Trimming the Tree

(Photo Source)

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a gloriously huge Christmas tree. I was always slightly disappointed when we would bring home a tree that barely cleared my dad's head.

This year, Josh and I thought it would be "fun," since we have such high ceilings and the tree farm we visited had a flat-rate price for all of their trees, to pick one that was a little more awe-inspiring in height.

So, giving way to our exuberant childhood fantasies, we picked out a tree that we thought was about 8-9 feet tall. Perfect! Then... we got home. 

(Don't worry- no one was hurt during the decorating of this monstrosity)

So, our Christmas tree is about 11 feet tall. And it gives me great joy and induces fits of happy giggles nearly every time I walk into the living room!

As you can imagine, it takes quite a few decorations to fill up an 11 foot tall tree! Plus, we had to put it behind the couch, where it is pretty much visible from every angle, which meant that we had to decorate the entire tree. We definitely didn't have enough ornaments stocked up, so after purchasing 2 more sets of lights (we already had one), I decided to make some new ones. I thought it would be fun to add some tissue paper pom-poms! I found a tutorial online, and made 3 of these cuties.

I searched the house for things that could work as ornaments, and fit into our silver/cream/white/blue theme. This tiny picture frame was the perfect match! I just hot glued some ribbon on the back, and voila, a new ornament.

I made 6 of these cute, round paper ornaments using leftover Amy Butler paper from our wedding programs. I just embellished them a bit using some glue and glitter. 

Of course, no tree is complete without an ornament that looks like a 5 year old on a sugar high created it. 

Some new ornaments that I bought last year on sale after Christmas are making their first debut as well! I bought 2 of the beauties from Macy's, for about 20% of their original price. Nice!

These ornaments (gifts from my Mother-In-Law) are by far my favorite though. There are 2 of them, little tiny antiqued mirrors. Aren't they sweet?

 

I also love this blown-glass ornament, Josh's aunt Jackie bought it years ago, or so I am told! 

I am really loving our tree this year. It's so fun to gaze at it and think back on all of the memories that I have from Christmases past. One thing's for sure- I can check off "buy a giant Christmas tree" from my bucket list! 

P.S. You may notice some changes are a-happening around here... I put up a new banner that I've been working on for a while, and some more subtle changes will occur shortly. Hope you like them! Also- be sure to check back tomorrow for the full tour of our decorated home! I'll be linking to some fun holiday parties. Can't wait to see you then!

A Musical Weekend

On Friday night, Josh and I broke from our routine and went out on the town. Yup. Us old folks got dressed up and went to a concert like we were college-age again (which really wasn't that long ago.... right?).

Beirut is my all-time favorite band ever. I have listened to them for years. I literally listened to their album "Gulag Orkestar" every morning at work for a year. Yup, I still like it. We even played some of their music at our wedding reception.

So, of course I have been watching their tour dates to see when they would come to Minnesota. They had not come here since 2006! Finally, I was listening to The Current (local radio station) one day, and they announced that Beirut was coming to Minneapolis! Wooo to the Hoo!!!

The lead singer, Zach Condon, has a wonderful, mellow singing voice. And, he also plays the trumpet like you wouldn't believe! Their music is indie rock/world music, but it's unlike anything I've ever heard. Their songs have the ability to transport you to another place. There's a few songs that instantly make me feel like I'm in Paris again!

I took a couple videos during the concert, so here's a little snippet of their sound.

The next day, I got to actually participate in some music making! Our church hosts an annual "Christmas Tea," and this year I was the featured vocalist. I got to sing with a trio of wonderful musicians on piano, flute, and violin. My mom and my friend Jill also joined me on one song and sang harmony. It was so fun to be a part of the tea this year! 

My dear friend Katie joined us! It was so fun to have her there. 

Here are (starting from the left) Jill, my Mom Ruthie, and my Aunt JJ.

And here is my wonderful MIL Jody, and my Grandma Bertie. 

And of course, my lovely sisters Morna and Elsie.

December is always filled with lots of music for me- between church events and concerts, there is never a shortage of opportunities to be involved with and attend events. It's one of the best ways that I know to experience the season.

Tree Hunting

On Saturday, Josh and I joined some dear friends for what (I hope!) is going to be a yearly tradition; we went to a lovely tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree.

It was the perfect day for a tree-hunting adventure. There was some freshly fallen snow on the ground (with a forecast predicting even more!), and it was actually still pretty warm outside. Last year we were freezing, but this year we had more time to hem and haw over the quintessential conifer. 

The owners of this particular tree farm sure know how to bring on the Christmas spirit! There's hot cider, a beautifully decorated barn with decorations for sale, a fire pit outside for chilly hands, hay rides, and even a wood stove inside so you can warm up before heading out into the winter wonderland. 

 
We grabbed two big sleds for the trees, and headed out into the "forest" of evergreens. It took a while to find the perfect tree for both of us couples. Nick and Cindy found theirs first, so Nick cut it down and even trimmed off the top, which would make a perfect "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" in my opinion.

Josh and I had more trouble finding our tree. I must confess, I am used to having a fake tree (that's what we used last year, but we still went with the Germann's to pick out their tree), and I was taken aback by the misshapen trees all over. Like this little dude below, whom Josh joked about taking home with us. But since all of the trees were evenly priced at $40 (yikes!) we decided to keep looking.

