Happy Hour : Are Your Rooms Dressed for Fall?

Every been in a restaurant when it turns "Happy Hour?" You notice the mood instantly changes as everyone is ready for fun. Whenever I'm having a Bad Hair Day, my cure is always a personal Happy Hour. Of course, I'm hopeless addicted to interiors; so for me, this hour is all about decorating. In this series, we'll look at some quick and happy mood changers for our very own Happy Hour. Each should take about an hour - a mere 60 minutes - to perk up our minds and our rooms. Let's get the party started.

I once spent the autumn months in Nairobi. As a house guest of a French Canadian, I loved that he had his windows decorated with fall colored leaves sent to him by his family back in Montreal. A bit of autumn in equatorial Africa. Fall is finally here in the Bay Area. You can smell it in the air and 75 degree days aren't that warm. I finally ventured down to the basement for a bit of fall decor. Let's take a look at easy-peasy ways I brought autumn into my rooms. If you haven't spent a Happy Hour bringing fall into your rooms, I hope you'll take this as a little inspiration.

Maybe I'm more keen on fall interiors because in my Oakland neighborhood, fall doesn't make a splash here. Here's the only color on my property- and it's poison oak.

In the entryway, I just plunk as many fall "leaves" as I can in an urn. If you have pumpkins on the porch, a fall wreath on your front door or have gather a colorful bouquet from your yard, count this Happy Hour over!

I repainted this canvas this month. It was bright yellow with butterflies - didn't seem right for year-round enjoyment.

A fall leaf garland in the kitchen.

Decorating can be as simple as an autumn card from John&Jim and their orange box from a Parisian boutique de bonbons.

I'm not buying a pumpkin this year but I snapped a few photos of some almost irresistible ones this week.

Gotta love a fairytale or pastel pumpkin.

I brought out autumn colored keepsakes to place on floating bookcases downstairs. Probably won't do this again but I do like seeing my cigar and shaker boxes, Uncle Eme's tool box and my collection of pears. During the depression, my mom handsewed the witch puppet.

In the guest room, I got out velvet pillow covers (Amazon) and a few books in autumnal colors.

My best fall decoration is a birthday gift from Kimberly. She embellished a glass pumpkin with a zillion pieces of jewelry. Every time I look at it, I discover another cool piece of jewelry. Such a treasure! If you have a few minutes, it's not too late to do a little autumn decorating. After all, we have 5-1/2 more weeks to Thanksgiving. Enjoy your Sunday!

P.S. Oakland is 530 miles south of Eugene, OR where there was a 100% eclipse of the sun yesterday morning. From my deck, I snapped this shot. Don't you love when nature throws us a curve ball?