Green, Green...It's Green They Say

I have a few minutes before I have to get ready for lunch with our oldest grand daughter for my birthday! Today is her first day of spring break and she asked if she could come and spend it with me??? She will never know how totally honored I feel...and how old! I actually have a grand daughter who is old enough to drive herself to our house to visit-yikes!! But, before the reveling begins...

Here is this year's "trimmed" down mantle. Yes, believe it or not, in past years it has held so much more!!

I love the simple sign I made last year. I have another one in mind for this year if I can just find the time before the big day actually gets here!

I am still enjoying using both the wooden block and leprechaun hat photo holders the kids and I have made in years past.

I get a lot of pop from this simple banner that I found on  lilluna.com a few years ago. I simply downloaded and printed the map paper and then cut out green hearts, folded them in half, distressed the edges and glued them on along the folds so that they would be 3-D. So simple but one of my favorites.

This is one of two lanterns that I added to my stash this year. I got it at Yankee Candle and with the wonderful coupon they sent, how could I resist? The inside of this lantern is silver so when it is lit at night, it gives off the most beautiful sparkle!

I use these candle holders in almost every decorating season of the year but this vignette almost didn't happen. I like things in threes and I had the two large holders and nothing else of any "weight" that I felt balanced this end of the table. And then I noticed the "cheesy" plastic pot of really fake shamrocks that I had ready to toss out and wondered how they might look if I popped them on another holder to give them a bit more presence. What do you think? I actually like them now...even if they ARE really BAD fakes!

So that is the family room this year. I have a few more things to share but for now, I am off to celebrate another year! Stay tuned.