It's Finally Fall

Fall is finally here and I have gotten into the decorating this year! Pinterest has some great ideas that are so easy!

I tend to go for fall decorations that are pretty generic so that it can stay up for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love the wreath I have (above) because it is plain wood and I can add whatever I want to make it work for the season. I got it for $10 at The Herbal Affair in Sand Springs a few years ago. This year I wrapped it with a string of cranberries, its great because now I can leave it up through the winter too.

I did run into one snag. My new storm door means that any wreath I hang cannot be too thick since there is limited space. Luckily I tend to keep decorations pretty simple.

For my centerpiece I bought a simple glass vase, put a pillar candle that I already had in it and put a potpourri mix from Michaels that was made of small pine cones around it. I used a table runner I got from MaryFair a few years ago (perfect for almost every fall centerpiece I've done) and voila!

Simple and elegant.

I also bought a really pretty pumpkin from a place called Ranalli's in Tontitown, Ark. If you're ever there, stop and try the grapes. Or buy a pumpkin, apples or even a bag of mixed nuts. Seriously, the place is worth the stop.

I can't wait until Halloween, I love seeing all the trick or treaters that come by. And since the pumpkin I bought is a good pie pumpkin I might make a pumpkin pie from scratch for Thanksgiving this year!

Our weather has been so beautiful this fall with only a few miserably cold and rainy days. This weekend I'm enjoying the windows being open and the sun shining!

Storm Door Safety

The finished product. I think the big pots are
new since my last post about the front entry way.

A couple weekends ago my dad and I installed my new storm door. I decided to buy a storm door to help with my air conditioning and heating bills, plus the added security of having the glass door that locks. Now I can open my front door without immediately giving people access to the house. In theory I should have time to slam the door shut again if I opened it to find someone scary on the other side (not that a glass door is perfectly secure of course).

My door before the storm door was installed.

Keeping it Simple
The door came in three parts. The frame, the glass/screen and the door handle. I purchased the door from Lowe's, you're able to mix and match the three parts. I kept it pretty basic with clear glass, a white frame and the same brass hardware that was on my front door.

Installing the pressure
pump that controls how
fast the door closes.

The main reason I wanted to stay simple with the storm door was the fact that my front door is so pretty. I didn't want anything that would hide the door. If I didn't love the front door I might have gone with one of the etched glass options or gotten a storm door with the iron designs. Although all of those options also cost more. I chose white because all the trim on my house is already white, so it just blended right in.

Lowe's had an installation option that cost just under $100, but my dad said that we would be able to install it ourselves. I mean we did build a deck all on our own!

The only real problem we ran into was that Dad's drill bits apparently got taken out of his tool bucket and didn't make it to my house. He sent me to the store for some (like I know what a drill bit is!). I managed to find a set with the size he needed and then we were in business.

Most of the actual installation Dad did, I helped hold the glass in place and get the edging into place. Meanwhile I got some yard work done, cleaned the garage, vacuumed my car and cleaned off my step aerobics equipment so that I could bring it inside and USE it. Call me crazy, but letting it sit in the garage covered in spider eggs wasn't getting me in shape. Now its clean, in the house and I actually used it today!

Finished Product

Ollie likes the new view!

So far I love the door. I've also been leaving the main door open sometimes when I'm home during the day. Ollie really likes that, he'll sit there for hours watching birds, neighbors, even the wind. He's always liked looking out the front windows, but his view is more limited since he has to perch on the furniture to see out.

I haven't been able to compare my utility bills yet to see if the storm door has made a difference, but I can't hear the wind whistling through the hairline cracks in the front door anymore, which is a good sign. The door is gorgeous, but not very well sealed. Between each of those panels is a miniscule opening that I could hear the air coming through. Dad and I tried to seal it at one point, but the tube exploded before we made any significant progress.

So far this was a great purchase!