During autumn, temperatures fall, days shorten and holidays are approaching, bringing the need to get our homes decorated for the holidays and get organized. Maybe this is why we associate the coming of the season with more family time and wool clothing, rugs, and upholstery keep us warm, as do sweater-knit throws. It's such a busy time of year for us all, we gather our menus, our guest list, Christmas list, mailing out Christmas cards, decorating our homes, shopping and make travel arrangements to celebrate the holidays with our family and friends.
We all know that fireplaces in a room is considered to be a focal point and is a wonderful place to decorate the mantels for the holiday season. A few decorative additions like the magnolia branches on the mantle and the subtle use of branch motifs help change this space from a well appointed room, to a favorably seasonal one. I mentioned in another post mother nature is great source to get decorating materials and is budget friendly because it is free (most of the time). Look at the picture above by adding pine branches, running cedar, green apples and pine-cones you transform this mantel to a beautiful and natural mantel for the holiday season without spending tons of money to decorate. Fire screens protect our homes from any stray embers that spark, and should complement the fireplace, both in style and in scale. A good quality leather chair is a bonus, but any chair that is snug and welcoming can be used, changing the current color to a seasonal hue is easy to do with slip-covers. Add a fluffy pillow and a soft throw into the mix, set it in front of a warm fireplace, and snooze your Sunday away. A cozy fire and soft textiles are essential to autumn nap taking especially after having your holiday feast.
Most people have fond childhood memories of making cookies and having hot chocolate with their parents or siblings during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, so it's no wonder we try in many different ways to recreate these feelings every year. Candles should have spicy or bakery style scents, and simple shapes, what a wonderful way to add a nice fragrance in your home for during the holiday season. Accessories can be as sleek or as artistic as your memories recall them to be, bring out your favorite past holiday family pictures and have them displayed through out your home. I like to add them under a glass table top (this could be a side table, dining table, entrance table or coffee table) displaying events from Thanksgiving through New Years, I make them all black and white matte and cluster them on the table top and gently place the glass top on them. This is a personal, family filled season, so don't let traditional design rules dictate all of your decisions, listen to your heart and create beautiful rooms that fit the lifestyle of your family. Most importantly create beautiful memories with your family and friends.
Fresh coffee roasted locally.
What a great place for every Interior Designer, Home Stager and Home Redesigner to stop and check out "The Red Door" I can get in lots of trouble in this store. LOL, seriously they offer wonderful home interiors, gifts and fine furnishings. 
The Red Door
Another great place to visit in Helen, GA..this place has been there since I can remember and I grew up there. Nora Mill, you can pick up wonderful gifts and Stone Ground Grains, Grits & Cornmeal, Pancake Mix, Muffin Mix, Bread Mix, Country Gifts, Ole Candy Store, Jams, Jellies, Vegetables and much more.
While we were visiting over the summer, we had to stop by "The Williows Pottery" (in the same parking lot as The Red Door). Such a delight to spend time painting gifts for our family to celebrate their birthdays. We had so much fun and they were so helpful and have beautiful pottery on display that you can buy too.
What a great place to visit the Old Sautee Store, you find all sorts of unique gifts and they carry one of my favorites "Life Is Good" products. This store has a long history and is such a delight to visit. There is also a great little place next door that serves lunch, and trust me it is amazing. Home baked breads and other great goodies.
Nacoohee Villiage Helen GA
The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia showcases the handcraft skills of one of the South’s premier grassroots art forms, and explores the historical importance and changing role of folk pottery in southern life.
Awww, this place is a all time favorite of mine and host so many great memories for me. If you want to bond with mother nature then take a stroll to Anna Ruby Falls lies in the heart of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Although often crowded this is one park you don't want to miss. Beginning on Tray Mountain, Anna Ruby Fall is created out of the joining of Curtis and York Creeks, where the force of water flowing over the rock cliff formation makes a thunderous sound. Curtis creek drops 153 feet and York Creek 50 feet to form the Double falls. After the falls the joined creek is called Smith Creek and it continues to Unicoi Lake and eventually flows into the Chattahoochee River. Flowing south it then joins the Appalachicola River in Florida making a 550-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.
