Yesterday, we picked out our tree and the whole process was quick and easy. Instead of having to go to a couple of tree lots, we found ours at our favorite local nursery. The whole trip probably took 45 minutes. It’s up and the branches are settling and we’ll add lights today. Then we’ll enjoy the lights for a day and we’ll decorate tomorrow or Sunday.
Side note: Trees are incredibly expensive. Insanely expensive. This one was slightly over $100.
Yes, you’ll say ‘get an artificial tree!” But we have no room to store one and Don has absolutely nixed that idea. We had a chat about it the other day and he will not budge. A real tree means everything to him. I get it. I feel the same way. But hell’s bells, they’re expensive!
I’ve sold two more items from the Etsy shop and the second item will go out in the mail today.
Okay. Photos of the wallpapered cubbies. These are not the best pictures as shooting the interior of these spaces is like shooting a picture in a cave. I’ve tried and tried.
I used scrapbook paper that comes in a large size and pieced it together to fit the cubby. And it’s only on the back wall except for the cubby that has the bed.
Top shelf.
This was already in place – second shelf.
Third shelf.
Fourth shelf.
Fifth shelf.
Bottom shelf – which is truly the darkest and taking a picture involves lying down on the floor.
And then having to get up again.
This is blurry, but it gives you a sense of the whole thing.
I’ll try to get better pictures at some other time.
That pillow is there in case a doll falls. And that has happened. Basket of throws to the left. A very, very big McCoy vase on the right which I’m considering selling, but it’s very heavy and would cost a lot to ship.
A glimpse of the tree on the right.
The den is a notoriously hard place to get a good picture. Windows on three sides, but darkish.
Okay. I’ve messed with this enough.
Stay safe.
Happy Friday.
I love the decorated cubbies!! Especially the one with the bed – just adorable. Trees are crazy expensive. You probably do this, too, but we always put our tree outside for the birds after Christmas. We just leave it in the stand (which in our case is plastic), and move it to the yard. Then, later my husband chops it up for outdoor fires. And after that, I use the needles to knit dresses. Okay, I’m just kidding about that last part, but we really do all the rest. :)
We do that every year. We have woods surrounding us – on our property – so Don takes the tree up to the woods and leaves it for the birds.
Stay safe, Jenny.
glad it was easy for you and don to find just the right tree and that it only took one stop. also glad that you have a great place for it. they are expensive, but a tree at Christmas (whether artificial or real) is worth it, i think, and what i can see in the photo is beautiful! have some decorations out here and right now find them cheery (holidays are usually bittersweet for me … i am trying to focus on the sweet).
great job on the pretty wallpaper-ing of the cubbies. the deer and other decorations are sweet, too. thanks for the photos and appreciate what you do to get them (for the past three years, i can relate to “having to get back up”). i have a fondness for wallpaper and wish i could put some up at my place. i have a wonderful landlord who would probably allow it and i know there is supposed-to-be-removable wallpaper available, but i’ve read enough reviews about difficult removal that leave me leery … so plain walls it is … and one reason why i have so much art on the walls.
grateful to have been able to walk outside this week for how mild it’s been. good chance of measurable precipitation here tomorrow, but don’t know if it might be rain or snow. either is fine by me as long as we can skip the ice/sleet/freezing rain! hope you all have easy weather, too.
watching lots of birds (including seven doves in the tray feeder or waiting for their turn) and earl getting some food. love to see them. going to wrap some presents and finish knitting a hat this morning and enjoy time with members of my family.
i hope you all have a good day, too. stay safe.
kathy
ps … hopefully no blythes were hurt in the fall(s)! good idea about the pillow on the floor, just in case.
kathy
xo
Yes, I’d like wallpaper, too, but I’m too wary of the whole thing. And as you know, we have art hanging everywhere, so….
Stay safe, Kathy.
oh, i love art hanging on wallpaper (for some great examples, see the heidi caillier house tour on the schumacher1889 youtube channel)! a person would just have to be quite certain of what would go where or else learn to ignore holes in the wallpaper … as i do several empty nail holes above my desk and nightstand … haha.
kathy
Oh, I do, too. But this is a small house and it’s best to keep the wall a neutral color. Not only art on the wall, but on every surface, as well.
understandable. there’s at least one piece of art on every wall here except for two (one in the bathroom; the other a narrow wall/back of my coat closet that rather weirdly shows in the kitchen [though i’m grateful for the storage]). also, surfaces about 95% covered.
xo,
kathy
xo
back again. :)
no matter how much i enjoy looking at home tours (which is a lot … and that website has some great ones), sorry if it’s bad form to name someone else’s website on another website.
kathy
“And then having to get up again.”
This made me laugh so much. I saw something on IG the other day that said, “I remember when my body didn’t make so much noise whenever I get up.” Another favorite: “Being in my 20’s during the 70’s was more fun than being in my 70’s during the 20’s.” Amen.
