Fall Decorating

I want to decorate for the Holidays. But with this being my very first home, I've been unsure of how to go about it. I don't want to put a dent in our budget to decorate and I don't want to accumulate more things to pack should we move in a couple months. So I've just been sitting on my decorating desire and waiting for something to come to me. And it did. At Wal-Mart.

I don't much care for the Wal-Mart near our house (bad produce) so I've only been twice since we've lived here. But the other day I was close by and needing paper products so I figured it was as good a place as any. And as I pushed my cart up and down the aisles I remembered why we always shopped at Wal-Mart growing up: It's so much cheaper. Diced green chilies are at least .90 and sometimes a dollar at the grocery store but there were only .67 at Wal-Mart. I stocked up. Garbanzo beans were less than a dollar was well. Hominy was also much cheaper. With each aisle I felt certain I was in grocery heaven, so I decided to just check out the whole store.

Going down every aisle is not my style. It's never a good idea really because you buy way more than you need. But on this day it proved to be the answer to my Fall Decoration dilemma. On the holiday aisle they had faux suede leaf place mats for two dollars each. Another aisle over I found a square of brown felt for .25 and I knew I could make something seasonal out of my 4.25 find. 

I already had the tea light holder so I used it. I think a big fall-colored candle would add more dimension and look better overall but this will have to do for now. 

I got the leaf idea from my mother-in-law. She collected leaves and set them on top of a red table cloth and laid a clear covering over that to make a lovely fall table setting. On my Saturday run I walked the last 1/2 mile or so and picked up these leaves. A couple almost got away from me and I had to chase them down. One at a cross street and don't think the on-coming car stopped me from getting my leaf. Brian would've died if he'd been there. 

I'd love to get some more fall/winter decorating tips. Please send them on if you have any.