Welcome to this month’s Seasonal Sentiments Rewind Newsletter!
October brought a whirlwind of excitement for our family as we enjoyed a much-anticipated vacation, filled with laughter, magic, and memories with loved ones.
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But just as quickly as the fun began, we found ourselves preparing for the unexpected arrival of Hurricane Milton.
Between the joy of family time and the intensity of storm preparations, it’s been a month to remember!
WHAT WE DID BEHIND THE SCENES IN October
Fall in the field
We don’t look for changing leaves to signal the start of autumn in Florida, but we know it has arrived when we go to Fall in the Field at Renninger’s in Mount Dora!
This fun festival hosts a selection of vendors featuring antiques, collectibles, vintage items, and Fall crafts.
There’s even a kid’s painting and craft area.
But my favorite part is the Hites Heirloom Farms Pumpkin Patch.
This year we picked orange and white pumpkins for our front porch, added to our gourd collection, and found a couple of thrifted treasures!!
I was so excited to find this sweet swan planter, a beautiful ironstone cream and sugar set, and four fabulous gourds!
Family Vacation
We had been looking forward all year to Rich’s family visiting Disney World and couldn’t wait to see how our two nieces and nephew would react to it.
As the trip got closer, we started hearing reports about a possible hurricane approaching central Florida. We could hardly believe it, especially since it had only been a little over a week since Hurricane Helene hit.
While Rich’s family was driving down from Kentucky, we heard on the news that the storm had strengthened into Hurricane Milton and was projected to make landfall near Tampa, moving right through central Florida.
They had initially planned to go to Daytona Beach for a few days after Disney, but fortunately, they were able to change plans and book a hotel in the panhandle, which was not expected to be affected by the storm.
On Saturday, we removed most of the items from our porches, and on Sunday, we headed to the parks equipped with rain ponchos and umbrellas!
We met up with family on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed shopping and dining at Disney Springs.
The plan was to go to Magic Kingdom on Monday, Animal Kingdom on Tuesday, and then they would head to the beach on Wednesday.
Here’s what actually happened…
On Monday, we had a wonderful time together at Magic Kingdom.
However, by that afternoon, we decided to cut our trip short and head home on Tuesday morning to prepare our house for the hurricane.
Our family visited Animal Kingdom on Tuesday morning and made it safely to the panhandle that night.
Since it rained on and off all day, we didn’t take many pictures.
This is the only one with all of us together!
We made the best of a chaotic situation, and the kids had an amazing time!
Hurricane Milton
We take hurricanes seriously, so thankfully, we had already stocked up on hurricane supplies at the start of the season.
When we got home on Tuesday, we prepared our house as best we could for the approaching storm.
Since our bedroom has windows along the back of the house, I knew sleeping would be difficult.
So, we decided to clear out the walk-in closet and set up cots and sleeping bags in there! Without any windows, the wind was much quieter.
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on Wednesday night, October 9, as a Category 3 storm.
The worst of the storm hit us in the middle of the night.
We suspected we’d have some damage, as we could hear banging against the side of the house.
It turned out to be the soffits on both sides of the second story, and we also noticed some water damage on the ceiling of our lanai and lost internet for several days.
Fortunately, these were relatively easy fixes, and we were so grateful no water entered the interior of our home.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to those who suffered loss during these two devastating hurricanes!
Food and Wine Festival
Recently, our weather has been cooler with high temps in the 80’s and lots of beautiful sunshine!
It’s so much fun to be outside without the high heat and humidity of summer!
Here’s our favorite thing we ate this month at the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival from The Fry Basket booth!
Fry Flight
Truffle-Parmesan Fries / BBQ Bacon Fries with Smoked Aïoli / Sweet Potato Casserole Fries with Candied Pecans, Toasted Marshmallow Cream, and Bourbon Maple Syrup
I avoid gluten and dairy but could eat the BBQ bacon fries and Rich had the other two!
Adobo Yuca Fries
Yuca fries with Garlic-Cilantro Aïoli
I was so excited about these fries because they were plant-based but the sauce tasted like it was dairy! So good!
We Voted Early
Rich and I will be out of town on election day and were happy we could vote early!
We encourage you to make your voice heard on Election Day if you haven’t already.
Voting is our chance to help shape the future of our community and country.
Every vote counts, so be sure to take the time to cast yours—it truly makes a difference!
Celebrated Halloween
We have not been home in the last two years during Halloween, so we were excited to decorate our porch and hand out candy to the sweet trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood!
Our favorite skeleton band made an appearance and helped entertain the tons of people walking past our house!
It was such a fun night!
If you want to know how to do Halloween projections on your window click here.
