a place for hanging stockings

i'm making a goal to blog weekly during the month of october. it is not october yet but i'm still considering this my kick-off post.

i've decided to make this year the year of creativity. it's a little ambiguous as to when year of creativity began-sometime in august. creativity cannot be rushed. so since august i've undertaken a few different projects. i'd like to feature one now. my FAVORITE one. here is the story: since moving into my new place, i've been in the market for a fireplace mantel to use as a decorative piece. i had a lovely vision of sitting in my swirly pink and purple chair, reading a book, drinking tea and looking up now and then to gaze upon a beautiful, shabby chic, french-country, "anthropologie-esque" fireplace mantel adorned with candles, framed art, a clock, etc, etc. and it would mean home. i had about given up on the dream when i found exactly what i was looking for. here's what it was like when i got it home:


it came from an old house that was demolished. one of the guys doing the demo tried to salvage it but it was accidentally thrown into the rubbish heap and split into pieces. because of its condition and because he was eager to clear out space in his garage, the guy selling it gave it to me for $15. $15 is a STEAL. most of the mantels i found on craigslist were more in the $300-$600 range. and they were mostly hideous. because it was split into pieces, i could easily fit it into my car. so we had a deal. clearly, the stars were aligned.

i got it home, cleaned it up, and whilst precariously positioning and holding the pieces together, i hammered and sawed and anchored the mantel into the beautiful, shabby chic, french-country, "anthropologie-esque" whole fireplace mantel i'd envisioned. behold:


i adorned it with candles, framed art, a clock, etc, etc. and yes, when i sit in my swirly pink and purple chair, reading and drinking tea, i look up now and then to gaze upon the decorative furniture piece of my dreams and it means home. i. love. it. i love it completely.

i'm still working on what to put under the mantel. i have ideas but the framed photos are sort of a holding place in the meantime. they look messy in the photo but in real life they actually work okay, though it does remind me a little of a store display.

my next big project in this year of creativity has to do with my curtains. i can't reveal any more about it at this time. but it's conference weekend coming up and i'm hoping that means i will get that project done while i'm streaming 8 hours of church.

so tonight i was reading a new blog post by amanda palmer. like all blogs i follow, i read hers in google reader, so i rarely visit her actual site. but tonight i clicked over there to check out tour dates and such when i then clicked on something that led to the "sign up for amanda's mailing list..." link. i don't usually sign up for fan mailing lists or business mailing lists, etc, etc. who does? but i signed up for amanda's because she's amanda palmer and i love her. i even used my regular email address and not one of my junk email addresses. that's how much i love her. and what happens when you sign up for something online? you get an automated welcome email. i knew that was coming and i know it's automated but can i admit to you, dear readers, that it was such a thrill to open my inbox and see an email from "amanda palmer". like she knows me. like i know her. like we're friends. like it's real. omh, awesome.


what's also awesome? that the message addressed to me says this:


"i love you. amanda" !!!!!!!!!! again, it's not real and i'm a dork. but BUT, it is still a thrill to have an email sitting in my inbox that says i love you from amanda palmer. heehee!! made my day. mailing list? worth it.

well, dear readers, it's about my bedtime. getting out of bed was excruciating this morning and i've got to get out of this rut of arriving late to work. i must get to sleep earlier. also, i made a goal to go running every morning this week. i have yet to start. but maybe tomorrow...so goodnight, goodnight, don't let the bedbugs bite.