recapping christmas

this last christmas, i decided i wanted a new look for our tree, i wanted to go from the traditional look i had so carefully crafted for the past 7 or 8 years to a fun and whimsical look. i had grand plans. i rarely succeed when i have grand plans, they overwhelm me and i put them off for good. but this year, because mars was aligned perfectly with venus AND the moon, i was able to accomplish said grand plan. :)

michaels had bulbs on sale, and they had FUN colors, turquoise, orange, green, and pewter. add a couple of big spools of wide pink ribbon and the red berries and snowflakes gathered from years past and i ended up with a really happy looking tree, which made me happy. i didn't do a lot of other decorating this year, we had to rearrange our piano and family rooms in order to get the tree in, and i loved how clean it looked, i didn't want to add much else, just the nativity, a banner over the fireplace, a garland woven through the dining room chandelier, some berries placed strategically in my all-year wreaths, a new wreath that was a gift from a piano student, and the kissing ball. annie hunted diligently for that one (perhaps because of a certain boy?). :) i found that keeping it simple really helped the spirit of the holiday be the focus. it was a sweet surprise.

somehow i didn't manage to snap a picture of the whole tree during the daytime, but here are a few shots of parts of the tree as well as the morning twilight shot i did get. you get the idea. i'll take a better picture next year. oh and we'll have a star next year too :) we had this fabulous paper mache/plaster star for years, it was a really huge ornament that we altered by boring a hole in the back so we could stick it on the top of the tree. a couple of years ago, while taking it down, it fell to the ground and shattered. broke our hearts. so the next year we bought a silver wire one, but it just doesn't work with the fraser firs we like to buy, it's made for a big puffy top, so it wobbles fiercely. we decided this year we'd replace it. i kept forgetting. then christmas was over. so next year, maybe i'll make one...

this is christmas eve, with my aperture open really wide

i'll save the christmas gifts for another post. i need to go work out. :)

have a great day!