*trimming the tree*

{finally...this past sunday...b and i had a chance to put up our tree. let me just say how weird it was to be listening to Christmas music all the while still seeing the halloween decor

hanging around the house...}

{we started out by putting together our fake pre-lit tree....which about 3/4 of it actually lit up. we really did not feel like going from branch to branch to find the dud bulb...so we added a couple extra strands of lights....i love trees so much better when there have a ton of twinkling lights....}

{just a two or three years ago...we completely changed our tree decor from silver and white to a more warmer palette...the reason...these vintage bulbs (above) from my grandma. she was downsizing her ornament collection and i was so very lucky to be there to scoop some of the beauties up! i told my husband that i really wanted to incorporate these into our tree...but with silver and white my grandma's bulbs would not quite work...so we changed everything....}

{so we started off with these simple green, cream and copper colored bulbs from the Martha Stewart collection at k-mart....}

{then we added some finds from crate and barrel...}

{and some more the next year...again from crate and barrel...}

{each year since then...we've added a couple pieces here and there...like this new one we just got over the weekend. it's made by a neighbor of ours...she takes gears and adds some fun glitter to them...i love how she repurposed the gears to make them "tree" ready...all i needed to do was just add one of our green ribbon hangers to it and it was ready for our tree...}

{but no matter how many ornaments we get for the tree...the ones that will always be my favorite and be the most near and dear to my heart are the ones my grandma gave me....

i will cherish them always.}