Nah. It's fake. I'm allergic to the real thing. The two of us can still eat at the table. We just have to scoot the tree a little. If we have people over, we'll just put it on top of the dog crate for a couple of hours. :-) PS I need some hints on making those two poinsettias survive (hopefully) past the Christmas season.

Bwahahahahahaha! I know a woman in my park for whom I used to do dog sitting when she was out of town. She had a two and two, about 1600-1700 square feet. And the first time I walked in there in December I was absolutely floored. Decor was everywhere in the living room, the kitchen, the den, the laundry room/back entrance and the front porch. When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere but the ceilings. it didn't matter if the surface was vertical or horizontal. It was covered. Her bedroom had empty boxes stacked all over it. (That couldn't have been all of them either because of the amount of Christmas stuff. Maybe the others were in the shed temporarily.) I spent ten minutes wandering and staring before I fed Susie so unhinged did I feel. Later, a close friend with whom I shared the dog sitting duties told that Ellen told her she kept all her decorations in a rented storage unit the other eleven months of the year. All I can remember thinking is "She pays to store them???" She could have easily opened a store. No therapist, no garage sales. It was amazing, and I like to think that it was influential though I tended more toward the minimalism range myself already. Ironically, there wasn't a single thing I would have taken from her if she offered it to me.

What a treat, thank you, Gizmo. I’ve passed his house many times (taking a shortcut) and it’s so charming. I saw his IG account the other day and was enthralled with his main tree … it made me want to chuck ours and get a flocked tree covered in tinsel. :) I sometimes get holiday decor at the store he mentioned (his other tree) — At Home. It’s a warehouse full of goodies. Used to be called Garden Ridge. Anyway, what beautiful decor full of character. I love vintage, too, it’s so nostalgic, warm, and cozy. He’s done a wonderful job with it all. I just want to curl up with tea, a good book, Christmas music softly playing in the background. Wonder if I could invite myself over? :D The Santa cups/bottlebrush trees on the jars are a great touch. So creative. And his mantel — wow! DH loves vintage ornaments … we get some every year at our local antique mall, usually in their original boxes. They go on our main tree. I’ll bet Leben is a frequent shopper at the same store! I’d like a tour of his house during non-holidays, too, I love his style. This has been one of my favorite videos. Allison, there’s a beautiful old house not far from me that has a similar old sleigh out every Christmas. I love it. I’m thinking of starting a bottlebrush collection, especially vintage ones. I only have this one so far, on my hutch with my snowman village on my old cake plate. The rest of my holiday decor leans more elegant, with a touch of rustic … this hutch is my nod to nostalgic and folksy: My DH made the 1937 Ford above from a kit, Metal Earth brand.

The only holiday would be Halloween. It tends to fill the living room. But I have a village collection and miniatures that sees rotation year round. I do more seasons and some vignettes. After Halloween there tends to be some Autumn action, beer festing, food vendors. Winter is a season, sometimes there is Christmas on the holiday, sometimes I forget Santa. There is usually a ski resort, lots of kids playing in the snow, winter shops. Spring is a season of outdoor things, gardens, fairytale villages and stories. Summer gets a parade with floats, a band, and a carnival at the end.. there's usually an old world or two in there somewhere between seasons. Right now in the nook is a dozen merchants of things like distillery, lantern shop, tea shop. Testing out some new lights I got after Christmas clearance.