7 Quick Takes about Mantel Decor, How to Dance Like a Not-Mom, and Bumper Stickers that Give Me Vertigo

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It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

—1—

Okay, so here's my grand mantel reveal. 

Still a work in progress, actually.

I bought the pot at Home Goods because it looks so Bible-y, but I plan to replace the plant with olive branches that are a bit shorter and match the ones on the other side of the picture. 

For the picture, I printed this high-resolution photo of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem and ordered this frame from Michael's on sale, with a total cost of under $50. The little grapevine wreath was on clearance at JoAnn and if it ever stops raining, I'm going to go outside to look for some branches I can add to make it look more like a crown of thorns.

This was my inspiration on Amazon.

The basket with the crosses is the part I'm most proud of. I found a centerpiece I liked on Amazon but it was too big and too expensive, so I made my own imitation using some clearance olive branch sprigs from JoAnn, 99¢ wooden crosses from Michael's, and this 10" planter from Amazon.

With some old paint I found in the basement that definitely needs to be thrown out now that I'm done with it, I painted the crosses, and now it's propped up against the wall and ready to glue together for real to look a little nicer.

—2—

The only thing that wasn't a complete bargain was this pretty creche from Etsy that is in our dining room. (I tried getting something like it for cheaper from Amazon but it was absolutely a case of getting what you paid for and I returned it.) 

The little stone actually rolls, it's pretty cool.

It looked a little small for the place I wanted it, but once I added some plastic palm leaves it fills the space just fine.

—3—

My 17-year-old picked my 7-year-old up from gymnastics and he was doing a goofy walk out to the car.

"Did you make that up yourself?" she asked.

"No," he answered immediately, "It's a famous dance and all the kids at my school know it."

"Really?" 

"No."

The sass is strong with this one.

—4—

Speaking of dancing, a video popped up on my YouTube feed entitled How to DANCE and not embarrass your kids as a MOM. 

The YouTube algorithm can be hurtful sometimes.

The video wasn't terribly helpful, but I loved how she said, "Don't wiggle your hips because that's so embarrassing for your kids" and then she spends 9 minutes showing you how to do that. 

—5—

Does this bumper sticker work? I don't think it works.

After trying to read this, I think I know how a dyslexic person feels.

I understand that they're proud of their high school senior but you can't just replace any letter with a number and have it still make sense.

—6—

I have a new vacuum that Phillip bought me for Christmas (he got me a vacuum and I got him a special pillow for his acid reflux; tell me you've been married for 20 years without telling me you've been married for 20 years) and I like it a lot.

My favorite feature is that it makes me feel like a Ghostbuster when I pull out the canister to empty it.

Probably a poltergeist in there.

I just hit the red "eject" button on the top, and the bottom opens up and everything falls into the trash. Everytime I do housework I feel like this.

—7—

I came across this video and it is too cute for words. Enjoy this video called "Married Life", a real-life take on the montage from Up.

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