Watching: The New Girl. I love every episode more than the one before.
When you get to be a wise old sage like me, getting fun mail in the mailbox (and not just student loan payments) can be a very exciting treat. When I get Christmas cards or notes or, heck, even Sephora catalogs with my name on them, I do a little dance down the driveway like so:
But today? Today was severely amazing because I got a sweet note from Kristin, who runs Sew Technicolor (a very whimsical blog and Etsy shop). And inside Kristin's sweet note was an ornament she made:
Of The Eiffel Tower! And. And! She added a line from the post that I wrote about The Eiffel Tower earlier this year, when I said I like that particular structure because it looks "like steel and lace."
I thought my heart might thump right out of my chest. The ornament now has a prime spot on my Christmas tree, so that I can point it out to everybody who walks in the door. After Christmas, it's going on my wall of inspiration. Right beside my picture of Dolly Parton. Thank you so much Kristin!!! I am floored. I can't believe I get to display your art on my tree!
You people are the sweetest. And that's a fact.
I've been writing a big long book post that I'm hoping to share tomorrow (about some reads I'm looking forward to in 2012). But right now, I'm typing in front of the Christmas tree and thinking about all these ornaments. Most of the ornaments on my tree have a sweet story behind them. There are a few stories that I'd love to type up and share before the holidays are over (we gift ornaments pretty often in my fam, because that makes for a sweet memory when you put it on the tree each year...).
I'd love to know if you have a favorite ornament on your tree. Or a favorite decoration you put out each year. Is there something you display around the holidays that holds an extra special meaning for you? Do you like to make ornaments? Do you ever shop for quirky ones to give as gifts?
In other news, I'm wearing snakeskin jeggings to the Christmas service this week. Because pants that work for church and Bon Jovi concerts circa 1987? That's a wardrobe staple! (But seriously - the print is very subtle. They can look surprisingly dressy. I know you don't believe me, but I can prove to you that they're fun.) (#shacklemyheart!)
I'll catch you fine people down in the comments. ;-)
Kristin is SO COOL. :) I love her art, and that ornament is adorable!
ReplyDeleteMy own ornament collection is a little out of control. It's a mixture of childhood memories, my massive (and highly quirky) Hallmark ornament collection (I go for Indiana Jones and superheroes, etc.) and random treasures that I've found or been given as gifts. It's fun. :)
Oh that ornament is so very pretty! And that post of yours--the Eiffel Tower/steel and lace/movable feasts--it's the first one I read on your blog, and still one of my favorites of yours. (:
ReplyDeleteIn my family, we all get a new ornament each year, so usually they're all linked to specific memories...whether we got them on our summer vacation or it represents something we did/loved that year. It's so special and such a fun tradition.
oh my gosh, what an awesome ornament! so cool! i loved that post about the eiffel tower...my favorite...like steel and lace:)
ReplyDeleteLF
That's so pretty! I love decorating the tree. We usually get an ornament wherever we travel and my brother and I pick one every year. It's always so much fun to pull out the big box and see all of our special memories :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so awesome, Natalie. :) I'm glad that you like the ornament! I'm also glad that you can read what it says. It's hard to embroider small words. When I finished it and showed it to my mom, I asked her what she thought it said, and she said something that included "store" and "love." :) But after I explained, I think she saw it.
ReplyDeleteI love ornaments- making them and finding quirky ones. My mom buys me and my brother an ornament every year and has since we were born. This year I picked out a Humble Bumble one (that is apparently the name of the Yeti in the old Rudolph TV special...though I'm not even sure he's actually called that in the show).
~Kristin
So, so pretty!
ReplyDeleteMy mum bought me Big Ben this year, and I love it. It's small and shiny and perfect. It's about time to go back to London. :)
What a great ornament! I love Christmas traditions... my family has been going to Myrtle Beach, SC for summer vacation since I was about 11, I believe. So it's been 14 years now that we've gone, and every year we get a Christmas ornament from this little shop there called "Love from the Carolinas." There are two rules - the ornament has to be beachy in some way, and they have to say Myrtle Beach on them. So my parents' tree is now covered with... Palm trees with Christmas lights, Santa in an inner-tube, Snowmen on water skis...you get the idea. :)
ReplyDeleteHope your holiday is as special as your tree, Natalie! :)
I love Kristin's ornament! She is so talented! :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite ornament would now have to be the sparkly "B" ornament that my future mother in law bought Tucker and I. She couldn't wait until next year to buy us an ornament so she bought it on an outing to Pottery Barn. I love how sweet she is and as an engaged couple, I'll always remember it. I also have several homemade ornaments from my mom's childhood, and a beautiful china ornament from Germany when we used to live there. I love the quirky, homemade, handmade, a bit imperfect ornaments. I think they are the best ones.
My favorite ornaments are the ones my mom has bought from traveling around the state and the nation. There are two in particular: they're gold cutouts of New York City and Tahquamenon Falls {a waterfall in MI's Upper Peninsula}. I love to travel, so anything that reminds me of those memories is a favorite.
ReplyDeleteEvery year on Christmas Eve my parents give my big brother and I a new ornament to put on the tree. It's a tradition that I get Precious Moments ornaments. Coming home from the church service at night and going into the living room to plop down on the floor with my brother to open up a new ornament makes my heart happy. Every time. :) Thanks for sharing the Eiffel Tower story! very sweet :)
ReplyDeleteRuth - I'm a Hallmark ornament fiend! I know the Indiana Jones you speak of. I always consider making Valentine's Day cards that read: "Kali-maaa .... Kali-maa, Shock-tee-day!" ... and sketching a heart underneath. But sometimes people don't Temple of Doom V-Day stuff.
ReplyDeleteKatie - ... I might steal your Big Ben.
Steffanie - I love the quirky too! Those are the sweetest kind!
Anon - that sounds like such a sweet tradition! What a cool thing to open on Christmas Eve. My sister used to collect Precious Moments so every time I see them, I think of her. They have the sweetest faces!
Thanks so much for the buttons and bookmarks, I asked my mom, "Did you get the mail?" and she handed me a package with my name on it, I got so excited! (:
ReplyDeleteThanks again!:)
my family lives in kenya, and so on our tree, amidst all the homemade childhood ornaments and random other ones we've collected from the various places we've lived along the way, are a set of safari animals (a lion, a giraffe, an elephant and a zebra) and a Maasai angel. Which all just makes for one big eclectic mix all over our tree and I love it.
ReplyDelete(by the way, I love that you asked this question, Natalie, because I was seriously planning to write a post on these ornaments! :] )
Snakeskin jeggings? I'd love to see those!
ReplyDeleteI've totally been blurking lately, but still reading (always). Anyway, I'm popping out of hiding to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous 2012. Oh, and to formally request photographic evidence of said snakeskin jeggings. ;)