Sweet Home Alabama in Autumn Glory

After we returned from our trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, I was inspired to decorate my house for Halloween and Thanksgiving. The days are getting shorter, the nights are indigo dark, and I need my burst of fall colors to liven my spirit.  I even put together a little neighborhood treat for two houses called YOU'VE BEEN BOOED. Essentially you get two cheap candy holders and fill them with doodads and Halloween candy then place a poem with the holder instructing the recipient of the gifts to do the same to two other households. Here's the fun part: you have to do it in secret and not get caught. My darling daughter and I have "Booed" a lot of people under cover of night. It's quite fun!

Here are my Sweet Home Alabama Autumn Home Decorating Pictures:

Autumn Adventures in Gatlinburg

I've been playing hooky from hard work to enjoy the beautiful weather and gorgeous blue skies during my favorite season. I adore autumn. I always have enjoyed this transitional season because no matter where I have lived, it always seems to spark little darts of happiness in my heart. There's something magical about this transitional time that wakes me up and makes me want to create.

I have another reason to love this season: my darling daughter is a late September baby. I can remember hours and hours of time pushing her up and down the hills of our subdivision while she nibbled on Cheerios. Now that she is a teenager, we are taking advantage of the fall break from school and traveling together.

I love the gorgeous colors, the crisp weather and the seasonal decorations we found in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Although the trees weren't in peak color, we had a great time exploring the little European style village nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Here are some pictures of our adventure in Gatlinburg to show you why I'm writing less and playing more.

Ober Gatlinburg, Mountains & Where Do I Eat Lunch?

I'm in Tennessee with my darling teen. We've slept in because we're catching up on the hours we've lost while caring for the Dowager Feline Clancy. Her sister feline, Mischief, is guarding Clancy while we are on our mini trip to Tennessee. And we have a wonderful neighbor and sister cat lover taking extra care of our feline.

Ah, sleep. A glorious thing I have missed.

But we can't spend our entire day locked in the Hilton. Much as I love the free Internet and the stolen writing time, I am here to see some sights and find the penultimate (I just wanted to use that word) place for a late lunch/early dinner. 

After we spruce up, we're driving up to the Smoky Mountains. We'll battle other color seeking tourists, stop in Gatlinburg for lunch and more sight seeing, then head back to Knoxville to meet the man who made all this exploring possible. 

So computer OFF. Shower now. Pictures later! 

And if someone wants to look up the word penultimate for me and post the definition, even better. Once again I confess: I write by committee.