My latest home decor idea courtesy of Pinterest

One day I will wish I hadn't posted any pictures, but I am compelled to anyway.  In my never-ending quest for a way to make our mantel acceptable to me, I came across moss-covered monograms and decided that might be just what that picket fence up there needs.  As soon as the wreath from Christmas came down, I would have my very own mossy monogram to hang up in its place.  I found my 14-inch tall wooden letter B on Amazon. (Thank goodness for the Amazon gift card I got for Christmas, because otherwise none of us is allowed to be spending money on such frivolities in January.)  I used ridiculously expensive peel-and-stick moss from Michael's that I bought a couple months ago.  I've waited a long time for this!  I also ordered burlap ribbon, thinking that's what I'd use to hang it there.  But when it arrived, I realized it would blend right into the wood.  The scrap of green ribbon I used instead works better.

It doesn't look as great as I thought it would, but I'm not sure why.  That mantel is just crazy.  I want a normal mantel with a wall over it instead of a cave.  But this will do for another year-and-a-half.  I figured that the monogram could stay, and I could change everything else out as needed with the seasons.  I'm never sure what to do in January, but I love pine cones all year long, and there is an abundance of them where we live.

One day I will just roll my eyes at all of this.  My house will always look perfect in a relaxed, I-didn't-have-to-try sort of way, my taste will be impeccable, and I will have no more need for Pinterest.

I keep reminding myself that it wasn't all that long ago that we lived in base housing in Quantico, and Tim didn't even want to take pictures out of boxes, everything was beige and empty, and looked like a college apartment more so than a place where a family lives.  We've come a long way.