Spring is my favorite season. I mean… literally every season is my favorite for one reason or another. But spring. UUUUGH… SPRING!! So many flowers. Even on the trees. Magnolias. Peach and apple blossoms. Tulips. Peonies. Hyaicynths. Perfect temperatures. New life on every corner. Spring never comes too soon. I love elements of winter. Like Christmas, hot chocolate, Christmas, family, cozy pajamas, Christmas, snow pictures, Christmas…. Did I mention I love Christmas?? But seriously, once Christmas is over, SPRING NEEDS TO ARRIVE IMMEDIATELY. I have zero tolerance for being cold. Does this paint a picture for you? My favorite gift i’ve ever received from my husband is my heating pad. MY HEATING PAD. I use that thing on the daily because being cold IS. NOT. O. K!!!
Valentine’s Day does give winter another small lift. And usually, THE SECOND Valentines Day is over, I put up spring decor. In hopes that if I collaborate with the ground hog and bring spring mojo into my house, that Mother Nature will get the hint and catch up. This year was different, however. In the middle of February, my husband’s company sent us on a company retreat to Panama, where my husband served his mission. That vacation was a dream. It wasn’t perfect, but i’m so happy it happened! We were gone from our babies for a whole week. And wanna hear a secret? I didn’t really miss them. haha! In fact, I could have happily stayed at the resort for another week and been just fine. Normally, I really miss my loves when i’m away from them… but I think it had probably just been too long since I had been away from them. I don’t think we had ever left our 2 year old…. and it had been a couple years before she was born that we had gotten away together. Anyway. back to my mantle. Because of the trip, I put it together a bit later than normal, but I’m really happy with how it came together this year. Especially since I only spent $6 to make it all come together. And that $6 was spent on wood to make frames for those prints. Everything else I just shopped my home for. I didn’t realize how much stuff I already owned that would work with the look I was going for.
Holiday and seasonal decorating always takes me more than one day. Coming up with a vibe in my head, finding pieces, placement, adjusting, fine tuning slash tweaking. Several days, people. But i’m so happy with how this all came together. I love it and I hope you do too!
I’ve also included a list of where I got each of the pieces I used on my mantle. Probably most of my sources are disappointing, because they’re either thrift store finds or something I got a long time ago (shopped my house, remember? ;)) But make sure to keep a look out when you’re at secondhand stores. They always have gems!
Botanical Prints: Etsy
Frames: 1/2” square wood dowels from Lowes
Milk Glass Vases: Ebay
Books: Danny’s Collection
Tin Planter: Dollar Tree
Faux Eggs: D.I. (my church’s version of Goodwill)
Fresh Greenery: Smith’s
Faux Greenery: Hobby Lobby
Geometric Bird: Smiths
Round Chargers: D.I.
Chrome Clock: Tai Pan Trading
Wood Logs in Fireplace: ksl (like our local Craig’s List) a friend cut them down to size for us