Painting brick white: My fireplace

Painting our fireplace has been on my bucket list since 2002

and after sixteen years I we finally painted it. My hubby did

NOT want me to paint the brick because "why would anyone 
paint brick?" I guess you could say I didn't care anymore and decided
I was going to update the fireplace. I went to Sherwin Williams and 
bought a gallon of Pro Classic Satin paint. Alabaster was my go to color. 
It's amazing!   

Since I was still scared to start, our daughter Abby poured some

paint into a red Solo cup and started painting. There was no 

turning back. I was excited just from the little bit of paint 
she brushed on. Along with the paint brush we used a roller 
specifically for brick. We rolled two coats of paint on and 
we used the paintbrush to get into all of the deep 
crevasses and mortar. The paint went on easily and I'm
thrilled how it turned out. Why didn't I do this sooner? The
room is instantly brighter.
  

Since our mantel was outdated, our friend Tony framed the old

mantel and built a new one to fit right over the old one. He 

distressed it and stained it. This is exactly what I wanted a chunky,

rustic looking mantel. Wide enough to put our TV on and not have

to drill into the brick. My next project will be installing a TV on the

mantel and cord management. Can't wait!

Andrea--xxoo

Simple Fall Mantel

Happy October my friends, family, and fellow bloggers!

I know all I seem to blog about these days are mantels, but to be honest with you it's 

   hard work to blog. I have an appreciation for those of  you who blog FULL time. 

YOU ROCK...plain and simple!

  My poor mantel has been sitting empty for most of the summer. What do you do? With Fall 

already here I stalked Pinterest for ideas and came up with some creative ideas of my own.   

The only thing I spent any money on were the feathers and they were $3.00. The autumn art I found on Pinterest and is found here. Easy art, print it and frame it. The sticks are from my Mom's garden. They are the stems of pampus grass that we cut down together. Kinda sentimental to me. Now I decorate with them. Texture!

The leaf in the picture is from our back yard. I took the picture and framed it. Are you seeing a trend here? I'm really not lazy, it just needs to be simple. Another easy, peasy idea are the hurricane looking candle holders. They're from the Dollar Tree friends. The top vase is attached to the candle holder underneath it. A $4.00 investment and they can be used anywhere in your home. 

My Fall mantel came together quickly and I think it turned out great. 

Do you like to change up your mantel for each season or would you rather

decorate it and leave it alone? 

XXOO-

Andrea

Simple Spring Mantel: Globes, Books, and Art Work

Hey all!

 It's Spring time, well the calendar said it was, but I think the jury is still out.

My mantel has been empty since Christmas. Usually, I attempt a Winter Mantel,

but this year all I had to do was look out my window to see Winter. I will admit it 

has been beautiful, but 60" of the white stuff is enough.   

For my Spring Mantel I used what I had in the house and spent nothing, NOT ONE CENT! 

Honestly, I didn't put too much thought into decorating it either. The globes were colorful    
and that's what I was looking for. COLOR

Big Black mirror: a staple and it shows up from time to time on the mantel. 

Reader's Digest books are my favorite; the colors on the

spines and the designs on the covers-LOVE!

Globes came from the thrift store and can be used anywhere.

Artwork: my sweet daughter painted it in her Art class. Frame it!

Deer sheds are from my brother and I use them all over the house. 

White vase came from Micheal's a year ago.

I'm ready to see blue skies and looking at these globes make me happy.

it's the little things in life

Have you decorated for Spring yet? I need to springify the rest of the house; maybe this weekend. 

It's suppose to be in the 50's and maybe even 60's this weekend. 

Fingers crossed the weather shows us some grace. 

xxoo

Andrea