I was wondering what trees go for these days. We went the artificial route once the kids were upper high school and no longer wanted to go out and cut one which we’d done their entire lives up to that point. Last year we passed that first one on to younger son who has a huge loft apartment now and bought a smaller tree for us. I’m too old to have to get on the step stool to decorate the upper branches anymore.
Your doll shelves are adorable. I’ve had that exact felt-like fawn so long I can’t remember where I got it which is a shame because I’d like to get another. Can’t wait to see what your tree looks like.
Take care,
Kay
It’s the darned truth! It is hard to get up and there are a lot of groans! LOVE your quotes! They made me laugh out loud.
Thanks so much, Kay.
Stay safe.
I love that Kay….”Being in my 20’s during the 70’s was more fun than being in my 70’s during the 20’s”! I’m going to have to remember that one!! ;)
It’s so true, isn’t it?
K.
I loved seeing all the girls at one time! It’s amazing how different they all look. I never get tired of seeing them. Enjoy the tree decorating!
Oh, thank you, Judy! That’s nice to hear.
Stay safe.
Have you and Don considered a tree that could be planted outdoors after Christmas? Create your own Christmas tree nursery for future use and help nature in all her glory as well. Loving the girls. Love the idea of collections also, but dislike caring for them, other than books.
We have hundreds of trees on our property already – trees that we already take care of. There is no room for any more, nor are we – as we age – ready to commit to caring for them.
Thanks, Martha.
Stay safe.
Love the cubbies! It’s a great way to display your girls. I especially love the last picture of all the girls.
We have had an artificial tree for quite a few years now and it’s starting to fall apart a little. We have talked about getting a little table top tree but I don’t think I’m ready for that. It seems like admitting we are getting OLD.
I can still get up off the floor too, so we aren’t that old!
Take care
I know! We had a table top tree for a few years because of travel, etc. We still have it, but we’re glad we returned to a big tree.
You’re right! Being able to get up off the floor means we’re young!
Stay safe, Marilyn.
Loved, loved the girls in their newly wall-papered cubbies looking so sweet in their cute outfits. You should have a contest to see who can name all your girls correctly, lol. The prize? A note of congratulations from you. Enjoy decorating your tree. Looking forward to pictures. Hugs, Elaine
Thanks, Elaine!
Stay safe.
Well, I for one appreciate your efforts to photo the cubbies and you did a great job with them, both photos and the display ‘case’ itself (but I always like every way you decorate anything, Claudia; you’ve got the eye and the knack!). As ever, I’m also always so impressed how, as a collector, you successfully CONTAIN your collections so that you can enjoy them without cluttering the space of your cottage which is of course a smaller space (like mine) than if you (or I) had a big McMansion with much more square footage. I totally love how you’ve got the Blythes together in the narrow, vertical cabinet. I may like it almost as much as the egg cabinet (my fave!).
I did read that if you have moveable shelves, you can take them out and then paper the rear of the bookcase (or whatever kind of ‘case’; can even be a china closet/hutch) somewhat easier (but not everything always has the moveable shelving).
Glad you got your tree; I definitely used to enjoy a ‘live’ tree; there’s just nothing that can duplicate the scent.
As for me, I’ve been thinking a lot of 2024 and how I want to live differently and more simply (seems to be a common refrain with a lot of us; maybe it’s our age). I’ve gone back in my brain to the past when I thought things were better; so, if better, how did we achieve that? There was definitely less technology (and less headline news) and I definitely had fewer material objects; rather, some stuff that really had deep meaning and memory for me; this has given me even more incentive with the downsizing-decluttering I’ve worked sporadically on FOR YEARS now.
Of course I’m nostalgic (and melancholy) for people I’ve lost over my lifetime now; missing their presence during the holidays; but I just want to replicate what I can of the good life we had when they were still here. One thing I’ve really been thinking about is a return to sewing, if my arthritic hands can take it. I have Mom’s sewing machine (from the 1940s) AND my grandmother’s treadle (from the 30s); trusty objects; reliable; metal parts, not plastic; they’ve seen a lot of life with more than one generation. I was just remembering the good vibe of going into a fabric store; choosing fabric so carefully among bolts and bolts of wonderful cloth; looking forward to the finished object. Since it’s a challenge for me to sew in many ways, I figure I definitely NEED to tackle that challenge to make my brain work better.
Something came up with a junior-high/high-school friend of mine with whom I’ve renewed contact over the past six months or so; just such a joy that he contacted me and we’ve resumed a warm and supportive relationship through the wonder of email (we’re both happily married to our spouses and have a shared love of our school life of the past, our town [of his youth], our dogs and hobbies. His wife makes the most gorgeous soy candles; he plants a lot of trees on his ten-acre farm out of state (a vigorous, daily, outdoor life for him in retirement). Both he and his wife are vegetarians of nearly forty years; quite healthy as they’ve turned age 70.
