Pulling It Together

Does anybody else ever have one of those days where all of sudden you realize the only place you want to be is tucked into bed?  That was my day today.  When my alarm went off at 5 a.m. I noticed I had a bit of a soar throat.  By 10 a.m., I was hit head on by allergies.  We are talking full-fledged stuffy nose, itchy eyes, scratchy throat.

To top it off, we have a new employee at work this week.  He is fresh out of school and has never worked with taxes.  So I had the pleasure of going over his first tax return with him - which meant talking for almost three hours straight, taking a further toll on my throat.  Quitting time could not come soon enough!!  Fortunately, I am now cuddled up on the couch and just enjoyed a bowl of sugar-free vanilla ice cream.

Having taken my Benedryl and making a cup of hot tea, now I can do what I really enjoy...RELAX!

I finally finished preparing all of the elements for my Valentine's Day mantel a couple of days ago.  So last night I took the time to set it all up.

I wanted to develop the mantle around the "Love" plaque I posted.  After picking up some some cheap candle holders and a vase from Goodwill, I added some acrylic paint (the vase and candle holders on the right are the same paint that I used for the plaque) to dress them up.

I needed to help bring out the little bit of of red that is in the plaque.  So I took the black arch-shaped candle holder and added some red paint.

Finally, to finish it off and pull it all together, I added a couple of scraps of paper left over from the plaque and the Valentine's Day wreath to a couple of candles and replaced the plain white candles with some Hershey's kisses (with red and pink wrappers, OF COURSE!) in a couple of the customized votive candle holders.

At least while I lounge on the couch, nursing my allergy symptoms, I will have something pretty to look at (when I'm not surfing Pinterest!).  Speaking of which, I have a yummy recipe to try from Pinterest. I am planning on bringing it to our friends' house for the Superbowl.

Stay tuned for more!!

Also, go check out "14 Days of Love" at Cherished Bliss for more Valentine's Day ideas.