Recipe for Two: Holiday Decorating

Congratulations on surviving Thanksgiving! We walked away with crazy family stories, per usual. What would the holidays be without a little crazy anyway? Now we are full on into the winter holidays and our house is already ready to go! Growing up my family used to wake up at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving to go to the tree farm. Grandpa HAD to be the first one on the lot lest some one steal our perfect tree. And after a rousing battle arguing over who had indeed found THE best tree, we would head to the mall for Black Friday shopping, return home and trim the tree. These days, we all avoid Black Friday shopping and hitting the tree lot when the crowds are around. Northern Virginia has gotten a little crowded for us to keep that tradition.

Instead, I asked my parents to bring me gathered greenery and winter berries from their woods home. I made a wreath and planter fillers for the front porch and of course, couldn't help but to tuck little bundles into glasses around the house. The fruit tree is also up (Here are some images from back in 2012!) and our house gave us an authentic 1960's aluminum silver Evergleam tree.

So let me just back up a second with that. Yes, the house gave it to us. When we moved into our 1890's home, the attic was packed with random boxes. The previous owner was supposed to clean it out, but once we caught his workers ALSO pulling out architectural features (like solid wood staircase posts and trim) we told them to just stop! It was a pain to remove all those boxes ourselves, but one gem we did find was this Evergleam tree. The house rewarded our hard work. This was the first year we finally decided, what the heck, we're sure it's missing some pieces and it's probably in bad shape but let's put it together. WRONG. It is in gorgeous, perfect condition and they're actually pretty rare to find! In fact, after a certain Charlie Brown Christmas special where the Evergleam was touted as the symbol of a commercialism Christmas, many people tossed their trees to return to evergreens. But lucky for us, these someones just put it in the attic. And now we have a kick ass Evergleam. 

I'm sure you all have a little crazy in your lives right now, but take a weekend or an evening and do a little holiday enjoying. It's worth it, even if it's just two of you in a house. Here's how to make it happen:

Make:

• Gingerbread pear cookies
• Light chicken and mushroom pasta

Nest:

• Music: I have Pandora's Christmas station on right now as I work, but if you want a full album OF COURSE I'm recommending Michael Bublé. 
• Put on something cozy: Break out the waffle knit and plaid! After climbing up into the attic (note...where we found a squirrel who had been playing with silver Christmas ball ornaments in the loose fill insulation. And that explains pawprints on my storage boxes!) and putting them back I'm totally ready to change into something cozy. 
• Put up simple greenery: I feel like people forget how beautiful just plain winter branches and greens are. I clip a few architectural pieces and throw them in vases or German Conservenglas (like above) which also keeps the cats out. For pre-lit greens you can use year after year, I love this simple design of boxwoods. 
• Light some candles: with the caveat that, please remember they're on! These Anthropologie gold pomegranates, pears and pineapples are AWESOME. They're a great double gift since you can use the holder itself after the candle is gone. 
• Coffee, hot chocolate and tea: Or all of the above. I like how these pottery mugs are simple but have interest because of the texture. 
• Wrap some gifts: I love brown craft paper for gift wrapping! Add your own twist by doing some painting on top or buying this cursive writing wrapping paper if you're all crafted out.