Embellished Living: It's Miscellaneous!

The stockings are hung, the nativity is set, my mantle is as cute as it is gonna get. But my most favorite decoration of all, stands proud in front of my window fat and tall.
I love my Christmas tree. LOVE IT. It is big and full and a total pain in my rear every year! My tree is 13 years old. It is not pre lit. It does not come apart in 3 nice little sections. It has many, many branches that have to be taken out of their 2 super size rubbermaid totes every year and fluffed and stuck into a pole one, by one, by one. Then strand after strand of lights is strung round and round the tree. It takes forever to put up my tree. But I know I will have it forever. When I step back and look at it finished every year, I fall in love again. Knowing that I got it as an after Christmas special for about $20 makes me love it even more!

The first Christmas we put up this tree was our now 12 year old's very first Christmas as well. It was full of matchy store bought ornaments in a certain color scheme. As the years have passed by and our family has grown, I now look at my tree and see something so different than it was all those years ago. While I still have some matchy ornaments in a certain color scheme I don't really notice them any more. I see all of the memories. Each of my girls gets a new ornament every Christmas Eve representative of what they liked that year. There are also, ornaments to remember loved ones, ornaments from family, ones to represent special occasions, and trips taken. Ornaments out of beads and popsicle sticks and painted by my kids. Ornaments from many ornament exchanges with friends over the years. It is a hodgepodge mess of memories all in one place, it is fabulous! Take a peek at some of my favorites

These 2 always stick together and are always at the top. For a friend of ours that passed away

These are just a few from trips we've taken: DC, Vegas, Cozumel, Isle of Palms, yes you see an ornament made from a dog biscuit in this shot as well lol

My kids favorite ornament! Stacie may or may not remember this but it came from her in our 1st (previous) mom's group ornament exchange together. It counts down the days till Christmas!