Humble Little Tree

House Beautiful

Our tree ended up much smaller than anticipated this year.  At first, I thought it was fine for our first real tree and next year we'd go bigger, but my little tree is growing on me.  Why do we all feel the need to overdecorate?  My tree is small, however it is the perfect shape, my ornaments look beautiful and I smile every time I see it!  (I wish I could post pics but we're doing some home improvements and my family room is torn apart!)  I know I can't believe I'm doing this the week of Christmas - looking forward to starting fresh in the New Year!

Are You Looking for an Easy Way Out?

Isn't this a beautiful tree?  Actually, there are two trees, and they are in my mother in law's foyer.  They were decorated by the lovely Julie Elliott as I watched (LOL)!  Do you notice anything different?  My mother in law has this really cool rope lighting that she, at one point, used to use on her staircase.  We came up with the idea of draping it, as you would tinsel, around the tree instead of lighting each branch!  It was sooooo easy and I think it looks just as beautiful, if not more.  Another great tip for skinny trees or smaller trees are to use oversize ornaments and a lot of them!

As Promised......

the pictures of our journey to cut down our first family Christmas tree!  I'm so excited that we have a new family tradition that we can all enjoy during the holidays!  Hopefully I can inspire you to start your own tradition, it is so much better for the environment to enjoy a real tree!

Mixing It Up in the Kitchen - Baking Edition

house to home uk

Martha Stewart via Macy's, Sur La Table

I've been spending my time this week pouring over cookie receipes!  Baking is one of the most important things I do for the holiday season.  It is a lot of work, however the cookies and treats I bake are usually the only desert I put out when I'm entertaining and it's usually what I bring to holiday parties!  Baking beautiful cakes and cookies has become such an art!  All the cool, new, user friendly gadgets make it so easy for us to create something beautiful or really cool for the kids!

Sur La Table, William Sonoma

Sur La Table, Martha Stewart, Sur La Table

Wouldn't these make great gifts?  I think The Runaway Gingerbread Boy cookie with a copy of the book would make a "sweet" gift for any child.  I'm giving a few people on my list a baking pan and mix to make homemade ice cream sandwiches, fun for the whole family!  Of course, I couldn't resist buying a set for myself too!  I'm planning on tying it up with a ribbon like the one above that says "Sweet Treat".  I've also got my eye on the pan above on the left!  I love how it makes a variety of shapes and all you need to do is sprinkle powder sugar - you can't get any easier than that!

picture courtesy of skinnygirlsandmayo.com

Do any of you think our generation is a lacking in the glamour department?  Don't you remember being little and your parents getting all dressed up to go to dinner or a friends dinner party?  They entertained more, got dressed up more (even to go on airplanes).  I distinctly remember the shift in airplane attire.  My first plane trip to Fla my sister in I we're dressed in little sailor dresses and my Dad in a suit.  A few years later I was given a hot pink track suit for a plane ride to California (the kind that was fake wrinkled and made noises when I walked).  There's no glamour in anything!  Not only have people stopped dressing up (even for the very important upcoming holiday), but a dinner party now a days involves a six pack, pizza and a bowl of chips!  

I know entertaining can be time consuming and expensive but it's also a great way to show your friends how much you care!  I have noticed a shift that I'm not sure everyone has caught on to and will make entertaining a little less daunting!  People don't want to eat as much!  Forget a huge dinner, everyone is happy with dips, appetizers and simple fruit and biscotti or fudge for desert.  Just don't skimp on the bar.    

We have a group of friends (there's six or eight of us) and we would try to go out to dinner about 3 times a year.  We always say we need to do it more often but we're sick of spending money on expensive dinners.  I came up with a smaller version of a dinner club friends of ours once told us about.  The larger version goes like this:  There are 12 couples, each host a dinner party one time a year so you're getting together once a month.  You spend as much on your one dinner party as you do going out to dinner 12 times.  These parties were extravagant, sometimes including a band or whatever else the host and hostess dreamed up.  The idea was instead of going to boring, generic restaurants 12 times a year, you were invited to a beautiful, swanky dinner party once a month.  They could be different themes, foods, music the sky's the limit!

My version is every three to four months one of us hosts a dinner party at our house without our kids.  We just had our Christmas one and granted we weren't in ball gowns and tuxedos but we all stepped it up a bit and had a wonderful time drinking cosmos out of really tall, fun champagne glasses.  It's our turn next and we'll be hosting a Valentine's soiree with lots of deserts and maybe the Newlywed Game!   

Holiday Decorating Must Haves

Etsy, house to home uk

 I've tried everything when it comes to decorating!  I've tried color themes, massive, full, fake looking garland decorated with glittery dragonflies and butterflies (I'm serious).  I've had centerpieces, do-dad's on the back of kitchen chairs, centerpieces, table runners, wreaths on every window and then on every bedroom door......let's just say I've learned a lot and I'd also like the money back that I spent on horrible looking decorations.

This is my new list of decorating must haves:  same theory as in decorating - less is more and a few really nicely decorated focal points is so much better than accessories placed on every available tabletop!

1.  Knit stockings - mine are all cream with red writing but know I'm wishing they we're different colors and sizes!

2.  A really beautiful mantel with candles.  I tried flame less this year to save my husband a heart attack.  I'm not all that responsible when it comes to candles!  I also have gold reindeer and stars....I'll post some pics soon!

martha stewart living

 3.  A more natural looking garland.  It doesn't have to be real but I'm totally over the big oversize fake garland that collects dust.

4.  I'm forcing 30 paper white bulbs this year.  I feel like I want a more natural Christmas and forcing bulbs are so easy!  Hopefully just before Christmas they'll all bloom and last into the New Year!  If your not into that work, visit your florist, nursery or even grocery store for some big full poinsettia plants (as long as you don't have young kids or animals that will eat them).

Cody Foster

5.  I love vintage ornaments.  I don't put them on the trees because my kids are little and I believe the trees should be for them.  Our trees are loaded with every ornament they've made us in school, hockey skate ornaments, Santa fishing etc. etc. you get the picture.  Not a showpiece tree by any means but special and exciting for the kids and that's what it's all about.  I hang my antique ornaments from chain over my windows, hang them from chandeliers and mirrors and put the left over one's in a bowl.

6.  Christmas villages are not a must have by any means.  My parents always have had an extensive one and although really beautiful, a ton of work.  I love these glittery Cody Foster villages.  They're like the vintage cardboard houses but way more intricate!  I think their really beautiful in a plant shelf or by a window.

In keeping with our "natural" Christmas not only did we get our first real tree but we also cut it down ourselves!  It was so much fun.  I'll post pictures soon.

The Best Around

West Elm, Jonathan Adler

I've been looking into Menorah's and these are by far the best I've seen around!  I'm not all too familiar with traditional Menorah's, I'm thinking these are a little outside of the box.  I love the organic, flowy feel of the one on the left and then, of course, the sleek, contemporary Jonathan Adler!  If any of you have a beautiful one, I'd love to see some pictures and I would also love to know how and where you display yours!