Playing around.. simple vignettes

Hope you all had  a lovely weekend.  Yesterday was a holiday here in Alberta, so I spent it having lunch an catching up with a girlfriend I hadn't seen in months.  I did not get a chance to work on some upholstery, as I had planned, but I am motivated to get it done this week (if I can track down all the supplies...)

Tonight, I am suffering from some neck pain and an overall tiredness (get'ting back in the gym regularly will do that to you...), so I decided not to tackle anything huge.  However, I did switch out the Valentine's stuff off the mantel, and bring it back to a more "everyday" look.  Which actually is perfect, since it's still wintery, and our everyday look is cream, turquoisey blues, dark dark browns and silver for accents, which really fits with the cool, wintery tone outside!

Anyhow, it was late and I can not for the life of me manage to take good pictures of the mantel in daylight, let alone at night, so here are some snipets (I've tweaked it a bit since), but I will share some updated shots on the weekend when I can get a nice daytime photo!

These are some of my favorite mantel pieces.  I love all of it, and best part - it was super cheap.

Turquoise SALONG vase - around $9.99

SKIMMER mercury glass candle sticks - $12.99 and $14.99

all from Ikea

The peacock feather was free, tucked in a plant pot from my boss' wife.  The candles were probably Ikea as well...

The "C" was a Winners  find in the clearance section for $7.99.

The planetaryéglobe thinger was a HomeSense  score, also on Clearance.

(I have since added a tall SKIMMER candlestick with glass votive atop, behind these for some added height.

** I ABSOLUTELY HATE THE TV over the fireplace.  This has plagued me ever since we moved in.  HATE IT!!! 

Unfortunately, as this is our main tv watching room ( for now...), without odd-layout and small space, this was really the best option. 

I would LOVE to be able to admonish the tv set from this space when we finish our basement next year... but I have a lot of convincing to do, in order to make it happen.  I would much rather having some gorgeous artwork or a pretty mirror up there...**

Also, here is a simple little vignette on one side of the fireplace, at the end of my sofa.  You can not tell from the poor photo, but at night time, the blues in the painting, and the lamp are soooo perfect.  The little heart frame was just a cute pop of color, plus the right size and scale for the spot!