~~FaLL DeCoRaTiNg TiPs~~!

So many other blogs are posting about home decorating for fall, and you can probably see the "fall decorating" we've done here at JoP (thanks Susan?), so I felt called to share my own plans for fall decorating.

Number one is fragrance. Right now is prime time for pumpkin flavors and scents, but just between you and me, I can only handle so much pumpkin! Candles that smell like vanilla, cookies, any gingerbread product, or toffee all make me wanna barf. I only want my food to smell like food, you know? My go-to scents for cooler weather fall more into the spice-and-herb category. Right now I'm into patchouli, which is a really nice compliment to a citrus scent too. Evergreen is also nice; cedar and eucalyptus will never let you down. So.

HOT: citrus and spice

NOT: cookie scents


Number two: windows. Everybody's changing out their valence-shade colors and hanging garlands of faux leaves, but I'll be covering my windows with shrink-wrap plastic for insulation. My windows may not be "festive," but my energy bill will be beautiful!

HOT: saving energy!
NOT: buying the same curtains in a different color just because the seasons change

Number three: It's what everyone is talking about! CENTERPIECES. Also mantlepieces. A popular idea these days is to cover some fall items (pumpkins, faux or real; leaves; gourds; brown and orange things) in a cake dish and toss leaves around. Voila! But that looks like crap. Another one is to arrange some things in a bowl. Replace your stupid boring old everyday fruit bowl with a...gourd bowl! Toss some multicolored authentic corn husks in for fun.
Just kidding everybody! Unless you run a country club, I wouldn't worry about making new centerpieces for fall. Nobody will notice or care anyway!

HOT: no centerpiece/whatever you already have!
NOT: spending hundred$ on decorative pumpkins and special leaf garlands

Good luck out there, everybody. We all know the next big decorating challenge is right around the corner...stay tuned for Christmas!

The Stupidest Cabin

This must be the most ridiculous "On Location" the NYT has ever done.

"It may not have a bathroom or a kitchen, but it is a dream of Victoriana: stacks of Limoges china with tiny rosebud patterns; chandeliers dripping crystal; billows of tissue-paper garlands."

Yep, sounds pretty reasonable to me!

Sister Blog Alert: Gone Fashion'!

It's been a quiet week here on JOP, with two of your writers on vacation and the rest of us just busy in general. But hold onto your hats because there's a new blog in the Hi Fever/Jar of Paperclips family, and it's all about a topic close to your hearts and mine: clooooothessss!

A committee decided on the name, so don't blame me if it's cheezy. Gone Fashion' (like gone fishin', get it??!) is a joint effort among most of JOP and most of Hi Fever, and its mission is pretty similar to all of these blogs'. That is to say, writing about whatev we want, whenev we want!

If you have any ideas for topics, for GF or HF or JOP, send us an email at hifever40@yahoo.com or

jarofpaperclips@gmail.com.

JOP is still taking advice and although we have an enormous backlog, we'd like to hear what's going on right now! GF has sort of an advice feature, obviously specifically to do with fashion. So drop us a line and don't be a stranger!