My New Everyday Mantle Decor

Yay! I finally finished up a little project I've been working on.  It's just an itty bitty thing, but it's one of those things that I've been wanting to complete since taking down all the Christmas decor from my mantle.

Here's how my mantle has looked for the past several weeks.  Leaves a lot to be desired, doesn't it?  I just haven't really felt like doing much holiday mantle decorating this year.   But I have been very interested in finding an everyday look for the mantle.  

The first thing I knew I wanted was to replace a wreath back on the mirror.  I like the way the one I had there during Christmas looked and so I decided to replace it.  I was very excited when I found this faux Moss wreath at Carolina Pottery.

I knew it would make the perfect starting point for the wreath I wanted to make.

I have wanted a Boxwood wreath for sometime but have not wanted to pay what they cost premade.  So last week when I found these branches on sale at Hobby Lobby for half off I was thrilled.

 I got out my hot glue gun and a few wire tacks and I was good to go.

It was a bit of a challenge as my hot glue was so hot it would melt the stems I was trying to glue down.

Finally after using more of my metal floral picks I was almost done.  Oh, and there's the cute little harlequin napkin holder I picked up on sale last week from my shopping trip to Hobby Lobby.  

 Then it was time to hang it on the mirror.

I am sure it could use alot more greenery but it's enough for me.   For now, I'd like to show you the rest of the mantle decor.

 Did you figure out what this item to the left is yet?

 Yep!  It's a mantle clock I found at Hobby Lobby too.  Isn't it cute?  I just loved how it had that shabby look and best of all was on the clearance isle.  They have the best markdown deals, don't they!

I still need to add a battery to the little clock, so for now it's perpetually 10:05.  LOL!

And the green ceramic pieces I showed you bits of were vases.

 I found two of them also on the clearance isle at Hobby Lobby.

Then I filled them with this simple grass greenery that was also on sale when I was there.

I almost didn't buy them because I realized when I got to the counter they were not actually the same size.  I was so bummed out but decided to try them anyway.

I am glad I did because I have been able to successfully use vintage books to balance out the height of each of them.

Are you ready to see a full reveal of the mantle?

Here it is!  I am pretty pleased with it so far.  I am sure the lanterns and plates will most likely disappear in the summer to lighten things up but I am loving them here for now.

 Please ignore the little white dots on the wall behind my floral arrangements.  I still need to repaint the walls from where I had the sconces hung and patched.  Ooops!

 It sure feels good to have a look I can live with for awhile on here again instead of a big empty space.

Thanks for visiting my living room today and for taking a peek at my new everyday fireplace mantle decor.  

I am joining BNOTP for Metamorphosis Monday today.

Sometimes change is good!

Have a great week everyone!

Thank You!!!

I want to sincerely thank each of you for your wonderful words of wisdom and compassion!  My time online is so limited these days, so I am sending a great big group "HUG" and "Thank You" to all of you right here on my blog.

(from eons.com)

  I really appreciate the encouragement and the camaraderie from you who so clearly could also relate.  I am glad you also enjoyed the analogy I used.  I am sure there are die hard sailors out there who are probably gawking in disgust at my feeble attempt in using sailing terms, but hey, I try!  Whateva right?

Speaking of Whateva!  That's how I'm feeling right about now.  I've somewhat recouped from having the wind stolen out of my sails, but am still feeling like I'm hanging out over the edge about this situation.  The good news is, I've got a whole crew that also feels the same way, and we are not about to throw off the race as of yet!  

It's very comforting to know there are others who also are feeling the same as me in my personal/professional life about this situation.  It's even nicer knowing there are beautiful people like you out there in cyber world whom I've never met who also share in the trials and tribulations of this often very competitive race.  God bless you!!! 

As for finding comfort, I did call my Mom.  She knew exactly what to say, as always.  I love her!  I also finally pulled it together and headed straight for two of my favorite stores, Carolina Pottery and Hobby Lobby.  Thankfully it was a successful retail therapy adventure as I really did'nt need to strike out that day.   Here's a sneak peek at a few things I picked up for something I am working on.

