While the calendar says autumn doesn’t end until December 21st, we all know it really ends this of this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving and usher in all the fun and excitement of the Christmas holidays!

After attending the Country Living Fair at Atlanta’s Stone Mountain a couple of weeks back I have both seasons with their wonderful holidays filling my heart at the moment!  With a quiet Thanksgiving Day here in South Carolina planned for Audley and the kids, I am planning a magazine worthy spread (MAD magazine of course) to celebrate this day of gratitude to make staying home a little more special.  This will be just before Christmas explodes in the house Thanksgiving night and Friday as we deck the halls and fa-la-la ourselves into festive cheer!

Yes, I found so much inspiration and fun at the CL Fair.  There were antiques.  There were decorations.  There were cooking demos.  There were craft demos.  And then there was this tower of pumpkins and gourds.

All of it just set off this little spark of creativity that I haven’t had in quiet sometime!

Won’t you take a stroll through the Fair with me and see what all has fueled my holiday spirit?

Vendors from all over came and set up their craft, antique spaces, as well as bit of fresh local baked goods and homemade soaps and candles.

HGTV’s Cash & Cari was there all day

 

Sweet little hanky cards

 

 

Vintage Christmas ornaments

Homemade soaps … they smelled divine!

I loved all of the variety and while I thought some altered crafts were just not my cup of tea, and other things were a bit too pricey, I did find a gorgeous small milk glass candy bowl the perfect size for my living room shelves and a set of absolutely stunning pink depression glasses that will be adorning our Thanksgiving table filled with chocolate pecan pie triffles!

 

Mismatched recovered furniture seems to be the latest trend in decorating.  We saw a lot of this while walking through the vendors.  I can’t decide what I think of it, but I think my teenage daughters loved the idea of it!

The always fabulous Sisters on the Fly had a small encampment set up showcasing a couple of the antique campers remodeled for weekend girl’s get-aways.

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to steer clear of the cooking demos as I have enough temptation (and planned cheats) coming up in the next couple of days.  They did look so much fun though and I am sure next year I will check these out and not feel so pressured!

I did love the unique table settings set up in the pavilion showcasing Country Living decor that draws us to their magazine each month.

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite demos was on the main stage with Heather Patterson, blogger At the Picket Fence.
Heather really got my creative holiday spirit going with her demo on simple DIY Christmas trees.

 

So much fun and so many ways to decorate up cones to match your themes and decor for this holiday season!

 

 

Heather is just so sweet.  I met her a year ago at the Southern Bloggers Conference in Raleigh and was glad that I was able to see her again.  She has also been on a weight loss journey and has lost 75 pounds to date!  I m so excited for her, and isn’t she just gorgeous?!

 

The day itself was so lovely with all of it activities and sights to see.  MacKenzie had band competition in Atlanta, so she was with the band while we were killing time before her performance.  I gave Madeline and Bradley a little money and let them do a little Christmas shopping.  They enjoy events like this for shopping.  So many fun and unique options.

The Country Living Fair has many locations through-out the autumn season.  I highly recommend that if there is one near you that you check it out.  It’s such an enjoyable time!