On my mental decorating calendar, it's half-way through summer, and I've been behind ! Michael's cousin Kris is coming for a visit, so I got busy. Here's our entryway. The charcoal drawing with the bamboo frame hung in my parents' house until they moved here. Michael had insisted that we buy it for them on our honeymoon in Hawaii.

Here's a close-up of my parents' beautiful shell ashtray - Mom never smoked, but we lost her going on 3 years ago.

On to the living area mantel. I was planning to paint a seascape to be the focal point, but instead decided to grab our print of dolphins from the bathroom. I wanted an asymmetrial, refreshing look, not too matchy matchy, including some black and white photography. I started out with a large conch shell to the right of the print, moved the candle from left to right, and finally came up with this...

The pilot in the photograph is Michael's Dad, whom I never met. He passed away before Michael and I met. Besides being perfect for the black and white element, I thought Kris would like to see his uncle's picture. It also fits in with the ocean theme, since he served in the Pacific during WWII. Of course, it fits with "The Travelers" print as well. The built-in bookshelves on either side of the fireplace were feeling much too cluttered. I stored away alot of books and even left only one large item on two of them.

TA DA! Perfect for our visitor and our staycation, too!