Summer Fireplace

Our fireplace has always been a thorn in my side.  

It's an ode to electronics, namely a Texas-sized plasma TV...

...and the sub woofer thingie that MUST sit on the mantle in the center for optimal sound quality (all this according to Mr. FYN)

*SIGH*

I've tried decorating around it, but anything I do always seems to compete with the "technology".  So what's a girl to do?

Decorate under it!  We can't have a fire anyway, because it might melt his baby (Mr. FYN and his plasma always reminds me of Lord of the Rings....Gollum....."the precious"! )

So, I just filled the firebox with some of my favorite things.  It's like my own little "cabinet of curiousities"!  

In the process, I uncluttered the lamp table.  Here's what it looked like BEFORE...

Lots of "stuff"!

And here it is AFTER...

Simple....it can "breathe"....

And I made these little cuties...

The one in the center holds part of my sea glass collection.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet.  For now, they're hanging out on one side of the mantle.

Happy Friday everyone and have a wonderful weekend.  Don't forget to link up to "Shop The House Sunday" tomorrow!

Now THIS is a giveaway!

Go check out the "Shellapalooza" giveaway over at Tales from an OC Cottage!

She's handcrafted several items and they are beautiful!

A few of my faves...

I don't even want to think about how much time this took to put together!  Isn't it lovely?

Totally GLAM starfish!

Love this!  

So go check out this awesome giveaway!  HURRY, it ends tomorrow!

Sometimes you just need a little rearranging

In my effort to get rid of non-essential "stuff", I did a little rearranging in my foyer yesterday.  

Here's what it looked like BEFORE...

I look at this now and think "dustbunnies".  There's a LOT going on with this arrangement and it hurts. my. eyes...

Here is the simple, elegant AFTER...

This chest used to be in my dining room but it was hidden by the massive dining table.  Now it's the first thing you see when you walk in the door.  All items in the tablescape were things I already had, so this was a FREE makeover!

I need your opinion.  I had to put the turquoise garden stool in front of the left side of the chest. Why?  There is a crack in the glass and I have no idea how to fix it since the mirror is made of antiqued glass instead of regular.  

So, do you like the lantern on top of the stool?

Or the big ball?

This mirror was on the wall the chest is on now.  I like it here in the nook under the stairs.  I took all the driftwood off the tops of my kitchen cabinets.  This is just part of my driftwood collection in a tall basket.  I like the "sculptural" effect.  See that air vent peaking out from behind the arrangement?  Why oh why would a builder put a return air vent in a spot where EVERYONE can see it?!  This arrangement covers it pretty nicely.

I used another piece of driftwood on top of the dining room table...

So that's my little makeover.  It took me about an hour using items I already had, which makes me a happy girl and my husband pleased as punch that I didn't spend any money!

I'm linking up to:

The Penny Pinching Party at Thrifty Home!
Spotlight Yourself at Its So Very Cheri!
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps On The Porch!
Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies & Jellybeans!

Trash Pickin' Thursday!

 

Welcome to another day of trash pickin' adventures!  If you've been following this party, you know that I've found many treasures over the last several weeks.  This morning I had a lot of stuff do around the house, like PACK!

Me & Mr. FYN are taking a kid-free vacation tomorrow to Lake Tahoe.  Here's what I'm going to look like on vacation...

Actually, it'll probably be more like this...

So, with my busy day underway, I don't have a trash pick this morning, but I DID use one of the items I found last week in a mantle re-do!

 

See the mercury glass vase on the left?  That was in the trash.....really!

I also "fluffed" up the other tablescapes in my living room.  I went crazy with SHELLS last month!  Of course, we're always "re-doing" aren't we?  I took some of the shells out and added some other textures, like wood and rattan.  

  

  

  

So, what did you find in the trash this week?  OR how did you decorate with something you found in the trash?  Link up and show me!

Beach Collections

We went to Crystal Beach this weekend to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday.  She's a Valentine's baby!  

I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of some of her amazing beach collections.  She's been collecting interesting shells & sea glass all her life and she has amassed an impressive collection.

This is Patricia, my mom-in-law with Pierce on the beach!

Her beautiful sea glass...

See the tall one on the right, lower corner?  That's some sort of old medicine bottle cap!

I love the top of a bottle, perfectly polished by sand over the years into a unique piece of sea glass.

Her vast shell collection display changes frequently, depending on what kinds of shells she is finding on the beach...

"Granna", as the kids call her, and Pierce combed the beach for more treasures...

Happy Birthday Patricia ("Granna")!  We had so much fun beachcombing with you this weekend!