Our first Christmas tree together, Brad and I, was bought off of the lot of an Episcopalian Church in Hoboken, NJ. It was perfect, it was romantic and exciting! After that, we returned there every year that we lived in Jersey City. After we moved, it was a bit sad having to find a new place for find our perfect tree, but we found them. The romance was not there, but the symmetry was, which, for me...it is all about the symmetry. I love tall, skinny, perfectly symmetrical trees. I also joke that I like my trees the way I like my men, tall and skinny (and symmetrical? Ha ha!)
And then, this year we decided to try something different...We went to a tree farm to hunt and search for our tree and to cut it down ourselves. This was always the way we did when I was a child I remember, but somewhere that city girl kept winning out.
We spent an hour looking for the perfect tree.
We walked up and down row after row, shouting "What about this one?!"
or saying "This one is definitely the one"
...But, each was always missing something. A bit too scraggly. A big hole. A bit lopsided.
So, in the end it came down to...which one do we think might be good enough. And then, Brad (with the help of Violet and Henry) chopped down the tree.
Oh, it was thrilling, just as I remembered it being when I was young.
When we got our "good enough" tree home and put it up in the house, it looked a bit scraggly, a bit crazy and wonky, but I began to wrap and wrap and wrap it with lights. I must admit, I might have gone a bit overboard on the lights...But, I am completely and utterly in love with our tree! It IS perfect! It glows! And, I am totally digging it's asymmetry and it's scraggly limbs they fit perfectly with our whimsical ornaments! As it turns out, I think the romance, in the end, is more important than symmetry!
And now, just for fun...I thought I'd share all of those wonderful star ornaments I told you about, the ones that Brad has made me over the years. What a fun tradition he started! The first year it was a star that he purchased actually, but it inspired him to make every one since...He sneaks around buying art supplies and talking about failed attempts and then Christmas Eve I get to open it and hang it on the tree to join the rest :)
because I moved to Jersey City this year, and out our kitchen window we had a fun view of the Empire State building!
I know it's not a star...but I cut him a break this year because he made one of these for everyone in the family, at least ten!
inspired by the babe in my tummy...
for our first Christmas as a family of three... for the street we lived on...Wire...
from the spare paint chips lying around for our first Christmas in our new home...
Who knows what this year will bring! (And, I just realized I forgot one, you'll forgive me, right?! You've seen enough stars!) And, who knows, maybe you'll be inspired by one of his homemade stars, if he can do it, you probably can too!! (Wink, Wink!)
