a {mini} fall tour.

it's been a little while since I've shared a post, but since fall is coming to an end and winter [if it can even be called that in the south] is just around the corner, I thought I'd take you on a little fall tour of the tiny white house.

it's nothing too crazy or over the top, but I like to add a little touch of fall + warmth to each room. and sometimes that just means throwing a pumpkin on a surface and calling it a day. 

first up: my fall tablescape.

I bought several fake pumpkins for 98¢ at Walmart and painted them shades of blue, cream, and khaki. I used them as my centerpiece and as a little happy for each place setting.

I also gathered chunky acorns to use on the mini cakestand centerpiece. I baked them on 350 degrees for about ten minutes, because I thought that might kill any bugs and funk growing in them. I'm not sure if it did, but I never saw any bugs or acorns rolling around on the table.

one of the not-so-good things about our little house is that we don't have a fireplace. I so hope in our next home we do. so since we have no mantle to decorate for holidays and no reason, I use the top of our piano as a mock mantle. here's what that ended up looking like:

one simple decor idea I came up with was to frame a packet of pumpkin seeds. I emptied out the packet, found a favorite chunky frame of mine, and used double sided tape to secure the seed packet in place. I think it turned out kind of cute. what do you think?

for the coffee table, I used a wooden dough bowl I found at a thrift store and filled it with cotton and a giant acorn I found at TJ Maxx. pretty simple, but adds a little taste of fall.

I also threw a couple pumpkins around the house, on shelves and counters. it adds a little bit of fall and takes almost no effort. 

like I said, nothing much, but it's funny how even little things add a little something extra. like so many other [white] girls, I love the fall. and not just because of pumpkin spice lattes—which I've never had, by the way. it's one of my favorite seasons... mainly because I am a heavy sweater so I sweat less in these months. but I also love the beauty of the changing leaves and scenery, how things seem to slow down, and all the time spent with family. football games are another plus, but that has less to do with the actual game [no offense, athletes] and more to do with the fine cuisine at the concession stand.

I hope you're enjoying these last days of fall and I hope your thanksgiving is filled with lots of family and laughter, delicious food and a grateful heart. after all, we all have so much to be thankful for.

"it is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful."
David Steindl-Rast

"give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever!"
1 Chronicles 16:34

a simple tablescape.

for the Fourth of July, I threw a few red, white, and blue things on the table. we weren't hosting any parties or even home that day, but I wanted to do something. it wasn't anything fancy, but I liked it!

the next week, everything got pushed around and my patriotic tablescape disappeared. you see, sometimes [read: a lot of the time] our table acts as a catchall. after I cleared the thing off, I was ready for something different. a little more formal, yet very simple. I had a picture in my mind of exactly what I wanted, so I set out to make it happen. we all know less is more and that phrase perfectly sums up what I had envisioned. here's the finished product:

I spread a strip of burlap across the table to use as my table runner. then I carefully placed some of my white dishes to make four place settings. after racking my brain for a centerpiece idea, I decided to use an old tool box that belonged to Drew's grandfather and fill it with white hydrangeas [my favorite]. I'm not sure if this is against "design rules," but you should know my flowers are fake. I adore fresh flowers just a much as the next girl, but I prefer to use fake when decorating because 1) they last longer and 2) they can be used over + over again in so many different ways.

after arranging the flowers just so, I went out to my front porch and snipped some pieces of boxwood. I rolled + fluffed a white cloth napkin through a silver napkin ring and tucked a boxwood snippet into the ring. I did this four times and set one at each place setting, then finished setting the table.

one of my favorite features of this tablescape is the silverware. instead of using our regular, matching silverware, I used antique [and some real!] silver I happened upon one day while antiquing with friends. the best part: it's mismatched! I didn't buy one complete set, but several different brands + designs of silverware. collecting antique silver is one of my new hobbies, as well as polishing silver. I know, kind of weird. but it's both relaxing and rewarding! you can see the results right before your eyes.

as for my drinkware, I decided to go for a simple + southern look. so naturally, mason jars were my glass of choice.

and there ya have it! my simple, almost effortless tablescape. what do you think?

the story behind the tiny white house.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved everything about houses. I loved playing house, I loved arranging my room just so [still do—ask Drew], I loved drawing floor plans. you get the idea. long before the Pinterest era, my mother kept a notebook with pictures cut out from magazines filled with ideas she loved. from living rooms to bedrooms to Christmas decor ideas, this binder held floor plans and was complete with subject dividers to organize all the dreams and ideas. I can't remember my exact age, maybe nine or ten, but I began to a keep a "housey notebook" of my own. I still keep one to this day.

