Tree #1

When I was a kid, I decided that when I became an adult with my own Christmas tree to decorate, my tree would be only decorated with blue lights and silver balls.  Simple.  Elegant.  Perfect.  Enter adulthood...and who can resist those sentimental ornaments from childhood, gorgeous ornaments collected from random travels, handmade ornaments the kids' tote home from school, and the crazy ornament gifts from well-meaning relatives.  

Paul and I decided a few years ago that the solution to my problem was to keep one tree in the dining room where it could be seen from the street, my pretty tree, of course, and another tree, the family tree, in the living room with all of our fun, sentimental ornaments on it.  We accidentally (providentially?) bought the perfect pre-lit half-tree for our dining room at an after Christmas sale.  What is a half-tree?  I'm so glad you asked.  We somehow missed that tidbit of info on the tree box, but a half-tree is literally that...a half of a tree.  The stand has only two points that lean toward the front and the branches are stripped from the back half of the tree.  Kind of crazy idea, until you try to put a full-size tree in a corner of the dining room.  The half-tree is actually the perfect solution...who knew?!  (Now replacing half of the white bulbs with blue bulbs was another story altogether...thanks, Mom!)

This weekend we'll be visiting a Christmas tree farm, since about an hour west of here you can find Christmas tree farms the size of Rhode Island on nearly every hill, to pick out our family tree.  I'll be sure to post pictures of that one later.