Feeling Festive

We weren't feeling much in the ways of a real Xmas tree for our tiny little apartment, so instead, I went for this banner of little ornaments and cards that I've collected and gotten as gifts

& lined the bookshelves and windowsill of our apartment living room with festive holiday lights. (Honestly, these were up way before Thanksgiving and secretly, they aren't coming down until after Valentine's Day. Shhh don't tell Brad!)

Ooo and check out my new holiday look. I got to help Brad's mom put up her Christmas decorations on Black Friday this year and it was so nice. My bracelet is a piece that fell off the tree, hehe. (Brad did accuse me of stealing. SUCH a Momma's boy.) 

Their tree is covered in ornaments that they've collected over their family's life- it's really a family Christmas tree. It never occurred to me before then that maybe that's the point of decorating Christmas trees. So nostalgic. Even the tree they've had since they moved there. And it's enormous! My family does some nostalgic ornaments, but mostly it's color coordinated with our current house decorations. In the 7 years that Brad and I have been together, I've never really taken a good close look at his family's Christmas tree so getting to decorate it was a really nice experience.

I'm starting to get really nostalgic and emotional lately. My mom says it's because I'm getting married; I think my state of craftsomnia may have something to do with it, but generally I feel like this lately. 

Happy Holidays, everybody.