Makes my heart sing

It's November, y'all! The month when all of my favorite things start happening all at once! (Well, minus exams, but that's trivial.) Autumn is hands-down my favorite season, as previously mentioned, but if you want to really get a Callie excited, give her a Martha Stewart, Real Simple, or Southern Living holiday decorating magazine, turn on some Windam Hill Celtic Christmas and watch the scissors fly into a holiday crafting frenzy. (Once upon a time, I had a room with a great spot in a window for my own little Christmas tree. I spent ages attaching - and getting Mama to help me attach - strings to little Uberaschungseier toys to be my ornaments.) I pull inspiration from these homemaker sources, but really most of my best and fondest memories of decorating come from the Swedish/Norwegian influences of Carl Larsen and Jan Brett.

Carl Larsen

Christmas Day by Carl Larsen, Carl Larsen Gallery
Now it's Christmas again by Carl Larsen, Carl Larsen Gallery

With his darling children accentuating nearly every scene, Carl's Swedish realism really thrills my heart. The relationships, the decoration, the expressions, the color, the light - really, folks, I just want to be Scandinavian sometimes. (Or at least let my house be decorated in such a way.) It doesn't hurt at all that one of his favorite holidays to depict is St. Lucy's Feast Day - December 13th, also celebrated in some parts of the world as the Day of Callie's Birth.

Jan Brett

Somewhere along the line, reindeer, hedgehogs, and little girls in Fair Isle sweaters came and decided to steal my imagination. For a good, oh, 10 years I would dress up like "Treva", the main character in the Christmas Trolls book by the (American) childrens book author Jan Brett and wish it would snow, wish I had a sled dog named Tuffi, and wish there really was a little mischievous hedgehog scurrying around just out of sight.

And now I set about sewing ornaments, gifts, and other decorations.
Bonus points for those using Kirsten American Girl's Craft book and wearing Hanna Anderson long john striped pajamas.

Monday Motivation : A little somethin'

"Sometimes," my mama says, "You just need a lil' somethin'."

So we get kittens, or play with puppies, or hold babies on international flights. But mostly, I take pictures of their lil' faces and then paint portraits of them.
This past week has been just full of little things that make me happy. Which is good, because I got homesick yesterday and I still have 3 weeks until Thanksgiving Break!

The Animals (currently) in My Life :

The Grand Champion chicken's first egg!
(no lil' face, but it sure is tiny and beautiful!)

The calf that came to the surprise birthday party.
(Because it just wouldn't be your sweet 16 without livestock!)

The frog that got a photoshoot.
(He tiny. He has a acorn. He nice.)

Monday Motivation : Autumnizing

For various (and blessed) reasons, this is a pretty chill week for me with few scholastic demands. Sounds like the perfect week to make the house comfy-cozy for fall!

Cleaning is a big part of seasonal changes for me. This weekend I cleaned my bathroom and straightened my room (things must have homes!), dusted flat surfaces, and washed windows in preparation for a winter of germs and being indoors. Next up: dusting ceiling fans. Ew. There is no fun way to do this. Also - need to get my hands on a vacuum so that I can take care of the sofas. (those things collect all manner of gross in the deep recesses of the cushions!)

Last week, a huge box appeared on our front porch chock-full of Halloween decor! Hooray! We now have a giant inflated jack-o-lantern (named Henry) in our living room. He's cute, and did I mention HUGE? This afternoon (while my bread is in the oven) I plan on distributing the remainder of the decor around the house - luminaries, string lights, windsocks, and whatnot. And then there is the annual autumn wreath to be constructed and placed on the front door. (Dang - I am SO like my mother. And also my grandmama - the reigning queen of seasonal decorations.)

Some things need to be changed out around the house - springy floral pillows, summery art, and whatnot. So I'll be sewing pillow covers and digging up more muted-colored prints. The thing that is most difficult to change is the front porch, specifically the hammock. It's Brazilian, cotton fabric, and wonderful, but we are protective of it and bring it in when it gets too cold to be regularly enjoyed. But we know that the act of taking down the hammock is a final acknowledgment of the end of the summer and that is something we are hard-pressed to admit.

Maybe I've inspired you to autumnize your space... here are some other resources to help you organize the process (oh yes - because not only must we be clean, but also organized! and organized in our cleaning! Oh the delight!)

• Cozy up your home for fall at Decor8
• Fall Cleaning Checklist at RealSimple.com
• Also from RealSimple.com - a more comprehensive fall checklist for all aspects of your life!