Just a Lil' Sum Sum
Not to brag or anything, but I have three really pretty, working fireplaces in my Victorian-style home. And the best thing about them is that all three have mantels that were salvaged from old homes that were being demolished. But I've always had trouble with the Mission-style mantel in my bedroom. It has two levels of shelves, and a mirror built-in between them. I have two large, heavy candlesticks and some green pottery on the bottom shelf, but the top shelf has been driving me crazy for three years now. Every vignette I attempted there was just wrong, and most of them were too fussy for the simple lines of the mantel.
So a few weeks ago, I wondered into Pier 1, and found just the thing: a sleek little pot filled with grass. (Plastic, of course. I am so not climbing up there to water anything.) I bought three of them and lined them up on the top shelf of my mantel, and I am happy at last. (And they were only about eight bucks a piece.) Check out the finished product:

