Well, it's not really fall, it's only August 21st but the weather today was really bad and fall-y-ish and I just felt like curling up in my favourite armchair with a cup of tea. I think out of all the changes of the seasons, summer to fall is my favourite. It's so funny because the other day I read a post by Ali and she wrote the exact same thing. Come July I'm sick of the heat and of summer and the scorched garden and I love the rain coming down, the wooly sweaters, the cooler air, lighting candles, drinking tea, planning my holiday cards and reading a couple of magazines in front of our... ehem... fake fire.
I've always wanted a fireplace and we even have the permission to add one with all the trimmings like the added chimney on the roof (the area where we live is listed and we can't alter the outside without consent from the city planners). We had some guys come measure and do their thing a couple of years ago but in the end we weren't able to have one installed due to some weird duct things in the attic, right where the chimney needed to be coming through.
We were still eager to have a fire (and a mantelpiece !) so we opted for the fake version. Our neighbours think it's the tackiest thing but all three of us love it. It's basically a couple of lightbulbs with some flickering behind a sheet of glass and some rocks in front. There's a built in heater so by the flick of a button we get warm air shooting out. Mmmmmm!
It IS kind of tacky. But it is also kind of cool :)
PS.We just bought the metal machine-y bit and built the surround out of MDF ourselves.
