mantle-scaping

Once again, Abbey is the focus of a blogpost by Tara. I can't help it -- sometimes I think she peeps into my window, sees what needs to be done, and goes home and does it all up so I can see what the end result is supposed to look like. Today's focus -- her great mantle-scape in her amazing New York apartment. Poppytalk featured her mantle in her Art of Display feature and I'm in total envy. This is so what I'm aiming for my mantle to look like when it's done. Full of collected treasures, family snapshots and little bits of things I love. Currently my mantle looks like this:

I could probably find enough stuff in my house now to make it look like Abbey's but I'm holding off for enough pieces that all hold individual meaning. There's a few "space savers" up there now just to keep it from looking too sparse and overall, I'm fine with it for now. But I'm thinking long term here and I find it reassuring to see that you can, in fact, do clutter right. That's way more my style than minimalism mainly cuz I just love so many things and want everyone to see them. Abbey mentions that when people come over they peruse the mantle and can see what kind of people they are, what they love, who they love, who loves them -- I love the idea of that.

Current mantle check at Casa Tara;

• the Warhol print I bought in honour of the very first radio show I did called "Tomato Soup" that literally changed my life and was the remedy for a music obsession I didn't know what to do with;
• the stack of books are all books that have a bit of special for me at the moment and will likely change monthly; Cabinet of Natural Curiosities that we bought last week on clearance  -- it's a collection of antique drawings of strange creatures, very biologically nerdy; The Great American Pin-Up book I bought for Marc cuz he fancies them and I'm a great wife; The Uffizi Gallery book we bought on our honeymoon in Italy, Billy Gibbon's Rock and Roll Gearhead that we got from our friend Steve and really, who doesn't want pictures of Billy Gibbons around? Annie Leibovitz's American Music -- an amazing collection of photographs of musicians Marc got me for our first Christmas together;  Neil Young's Greendale illustrated by James Mazzeo,   Temples of Sound -- a look at the inside and history of great recording studios; Douglas Coupland's Souvenirs of Canada;  What Would Wonder Woman Do was part of our wedding gift from great friends Kelly and Steve, I Like Food, Food Tastes Good - a book of recipes from great bands I got for my birthday from Kelly (try the Violent Femme's recipe for Wild Boar Stew);  I'm With The Band cuz it's just a great book I think any music lover should read same with the Laurel Canyon book, and Leonard Cohen's Flowers for Hitler cuz it's great for picking up once in awhile.
• on top of the books is a handmade ceramic box we bought from a vendor on one of our first Hillside Festival trips -- it holds matches;
• the calla lily vase was a gift from my Mom that she found on a shopping trip with Kaili's mom Lorraine cuz calla lillies are one of my favourite "fancy' flowers;
• the photograph is called Water Goddess and is by an artist friend of ours David Wiewel and is an altered photograph of a mural in the underpass I walk through every day on my way to work;
• the small mirror is a hand-painted mirror from Mexico painted in the reverse layering style and was a gift;
• the vase is from Home Sense is 1 of 2 and is a complete space filler that I got on clearance.  The other one holds bamboo on my landing.