Monday, January 4, 2010

Oh, Christmas Tree!

I am well aware that Christmas has come and gone, and that everyone has moved on, but I'm also well aware that I completely forgot to post pictures of my Christmas tree and other decorations (another time, another post) and so ya'll will just have to deal :)

Our family room tree - my absolute favorite thing about Christmas.



Throughout my life I've had people say things like "that outfit it so YOU", or "I was out and saw this one picture that just screamed ANDREA" or "that paint color could not be more YOU". I've struggled with what that meant, and whether or not it was a good thing (ha!) and have determined (or at least this is what I'm telling myself) that it means maybe a little bit ecclectic and a little bit "out there in a good way". Well, if that's the case, then my Christmas tree is very "me". I absolutely swoon over the decorator trees that you see in stores and in the homes of people with way more style than me. :) I covet the coordinating ornaments, color-matched ribbons and general perfectness - everything that isn't my tree (especially this year when multiple ornaments were hanging on the very bottom branches thanks to Luke)
My mom has given me an ornament every year since forever ago and Dave and I started exchanging Christmas ornaments almost 10 years ago as well. We also pick them up when we go special places or to mark special occasions and now we're buying Luke an ornament every year (as is my mom!) So, here are a few of my very favorite ecclectic ornaments along with why I love them so much:
My very first year of teaching one of my students surprised me with the "12 days of Christmas". On the 12 days before Christmas I received sweet notes and gifts that coordinated with the days of the song (think 5 golden rings equals 5 Krispy Kreme donuts). They were delivered to my desk when I was out of my classroom, my mailbox at school, my front doorstep at home, and the windshield of my car. I NEVER found out who did this for me and it was one of the sweetest things ever. This bird ornament was nesteled into some greenery surrounding a pear-scented candle on the first day to represent a partridge in a pear tree and every time I look at this ornament I'm reminded of this sweet, anonymous gesture that absolutely made my Christmas that year:
My freshman year of college I took the money that I had saved up and bought myself the coolest car ever... a vapor blue VW beetle. I LOVED that car and how cool it made me feel and a few years ago Dave gave me this crystal beetle to commemorate it:
Growing up my brother Mark and I used to be obsessed with the show David the Gnome (remember, they had a fox named Swift?!?!). For some reason my mom had matching David and Sarah the gnome ornaments (probably because of Mark and my passion for the show) and it didn't matter where she put them on the tree, Mark would secretly hang the ornaments next to each other. So when I moved out and got my own Christmas tree I moved David to my house and usually by the end of the season, Sarah is hanging next to him:
This was a picture taken of Dave and I when I was 15 and he was 16. We had only been dating for a few weeks and he drove to Witchita Falls by himself with my parents to watch me perform with the Metropolitan Winds. This picture isn't from that particular performance, but of one in the Meyerson. We look SOOOOOOOOO young!
Luke and Gibi have watched for the mail truck and the mail lady almost every day that she's watched him and so this year his ornament from her was a mail truck: In college Dave and I took a spur-of-the-moment trip to NYC. We were only there for 3 days but we managed to cram in Rent, Chicago, The Producers, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a tour of NBC and CNN, a movie sites tour, the museum of natural history and central park among other things. It was absolutely exhausting (and we went the week before exams!) and freezing cold, but was one of the most fun and memorable trips we have ever been on:

Some of the ornaments are from cut-throat ornament exchanges and everytime I look at them I am reminded of my victory over my friends :) hahaha My mom gave me this ornament the year she taught me to knit and she and I spent every Saturday (and LOTS of money) at our favorite yarn store, The Woolie Ewe:

This was the ornament that Gibi gave Luke for his first Christmas:

Can you spot the Starbucks cup?!?!?! I have seen the red cup ornaments on several other blogs and have been hunting around for it, but only came across the clear cup. It's not the red cup but it still tugs on my heart strings everytime I see it!
Well, until next year Christmas Tree!
(unless Luke finds you stashed behind the couch since that's where he keeps looking for you)

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