this hawks nest: Muffins are Next, I Swear!

But before we get to those, I must post a little bit about mantles. Mantles, you say? Yes, for since my favorite magazine, Cottage Living, went under due to the selfishness of Wall Street, I am left to squander my leisure time away hunting for old photos from issues I've misplaced (...or were they stolen..?).

A few things before I get to mantles. Yes, mantles.

1) Hawk says I need to post about the dining room color and the kitchen already. Ugh. He's right. Look for updated posts (I can't resist the process-of-transformation-before-the-big-reveal, and oh-that-gives-me-time-to-decorate-for-the-holidays) after Thanksgiving weekend.

2) Why this Saturday is really New Year's Eve!

3) The Part III & IV of "Color Me Shady" that I began 2 months ago...

4) The response to the question, "J, you have a blog? I thought those were only for narcissists or women with pudgy babies no one else is interested in seeing on a daily basis." Yes, my friends are nothing if they're not forthright.

And now, mantles. I highly suggest one never do this:

I'm all for decorating simply, but it isn't as if that fireplace just sort of blew up out of nowhere and the residents screamed, "Goodness, we have a new hole, a cavern of sorts in which we can burn things. However did that get there? We should hide it with many things flamable."

Instead, one should pursue this sort of mantle decoration: