September 15th felt like the perfect day to put cascading pumpkins on the front porch. I was warned by many that pumpkins won't last long on your doorstep in North Carolina. It's a stark contrast to them lasting MONTHS in Idaho, probably because it's like a refrigerator on your porch. So, well, those are all faux and not even Chris could tell! It's a bit of an investment up front, but I'm so excited that we'll have them forever now!
Flat Orange Pumpkin, Sage Pumpkin, Long Stem Pumpkin, Traditional Pumpkin, Harvest Pumpkin, White Pumpkin, Flat Sage Pumpkin, Long Stem Sage Pumpkin, Squatty Pumpkin, Peanut Pumpkin, Flat White Pumpkin
I'm feeling really homesick this week. It's a strange feeling when you're at home, surrounded by your family but feeling homesick. This weekend marks just 2 months in our house (how has it only been 2 months but also, there are so many boxes still!) and Chris and I stayed up late one night just talking about all the things we miss--and left no memory unturned. Our girls are growing so fast and we miss our Idaho land and we miss seeing our friends and knowing how to get places. Ha! Then we curbed it by talking about all the things we're excited for here. Like, trick-or-treating without winter coats on! The next day, I put pumpkins on our front porch and it honestly helped. They say holidays and creating memories actually help in getting settled so we're starting pumpkin season early.
Other fun things this week!
- Oh my GOSH have you watched LuLaRich on Amazon?! It's a 4 episode documentary about the jet fast rise and crash and burn of LuLaRoe. (Remember those crazy leggings?!) It's fascinating and my jaw was on the floor the whole time.
- These baby's breath clouds took my breath away.
- Sometimes I forget this.
- I ordered these sherpa-lined pointed mules as soon as I saw them in my inbox! They look exactly like the Jenni Kayne ones I've wanted for year for $200 less!
- Now that we're all on the Lamp o'clock train, we put together a little round-up of our favorite Table Lamps and Floor Lamps. A home MUST have a lamp!
- I'm talking about pumpkins and McGee & Co. is releasing their new Holiday Line. (I bet this sells out.)
Weekend Sales
Amazon: My favorite coffee table book is 46% off! (shop our storefront here)
Anthropologie: Extra 30% off sale items (these euro shams are gorg)
Ann Taylor: VIP Event 40% off with code ANNVIP (my sweater is back in stock!!)
eBay: The Frame TV is still on super sale! Run!
Madewell: 20% off Insiders Event (my new go-to sweater)
QVC: Our Ninja Creami is on sale for $179!
Rejuvenation: Save up to 60% off Kitchen & Dining Sale (we used this rug in our first Idaho home!)
Leave a Reply
WE'RE CHRIS + JULIA
Portfolio
Projects
You inspired me. I was lucky enough to get a few of the pumpkins you listed and they just arrived. How are yours holding up in the weather? I plan to copy you and add mine to the stairs.
I live in a humid area of SUPER hot Texas, and pumpkins on my porch last months and months!
Hugs.
What happened to the investment of the Christmas wreaths -- will you be using them on the new house?
Yup! Can't wait
Most of the pumpkins are out of stock and I'm super bummed! Your porch is beautiful.
I live in WI, but am a devoted follower of Wesley @Farmshenagins located in SC. He was picking up a truckload of exotic pumpkins at the grower to be sold at his garden store, Roots. He said rain is what makes pumpkins start spoiling in the south. FYI tip that I use to hold down light weight decor is Nano tape from Amazon. It is easily removed and reusable. Wesley uses Glue Dots, also removable, to hold elements like stacked faux pumpkins together indoors. He is a fun, talented guy to follow. He and his partner also own a wholesale and mail order bouquet flower farm, a furniture store, and The Nested Fig, online home decor, reasonably priced too.
I’m from the UK and I’m curious about this US tradition. Do any of you feel guilty about letting food waste on your doorstep while people elsewhere are struggling to find food or afford to eat?
Well, I guess another bonus for faux.
We are supporting local farmers/small businesses and making precious memories with our kids. We don't spend very much. The same argument could be made for spending money on ANYTHING unnecessary when the money could be used to feed the hungry.
I am a Brit living in US and at first I found it strange. It is a great family tradition though to carve pumpkins. My kids love it. There are lots of small farmers with pumpkin patches who make their living in part by house spending a few hours picking out pumpkins and buying other home made goods (apple cider - yum!). Also as we carve them we save and roast the seeds. I give the insides of the pumpkins to our chickens and then when halloween is over we give them the whole pumpkin (or pre chickens we would put them at the edges of our property for wildlife to feast on.
No, I don’t. Pumpkins grow in abundance where I live and many will rot in the farmer’s field. After I’m done with my pumpkins, I take them to farms that accept them for their animals or to the zoo.
Gemma, do you celebrate holidays of any sort? You MUST give all of your money away to the needy. Please tell us some of your favorite charities you give so freely to so we may also give. Because I can match you dollar for dollar in donations. I am sure no one would make such a statement that did not give at least 50% of their income to the needy. So please share who you support.
I'm in the Czech Republic, and even though Halloween isn't a big thing here, everyone puts a display of squash they grew outside their front doors in the fall! It doesn't go to waste, unless we actually cut into a pumpkin to make a jack-o'-lantern we just bring them back to our cellars after a few weeks and eat them throughout the next year. I'm more surprised this isn't a tradition in Britain!
