Hello Loves!  Happy Thursday and Happy December! 

How are we all coming on our preparations for Christmas?  I’m getting there.

I had grand plans of getting everything done last weekend but I was only able to get to my outside. I got my wreaths hung, my snowman on my door, and lights on my garland to go around the door.  I wanted to get the inside completely finished, but that just didn’t happen.  I started to come down with something on Sunday and was pretty much a waste after that.

Even though I wasn’t feeling perfect yesterday, I was just ready to have everything done.  I was tired of looking at the garland of red and yellow leaves on my mantle.  I needed greenery and twinkling lights in my life.

I forced myself to get out of bed and, after moping around the house for an hour or so, got dressed and met Lee for lunch.  He is working daylight this week so we were able to meet around noon.  We went to a little place called 9th Street Deli.  I got a salad and some cottage cheese with pineapple and Lee got a roasted Italian sub.  It was absolutely packed at lunchtime and I know why…their food is amazing!  After leaving Lee, I headed to the mall to pick up some Christmasy Wallflowers…

I had trouble deciding between Winter and Winter Cabin.  I had each candle in my hand and went through a cycle of sniffing the Winter, sniffing the Winter Cabin, sniffing the Winter, sniffing the Winter Cabin, etc….repeat X1000.  Finally, I got a slight whiff of something clove-like (which I don’t like) in the Winter so I decided to go with the Winter Cabin.  In all honesty, I’m pretty sure every Christmas scent smells exactly the same.  After spending way too long in Bath and Body Works, I headed over to Lowe’s to pick up some fresh pine garland.  That trip was short and sweet!

When I finally returned home, it was time to tackle something that always makes me a little squeemish.

The cubby hole.

Doesn’t this look like some little door to a secret world?  Unfortunately, all it is is a door leading to storage space under the slanted ceiling in our bedroom.  I hate having to be in places like basements, attics, cubby holes, or really anything that has a probability of containing spider webs.  Anyway.  I was home alone, so there was no option.  I dug out the rest of the Christmas stuff on my own.

Out of the cubby hole crawled all of these guys…

I collect Nutcrackers.  There are still some that live at my parents because I have nowhere to put anymore in my house.  Don’t worry.  They won’t all stay at the fireplace being creepers.  They will be placed around the house…I just had to get them out and all in one spot for now.

After the adventure in the cubby hole was over, my parents came over and we went to pick out our Christmas trees.  We have a tree farm about ten minutes from our house and every tree is $20…any type, any size.  That price is very comforting since one year I spent $64 on a blue spruce.  I felt dizzy and slightly terrified when the man at the tree lot told me the price.  Seriously!?  $64!?

Isn’t that tree above the most perfect shape ever?

We didn’t choose that one and as I write this, I am wondering why we didn’t.  I think it was turning brown on the inside and we didn’t want to buy a tree that was not going to last.   There had to be a good reason because I can’t think of a reason why I wouldn’t have chosen this one!

We ended up picking this one…

I love my blue spruces!  We just marked it with our name and we will go back and get it in a week or two.  My family and I usually wait to get our trees because we like to leave them up until January 6th and if we get them too early they don’t last.

I feel good that I’m finally all decorated and ready for Christmas…well, except for that whole gift buying thing.  That can wait.  I always do it last minute and it always works out for me so I’m not changing my ways this year!  Now, if you’ll excuse me.  I have to go sit in my living room that smells like Winter Cabin and stare at my creepy nutcrackers.

Are you all ready for Christmas?
Do you put up a real or an artificial tree?