Hesitant, Hopeful

So, would you judge me if I told you that I've already put up my Christmas decorations? If so, it's okay, I think I'd judge me, too. I think I am judging me, because, yeah, I put up my Christmas decorations today. Matt and I have, for the last several years, had a tiny little Christmas tree. It's like a 2' tree, it sits on the dining room table, or the top of my grandma's sewing machine, or wherever because, well, it's tiny. That's what tiny Christmas trees are for, to sit around on tables and look cute.

But, those little trees have some serious drawbacks, like that they need teensy tiny little ornaments, you can't use a full-size tree star, and a full-size tree skirt looks utterly ridiculous. Of course, they also have their advantages. For instance, I haven't decorated that little tree in years, either, because it's small enough to cover with a large trash bag and store away, fully decorated. Huge time saver. Right now, that very tree is stashed away, fully decorated and just waiting to be plugged in. Well, ha! Jokes on you, baby tree!

Okay, that might have been uncalled for. That sad little tree has no idea its been replaced with a 6' tall (plastic) Jackson Spruce (way, way too big for my tiny little living room, by the way)... and it never will, because I don't plan to bring out the tiny tree. Though it would look good on my desk, the decorations would clash with the larger tree and that would be a bummer to my whole scheme. Yeah, this year I have a new scheme. We usually pick colors and run with them, usually red & silver, a touch of gold here and there, traditional Christmas colors. Not this year. This year I'm going with something much more fun. Something much more unusual, as Christmas goes. This year, my tree's color scheme is hot pink, teal, and silver.

Yup, hot pink and teal. Matt seriously wins Christmas because he doesn't even mind that our scheme is pink and teal. As a matter of fact, he helped me pick out ornaments (mostly the teal ones). He's a trooper. Clearly he's a believer in the whole "happy wife, happy life" thing. But also, I think he knew that this year I seriously need a pick me up. I've been feeling horrible, which I've been going on and on here of late. Today, a bit of holiday cheer has perked me right up. I love decorating for Christmas. Taking everything down, not so much, but then I don't have to worry about that until after New Years.

So, do you want to see it? Well, I'll surely want to see it again someday (and that's what this is about, right?), so here it is...


Not the best pics, I know, but strangely my iPhone 3GS, with no flash, took better pictures than my camera. Fail camera. The issue with my iPhone is that all pics I take inside at night come out a bit yellow because of the light in my house. Sorry. The first one is my tree. The second and third are the garland on my bookshelf. The last picture is only part of a little Christmas tree ornament with bells hanging from it. The ornament was so big, I cut the loop off the top and have it standing on top of the bookshelf. It's much cuter than it looks in this fail picture... oh the things I could do with an iPhone 5 (*pout*). I mean, seriously, not even Photoshop could work its magic on these pictures. But whatever, you get the general idea.

Anyway, I usually put up my tree on Thanksgiving day, so a week a head of time isn't much of a leap. I love to see the tree all lit up and now I can add a pretty matching garland to the mix, something I've never bothered with before. I think I need to get one more garland and put it up on the buffet in the kitchen/dining area, then my decor will be complete and I'll be a happy camper. Time to bust out the Christmas music, maybe a bit of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Lady Antebellum or Stephen Colbert's "Another Christmas Song" to top off the Christmas spirit!