Fall is my favorite season for decorating — I love bringing the outdoors 
in with cheerful pumpkins and vibrantly colored leaves. And when I say “I love bringing …,” what I actually mean is I love seeing what other people do since my fall decorating consists of occasionally throwing away empty Halloween-candy wrappers. I’m not lazy — well, not much, anyway — just creatively challenged. That makes me appreciate others’ decorating talents all the more, such as what I saw in this Decatur, Alabama, home. Betty Sims is a former restaurant owner and wonderful cook who teaches cooking classes in her home in Decatur. Friends and I went recently for a brunch class, and I loved all the fall vignettes Sims created with 
simple elements from nature and her own collections. Of 
course, if I went out to my backyard and cut off a bunch of leaves and stuck them in a pumpkin, it would look pretty much as if I went out in the backyard and cut off a bunch of leaves and stuck them in a pumpkin. I’m just glad that there are other people around who know how to do it right — and invite the rest of us over for brunch. Here’s the Web site for Sims’ cooking school, Southern Scrumptious: http://scrumptiousinc.com/
Fall Decorating
Cathy, some people just have the magic touch when it comes to decorating, and you and I aren’t two of them! But like you I admire those who can. Here’s the simplest Halloween/fall decoration I’ve ever seen: My sister-in-law fills a clear vase with candy corn, then adds sticks. Sticks. And candy corn. On her counter, it looks so elegant. On my counter, it’s just another bowl of candy corn… with sticks.
I hear you, Ginny! Some people do just have the touch. And it’s the job of the rest of us to admire. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Keep ’em coming!