Happy October 1st!!!

Well, it's October 1st which, for me, is when the "Holiday Season" really kicks off.  My house has been decorated for a few weeks already, but I've been waiting to show the masses until we were actually in October :)

When you walk in my house (by the carpet on the right of this pic), this is my entry table (actually a Hemnes dresser from IKEA).

A few years ago there was a wedding at the country club that Dave manages that had a "science" theme (both the bride and groom were scientists) and they used lab glass to hold a variety of flowers as their centerpieces.  The wedding was over and they left all their labware to be thrown away.  It's all actual glass and so I took it with the intention of using it in my classroom, but since then have decided it's perfect for Halloween... so you'll see it scattered throughout my decor.

LOVING this candle right now!

Excuse our floppy PotteryBarn chair... it's turned into a jumping/wrestling/being a boy platform.  :)

This dresser is in our little "play area" (what used to be the formal dining room) and I love how it turned out.  The BOO sign I picked up a few years ago at The Homestead while Dave and I were there, the pumpkin was a random Tuesday Morning find (and it matched the one on my entry table!) and the garland is Hobby Lobby.

Garland is expensive, so I tend to buy a basic one and then add pieces to it every year.

  

I had a tiny photo bomber in the next few pics :)

My kitchen table centerpiece is a candle, the lab glass with candy, curly willow and my favorite plate that we made this time two years ago when Luke was three and Mason was 6 months.  We have big plans for a Christmas plate with all three this year :)

I pretty much hate the look of the "fake" tealights, but with little ones running around I feel it's kind of a must-have. Believe it or not they really don't mess with any of the decor...

I have specific frames that I put out at Halloween with pics of the boys in their costumes.  I LOVE looking back at them and seeing how big they've gotten!

Years ago I found a GIANT roll of black tulle at a thrift store and scooped it up for something like $1.99.  I've used it soooooooooooo many different times/ways and love it!

The shelf thing on the buffet was actually a white iron piece that my mom picked up at an antique store when I was little.  It used to be on my bathroom wall growing up and housed hair pretties, perfumes, etc.  A coat of spray paint and it was ready to go for Halloween!  (and yes, that's kids artwork framed up top.... I LOVE having their art around and change the frames out periodically).

Where I have my kitchen table is actually "supposed" to be the family room in our house (our house is 20+ years old), but since we've made it into the giant eating area we get to have a fireplace in our kitchen and LOVE IT!

There's an area in our kitchen that used to be a "wet bar" and had some super classy shutters on it.  Whenthe previous owners redid the kitchen (new counters, backsplash, etc.) they had the wet bar turned into extra counter space and stored the shutters in the attic.  I unearthed them last year and was crazy excited about them :)

The garland stuff on my mantle is from Hobby Lobby and was actually on their 90% off Christmas Clearance last January.  I remember I ran into Erika with a FULL cart of Christmas decor over Christmas break (including a black tree) and I'm pretty sure she thought I was nuts. 

I'm going to save the details of my Halloween Tree (including an ornament tutorial) for another post, but I will show you a couple of "teaser pics"...

The window behind my sink is one of my very favorite areas to decorate.

My favorite little area is the kids table.  The table, chairs, plates and cups are all from Pottery Barn kids.

We were having small group this night, which is why my counters are kind of a mess.

I'm going to show y'all how I made this SUPER EASY wreath next week...

the old "wet bar" area

Luke painted this "pumpkin patch" picture last year and I have it framed in the kitchen as well.

Our hall bathroom has a few little decorations as well...

 If you couldn't tell already I might love decorating for Halloween (just a little bit).  I have some fun posts, ideas, recipes, tutorials, traditions,etc. coming up this month so be sure to check back in!