I don't know what it is, but there is something about creating a home that I just can't get enough of. for some time, this bothered me. I felt, and still feel at times, that it's insignificant, and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter much. but what I've come to learn is that God created me this way and placed this passion and knack for creating things deep in my heart. it's taken me years to realize, understand, and embrace this. because at the end of the day, do paint colors and throw pillows really matter? no. but I believe the Lord romances us by giving us little gifts in our hobbies + interests to use for Him, and even to bring us joy. in addition to my love for the home, I have a thing for white houses. my mom has always liked them too, so maybe it's genetic. whatever it is, I am drawn to them.

I've been married coming up on two years now and my husband and I live in a tiny white house. I happened upon it four months before our wedding and fell in love with it immediately. we've been here ever since. it's not perfect. the floors are slanted, it's only got one closet, there's no dishwasher [or rather, I am the dishwasher]... but it's home. it's got brick floors, thick trim, and lots of windows. it's cozy and comfortable, the place we embarked on the greatest adventure of all.

I know we won't be here forever. and I know that, unfortunately, there's no absolute certainty that we will always be living in a tiny white house. but I also know that the Lord always provides, and whether it's a shoebox apartment, a brick house, whatever... He will reveal what He has for us, where He wants us, and I'll have a ball making that 'home.’

"for every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God."
Hebrews 3:4

"and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us."
Acts 17:26-27

will you set the table?

one of my favorite things to do is set the table. rarely do we sit at our table—this is something we're working on. nevertheless, I love creating tablescapes for different seasons, events, and sometimes, for no reason at all.

since we're newlyweds, we observe most holidays with our families in their homes. that said, we won't be hosting anyone for Easter lunch. but even so, I wanted to create a light, springy tablescape. I found some pretty cloth napkins at HomeGoods when I was visiting my sister [the go-getter] and I thought they'd be perfect for the occasion!

these days, I'm a little bit obsessed with gold and spray painting things gold. I'm sure this is a phase, but lately, I just can't stop. usually it's some of my dollar store finds... faux pears, phone cases, miniature animals [giraffes, elephants, lions, & alligators, to be exact]. but for my spring tablescape, I thought it would be fun to spray paint some [faux] eggs. because who doesn't like golden eggs? I purchased them from Walmart, but they also have them at Michael's. I spray painted six little eggs, but I ended up only using four because I only had four place settings of the dishes I wanted to use. after I painted them and they dried, I set my table. I liked it, but the eggs needed something. they didn't look right just rolling around on those pretty floral napkins.

 THRONES. that's what they needed. so I googled egg cups to see where I could find some. as I googled this, I assumed there was a more technical term than "egg cup," but that's what they're really called! so, there's that. I found some cute scalloped ones online at Pier 1 for just $1.50 a pop. so naturally, I made plans to stop by and pick them up first thing in the morning. [I hardly slept that night because I was that eggcited about the egg cups.] then I had an idea to stick some moss in the egg cups to make them look like nests [?] because I thought that would look springy... I guess? I don't know, but I like the way my eggs look on their nest thrones.

so there you have it—my Easter tablescape. it's nothing fancy, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

I hope you leave inspired, whether it's to set your table [it's great therapy, I promise] or to spray paint something gold [also great therapy] or to enjoy the table someone else has set.

and remember the reason we're celebrating, He is risen!

"He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen." 
Matthew 28:6

sources:
dishes | TJ Maxx
napkins | Ralph Lauren via HomeGoods
scalloped egg cups | Pier 1
flatware | Oneida Louisiana