“From Little Acorns Mighty Oaks Do Grow” - Old Proverb

Acorns. Oh how I love acorns. I’m pretty sure that most people don’t share my love for nature’s small brown seedling. Growing up I thought acorns were pesky little things that hurt your head as they made their way to the ground below. Now, whenever I see an acorn I think of one of my favorite places in the world – my Alma Mater, Elon.

I know, strange right? How could something so small and annoying to most people be so special to me?

Elon in Hebrew means oak. Okay, stick with me. I promise I’m not giving you a school lesson here. Scratch that, I am. Elon is filled with beautiful hundred year-old oaks in an area of campus where they host convocations and graduations. As big-eyed freshmen are welcomed to the university, professors hand out acorns as a symbol of starting their college career. Fast forward four, er, five years (depending on how long it takes you to graduate) and oak saplings are given to students to symbolize their achievements. I still have my acorn in my jewelry box and I’ve planted my oak sapling in a pot in my parent’s backyard. It lives beside my brother’s sapling, who just graduated in May - my brother, not the sapling.

Everywhere I go in New York I see acorns. It may just be because it’s autumn and Pottery Barn and William Sonoma think they make great decorations for fall. I would have to agree and so would my friend Allie who has more acorns in her house than the tree does in her front yard. See picture below.
Pottery Barn has great displays right now where they fill glass containers with acorns and a candle. Of course you can buy the acorns for $15, but please don’t. Real is always better than fake. Go out in the yard and pick some up and if you live the city, go to the park. Check out these great decorating ideas using acorns below. They’re simple, easy ways to bring the fall indoors and for me, some South to the city.