Pretty interesting close ups, huh?  Heh heh!

Sorry to be such a tease but you'll have to come back for the reveal.  I am hoping I can put it all together soon.

My deepest thanks again Yall!

Hope you each have a beautiful Friday!

The Wind is Stolen from my Sails

Would you all please pardon me for this brief interruption of blog world blissfulness for a touch of reality here?   I am off of work today and sitting here trying to get motivated to GO and DO and BE yet I just cannot find the motivation.  You see, I have been hit with a big case of feeling like "the wind has been stolen out of my sails."  What to do?

This photo somewhat depicts a nautical vision of what happens when the wind is taken from your sails.

First let me clarify what I'm talking about here.   To have the wind "taken" or "stolen" from your sails happens when someone comes along side of you and literally steals (or blocks) your wind.  I'm not talking about loosing the wind in your sails from a shift in the wind, (or circumstances) or from something you have or have not done.  I am talking about loosing your wind from a direct result of someone else who has crossed your path and quite literally stolen your wind.  They have blocked you from moving ahead.  It slows you down and leaves you sitting still, drifting along until you can once again recapture the wind.

Now, let's look at this photo again more closely.  Do you see the first boat that is surging ahead in the background?  Look at what the crew is doing in this picture.  They appear to be hanging over the edge, don't they?

That's how I am feeling right now, hanging over the edge.  Without going into too much detail here, it's not about one issue in particular.  It's about the culmination of several (people and situations in my case) who have come along side of me and stolen the wind from my sails.  Normally, I am quite fine with drifting and waiting on the wind to return of it's own course.  However, there are times in life like this when the wind has been "taken" out of your sails when one must hang out over the edge.  Leaning out over the edge can rock the boat ever so gently but this is what helps you to surge ahead.  The real trick is learning how to hang out over the edge without falling face first in the water, don't you think?  I sure do!

So here I sit, contemplating my strategy's in life.   Do not worry, I am not as desperate or depressed as this may sound.  I am just thinking out loud on my blog, it's kinda therapeutic you know.  I am sure a day off will do me a world of good today once I get up and going!  I think I'll call my mom today and maybe do a little retail therapy.  Who knows?

  I also continue to pray for guidance in this race we call life because I trust that Jesus will lead the way for me in all situations.  He never promised us an easy life but he did promise to be right there with us, even hanging out over the edge.   

Anyway, this is Wednesday and I have a self imposed Wellness Wednesday theme that I sometimes like to hit upon here at The Decorative Dreamer.  So that's why I am sharing this, to let it go, and to hear from you.  What do you do when someone has knocked the wind out of your sails and you feel like you are hanging over the edge.  I'd really like to know!

Looks like the sun is trying to come out so hey, maybe it's going to be a brighter day soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time to Rise and Shine!

Good Morning!  Rise and shine sleepyhead!  That's what I used to wake up too every morning as a child and teenager.  Well almost every morning, to be completely honest, there were lot's of mornings when my mother would just yell from the door...time to rise and shine!  

It's hard to get excited about rising and shining when the weather is so dreary outside.  It sure has been quite overcast, drizzly and foggy lately!  Luckily for me I am off to work and will not be looking at this dreary day for long.  That's one advantage of being inside a building for an 8 hour stretch, wouldn't you agree? For someone like me who loves being outside it's great to have an excuse for being stuck inside on a day like this.   Hey, you gotta look for the positives in life friends, always!

Speaking of positives, I thought I'd share a little kitchen vignette that I set up in the kitchen with my cheery and colorful rooster.  After I took the Christmas tree down in the kitchen I decided to put my black desk back in the kitchen instead of the painted fruit table.  I like how the black coordinates with my dining table and stools and provides a great background for bright colors to bounce off of.

