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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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June 9, 2016

Coastal Inspired Summer Mantel

I have come to the conclusion that these days I can manage to muster about 10, maybe 15, minutes worth of time and energy that I’m willing to dedicate to decorating. Which means that I pulled off a simple, coastal inspired summer mantel in the time between tossing in a load of laundry and being summoned to observe my daughter’s latest trick on the trampoline.

coastal inspired summer mantel atthepicketfence.com

And really, why should it require any more time and energy than that? It’s summer after all. The season of simplicity and lingering over dinner on the deck. I want to be sitting around our new fire pit (photos coming soon!) roasting marshmallows or snipping flowers from the garden. I don’t want to be fussing over a mantel.

So, I grabbed a fun print that was just sitting in the attic and qualifies as ‘coastal’.

Crane painting on a summer mantel

And a wooden sailboat off of a closet shelf.

wooden sailboat on mantel

I tuck greenery into the same metal bucket that I used in my spring mantel.

And beside it, three books that were part of a collection of vintage books my mom recently passed on to me. They bring back so many memories. Those books weren’t just for looks! As a young girl, I cherished getting to read the same books my mom had read when she was a girl too. They are like links in our heritage chain and I love incorporating them into my decor whenever possible.

summer mantel details

‘The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea’ just had to take the place of prominence alongside a beautiful shell on this coastal inspired mantel.

seashell and vintage books

These days, you will find me doing some things that I haven’t really done much of in the past few months.

You’ll find me sitting outside in the sunshine reading a book, savoring each breeze that flutters the pages.

You’ll find me focusing on my health and working on new recipes that are not only full of flavor but full of all of the things my body really needs.

You’ll find me on the deck with my husband after the kids are in bed, glass of wine in hand, dreaming and planning for our future.

coastal inspired summer mantel atthepicketfence.com

You’ll find me worrying less about what I can create for you, my At the Picket Fence friends, and more about how I can connect with you.

You’ll find me resting.

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” (John Lubbock)

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9 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Good Ideas, Mantels, Summer Tagged With: mantels, summer, summer decorating

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Comments

  1. Amy Kaminski says

    June 9, 2016 at 7:52 AM

    Your mantel is perfectly Summer and so are your thoughts 🙂 Enjoy!

    Reply
  2. Shenita says

    June 9, 2016 at 9:07 AM

    Vanessa, your mantel is perfect for Summer. That’s the beauty of summer…keeping things simple. Enjoy these lazy days!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 9, 2016 at 5:35 PM

      Thank you so much Shenita!

      Reply
  3. shelley says

    June 9, 2016 at 9:48 AM

    love the bird pic….the colors are so soothing and old fashioned looking…

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 9, 2016 at 5:35 PM

      Thank you Shelley! Its definitely a favorite. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    June 9, 2016 at 7:10 PM

    I think creating a vignette with things that you love without much thought and planning…..always turns out to be the best!…You gathered the perfect items to create such beauty and interest and sentiment!….I have a small collection of Bobbsey Twins books….love them! I am so happy that you are taking some time for yourself..we all can do more of that! Happy Summer Vanessa!

    Reply
  5. paige.rose says

    June 10, 2016 at 12:24 AM

    I love how bright & calming everything is! I also love that you kinda of shopped your own home..love the painting!!!

    Happy Friday & weekend!

    Paige.Rose
    from
    http://www.TheQuaintSanctuary.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      June 10, 2016 at 4:11 PM

      Thank you so much Paige!

      Reply
  6. Julie says

    June 22, 2016 at 7:52 AM

    Another great post. I appreciate how you don’t overthink things and make them simple, yet so inviting. I have that book. Mine is on display too:)

    Reply

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I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
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