It’s my favorite time of year again! I’ve always loved autumn…the nice relief from the hot summer, still warm enough to wear a T-shirt in the middle of the day but chilly in the morning and night. (At least here in New Jersey…when I lived in Texas not so much!) Decorating the outside of my house has always been on my to-do list but when I had small babies it was really hard. This is the first year I felt ready to tackle a small outdoor project. I kept it pretty simple and tried to focus on a few nice ideas instead of going totally crazy with it (which is always tempting!)

These mats are both from Target. I found even better mat/rug combos here and here! I absolutely love all those fall-themed mats out there (think “Hey Pumpkin” or “You’re Gourd-geous) but it’s just not realistic for me. I like to use a mat that will work all-year round so I’m not constantly needing to switch it out. I don’t have much storage outside (or inside for that matter) so I like to use one product as much as possible. I guess I could just buy a new mat each season every year but that sounds expensive! The brown “hello” mat is cute and works all year round. The black and white mat underneath is festive for fall but could definitely be used in other seasons…it’s all about what it’s paired with!

Instead of spending $50+ on a new fall sign, I decided to make one myself. I actually had an old shelf from a closet we used to have in our house (before we renovated.) I had been holding onto it hoping I could use it for something. I’m kind of lazy so instead of using paint or stencils with spray paint I decided to use regular sharpie to outline the letters and then colored them in with this marker. It worked so well! I was pleasantly surprised. I will definitely be using them again for other projects.

These bats are my favorite part! I think they’re such a nice touch. They’re so affordable and can be stuck pretty much anywhere. Super easy to use. I found the cute wreath at Aldi for $12.99. (If you want one go now because Aldi only has seasonal items for about a week!) I found a similar wreath here. I found that the wreath was a little hard to see with the window behind it so I added some contact paper to make it stand out. I love this because it adds privacy but it is non-adhesive (you just put water on the window and it sticks on) so if I change my mind I can just peel it off!

After spending about $30 on mums and pumpkins from a local store, I probably spent a total of $70 (I already had the “hello” mat.) I also plan on painting the other side of the “fall” sign with a Christmas theme so I can use it for the next season as well! I hope you have fun decorating your own porches this fall!

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