My Fireplace Revealed.

Thanks to John I won a prize for my sign so when he asked to see my mantelpiece I could only oblige. Before I go any further I must warn you that my fireplace is disgusting. I hate it. But it is way down the list of things that need doing.

So here it is in all it's glory. Gross, gross, gross. A horrible brick fireplace. Dillon took the photos for me and I see that he did not even straighten the candles! We have a gas fire thanks to my mum who paid for us to have the heating converted to gas after a terrible winter when I was pregnant with Mollie and the oil fired boiler kept packing up. I used to try and heat the house using the real fire and the back boiler. It was hard work and the house was not that warm so we used lots of hot water bottles instead. The painting above the fireplace I have blogged about before, my mother-in-law painted it of Mollie and myself.

These are all my nick knacks on top of the mantelpiece. None are antique or family heirlooms. Starting from the left:

A silver candlestick, (not real silver) I choose it because it went with the room.
Orange vase, given to me by friends I cooked dinner for with red fake poppy, I love poppies.
Small picture frame, Dillon bought me a few years ago but I haven't found small enough pictures to put in it (I can't print my digital photos as we only have a black and white printer).
A pig picture/jigsaw, Mollie found this recently and somehow it found its way up there.
A photo of a very young Dillon.
Here is a closer view of my clock. Mum brought it back from her first visit to Sam in San Francisco. She liked the plane because we all have to travel that way to visit each other.
Another photo of Dillon with a larger one of Mollie behind waiting to be framed.
A pretty candle, a gift from my aunt.
A photo of Mollie and Ben.
An angel candlestick, a gift from my granny who loves angels.
Ben's piggy bank, not sure what it's doing there but now I know where to go if I need a couple of euro!

Finally a close up of the hearth, more candles. The crystal candlesticks were a prize for runner up in singles and the crystal bowl (with fairy lights in it) was a runner up prize in doubles for a tennis tournament. The small painted candle cup in the foreground was painted by Dillon about six years ago (Mollie's is tucked away behind another candle). They made them as gifts one Christmas. The big black candlestick was another tennis prize. In the distance is Joules lava lamp and Ben's toy.

So what's your fireplace like?