The Freshman Cook: A Winter Mantel

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I have been a crafter and a do it yourself-er since I was very young. I grew up in a house that usually had a reno of some sort going on, and like a lot of large families, there was always a craft or two strewn across the dining room table. My parents were always improving our house and I really think it must be hereditary. My husband and I have renovated just about every house we have lived in. The house we bought last year was built in the early 90’s, and needs updating. It was empty for about 5 years before we bought it, but it has great bones, and just needs to be brought into this decade.

We started updating a little bit this past summer, and somewhat during the winter, so I thought I would periodically share some of our do it yourself and decorating adventures. So far we have refurbished the wooden deck, redone the back outdoor porch, pulled out so many over grown shrubs and trees that I can’t count them all, and quite a bit more which I will be posting about.

 This Winter Mantel is something I wanted to do as soon as I saw how blank it looked after the Christmas decorations were taken down. I was worried it might be too early for Valentines Day at the time. I wanted the mantel to represent the North Carolina winter as I see it.

The twigs and branches, along with the pine cones, came from my backyard.

 The snowflake is for the snow we had last year and hopefully
will not have this year. 🙂 

I added a couple pine cones and some more twigs

so the candles wouldn’t look so stark.
 The blue mason jar and bottle brush star gave the mantel a shot of color that it needed. The empty bird cage is for all the birds that left for the winter. I miss them! Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you liked my Winter Mantel! Stop back by tomorrow for a roundup of great treats and eats for the Super Bowl!

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Noah Baker

Hi! I’m Noah Baker

Noah Baker is a California-born food blogger behind "FreshmanCook," whose culinary journey began in his tiny apartment kitchen experimenting with recipes that blend innovative techniques and personal passion. After leaving his graphic design career, Noah transformed his love for cooking into a vibrant online platform that celebrates accessible, creative cuisine, capturing food lovers' attention with his stunning photography and approachable recipes. When he's not crafting mouthwatering dishes or styling food for his blog, Noah lives in a cozy apartment with his rescue dog, Basil.

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