Decorating the Christmas Tree

It was such an exciting thing to get our first Christmas tree. As students there was no way that we had the money to waste on such frivolities, and our first Christmas after graduation was spent apart. He was in America and I was in England, living in London but spending Christmas in Hampshire with my parents. The following Christmas we visited my parents and then the next year we actually owned a one bedroom flat in London and bought our very first Christmas tree. Now we own two homes and have a large collection of Christmas decorations, but I can still remember going to Peter Jones on Sloane Square for our first ornaments.

I put up several trees each year but my absolute favorite tree is a metal one that is just decorated with silver bells and the red garland that I bought for our very first Christmas tree. I have a silver bell for every Christmas since we got married and then a second one for each Christmas since our daughter was born and a third one for each Christmas since our son was born. When they are each ready to have their first Christmas in their own home I plan to give them their ornaments and pass the tradition on. My collection includes any kind of silver bell so some are music boxes, some are sleigh bells, some are sterling, and some are silver plate. But they are all engraved with "Christmas" and the year.

Towle Musical Bell

Wallace Sleigh Bell

Sterling Bell

Holly Ball

As soon as the bell tree is up I'll post a picture on instagram for those of you who want to see it.

We also decorate a real tree in each of our family rooms each year and here are a few tips that I have picked up over the years.

Buy a large, sturdy stand. If your stand is too small or too flimsy your tree will fall over. Last year I bought the swivel tilt stand. It's a load of rubbish. Don't waste your money. Our tree fell over so many times that we threw it away before Christmas.

This is a great stand...

Buy icicle lights on green wire. Several boxes of them. Place your tree in the stand but wait until the next day to put the lights on. This will allow the branches to drop.

If this is your first year decorating for Christmas then take your time picking your theme. You want to pick something that you will love for many years to come and that you can add to over time. I choose silver, crystal and mercury glass as the theme for our main home. Our first Christmas in London I had a budget of about $45 (30 pounds) to spend on ornaments but I chose wisely because we still use them every year. As our children were born I started doing additional trees with their handmade ornaments in each of their rooms. 

For our second home we were in a very different position financially and so I was able to just buy everything I needed at once. I chose a bronze and gold toned theme. I bought boxes and boxes of ornaments, a beautiful chocolate brown tree skirt, two wreathes for the front door and yards and yards of garland for the railing. Add branches, picks etc for the mantles and tables and my town and country minivan was packed to the roof!

Silver, Crystal and Mercury Glass Ornaments

Etched mercury glass ornaments

Mercury Glass Garland

Silver pinecone 

Hand Blown Ornaments

Do you have a Christmas decorating theme or do you collect ornaments to remind you of places that you have visited? Do you buy Christoper Radko ornaments or shop at Target? It doesn't matter what type of decorations you use as long as you and your family love them.

      

Fairisle

My family loves fairisle knitwear. Living in the South it rarely gets cold so we don't actually need very many winter pieces of clothing but we can't resist the charm of fairisle. Plus, they're great for our annual ski trip.

Baby

Ralph Lauren

Men 

Ralph Lauren

J Crew

Lands End

Women

Dale of Norway

Gorsuch

ASOS

For the preppy on a budget eBay is a great resource for fairisle sweaters.

      

Friday 5 Favorite Gadgets

It's been quite a while since I did a favorite gadgets post and I have 5 simply amazing items to share with you.

Macbook Pro 15"

This is the reason that I am blogging again. I used to use our Apple desktop, while the other members of my family all had laptops. A couple of years ago I got an iPad and that was the end of me actually writing a blog. An iPad is fantastic in many ways but as an entertainment tool. I found it too hard to actually compose a post on it, so just ... stopped. Last month I decided to buy myself a laptop, and chose the 15" Macbook Pro. For two reasons, firstly because of the graphics and secondly because as a stay at home housewife I really don't care that its a little more cumbersome, I wanted the bigger screen. It's been a big hit because within two weeks of my getting it, my 16 year old daughter upgraded her 13" macbook pro to the 15" too. She is the editor of her schools yearbook this year and as soon as she saw how much better the graphics were on mine she wanted one too!

Simply Human Trash Can

Nothing dates a house more than not keeping up with technology so if you've been in your home for 5 years on longer then you may want to check out the new trash cans that are on the market. This one by Simply Human is amazing.

Bissell Hard Floor Vacuum

This vacuum actually gets the crumbs that seem to collect at the edge of your baseboards.

Shark Sonic Cleaner

Promises 1,000 scrubs per minute! Say hello to very clean hardwood floors. (But it terrifies poor Milly.)

HP Officejet Pro 8600 wireless printer

We recently upgraded our home printer to this wireless one, and boy are we glad that we did. All four of us have laptops and it just makes life so much easier.

      

Kate Spade Sale

Don't wait for Cyber Monday, there are some great deals to be had this morning! 

Shop the Kate Spade sale here.

Happy Thanksgiving

      

Signature Drink

Everyone knows that James Bond prefers a Martini. And that the girls on Sex and the City drink Cosmopolitans. What about you, do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage? Or do you order something different every time you go out?

I like wine or champagne with my meal, but prefer to start (or end) my evening with a cocktail.

During my twenties I was a gin and tonic girl. During my thirties I was busy with babies so a night out was such a rare treat that I usually took the time to read the drinks menu and started experimenting with different cocktails. That lasted for a few years but then one night I ordered a G&T and that has pretty much been my go to drink ever since.

Several new gins had been introduced onto the market during my hiatus so that now whenever you order it you are always asked which gin you prefer. I was determined to know the answer to this question so tested a few. I had long been a fan of Bombay Sapphire, went through a small Hendricks phase but then quickly settled on Tanquery 10. It was introduced in 2000 and is the only gin that includes fresh citrus which may be why it tastes so delicious since I prefer to add a slice of lemon in my gin and tonic anyway.

I have noticed that many American bars and restaurants use their soda gun when making my drink so have learned to request bottled tonic to avoid being served gin and soda.

Do you have a signature drink?

      

Custom Items

There is nothing more fun than having something made just for you, or more thoughtful than having something made for someone else. Sometimes it's as simple as adding a monogram or having an item of clothing tailored to fit perfectly, and sometimes it's as big as ordering a piece of furniture or custom cabinetry for a new kitchen.

Here are some different items that you can have customized:

Custom Furniture
One of the reasons that I love Ethan Allen is because you can customize their furniture. Like one of their chairs? Pick from one of thousands of fabrics. Picked out a pink sofa or chair? Then why not paint the interior of a library bookcase to match it?

Monogrammed Gloves - I saw these on Oprah's Favorite Things and they were definitely a favorite for me.

Monogrammed Shirt

Luggage

The navy and white bag is no longer available but a similar bag can be purchased here, the Keepall 50 is from here.

Bracelet

Signet Ring

Cuff links

Design your own suit or shirt at Brooks Brothers here.

I am currently waiting on two pieces of custom made furniture for the study at our home in Georgia. It's fun to design what you want, but the anticipation is killing me!