After bringing my colorful rooster back out I decided to stay with the whole rooster theme and keep going with it.  So, out came the little salt and pepper shaker I got from Cracker Barrel last year. 

Now, I know I'm jumping the gun a bit here with the spring flowers but I just couldn't help myself.   A big bonus is they have been especially cheery to see every morning with  all this dreary weather and I really needed some height here in my vignette.  Lesson learned, just because it's cold and dreary outside doesn't mean it has to be that way inside.

Checked napkins in a basket and stacks of dishes and I was just about done.  Very country huh?

I love seeing stacks of dishes sitting out, do you?  I especially love it when the dishes are interesting and colorful too.  I wish I had one of those cute little willow and wire chargers to sit this on but just can't quite talk myself into spending what those things cost.  Please someone let me know if you ever see them go on sale anywhere.

 These rooster dishes are from Fitz and Floyd purchased at TJ Maxx.

And because I had a cute little cubby hole and more dishes small enough to fit in there I added them too.

Nice and bright and cheery!

Cock-a-doodle-do!  Rise and shine Yall!

I am joining Marty today for a very special 

Tabletop Tuesday.

She is celebrating her 100th linky party.  I am very happy to be able to attend and have already been checking out a few fabulous vignettes.  I can't wait to get back home tonight to check out more for lot's of beautiful decorating inspiration.  I sure could use it!

Congratulations Marty and Thank you for hosting such a wonderfully inspiring party every week!

Hope you all have a beautiful day whatever the weather is in your neck of the woods.

Thanks for stopping by!

Drip Drop Goes the Faucet

Did that get your attention?  Have you been there before?  I'd even bet some of you are thinking this is going to be a post about all the pretty new wonderful faucets available out there.  Sorry to disappoint you but it's not.  It's literally a post about a dripping faucet, not that I have one though.  Now I know some of you may be a bit confused right about now and wondering...do I have a leaky faucet or not. I most definitely do not.  Then what the heck am I talking about?  

I am talking about capturing the drip drops of water from the faucet on the photos.  You see, I am rather amateurishly trying to learn how to use my camera.  I am participating in a blog lesson party over at It's Overflowing.  Please check out the link here to see more for yourself.  This lesson is about shutter speed and this photo was taken with my shutter speed set at 1/30.

 This one shows my shutter speed set at 1/60

Again, this one was taken at 1/250....

And this one, set at 1/500.  I am loving how the water shows up differently in each and can see the lesson on movement but am quite baffled about why the lighting changed in each of these photos without me adjusting anything other then the shutter speeds.  If any of experts out there would care to comment on this I would love to know.  

Please be kind though and remember I am a newbie! 

On a personal note, I am enjoying a full weekend off despite the weather. Hope you are having a great weekend too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Question about Blogger Reply?

Hey Yall!  I've got a quick question regarding the new blogger reply feature.  I am so thrilled by this new addition and of course added it right away.  Why so thrilled?  Because I had previously allowed for blogger reply comments in my emails.  Now, for some reason when someone comments on my blog I get an email in my inbox twice from them.  Once when they comment then again after I accept the comment.  That leaves two comments per person in my email box that need to be deleted eventually.  Not that I am complaining about the few comments I get but that  I am such a lazy deleter and tend to have quite a bit of junk that piles up in my email.   I am desperately trying to get rid of all the junk email I receive but it seems most companies do not pay much attention to those requests to be taken off their email lists.  Can you relate?

Real Question Is?  With the new reply feature added do I still need to have email alerts.  Does anyone know if I can close the email reply feature and still keep the reply feature on my blog?  Will it work and still alert whomever I am replying to on my blog?   Just wondering since I am assuming that the reply feature on the blog most likely sends an email to whom ever you are replying correct?   Or will it send a reply notice on your blogger homepage if you have taken off the email alert?  I'll be trying out this feature soon in response to one of your questions so do a little investigating on my own but thought I'd see if any of you already know the answer to this.
Thanks so much for you help!
Have a great day!