Fall… Football… and Starting a Cozy Fire

 

Why wait for the evening to start a cozy fire in your fireplace when you can easily start a fire any time of day. There is nothing cozier than waking up in the morning to a warm fire while you eat your breakfast and it’s so easy to do.

Over the weekend, I got the fireplace in my living room ready for the fall and winter season.  It was just in time as the temps dropped considerably over the weekend. Finally!!!

I love everything about the fall season… crisp air, pumpkins, hoodies, football, Thanksgiving and a cozy fire in the fireplace.

American Home™ by Yankee Candle® Balsam Fir Firelog review

After the warm months of the year, it’s easy to forget about your fireplace. We have ours checked and cleaned in the spring and then I add flowers or candles inside the firebox to make it decoratively useful for the early fall, spring and summer.

Once the temperature begins to drop, however, it’s back to doing what it does best. And that’s warming the living room, creating a cozy environment and providing toasty indoor comfort on a wintry night… and now…. even on a cold morning, too.

Fall+Football+Fire in the Fireplace=Bliss

Fall weekends at my house always involve watching football and a cozy fire. Ed watches his alma maters, Navy and NC State on Saturday and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

American Home™ by Yankee Candle® Balsam Fir Firelog burning in fireplace

Even though I can’t tell the difference between a halfback and a fullback, I consider watching football on TV one of the coziest ways to spend a fall weekend afternoon. It is more about hearing the game on in the background while I go about doing my own thing around the house.

My dad always had a game on and I remember as a kid how wonderful the house felt with the sounds of football. The family all together inside doing our own thing with football on in the background.

It was and still is pure bliss, especially if I am snuggled under a comfy throw blanket reading a good book. Thanksgiving Day without a game on and a fire in the fireplace is just not Thanksgiving to me. More reason to make sure I have my fireplace ready to use for fall.

In my previous house we had a gas fireplace in the family room where all I had to do to have a fire any time of the day was press a remote.  I got a little spoiled by this.

Wood and firelogs stacked on a fireplace hearth

In the lake house, we have a very large fireplace in the living room. It takes some effort to make a fire the old-fashioned way… with wood, kindling and matches. The job has always fallen into Ed’s realm of household tasks to do.

Lighting a fire in a fireplace is one of those “manly duties” that men just seem to do more than the woman of the house.  Ed lights a great fire when the game is on or we have company, but I miss having a fire in the morning while I eat my breakfast and read my favorite blogs and news of the day.

How to Organize and Store Firewood and Firelogs in Your Home

American Home™ by Yankee Candle® Balsam Fir Firelogs stacked in a basket by a fireplace.

When I was getting the fireplace ready for the season, along with getting a cord of wood, I decided to try American Home™ by Yankee Candle® Balsam Fir Firelogs. We have always used Pine Mountain® StarterLogg® Firestarters so I figured the firelogs would be good as well.

How to organize fire starting supplies around a fireplace.

I placed the firelogs and firestarters in a basket in front of the cord of wood and some larger sticks from the yard that I placed in a large ceramic vase that I call the fire stick crock so we are prepared to enjoy the cozy comforts of a fire in the fireplace all fall and winter long.

Breakfast set up in front of a fire with a warm cuddly throw blanket

Over the weekend when we woke up and it was cold in the house, I thought how nice it would be to have breakfast by the fire on our chairs that swivel and rock.

I realized with the American Home™ by Yankee Candle® Balsam Fir Firelogs, I could light a fire any time I wanted and not have to wait for Ed to start and maintain it.

How to Easily Start a Fire in a Fireplace Any Time of Day

Lighting a Pine Mountain Fire Log

To create the cozy atmosphere that I was craving, Pine Mountain made it easy. All I needed to do was open the fireplace damper and place the wrapped firelog on the center of the grate. On the firelog wrapping there are 3 arrows showing you where to light. One is at the center of the log plus one on each end.

A lit Pine Mountain Firelog in fire

The firelogs smell like Fresh Balsam Fir, just like a Christmas tree.  :-)   As I write this post, I am enjoying a cozy fire made with one of the firelogs. It is not at all overpowering, just a nice subtle fresh fir scent.

How to start a fire in a fireplace that will last 4 - 6 hours.

Once the log is lit it will stay lit for 3 – 4 hours. They are designed to burn one at a time with no need to add a second one or real wood.  It simply will burn away.

I like this feature in the morning knowing that if I have errands to run in the afternoon, that the log will be completely burned out before I leave.

When we have a real wood fire at night, I sometimes stay up later than I want just waiting for the wood to burn completely. I don’t like going to bed knowing that there are still burning embers.

The Pine Mountain firelogs are:

  • Fast and easy to light with no mess
  • Crafted from real hardwoods
  • CLEAN & GREEN: They burn cleaner than cordwood, producing up to 80% less carbon monoxide and 75% less particulate matter. Nearly all the materials in the firelogs are made from renewable resources.
Firewood stacking and storage idea

When we want to create a fire with real wood,  we have always used StarterLoggs. They make starting a wood fire fast and no-fuss. There is no need for newspaper or kindling. We can enjoy the crackling goodness we love with a simple strike of a match. You only need one to start any fire. We also use them for our outdoor fire pit.

What does a Pine Mountain firelog look like when burning?

Having a fire in the fireplace in the morning that is easy to light and maintain is one of the best ways I know to be cozy at home…

Cozy at Home with a Hot Buttered Rum

…and if you end up enjoying a fire all day long, you may want to make a hot buttered rum to enjoy as you gaze into it.

Coffee Scented Firelogs from Pine Mountain

Once I use up all the American Home™ by Yankee Candle® Balsam Fir Firelogs, I want to try the Java Logs. Yes… they smell like coffee and are made using recycled coffee grounds. Perfect for a cozy morning fire to start your day cozy at home.

Pine Mountain Firelogs in the scent Balsam Fir

Where To Buy Pine Mountain Firelogs:

Pine Mountain fire logs and fire starters can be used for grilling, tailgating, camping, backyard fire pits and fireplaces.

Do you have a fireplace in your home?  More than one perhaps… maybe in a bedroom?  Now that would be truly dreamy. :-)

Firewood, Pine Mountain Firelogs, Firestarters needed to start a fire in a fireplace.

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3 Comments

  1. Joanne B. says:

    Living in South Florida we look forward to when the temps dip down to the chilly 50’s and we MUST make a fire in our fireplace! We never know when that chance may come again! We are lucky if we get to do one a year, so we take advantage when we can. We have used the Fire Mountain logs before and while they are handy, neat, and easy to light, I do miss the hiss and pop of a real wood fire. The balsam scent does sound wonderful for a Christmas fire and I will definitely check that out – if I can buy just one- maybe at Home Depot. Thanks for sharing it’s still shorts and a tee shirt for us here, but once a northerner, always a northerner and we can dream!

  2. So lovely to enjoy a nice fire! We have bonfires outside in the summer, but no indoor fireplace, though I do have an electric one. My parents had a wood stove installed in the first house they owned, and I loved it. I remember my dad listening to sports games, mostly baseball on the radio, on weekends. Nice memory. And I actually remember our very first TV in our family room, a black and white one! That sure dates me haha

  3. I need these firelogs! They seem to be the perfect solution to a cozy fire without adding too much heat for our Alabama winters. Funny you mention the fire-building men – I’ve always had a fireplace and my husband never did until this house, so I had to teach him how to build a fire. I haven’t built a fire in years now!! Thanks for the product idea.