Our fireplace is huge and weird. I can't really even get a picture of the whole thing while I'm standing in the room. I've gotten used to it now, but it does kind of loom over you while you're watching TV. I realized putting a few things on the mantle cozies it up a little bit, while not seeming too clutter-y.
And now I give you not one, but five pictures of pretty much the same thing.
I brought the vintage zebra print from Seattle. As if I had room for superfluous, random decorative bits in my bags.
Jeff's NPR internet radio (a Christmas present) that I also packed in my bags. I couldn't bear the thought of paying 20% VAT plus shipping costs to send it here. Turned out to be a rather anti-climactic gift giving ceremony since I took it out of the box/packaging before I packed it. "No, no, no... the clothes aren't the present, they're the wrapping..."
The guy who did our hardwood floors very meticulously piled all the wood scraps in the fireplace, thinking we would actually burn them. He was a fool. A fool of a Took, if you know what I mean.
I'm still not convinced that I like having stuff on the mantle. Then again, my dream house is one where you walk in and think "someone lives here?" You can see why moving here with only a couple suitcases appealed to me. We only have one tiny junk drawer. That's amazing!
