It’s finally fall – my favorite season of the year! Time for sweaters and boots, bonfires and football games, deer season and pumpkin spice everything! I get so excited when fall arrives, and I want my home to reflect the season, so that it reminds me what time of year it is every time I walk in.

There are so many little things you can do around your house to decorate for Halloween that are inexpensive and cute. Here are some of the things I did this year…

First, I emptied my front porch urns of the dying flowers they contained from summer and replaced them with some unique pumpkins. I know, I’m supposed to plant mums in the fall, but you actually have to water mums and take care of them, and who has time for that?!? These heirloom pumpkins don’t need anything from me. They just sit there all stacked up and cute, and will last until it’s time to decorate for Christmas!

If you want to get really cute, you could stick some straw in between each pumpkin layer, but I haven’t gotten around to that yet.

And speaking of pumpkins, putting a few out inside your house is a very easy way to bring the fall season in. I usually have a plant on this entry table, but replaced it with these for the fall.

All the dollar stores usually sell bags of small pumpkins for around $3. You can just empty them into a basket for a quick and cheap table centerpiece.

Throw a piece of burlap down underneath it to make it look even cuter! I know it doesn’t look like the huge arrangements in Southern Living, but it was super cheap and took less than 5 minutes!

These banners are easy to make out of burlap and twine, but they are even easier to buy from someone – I got this one last year from Etsy.

If you have anything your kids have made over the years, you can mix that in with other decorations for a display.

These are my son’s footprints on a plate we made a few years ago. The plate came from Walmart for about $4, and we used Sharpie markers to decorate around the footprints. (I doubt his feet would fit on a plate now!) The lantern is filled with more dollar store pumpkins, and everything is tied together with a fall-colored swag.

And of course it isn’t fall without a Leaves candle from Bath & Body Works making your house smell amazing! This is my favorite candle ever, and they only have them in the fall. The first day I lit it this year, my husband came home from work and said, “It smells like deer season!”

I don’t have room in my kitchen for many decorations, but a cute Halloween dish towel is really all you need.

Decorating for Halloween doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to involve anything scary. In November I’ll show you how to transition these Halloween decorations into Thanksgiving.

Thanks, y’all!

   – Nikki

Most of you are probably wondering what “zoodles” are – they are noodles made out of zucchini. I’m sure most of you stopped reading right there, but they really are worth trying. Think of all the carbs in regular pasta! And these are actually GOOD! I fed some to my husband without telling him what they were and he LOVED them! (Of course, once he found out they were made from a vegetable, he wasn’t so excited!)

My daughter and I love them, though, so I will usually make these while my husband and son eat pizza. They only take MINUTES to make!

Some stores sell the noodles already made up in the produce section, but if you can’t find any, they are super easy to make yourself. You can either invest a few bucks in one of these little tools (this one is called a “vegetti”), or you can just use a vegetable peeler to make thinner “noodles.”

If you are making your own noodles, this is a VERY important step. Let them sit about 5 minutes with salt on them. This draws all the water out of them. I put mine in a paper towel afterward and squeeze out. You’ll be surprised at how much water comes out! If you don’t do this, your noodles will have a bitter taste and the texture will be weird.

Now just saute them in a spoonful of olive oil for a few minutes. They only take about 3-5 minutes to cook, and then you can top them with whatever you want.

The easiest thing to do is just add some pasta sauce and parmesan cheese, which is how I do it most of the time.

This is my favorite pasta sauce EVER! It tastes even better than homemade, AND it’s organic. I could literally drink it from the jar. It’s that good.

Another way to top them is to make a pesto sauce. One of my favorite ones is made with avocado. Combine an avocado, a few cloves of garlic, a handful of spinach leaves, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a food processor, then pour over noodles. You can also add chicken or shrimp.

I promise these really are good, and so healthy. So the next time your family wants fast food or pizza for supper, but you want something healthy and not as fattening, spend about 10 minutes and make yourself some “zoodles!”

Thanks, y’all!

   – Nikki