Initializing

Whew! What a day. Teaching 5th and 6th graders on St. Patrick's Day is for the birds. Seriously....they are at this age where it's not uncool to wear green and celebrate, but old enough to really get into it. Bleh. I like SPD much better when it's on a weekend!

However, it was sunny and 71 degrees here yesterday in Cincinnati and so beautiful! Just what the doctor ordered....and it tempered my disenchantment with GREEN-obsessed kids. ; )

So, the pinecones and other winter elements are gone from the mantel. In place now are some fresher items:

I've got some new pretties up there...my mom gave me some things she had around the house that she wasn't using. Score! That would be the mercury glass votive holders and the glass candlesticks. Pretty!

I like to work in some preschool art if I can...so that is a shamrock in the glass vase. I know the lighted wine bottle looks lonely. My other ones have bitten the dust and when this one goes, I'll probably take a break from them, although I love them! They are a little labor-intensive to make. I also added some dried parsley to the bud vases....frankly, I didn't have anything else to use. Won't be too long before I can clip some things out of the garden for my vases.

Here you can see my new acquisitions better. I love how each candlestick is a different shape! I'm also loving the hyacinth up there. The texture of the letters is really appealing to me.

It could use a pop of color, though....so it'll be a work in progress!