Gemma, do people eat pumpkin a lot in the UK? I can tell you that here it’s mainly pies and that’s about it. So people aren’t going hungry because of pumpkin decor.
Do you ask questions like this of all the people who feed wild birds too? When Americans put fresh pumpkins on their porches, the wildlife slowly devours them for their seeds and flesh. When they become unsightly, most are tossed into compost piles to decompose and later enrich the soil. The US is the largest exporter of food products in the world, and more importantly the largest producer AND exporter of food aid to other countries. No need to ride your high horse into battle. No one is starving because we put pumpkins on our porches.
Good luck ever knowing how to get anywhere in the Triangle. I swear roads pop up faster than weeds!
Happy fall to you and your family!
We moved from Idaho to NC 18 years ago and I still have lots of “missing home” moments. Luckily the Fall in North Carolina makes it all worth it!!!
I’m disappointed that with a platform as large and as positive as yours that you would share a link to a very one-sided docu-series that has the potential to hurt women who have their own LuLaRoe businesses that support their families. The series itself took interviews with people under false pretenses of featuring the company and then twisted the entire thing. The community of support for women who were able to build their own clothing boutiques is actually incredible. The amount of fundraising and corporate giving that LuLaRoe does is inspiring.
So it’s frustrating that something so harmful to individual women’s businesses would be shared by someone with a large viewership. It’s bad enough that a huge company like Amazon chose to produce something that can easily crush the small businesses they are in competition with in the world of fashion retail. We don’t need other individual businesses using their platform to share this smear campaign. It makes me sad.
I'm sorry you feel attacked, that wasn't my intention. I share a lot of interesting shows we have watched! It sounds like you have a good support system.
It's an extremely vulnerable act to share your likes and dislikes in a public forum. Chris and Julia have a strong history of well-rounded positivity and inclusion. I'm confident it was not Julia's intent to provide a one-sided slander, but to share that she had found the documentary intriguing. As a businesswoman, I am sure it was especially interesting.
Thank you for reminding us that there are 2 sides to the story, though. That's always best to keep in mind!
You sound like a paid shill. There's no reason to defend companies that, on the whole, prey on and hurt vulnerable women.
We have been in out new home since the first week of December. Still miss our old house (albeit smaller) and our neighborhood. Most of our boxes are unpacked and the interior is 95% repainted, the kitchen was totally gutted and renovated as well. All of our artwork is not hung...I don't feel up to having the old house duplicated. So trying to think of new ways to hang everything, and edit other pieces out. Right now the house feels like a stranger, but it seems to be wearing off a bit. Good luck on your new home and I look forward to all of your post!!
So fun! I always wonder how influencers have the strength to haul 10+ pumpkins into their trunk from the store and then out of their trunk to their home. lol. I'd imagine having these stored right at home would be easier!
All the pumpkins are out of stock 🙁
I love your porch and everything you do!
Yes! I watched the Lularich documentary & it was so good! Crazy-nutty & completely captivating.
Awe!!!! Got teary eyed because I’m in Maryland now and fall is when I get homesick for South Dakota/Minnesota the most. Happens every year (year 8 now), and the humidity feels suffocating when I just want the crisp, fresh, cool air of home, and sweaters, hot coffee, inside projects… the cozy things. At least we kinda get fall during winter, but then we miss the snow too. 😆 Anyway, all to say I FEEL this and my heart goes out to you! HUGS ♥️♥️♥️ Your porch looks so classy and cozy and beautiful! 😍
I’m in hot humid Florida and uncarved pumpkins will last for a couple months with no problem!
Curious if your pumpkins blow away with a strong wind? I have been so close to buying faux pumpkins for our porch but the wind factor always stops me 🙂
Our house is very nestled. Not very much wind around here. Haha
I live in Charlotte and just put out my first swath of pumpkins a few days ago. They last til past Christmas for me. Every year or so one might go bad, but it probably had a nick in the skin that I didn’t see. But the ones you rounded up are incredibly realistic, I’d have no qualms displaying them inside. I had one go bad inside, so it’s made me very cautious for my furniture ever since.
Darn was hoping you’d share the names of the living room paint contenders! I’m currently searching for the perfect green/blue for my living room .. 9 samples in and I still don’t think I’ve nailed it 😝
Porch looks beautiful! Just a side note, I live over in Charlotte and the pumpkins will last for A LONG TIME if they aren’t carved. Most pumpkins I buy at the end of September have lasted me past Thanksgiving. In terms of carving, I can only carve ours about two days max before they start to mold.
Same here! Please share the colors!
Will do!! Working on a post for next week right now about it!
Hi Julia! The porch looks amazing! I live in VA where it’s also very warm still and my pumpkins usually last months. Maybe a couple go bad but for the most part the pumpkins I put out in early October are still there at thanksgiving. So give it a shot with a few and see how it goes!
I am farther south than you in Georgia. Let me clue you in, Southerners tend to exaggerate! I typically throw my October pumpkins out in January! Now if you carve them, they will barely last a day. I never comment, but read you faithfully!
Thanks for chiming in Theresa!
I second the exaggeration. As long as they’re not carved they’ll last the whole season :) I’ve never had a pumpkin go bad even past thanksgiving. The faux ones look amazing though. I was just wondering where I could find some just to make things more simple each year.
The simplicity this year and beyond is what I’m most excited about
Where are the faux pumpkins from?
Linked them all right after the first paragraph
Oh my gosh I just watched the first episode of LuLaRich last night!!!! I have a feeling I’ll be finishing the rest tonight!!