Every now and then a story comes along that needs to be told twice.
I’ve shared this story before, but a friend of mine just mentioned it was worth the retelling (I’m looking at you, Michele).
This is a story that’s not for the faint of heart—a cautionary fall tale.
It’s a story that needs to be told.
Truth?
I shuddered and cringed a little bit even retyping the words to this post.
If you’ve read this blog for more than a hot minute, you know that I talk a lot about decorating.
Okay—sometimes I talk about Lee Press On Nails and shopping the side of the road and bad hair days and football and the best cookies on the planet.
But decorating is definitely number one at the top of my talking-about list.
However today?
Instead of talking about blue and white or fall mantels or fall foliage or the cutest pillow project I’m going to share next week. Instead of showing you a mantel or a coffee table or a staircase or all of my fall front porches through the years.
Instead?
I’m going to discuss the ONE THING you should never decorate with for fall.
Fall is the season to bring the outside in.
I love shopping the yard for all the fall decor. Just between us, there’s nothing prettier for fall than a branch that’s full of leaves that have dried perfectly in place with all the fall colors.
When you bring the branch in and add it to a vase and leave the leaves exactly how you found them?
It looks fancy.
It looks professional.
It looks like art.
When you walk out in our yard every fall, you will see acorns like this one.
Isn’t it beautiful?
Doesn’t it look like art?
Nature’s perfect way of celebrating the season.
Every year our backyard is FULL of acorns like this.
There are hundreds of them scattered all over the yard that crunch under your feet.
Those acorns look like the perfect way to decorate for fall for FREE.
Several years ago, I was planning a party and walked outside and saw those acorns all over the ground. I was having a party, and I wanted to create a truly authentic fall feel for the house—so I brought the outside in.
Just like they do in the magazines.
I don’t have a picture of the display.
I was in a hurry and didn’t take pictures, but here’s a similar display so you can get the idea. This is kind of the look, but instead of a ceramic vase like this (which would have been a much better choice), I used giant glass urns instead.
I added acorns from the yard as the base and tucked branches into the acorn-filled vase.
Isn’t that the cutest idea? I was patting myself on my fall decorating back.
Seriously.
All that fall glory for free.
People came to the party and ooohed and ahhed and told me how much they loved the idea of going all Little House on the Prairie and decorating with nature. And I decided right then and there—why ever decorate with anything else? I told myself that I was never wasting another dime on store-bought decorations when nature had already done such an amazing job.
Truly.
I thought of all the money I’d save on fall decor.
Visions of dried leaf garland and acorn garland and acorns on branches and acorn wreaths and the house swagged with all the fall that I had I gathered from my yard.
I was literally the most brilliant fall decorator on the planet.
Until.
Until a week later, when I was cleaning, something caught my eye.
A wiggle.
What in the world?
I thought it was a trick of sunlight. So I walked up closer and looked at the bottom of the vase.
AND SCREAMED.
I cannot.
I will not.
I am completely and utterly unable to say out loud what was coming out of the acorns and wiggling all over the bottom of the vase. Not just one wiggle or two wiggles.
Just between us, that vase WAS FULL TO THE BRIM OF WIGGLES.
We are not discussing what it was that I found in those acorns. You are probably drinking coffee or eating a blueberry muffin right now, and I want to still be friends.
Just know that I took the urns and those acorns outside back where they came from…..
…..never to return again.
And now I buy all my acorns in plastic bags from the store.
Or make felted acorns like this easy DIY.
Because those types of acorns?
They are guaranteed to be wiggle-free.
So when you decorate for fall. Bring in the branches. Bring in the fall flowers.
But the acorns?
They are part of nature that is amazing and wonderful and brilliant and awe-inspiring…..
….especially when it’s left outside. 🙂
PS These kind of acorns are EVEN BETTER.
You can make these acorns in minutes with a cakelett pan and a spice cake mix.
See the recipe here.
I love this story thanks for sharing it again!!!!😘 I have discovered that if I collect acorns and set them on a plate on the deck for a few days the squigglies seem to disappear not sure where they go but at least the acorns are free of them also I try to look for any tell tale holes in the acorns as I'm collecting them😉 Happy Fall everyone!!!!!!
Love this story. Ive had similar experiences..I love your uplifting emails they brighten my day especially on days when im homebound due to pain. blessings on your day that the Lord has made. lynn
I hate acorns. I slipped on acorns, dislocated my knee, and ruptured my quadriceps tendon. Surgery and physical therapy later and I’m pretty much walking normally except for hills and stairs. Leave the acorns outside but rake them up! Or if you want to use them inside, bake them in a low heat oven for awhile. Kills the wiggles.
Ohhhhh my goodness. That had to be quite the surprise! Thank you for sharing this!! No acorns in the house!! I love bringing nature in too, but sometimes it comes with little friends. 😳 Ewww.
I've used acorns for decorating, but I put them in the oven first. Lay them on a cookie sheet and leave them in the oven for 2hrs at about 175-200 degrees. Easy peasy. Love your story, though.
When my daughter was little, she had the best time collecting acorns in her sweet little wicker basket. She brought them in and had so much fun arranging them on her play dishes and feeding them to her stuffed animals. The next morning we found the “wigglers”. She was heartbroken when we had to throw them all away outside. 🥺
Yes, I agree with just purchasing a bag of acorns and the like- they may be used over and over. The best part is no “friends” make their way inside.
