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Fall Styling And New Couch Covers

*Today’s post was made possible by Nolan Interior, and features gifted product for the purposes of a candid review. All opinions are my own.

I’m late to the game talking about my fall décor now because it seems like everyone has already moved on to Christmas decorations (I’m guilty of that myself behind the scenes, but I promise not to talk about it until next week). I didn’t want to let my very favorite season pass by without at least a quick little autumnal spotlight, though! I focused all of my fall energy in our sunroom this year, placing a few thoughtful seasonal accents here and there to get the point across without going overboard. I really like the mix I landed on, and wanted to show you in case it inspires you this month before Christmas takes over.

Fall Styling And New Couch Covers

I actually worked with Nolan Interiors on this photoshoot. They asked me to put together a quick video for social media showing off their amazing washable couch covers alongside simple, modern fall décor, and you know I was more than up for that fun challenge. We’ve been using their couch covers for years, and love them to bits. They’re super easy to wash, are really soft to the touch, and protect our couches from our three pets—who have full reign of the furniture in our house, by the way. Watch the video here if you’d like to see the styling come together in action, and keep scrolling for more photos and fall decorating ideas.

I tend to spend just a littttttttle more time on the couch this time of year than usual since I’m inside more often to escape the colder days of fall, so I appreciate having couch covers down to make our sectionals look a little more refined and less slouchy/overused. These covers are nice and tight, slipping right over each cushion for a tailored look.

I was especially excited to get covers for our new leather couch in the sunroom. Our cats don’t really target the leather with their claws, but I still worry that they’ll accidentally nick the upholstery. I ordered new “Plush” Miracle Sofa Covers for our blue velvet sectional in the color “Sky” and in “Latte” for our leather couch. The two colors are obviously not an exact match the true colors of the sofas, but I actually really like the two-tone look! I think it adds some fun dimension to the room, and the peace of mind is priceless.

To make the sofas read a little more “fall,” I added plaid pillows and throw blankets, and then styled the tabletops around them with things like pumpkins and faux fall foliage in glass vases. You can see that it really doesn’t take much to decorate a room for the seasons. In my opinion, you just need a small armload of accents to get the point across. This methodology works so well for me because it means I don’t have to store a ton of seasonal accents through the rest of the year, and it helps me stick to a small home décor budget, too. I usually buy myself one new thing each year as a little treat to freshen up the look, but I find that I almost never put the previous year’s décor in the same exact spots anyway, so those also feel brand new!

I loved snapping those photos above of our little impromptu fall movie night as a family! There’s nothing quite so cozy this time of year as putting the blackout blinds down, getting into my favorite softest loungewear set, and curling up with our pets to watch old movies. If you happened to catch my post earlier this week, then you know that I’m going through a pretty rough time right now behind the scenes with my health. It’s making me cherish these soft, quiet moments at home more than ever, and am so grateful that I was able to decorate this room for my favorite season before I got sick—it’s all done just in time for me to recover and heal. Thanks, as always, for your support, and let me know in the comments if you have any favorite fall decorating traditions of your own to share!

*I earn a small percentage from purchases made using the affiliate links above. This allows me provide free creative content for you to read, save, and share. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.

^^My new normal living situation—pills, pets, heating pads, pillows, pajamas, and blankets…

Hello…it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been mustering the mental and physical energy to write this blog post for a while, and want to start by apologizing for the complete lack of explanation for my sudden pause in blogging. The truth is that I’ve been dealing with a very sudden, completely unexpected health crisis behind the scenes, and have been physically incapable of even sitting down to type this post to share.

It’s unpleasant to talk about this and I don’t want to share too many details for privacy reasons, but I’ll do my best to explain the high points. I started experiencing symptoms of indigestion on October 6, which really concerned me. I had never had these types of stomach symptoms before and took it seriously from day one. That said, I really assumed that it would clear up on its own within a few days. I had gone out to lunch the day before, so maybe I had just eaten something bad? Anyway, I went about my work and projects for about three days before I knew something was really up and I made an appointment with my doctor.

Sadly, things went from bad to worse after talking with my doctor. I’ve been to the emergency room twice for internal bleeding and dehydration, and a CT scan during my second visit showed lefthand intestinal inflammation. After many, many other rounds of tests and blood work, my doctors have confirmed that I have (or had) a really bad case of Norovirus, but they also suspect that I may be in the early stages of a Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis. See?! I told you it was unpleasant to talk about!

I have been bedridden and unable to leave the house for four weeks up to this point, and have lost a shocking amount of weight—something like 15 pounds. I feel like a shell of a human being, but was finally given antibiotics and steroids three weeks into my ordeal, which seem to be giving me my appetite and small amounts of strength back.

I don’t really know what’s going to happen from here on out, but I don’t mind admitting that I’m scared. I’ve never been this sick in my life, and it has impacted my friendships (many that were just getting going!), my work, and my mental health in addition to my physical wellbeing, of course. I can’t travel, can’t go to the pottery studio, and can only occasionally make it to the grocery store when I absolutely have to go. It has been hell on earth, but I know I’m not alone. If this is something like Crohn’s or UC, I know there are maintenance drugs I can go on and lifestyle changes I can make. But I have to get well enough to actually live before even thinking that far ahead.

A true diagnosis of those diseases is a ways off since local GI doctors are booked out through the new year, so in the meantime, I’m taking matters into my own hands by trying to eat less gluten and dairy, and eating small frequent meals so that my digestion can, hopefully, even out on its own. If you have any suggestions for gluten- and dairy-free cooking/eating, please let me know! And if you suffer from Crohn’s or UC, I’d love any insight you’re able to offer so I know what to generally expect if that’s what I have.

I’m going to do my best to get back into regularly blogging, but please have patience with me as I navigate my poor health situation. It’s pretty uncomfortable sitting a computer right now, and our sweet kitten, Gladys, destroyed my laptop screen so I can’t work from bed or the couch anymore. I love staying in touch with all of you, though, so I’m going to do my best to make it work and keep up with a presence here on the blog.

Short form content has been much more manageable for me to stay on top of from bed/the couch this past week, so make sure you’re following me on Instagram for daily updates. I have a few videos that I put together before getting sick that I still have yet to post, so if you see my plump and happy face on screen, it was probably filmed before I got sick, but I’m still here and still excited to share home updates as I’m able to! Thanks for sticking with me…

Update as of November 19, 2024: I wanted to share the latest news that I was able to get an emergency colonoscopy on November 12, and biopsies confirmed a match to Ulcerative Colitis. I’m grateful to have a firm answer now, and am starting the long process of learning how to manage this type of autoimmune disease.

New Fall Décor And Washable Couch Covers

Life Update: My Unexpected Health Crisis

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