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Fall decor, to me, is a little tricky. Just the whole dried gourds/wheat/pinecones/orange/tartan thing...it's very easy for it to feel dated and a little too fussy for my taste.

But I'm also kind of bummed every time I scroll through my Instagram feed and see photo after photo of my New York friends running around in the leaves with their kids - I used to live in the epicenter of the Grand Autumnal Experience, and here it's...well, it's like 80 degrees outside. I saw some leaves on the ground; that was exciting. But it is not a New England fall, and despite the fact that no number of pumpkins are going to make it feel like one, it's still nice to pretend.

This may be the most beautiful photo I have ever posted on RG.

When we were looking for a house, we made a wishlist of sorts - the kinds of elements that we were hoping to find, but could theoretically live without if the house checked off our Big Stuff (good school district, a playroom/office area, within reasonable commuting distance to Kendrick's office, etc).

Our wishlist included things like exposed beams, an open floor plan, a nice outdoor space, and some kind of bonus area where Kendrick would be able to set up his recording equipment (which is big and involves lots of wires, hence the problem with setting it up in, say, a corner of the living room). The latter is a tricky one, because we were really spoiled at our last house: the previous owners had turned our garage into a sort of studio space, so he just got that whole area to do whatever he wanted with. Here, not so much: every room in our place is small, and there's just nowhere for all that equipment to go.

...Or, not really bye, more like "scoot over."

Because despite what Pinterest has led me to believe, rugs do not belong in dining rooms. You know how Interiors boards - my own included - are full of the most adorable rustic tables paired with antique rugs and such? Well, first I put a rug in my kitchen, and then discovered just how terrible of an idea that is (moved it to the office). And then I put a rug - a brand-new, much-beloved Lulu & Georgia - in my dining room to pull together the furniture that I found at Big Daddy's - and it really did look amazing, exactly what the room needed, but still:

nope.