Halloween

Halloween decorationsMy daughter and son-in-law, who live in Huntsville, Huntsville, AlabamaAlabama, wanted to decorate their front porch with something fun, scary and inexpensive for Halloween. This is the first year they’ve had a front porch and the first year their son, 18-month-old Capt. Adorable, could sort of get into the Halloween mood. Money and time were their main limitations, and I think they nailed it. Of course it helps to have a talented and skilled artist in the family — my son-in-law created the spooky light cover in 30 minutes with plain ol’ construction paper, tape and staples. And they bought the oversized fake spiders and spider-webs at a discount store and already on sale … to make way for Christmas decorations, I guess. They’re working on a haunted-house jack-o-lantern for the finishing touch and then they’ll be ready for trick-or-treaters. Still no decision on the Captain’s costume. My daughter, a vegetarian who’s letting the Captain eat meat until he’s old enough to decide for himself, is toying with the idea of wearing a vegetable-themed T-shirt and dressing the Captain up as a hamburger. Adorable!

Fall Decor

Fall decorIt’s fall, y’all! Here in northwest Alabama, it was in the 40s overnight and Fall decorwe’re pulling out our jackets and scarves and planning for the much-anticipated annual Boot Day — the first official day it’s cool enough (temperature-wise, that is) to wear boots. I know, I know — it’s only temporary and we’ve got many more 85+-degree days to come. But it is encouraging. Another thing I adore about fall is the decor. I mean, who doesn’t love cornstalks and gourds and cheerful orange pumpkins? There’s something about fall that inspires creativity, like the door of Swirlz, a delightful party-invitation store in Tupelo, Mississippi. I love the combination of the sheer orange ribbon and bare branches with the perky and sunny flowers. And then, adorning the gracious doorway of a magnificent Southern home in Decatur, Alabama, I found these lovely arrangements of gourds, mums and greenery. This is the home of Betty Sims, a cookbook author and former restaurant owner who teaches sold-out cooking classes every fall. She is Southern hospitality personified — warm, generous, funny and sweet — and I think her decor reflects that. Check out the Scrumptious Culinary School schedule at http://scrumptiousinc.com.