Unintended Consequences

Remember this~

I've already boasted that I have Christmas all neatly packed away.  But what I didn't tell you is that I had a huge, "oooops" in the process of undecorating.  My beloved magnolia painting, an estate sale score, fell off the mantel. Ouch!  It's my fault, really.  I never bothered to fasten it to the wall because I liked the casual (albeit transient) "leaning" look.  That is to say, the painting was only leaning against the wall.

It goes without saying that Larry, the puppy, and I were all greatly startled by this event.  It was reminiscent of the earthquakes we lived through in Los Angeles.  One casualty of the fall was a Waterford crystal hurricane.  If you look closely at the above picture you can see that I used to have two.  And something that saddens me even more, though the dollar loss is not as significant, is this footed bowl (pictured below)~

Hey, when I break something, I do it in a big way.  My bowl was planted with paperwhite bulbs and it was perched on the hearth below, sadly, in the path of the falling hurricane candle.  So when the crystal shade fell from the mantel, it torpedoed the bowl of paperwhites.  The bowl took a direct hit and the crystal was shattered.  (We are still sweeping up shards of glass and neither of us dare to walk through the living room without shoes.) Waaaah!  I love this bowl.  OK, it may be from Target, but I still love it.

Well, out with the old, in with the new.  A mantel makeover was in order.  The big-bad magnolias were banished to our bedroom~ where they actually look very beautifully at home.  And in its place is a stunning panoramic photograph of a cascading mountain stream.  And yes, it's hanging securely on two picture hooks.  It was taken by a good friend of ours, David Engle.  His work is of local renown in Los Angeles area galleries.

I encourage you to visit David Engle Photography.  David's creative eye is remarkable.  David is among the best of the best in the arena of landscape photographers, and we are so blessed to have two of his panoramas gracing our home~ hand-signed no less!

The panorama obviously anchors the mantel-scape. To further frame the photo I brought out a few other things that I enjoy as focal points.  As I've mentioned, my decor always drifts towards the autumn shades.  I never think I'm making a conscious decision to use the golden hues and deep reds.  It just happens.  Shall I get a bumper sticker that says, Autumn Happens ? Well, perhaps not.

Here's another view~

Cool, huh?  And look!  My footed bowl is sittin' pretty.  I just couldn't bring myself to throw her away, so I just turned her other cheek (or something like that).  From my present vantage point on the sofa, you cannot even tell that the bowl was ever damaged.

How fortunate that there is a fleur de lis on each side of the bowl! I am considering filling the bowl with small-sized containers of ivy and an abundance of Spanish moss. The ivy will grow in indirect light and nicely camouflage the damage.  Well, that's for another day and another post.

I especially like my aged, red books.  These two are from a bound collection of Winston Churchill's World War II letters.  Upon our son's departure after Christmas, I found that my other two had mysteriously disappeared.  Hmmmm. Well, I was lucky enough to have bought the books for $.50 apiece! These shades of red compliment the panorama nicely and really highlight all the reds in the photo.

Lastly, I would like to showcase my tower of nesting boxes.  I got the set years ago at Bombay Company.  Remember that store?  I loved shopping there, especially in the 'scratch and dent' section.  One of my boxes actually has a discolored lid, so I paid a greatly reduced price.

How stately! I like the height of the tower because it adds balance to the generously proportioned bowl on the other end of the mantel.

Thanks for visiting today.  How are you spending the second Monday of this new year?  You might check out Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.  And tomorrow I will be linking up with A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday.  I hope you clear some time in your Tuesday agenda to wander over to Marty's. There is always so much loveliness happening in the blog world!

Blessings on your day~

     Dana

 

Dallas, the face of Northwest Texas