Keeping it simple?

For some people simplicity is natural…for me, it’s a challenge. I’m not from the “less is more” school of thought. I’m from the “more is better and more beautiful” school. When it comes to fall decorating in the past, it wasn’t unusual to see a plethora of garlands, lights, pumpkins and scarecrows filling every surface of my home. But something has come over me this year. It might have been the wisdom of one of my coffee friends who told me that she was finished with her fall decorating….she hung a wreath on the door. Could I ever do that?  Never! But I could try getting less out so I wouldn’t have so much to put away. So in the spirit of ECLAIRASSEZ (for those of you who don’t know the story of this word, I’ll fill you in. This is from 2006.

While my sister, Linda, was visiting we talked about how too many possessions can be a problem in our lives. Especially when you know you have something, but can't find it. We both agreed that we need to simplify our lives and pare down. I have been on that mission since I retired four+ years ago. I've done well to not buy as much and bring it into the house. I've also cleaned and organized and tried to find a place for everything. I still have a long way to go, since I've been a collector for years. Linda and I wanted a sign that said "Simplify" just as a reminder. I know you can buy a wooden sign like that at a lot of stores that sell crafts. But I told her that if we really were true to the concept we would make our own sign. So we foraged through some left over wood scraps from the addition and found a rectangular piece for both of us. But leave it to us not to do it simple. We looked up the phrase "Lighten up"and translated it into French....Eclairassez. We put this on our sign with a stenciled fleur-de-lis on each side. Eclairassez can mean lighten up your possessions, but it can also mean lighten up your spirit, don't take life so seriously. Or, as we laughed, it could mean "Eat more eclairs!!"

I decided to see how little I could use but still satisfy my artistic need to see pretty things. Here are the results.
On the piano three gilded pumpkins in ivory vases.


Just two white pumpkins on the buffet.



The baker’s rack looks a little empty, don’t you think?

 

The white pumpkins, grapes and berries are simple aren’t they?



And in the center of the table just a simple arrangement with apples, berries, moss and grapes.


What do you think? Is it simple enough? I can still go up in the attic and drag out the orange lights!