My Fall Front Porch, A Super Simple Fall Decorating Idea, & My Serena & Lily Sale Favorites!

As we slide on into October, I’m in the middle of 101 little projects both big (doing the final sourcing for our master bathroom addition that starts next week!) and small (repainting my girls’ little craft room, choosing beds and mattresses for our new house in NC, etc.). In the midst of it all, I’ve been doing a little bit of fall decorating that I wanted to share with you for my latest “View It, Do It, You It!” post. It includes a look at my fall front porch (“View It”), a super simple fall decorating idea (“Do It”), and my favorite home finds that are part of Serena & Lily’s big Friends & Family Sale (“You It”). Let’s get to it… 

After going a little overboard piling my cart high with mums and pumpkins at Stew Leonard’s over the weekend (my first clue that I might have overdone it a bit was when a woman watching me unload my cart into the car swung by and jokingly said “Where do you live? I want to drive by your house!” – ha!), I finished putting together my front porch for fall:

Scroll & Click/Tap to Shop My Front Porch:

 

The standouts of my porch are these ginormous mums in {these new urn planters} that I found for under $50 each:

Mine are the Cement color but they also come in Taupe and Black. They’re lightweight so are easy to store but once they’re filled with soil and plants they’re heavy enough that they won’t tip over when it’s windy. My original stone urn planters (found {here}) are filled with the prettiest large cabbages:

I also added the smallest two sizes of my lanterns trios that I’ve had for years:

After going out of stock almost two years ago, I just found them back in stock {here}! I usually keep them on my front porch through the holidays – they look great with simple candles but are fun to fill with ornaments too:

My old doormat was looking pretty ratty so I added {this pretty patterned doormat} that I can keep out here year-round:

{This gorgeous wreath} that I shared a few weeks back is what ties it all together – love it so much! (mine is the 24″ finished size (18″ base)):

Now I just have to hope we have several weeks before we start hitting freezing temps at night and I lose my mums! Our high temp tomorrow is only going to be in the 50’s – what’s that all about Mother Nature? I know fall hasn’t shown it’s face in many parts of the country quite yet but we’re definitely not only getting “sweater weather” but “jacket weather” too!

 

Fall is the busiest time of year for me and the fact that we’re starting our master bathroom addition next week only adds to the chaos. So while I spent a bit of time decorating my front porch for the season, I’m doing the bare minimum inside our house this year. My little “do it” tip to share for those of you who are in the same boat and want to add touches of fall to your home without spending hardly any time or money is to snag a bunch of white baby boo pumpkins (most grocery stores have them!) and spread them throughout your home! It couldn’t be more quick and simple but definitely adds the perfect little fall vibe. In my kitchen, I simply added a few to our open corner shelving:

Scroll and Click/Tap to Shop My Kitchen:

 

Scroll and Click/Tap to Shop My Kitchen Shelves:

In past years I’ve also sprinkled them throughout bookcases and in the built-in cabinet in our dining room:

Other ideas are putting baby boos in a pretty bowl as a table centerpiece, adding a trio to the top of your coffee table or an end table, putting them in lanterns outside or by your fireplace (this is {this same set of lanterns} I shared earlier):

Another quick fall decorating tip is to add a few large scale faux branches to a vase like this little arrangement in our kitchen that I shared last month with {this vase} and three of {these pomegranate branches} – super simple and quick!:

 

Serena & Lily’s big Friends & Family Sale starts today and goes through 10/14 – almost everything is 20% off with code GUESTPREP, including several furniture pieces and accessories that rarely go on sale! Serena & Lily believes living well begins at home and their products are super stylish with a relaxed, coastal vibe that I love, perfect for making a few home updates as we roll into the holiday season. They sent me a few of their cozy fall pillows and a new plaid fall throw that have made our window seat the coziest, most Hope-approved fall spot in the house:

Scroll & Click/Tap Image to Shop My Window Seat Pillows & Throw: 

Over the years I’ve added lots of Serena & Lily item to our home (living close to their Westport, CT store is dangerous!) so it’s hard to pick favorites but a few of them include {this capiz pendant – mine is the 22″ size}, {these  striped tassel pillow covers in Smoke – the prettiest blue gray} and {these go-to cream tassel pillows} in our kitchen eat-in nook,

{these Riviera counter stools} in our kitchen,

{this rattan chair in our family room} (mine has {this pillow} on the back it),

and of course {this pair of camp stools} at the foot of the bed and the gorgeous tassel end bedding on our master bed, including {this duvet cover} and {these shams} – they were a splurge but I love them so much!

I’m also smitten by their La Jolla Baskets that are available {here} in three sizes – the medium sized baskets are perfect for holding dirty laundry in style:

and they have great mirrors, including this rope mirror (found {here}) that we have by the door leading out to our garage:

Some of the other Serena & Lily items that I have and love are linked below (scroll & click/tap each image to shop them):

 

All of them are 20% off with code GUESTPREP! And my latest Serena & Lily score is soon to arrive at our house in North Carolina – when I saw {this cute 48″ white dining table} in their Westport store, I knew it was just right for our little dining nook:

I still need to figure out what chairs I’m pairing it with and update the lighting but I think it’s a great jumping off point for this space:

After we get the wallpaper off that is….

And with that, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week! I’m heading down to NC tomorrow to hang out with my dad while my mom flies out for a visit with her extended family. I’m planning to get a little work done on the house while I’m there and will share some more of our house in Instagram Stories – is there anything that you’d especially like to see? Be sure to follow me over on Instagram {here} if you don’t already to see what goes on between blog posts!

XOXO,