Suddenly feels like Fall

Someone told the weather in Denver that Labor Day marks the end of summer, and the weather in Denver took that very seriously this year.  The Tuesday after Labor Day, the weather turned to very cold.  It's been not super hot ever since, and I can say that I am really into it.  We had a really hot summer here, and I love love love Fall in Colorado, so I'm welcoming it with open arms.  Additionally, I'm a girl who likes a setting.  My mood is pretty easily influenced by what is around me: music, lighting, colors, temperature, even what I'm wearing.  So if I'm in the mood to feel cozy and Fall-y, like I was this morning, it takes some work but generally I can make it happen.  Last week pumpkin spice lattes came out at Starbucks, and I've been pretty excited to have one.  But I won't enjoy it as much as it deserves if it's not the right setting.  So I waited for a day where I knew it would really feel like fall, and that day is today.  The weather said the high would be 59 today and that it would be rainy- perfect.  I had some work I needed to do, so I planned a morning of working at Starbucks to enjoy my pumpkin spice latte.  I am dressed for Fall (whether that's completely necessary or not) with a scarf, a cardigan, and even flats instead of flip flops- which is really saying something about my commitment to this.  My barista this morning even pointed out how Fall-y I looked, success!  So I took my latte to a couch with a view of a tree with leaves that are changing color, and I'm listening to a Ray Lamontagne station on Pandora, which, if you're looking for one, is a perfect station for this season.  And I really did enjoy that latte. 

It is also pretty important to me to get the setting right in my house.  I've never owned my own place to live, so I've never been able to have exactly what I want in terms of paint color, and I never spend money on furniture, so it's largely out of my control, but there are some things I can still do to make my house feel the way I want.  Generally I like for things to feel calm and cozy.  If you've ever been to my house probably the first thing you thought was, did she forget to turn on the lights?  No.  I just don't like lights.  Well I do like lights, I like lamps.  I just hate hate hate overhead lighting.  It makes me feel really uncomfortable and a little stressed.  I can't relax in a room with overhead lighting.  But there are lots of other things that I've found that I like to surround me in my house.  A few of my goals go along with this desire.  

 

One of them was inspired by this frame that I saw at Anthropologie one time (btw, they NAIL the setting in Anthropologie stores).

I found a cool, worn frame at Goodwill that I bought about a year ago, wanting to do something similar with it.  It had a FREAKY picture of a little girl holding some flowers in it, so it was pretty inexpensive.  I wish I had taken a picture of that little girl before I covered her up so you could feel my pain, but I also don't want such a picture on my computer.  So I finally did something with it and accomplished #63- Make something with Goodwill frame.  I have gray walls in my room, and I've been really into the combination of gray and yellow lately, so I found a yellow paper that I liked and cut it to fit over the picture, but left the gray border in the frame.  Then I found one of my recent favorite Robert Frost poems and pinned it on top of the paper. 

 

I really love how it looks, because it helps create a little area next to my bed with some color and some oldish looking charm.  And it is hanging just above a pile of books I want to read, so it makes my bedroom feel calm and read-y.  

 Two of my already accomplished goals have already made my bedroom a little better: hanging the New York pictures, and the book page canvas (which I haven't written about yet).  I also just got a bedframe at Ikea that I LOVE.  All of this together is making my room feel like a real bedroom.  Here is what it looks like with everything together.

An excellent setting for restful sleep.  And the best part is- there isn't even the option of an overhead light!  Happy Fall.