done with my Christmas shopping, since I start so early, but it still feels unreal that it is rapidly approaching.

But first…let’s not drift too far from one of my favorite holidays: twenty days to Halloween!