Hey y’all! It’s been a while. I’ve been taking a little break from blogging and social media and it’s been a good thing for me. I’m going to be sharing my elegant Christmas mantel, but first I wanted to tell you all a little about what I’ve been up to.
I’ve been super busy and have lots of exciting things going on. You see, I did this thing. I quit my nursing job. Yes, I know, I’m still in shock and scared to death. Nursing is the only profession I’ve known for the last 20 years and it’s been really good to me. But, I was getting burned out and was ready to chase my dreams.
Most of you know that I opened a store, The Vintage Hive, earlier this year. It was killing me that I couldn’t be there every day. I have some great gals that work for me, but I wanted to be the one there everyday, getting to know my customers and styling the displays.
I’ve also decided to start doing a few vintage shows. I’m actually on my way back from a show I did in Nashville this past weekend. So even though I quit my job, I’ve still been super busy. But it’s a fun busy. So that’s a little of what I’ve been up to, besides being present with and loving on my family. Now let’s get on with this Elegant Christmas Mantel.
Elegant Christmas Mantel
Now if I’m being totally honest with y’all, I haven’t even put up my Christmas tree yet. I literally threw this mantel together the night before we left for Nashville and snapped a few pictures on the morning we left. It is the only part of my house that has been decorated for Christmas.
The Evergreen Wreath
The design concept started with this beautiful wreath I received from Lynch Creek Farm. I had the mantel completely styled in my head before I got started, so it was pretty easy to put together. I’ll tell you a little more about this gorgeous wreath below.
The Bottle Brush Trees
I picked up the bottle brush trees from Hobby Lobby and hot glued them into milk glass vases that I already had. Then I placed them in front of some vintage gold frames. This gave the trees a little extra elegance and also added some height.
The Fresh Garland
Next, I draped some fresh cedar garland from Home Depot across the mantel and added some fresh eucalyptus from Trader Joe’s. Then I hung some ball ornaments from the garland that I got from Hobby Lobby. I added some twinkle lights and, of course, forgot to turn them on until I was half-way done shooting the pics. Real life I tell ya!
The Faux Fir Stockings
Oh, and the beautiful faux fir stockings are from Target. I think they add the perfect final touch to the elegant Christmas mantel. As soon as I saw them, I knew they had to get in my cart (just like everything else at Target).
Now let’s talk about this gorgeous wreath for a few minutes. This is a 26″ handcrafted fresh evergreen wreath. Lynch Creek Farm has so many beautiful holiday wreaths, but I went with the Holiday Romance wreath. Last year, I went with more of a farmhouse wreath.
The wreaths last longer in cooler weather. Because it’s been so warm in south Louisiana, I opted to put mine inside. However, in cooler climates, outdoors is definitely the better option to to prolong the life of your wreath. I spritz mine every couple of days with a little water so it doesn’t dry out.
Now here’s the part where I finally remembered to turn on the twinkle lights. I snapped pics from several different angles to give you a full view of all of the details of the mantel. After looking at all the pretty pictures, meet me at the bottom of this post and I’ll talk a little about my plans for the future.
Future Plans
Thanks for staying with me! Sorry about the overload of pictures. So about my future plans for blogging and social media. Honestly, I really don’t know if and/or when I will return at this point. A may throw out a post every once in a while, but it won’t be anything consistent anytime soon.
I have thoroughly enjoyed having more time to spend with my family. I felt like my face was constantly in a phone, tying to keep up with social media (and my family was quick to point that out to me). It got to the point where it was creating more stress than fun, so I knew it was time to step away for a little while. I hope to be back at it one day because I really do enjoy it, but I’m not making any promises right now.
I wish you all a very blessed and merry Christmas and happy and prosperous New Year!
xoxo
Been looking at Christmas styling as early as now (I know halloween is just around the corner lol) – love what you did with your mantel! What an awesome idea!