It’s that time of year again– when the air gets crisp, the leaves turn color, and the cozy knits come out.  Although it’s still going to be in the 70s and 80s for the foreseeable future here in Southern California, I’m ready, as always, to dive into all things fall.  So the fall front porch decor came out this weekend and although I went subtle and simple this year, the small nods to the season make me happy every time I walk in the door.  Truth be told, I go through summer basically counting down the days until fall.  I don’t do well in hot weather and our area gets HOT.  Especially nowadays.  I don’t love swimming, sunbathing, barbecues, and cranking the AC.  I do love the beach, however not the way most people love the beach.  I love the beach on a brisk, gray day, wrapped in a shawl, and listening to the waves crash on the shore.  Call it the Sarah-McLachlan-loving teenager in me, but it’s just so peaceful.  Much better than slathering on sunscreen and dripping in the sweltering heat.  Some of my favorite memories are going to orchards in Connecticut every year while I was in college and picking apples, raspberries, and pumpkins.  The apples were unreal and the scenery was beyond picturesque.  Oh how I wish Southern California had New England foliage!  That escalated quickly…now back from my tangent and on to regularly scheduled fall front porch decor programming 😉

Some muted red mums, fairytale pumpkins, and a simple wreathe add the perfect touch of autumn to our porch.  I went a bit brighter and more traditional last year, as you can see in this post.  I can’t believe how much Will has changed in the past year.  And Maddie was just a tiny bean in last year’s photos!  Next year, we’ll have our new front doors in and hopefully some additional sprucing of the porch so I’m excited to go in a totally different direction with decor then, too.  If we end up painting the doors a shade of blue, I’m thinking deep purple and white Mums.  Is it bad that I’m already thinking about next fall??

I’m a bit notorious for making my family dress in fall clothing for photos every year.  Dave still reminds me about the first family session we did with Will in the sunny hills of Malibu and how even though it was November, it was one of the worst heat waves we had seen.  And I had us all in sweaters and scarves.  Miserable husband vs. beautiful pictures– the pictures won (in my defense, the photos didn’t take very long).  Those are still some of my favorite photos of the three of us and I’m looking forward to bundling everyone up again, Madeline included this year, for another family session.  In the meantime, I love these pictures of my little loves and me in forced fall-wear.  It took some bribing for Will (lollipop for the win) but I’ll cherish these pictures.  As for the fall front porch decor, it’ll stay up for however long I can keep the Mums alive.