Nature by Mail Order: Fall Finds

Yikes! It's been two weeks since I posted here, which might explain why friends ask me if I'm still blogging (and I am). Apparently I've just become one of those "slow bloggers." Things are decidedly not slow in my life this fall, which might explain some of my absence, but eventually I'll find my rhythm here again. It's time for change, but as you know, change takes time. I'll get there.

In the meantime, I've been finding some rhythm in my personal life. Over the weekend I started making seasonal shifts in my home, completely a mood changer. I'm always surprised by how the simplest of details can wake up my senses and give me a psychological overhaul. You see, while the rest of you are mentioning the nip in the air or the changing leaves, I have to create a sense of fall. The only sign of fall is that the highs are in the 80s instead of the 90s and the humidity has dropped enough that I think I'll be able to completely close my bathroom door within the next few weeks (if you live in a very old house, I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about).

At any rate, I collect a range of natural items that I use as props for photo shoots or to integrate into my home decor. I rotate these collections according to season, which keeps things fresh. Every season, I find something else that captures my fancy and sometimes completely dictates the look of a room. It's the element of surprise that keeps me from setting up the same vignettes over and over.

This year I suddenly had an urge to have sprigs of Chinese Lanterns in my living room. I've never seen the plant in my life, but I looked on Etsy and $10.95 and a few days later, I had a bunch of Chinese Lanterns whose vibrancy made me so happy, I decided orange was the way to go this year. (It's also my first fall having a gray living room and boy, do I love it! Such a great neutral to work with for every season.)

I believe in local and making use of what you find around you, but I also love that the Internet and the US Postal Service can bring the rest of the world to my door. It's armchair travel of a different sort. So maybe I won't get to see the leaves change this fall, but don't you worry about me. I can order boxes of them and roll around in them anytime I want!

Sources for Nature (click through for links):