What We Did On The Blog In October
This is the craziest month of the year because our home is a mix of three seasons!
As bloggers, we need to decorate for the season/holiday early to give you time to replicate our DIYs or purchase decor items before they sell out.
So please don’t be angry with us when we share things early!
I know it seems crazy, but right now, we have Halloween on the front porch, Thanksgiving in the dining room, and Christmas in our bedroom!
Here’s a recap of our posts!
Home Decor
- First, we shared how to create an Easy Halloween Mantel with the perfect mix of eerie and elegant, and a bonus Fall Blog Hop!
- Then, we revealed our gorgeous King of Christmas Noble Fir Tree and shared tips on How to Choose The Best Artificial Christmas Tree!
- We don’t usually do scary at our house, but we couldn’t pass up adding a bit of spooky to our dining room table this year! See our Halloween Tablescape scattered with spiders!
- See why the trick-or-treaters loved our Halloween Porch this year!
DIY
- Every year I make at least one new pumpkin and this season I just fell in love with this adorable DIY Pumpkin Basket!
- If you enjoy seeing before and afters, you have to see this Easy Way to Upcycle an Outdated Vase!
Home Organization
This time of year it’s hard to find time to organize between all the holiday happenings, but I did manage to tackle one space!
Inspiration from around the web
Here are five of our favorite Fall posts we discovered online this month!
- Fall is pumpkin season and there’s just something so comforting about pumpkin-spiced everything. Here are 6 cozy recipes you should try this fall!
- See these simple ways to incorporate vintage items into your Thanksgiving decor.
- I love the idea of Friendsgiving! If you want to know more, get inspired with these Friendsgiving aesthetic ideas!
- Having company this Fall? Learn how to make the cutest pumpkin wine holder you’ve ever seen!
- Do you like to DIY? See how to create faux birch flameless candles perfect for Thanksgiving and Winter!
Favorite Seasonal Finds
Here are a few of our favorite Fall finds we spotted on Amazon!
Click the blue links for more information on the items in the picture!
Fleece Throw Blanket | Amber Wine Glasses | Rattan Pumpkin String Lights
Pumpkin Place Card Holders | Velvet Pumpkin Set | Fall Table Runner
Thanksgiving Cutout Words | Brown and White Table Cloth |Velvet Pillow Covers
Home Organization Challenge Weekly Task
To help keep everyone motivated to organize throughout the year, here are weekly suggestions you can tackle!
You can organize one week of the year or all 52!!
- Week 45- Plan for Thanksgiving
- Week- 46- Shop for Thanksgiving
- Week 47- Clean and prepare for Thanksgiving
- Week 48- Enjoy Thanksgiving and start Christmas shopping
Posts You Might Like From Our Archives
If you’re new here or would like a refresher check out these older posts that are relevant for this season!
Decorating
Add a touch of Autumn to your home with these nine budget-friendly fall kitchen decor ideas!
DIY
Are you interested in using pretty pumpkins on your Thanksgiving table? Learn how to decoupage pumpkins with napkins to make them match your decor perfectly!
Organization
Need to declutter your dining room before your Thanksgiving company arrives? Learn how to clear the mess for good!
Thanks for spending a few minutes of your day here with us!
We’ll see you back here on the first Saturday in December for our Seasonal Sentiments November Rewind!
Blessings, Donna and Rich
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
Such a whirlwind of a month for you guys! So happy that the family could enjoy Disney even for a little bit. Have SO much fun on your cruise!
It was a crazy month and we are looking forward to relaxing on our 30th anniversary cruise! Thanks so much my friend!
I am glad to hear you were able to weather the storm Donna, but sad your trip was cut short. You have had a busy month with the rain and storms. I am also glad you did not have a lot of damage to your home. I enjoyed your projects for Halloween, I need to do a better job of crafting for Halloween. Take care.
Thank you Cara! It was a crazy month and we can’t wait for hurricane season to be over! I had so much fun with Halloween this year but now I feel behind on Thanksgiving! Take care!
Such an amazing month, Donna! I still can’t believe everything that happened but I’m thankful you guys didn’t have a lot of damage and were able to make lots of fabulous memories in the process. I can’t tell you how many friends, loved ones and littles told me how much they appreciated the community ralling together to give everyone somehting to look forward to like going to Disney, the pumpkin patch and trick or treating. It’s been such a wild month and I’m thankful hurricane season is almost over. Big hugs and looking forward to all your holiday decorations, CoCo
Hi CoCo. we were so fortunate in our neighborhood. I can’t believe the devastation the hurricanes have caused so many people this year. I know you are counting down the days for the season to end! Lots to look forward to with the holidays approaching! Thanks for stopping by!