But he built an elaborate, precision-like, LARGE labyrinth on his property, which duplicates the floor at the cathedral of Chartres in France; it’s the most amazing thing; he hand-poured pavers and the circular paths. It’s a mathematical-genius thing, to me! He walks the labyrinth every single day; a walking meditation; very calming, to its center and back to the beginning; it grounds the thoughts and makes your brain focus on the activity of walking the path. I want to make a simple, smaller version of a labyrinth in my back-yard space in 2024; I think it would really help me with calm. There’s a lot of info about garden labyrinths on the web; you can even buy kits if you don’t want to come up with an idea yourself. Mine will be as simple as a dirt path lined with smooth, small rocks we already have in the yard; and, years ago, I bought a small ‘footbridge’ made of wrought iron, such that as you walk, you take two steps over this tiny bridge on a path, but it gives a sort of different ‘texture’ to the walk. (A labyrinth is not a maze, like a corn-field maze, which is meant to be a puzzle or to perplex. A labyrinth is the opposite; it’s to soothe.)
In the meantime, it made me sad today to read that the actor Ryan O’Neal died. Not that I was some big fan or that I ever ‘followed’ him, but I remember watching Peyton Place on television with my mom when I was a young girl; I think the other main character besides him was Mia Farrow. It was big-deal TV at the time. Then, of course, Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal in the film “Love Story” were huge in my teen years. I wanted to look just like Ali in the movie; wanted her preppy clothes; her hair; I remember thinking about it a lot. I recall in mags at the time, like maybe even Seventeen or possibly something like. I dunno, what would it have been, Good Housekeeping(?), one whole spread on the actress about how to do eye makeup, called “Ali Eyes” (natural look, subtle/earthy eye shadows) and of course I was again, YOUNG, and trying to learn how to do makeup and hair in my later teens, so I just gobbled up all that kind of stuff.
As discussed here before, any of us of a ‘certain age’ are seeing many of our pop-culture icons pass on as we were, a lot of us, at a similar age … the actors, the musicians, the sports figures; they all framed a lot of our youthful influence; but, if they’ve lived to their 80s like Ryan O’Neal, that’s a good-long life for which any of us can hope!
I’m looking forward to your decorated ‘real’ tree, your vintage ornaments including the Shiny Brites, your putz collectibles; I know you’ll treat us with some nice photos; I absolutely ALWAYS enjoy how you do up Christmas, Claudia; and I hope you and Don have a lovely weekend, relaxing, getting out your holiday treasures.
Thanks for the photos and post today. (Today and all year long!)
hej, vicki …
i am so glad you have nice plans just for you. the labyrinth sounds wonderful. may sewing be for you like knitting and painting are for me … fun, relaxing and encouraging (to see progress and end up with something usable that you made with your own hands).
go for it all!
hope all’s well and that you have a nice weekend ahead. stay safe.
kathy
Thank you for your nice words, kathy, back atcha!
Love the idea of a labyrinth, Vicki. We should all have one, shouldn’t we? A vehicle for calm and meditation. Go for it, my friend.
Thanks for your kind words.
Stay safe.
Those cubbies all decked out look great. Very different, yet cozy. Quite the group you have there…and the girls all seem to be happy in their cubby high rise…lol.
I used to be a natural tree only girl…and cutting one down with our sons was always a great family event. But as we got older and the little boys grew up into men and moved away, it was much simpler for us to have an artificial tree. I do miss the scent though!
Enjoy your evening! ;)
The scent is heavenly! Nothing like it.\
Stay safe, Donnamae.
Wow — you have quite the family! And they’re all darling! (But where are their Christmas sweaters!) By the way, I saw a few sweaters (bought one for my Happy Tree) and parkas at Target and need to go back for something else, so if you’re interested, I can pick up one or two for future family additions. If they have them!
I’m fine – I have enough sweaters and parks now, Jeanie.
The girls will not wear their Christmas sweaters until I take their group holiday picture.
Stay safe.
What a lovely display of your doll family. Very clever.
I sold Midge at a toy buying event. He offered me $100 right off and I jumped at it. Midge dolls on eBay were everywhere from $15 to $500. Of course mine was in the original box and never played with. I just wanted her to go to a good home.
Nice tree. Yes real is better. I consider it similar to a floral arrangement. They cost $100 or more now.
Great deal, Kay!
An expensive floral arrangement, Kay. But worth it.
Stay safe.
Claudia, I love All your Blythe dolls. The 1972 sweater is a fav. I have my dolls just on the dresser where I can see them so easily. Mine have fallen a few times. Can they break?
They can be damaged. Do you have stands for them? You can find them on eBay. That would secure them, if you’re worried.
Stay safe, Irene.