Fall is my favorite time of the year…last year we hosted our daughters engagement party in our backyard. The weather was perfect, it was a crispy evening, but not too cold. Last weekend we had a few friends over for a fall gathering …I was lucky enough to have some of the “decor” leftover from our daughters event last year so I used those to make the backyard into a lovely fall evening with friends.

It was simple yet elegant. Gatherings like this aren’t hard to do at all. I had a ham and once you have a main dish that everyone can just grab with a fork, the rest is a piece of cake!

We put all of the patio furniture together, turned on the heater, turned on the music ( I can’t tell you how much we love our sonsos speakers..i highly recommend them!, and we then built a fire in the fire pit.

Wine, conversation, roasting marshmallows, making smores, all added to a special evening. We all get together often. Fall is a time of being grateful for our blessings, taking time to understand what the change in the colors represents in our lives, and a time for all of us to reflect upon the year thats past us by so quickly.  For me, the leaves that have fallen and have changed colors represent many things in my life.

This past year, I sat and watched my mother deteriorate so quickly and she passed away very peacefully by my side, My daughter got married a few months later and had her “dream” wedding and while we were happy, we all were sad that her grandmother/my mother wasn’t there in person..although we know she was in spirit. I moved my store location across the street and had to completely renovate the entire location. We are moving my husbands parents to our city in a couple of weeks so that we can help take care of them and their health issues.  Our good friends/neighbors are moving far away from us, and my health has taken a toll lately and has gone into another stage. But thru all of these changes, I’m grateful for those people in my life that love me, support me, and understand me. Support is everything.I highly suggest a fall gathering each year with friends…you’ll be amazed at the changes that take place from year to year, whether it be loosing loved ones, gaining new friends,  friends or families moving, family dynamics or ones workplace is changing. Its all about change..just as the leaves change, so do our lives.

Be grateful…be thankful and understand why its important to have a fall gathering.

Happy fall to “you all”.