Yesterday a loud flock of crows was in my front yard eating acorns & I wondered why----now I know! Thank You! Those loud, bothersome crows have been designed by God for a purpose I had not yet seen! I will stop (or at least try to stop) wishing they did not exist. :-)
Oh my gosh, that happened to me with a Christmas tree. I’ve always loved real trees and my husband has always wanted a fake one about 15 years ago. We woke up one late December morning, and saw all kinds of crawling things on our floor around the tree. Evidently, there were some eggs in the tree branches that hatched in the warm room. I tossed the tree out the door ornaments, and all. Needless to say I bought a fake tree immediately, and we’ve never gone back.
Omg That happened to me too Gross
I also do the oven technique for both acorns and pinecones. For the pinecones, it’s not only practical but makes them even more beautiful imo. The heat melts the sap on them and gives them a beautiful sheen.
I really like decorating with acorns and have found a few ways to avoid the gross problem you experienced. You can freeze them in a sealed plastic bag for a few days, you can soak them in hot water (120 degrees) for 20 mins, or line a cookie sheet with foil and put them in a 175 degree oven for an hour.
That was terrible and certainly would have made me cringe, thanks and have a great day with your home made acorns.
Ewwww! Ive never had that happen , but after reading your ACORN TALE before , I put mine in the freezer. Then ……I FORGOT ABOUT THEM…UNTIL .. The grumpy Marine opened the freezer and says…what is in this bag ??? My reply… OH , it’s just my acorns. He was NOT entertained . But they look BEAUTIFUL! When will he EVER learn !
Acorns are like cones they need to be sterilized to get rid of the wigglers. If you put them in a solution of javex and water before bringing them into the house it gets rid of the wigglers. .
This story just made me laugh! Big Hugs
Are tree branches safe to bring indoors? I’ve always been hesitant for this exact reason.😬
I still bring branches indoors, but I give them a good shake outside and check the bark, leaves, and little crevices for bugs or egg clusters first. Then I set them somewhere easy to watch for a day before putting them in an arrangement. My acorn adventure has made me a much more careful inspector! Happy day, KariAnne
Thank you so much for the information on the Acorns! I will be passing this on to my daughter, just in case she decides to bring some indoors. Yuck!
I took my grandkids to the park one fall a few years ago. We collected sticks, leaves, and acorns. We wrote their names on the driveway using the sticks, and decorated the porch with a few leaves and acorns. They wanted to take it all home with them, so we gathered everything in a box and took it to their house when I dropped them off. My daughter called me the next day to tell we the little wiggles were all over the box. Someone told me later about putting them in the oven to get rid of those little creatures! Who knew?🤓
I seriously remember you telling this story before, just not sure if I read it on your blog or in your first book, which btw amused me brilliantly. I love your honesty long may you confide in us. Xxx
LOL one of the best stories ever. Thanks for the chuckles, KA. : - ) SOOOO EEEEWWWWW
You know I was just thinking though...........ok so let's say we bake them or freeze them. Yes, no wigglers, right? But the DEAD wiggler is inside that acorn and I just don't think not seeing them is enough for me haha. I like your idea of faux or handmade or anything but a dead wiggler piece of decor. Just can't stop thinking about how you must've been absolutely freaked out. Then the giggles start again cuz it's so danged funny. What an unforgettable story. I am just thankful you didn't have wigglers AT YOUR PARTY! My gosh, can you even imagine????????????????
I can imagine something like that happening to me! Acorns just happen to be so adorable. I love the way you wrote about the wigglers. You have a great sense of humor! 🤣😘
In this order..... Oh No! EWWWWWWWW! Hahhahhhahha!. You always bring a smile to my face Karianne!
😳now you know why some birds like acorns- protein! I gather the cap part of acorns only and sun bake them before brining into the house. They look good in glass apothecary containers.
EEEEK! YIKES!! Thank you for sharing that - and for the creative way you shared it! lol. I will never look at an acorn the same way again, nor will they ever enter my home!
I am with you how disgusting. I bought Potpourri from Michael's once, and the very last time. I placed the potpourri in a container on my coffee table. Apparently moths had laid eggs in the bag before purchase. I had seen them in the area of dried floral there. The potpourri It had like dried oranges, etc in it, a Fall decor very little fragrance.. One day I noticed these wiggly things all over my sofa and loveseat, ceiling fan was on and had spread them everywhere. How disgusting. No more cheap Potpourri. Thank you for sharing.
So, when I got married (50 years ago😳), my grandmother crocheted a beautiful white cotton tablecloth for my cake table. It was white with crocheted pineapples all over it with lacy cotton Thread connecting them all. I treasured that cloth and used it all the time in my home. Until one year I used it to decorate a fall table underneath small pumpkins and gourds and (yes!!) acorns from outside. It was lovely and stayed that way throughout late September and early October…….UNTIL I was dusting and moved one of the pumpkins and there was MOLD under it! I threw all those natural things away, and washed the table cloth like I always did. However, the mold did not come out…it was black and nasty all over. So in my young wisdom, I added bleach to the washer and let it soak for several hours before washing it thoroughly. And when I removed it from the washer, there were huge pieces es of my beloved tablecloth left in the washer. I had ruined it. My grandmother was long gone and I was heartbroken. Lesson learned: natural items can and will decay!!
Eeeew!
A visit to the oven takes all the wiggle out!