Finally, we found "The One." It was nice and tall (we were hoping for an 8 foot tree since we have nice high ceilings), so we chopped it down and loaded it onto the sled for the ride back to the car.

While Nick and Josh took the trees to be bagged up, Cindy and I decided to explore the beautifully decorated barn for a bit.

I just love that the tree farm has a fun little shopping area too! I haven't purchased anything there yet, but it's still so fun to wander through and get ideas as you window shop.

They use lots of natural elements in the decor, like pinecones that I'm sure come right from their property. I love the twinkly lights that they hang to really transform the old barn as well. 

There's an assortment of antiques and handmade goods, and they are all grouped into Christmas-y vignettes. 

I really love this gigantic hanging wreath. It would be so beautiful in a large entryway, and easy to create out of some leftover tree branches, lights, and flowers.

We planned to tie our tree onto the top of the car for the ride home, but it ended up fitting perfectly in the back of Nick and Cindy's truck along with their tree. Nice! So we headed back to our place for some warm beverages and cookies.

Now that Josh and I have been married for over two years (this is our third Christmas together now!), it's fun to see some of our very own traditions beginning to emerge. I hope this tree-farm expedition continues!

I don't have the "official" decorated tree photos yet, but hopefully this slightly blurry one will suffice for now. As you can see, the top of the tree almost touches the highest point of our vaulted ceiling. Yikes! What we thought was an 8 foot tree ended up being almost 11 feet tall! So it's definitely going down in history as "The Year of the Mammoth Christmas Tree."

We had to buy extra lights, and I'm thinking it might need a few more ornaments to balance it out (but only super-on-sale ones!). So, have you put up your tree yet?

The Ghost of Christmases Past...

We haven't put out our Christmas decorations yet (for shame!), mostly because Josh and I have both been sick this week. Ugh. Nothing to dampen the Christmas spirit like a sore throat and a runny nose!

However, I am mentally planning where our decorations will go, and as soon as we have our energy and health back we will get to decorating! Just for fun though, I was looking through our albums of past Christmases here at our little casa. We've been here for 2 Christmases so far, and it's amazing to see how much our home has changed since then!

Our first Christmas here, the decorations were simple and minimal. We still lived with ugly beige walls and a TV stand and coffee table from the 80's. Josh got a Nerf gun for Christmas that year.

Even though the decorations would never be featured in a magazine, it was perfect for us as our very first Christmas as a married couple!

After that Christmas was over, we invested in some more decorations that were on super-sale for the next year! Those got pulled out again one year later for Christmas 2010.

I stuck with a "Green" theme for the dining area. I love lots of greenery at Christmas, and I'm sure that many of these same decorations will be featured again in new ways. I found that berry wreath at GW for only $2! 

I even made some moss-covered trees for a display. I love how they turned out! 

I wrapped some tulle around a few fake mini-trees that we had for a soft, romantic touch. Like little Christmas-tree ballerinas! 

Our tree was decorated with white and silver ornaments, and white lights. Ah, so pretty! It's also a faux-tree that we got on sale for only $10 the year before. 

So that's what our 2 past Christmases have looked like! Just reminiscing about them makes me want to turn on the Christmas music and get decorating.... I have some moldy pumpkins that really need to be replaced with twinkling lights! Have you started your decorating yet?

A Day in the Life of an Elf

One of my favorite traditions during the holidays is going to the Macy's 8th floor exhibit in downtown Minneapolis. They have been doing their 8th floor display for years and years, I can remember going there when I was just a wee kid!

The past few years, the exhibit has stayed the same (instead of changing it out every year like they used to). The exhibit is called "A Day in the Life of an Elf." It features miniature scenes of elves as they work and play in preparation for Christmas. You'll have to excuse the poor-quality cell phone pictures, but I wanted to share a few pictures so you can see how cute it is!

There's a forest of singing trees, who move and dance in rhythm to their Christmas carols. 

There's a bakery complete with oodles of delicious looking treats! 

Scenes depicting the snowy outdoors, as well as cozy elves tucked into their beds for the night.

 

We always have so much fun going to the 8th floor, and it's totally free! If you have kiddos, there's even an opportunity to get portraits with Santa at the end. So, if you are in the Minneapolis area this Christmas season I would highly recommend checking it out. It's fun for kids and adults alike! 

Thankful

 

 This Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks to God for so many wonderful blessings!

• A wonderful husband who loves me 
• A warm, comfortable home to live in
• Family that I love spending time with
• Friends who encourage and laugh with me
• A job that I adore
• The many opportunities that God provides 

There's just so much to be thankful for, I can't even list them all. But, at least it's a start!

Today, I will be busy baking 2 apple pies for Thanksgiving with my Mom's family, preparing the delicious and heart-attack-inducing mashed potatoes for Friday's celebration with Josh's family, and making a special pre-Thanksgiving dinner for my hubby. We like to celebrate before each holiday by having a sit-down meal together (that doesn't involve watching Warehouse 13 on SyFy...) and enjoying a little at-home date!

What are you thankful for this season?