Why I Oughta...

Yesterday, I updated my annual Christmas Tree Tracking series with a post about our Family Room tree - a Fraser Fir from Wisconsin .   This post documents the smaller tree in our front room - the Green Room that has far less ornaments.  It is in the front window and is the one that's visible from the outside.  This is...Nat's tree.  The other one is for the rest of us.   I've been tracking these trees on the blog over the years. This is the 19th tree that I've documented. Here's our 2022 Green Room tree - a smaller, but properly-scaled Fraser Fir Here's our 2022 Family Room tree - a perfectly shaped Fraser Fir Here's our 2021 Green Room tree  - about 6' tall.  Here's our 2021 Family Room Tree  - between 8' and 9' tall and picture-perfect shape. Here's our 2020 Green Room tree  - about 6' tall in total and perfectly shaped. Here's our 2020 Family Room tree - about 8' tall in total , but really nicely shaped. Here's our 20...

Below is a photo of our second Christmas tree - the Green Room Tree - that is now standing tall and proud in our front room. This is the tree you see from the street and the one that is full of white lights and vintage ornaments.  Otherwise known (at least around here) as Nat's 'fancy tree'.    Over the weekend, I shared a photo of our Family Room tree .  This one is smaller, less girth-y and is 18" or so shorter.  But, just like the one in the family room has a lovely shape and, similarly, came from Wisconsin. I've been tracking these trees on the blog over the years. This is the 17th tree that I've documented and is the second one of this season (2021). Here's our 2021 Green Room Tree . Just like in years past:  a little smaller than Family Room.  But just about perfect-looking.   Here's our 2021 Family Room Tree - between 8' and 9' tall and picture-perfect shape. Here's our 2020 Green Room tree - about 6' tall in total and perfect...

 On Monday, I posted a photo of our family room Christmas tree .  That was the larger of our two trees from Evergreen Acres in Wisconsin.   I said at the time that the tree was the 13th Christmas tree that I've posted about over the years here on the blog and the fourth Family Room tree in our house in Downers - that we moved into in the Summer of 2017. But, that was wrong.  I forgot to include our Green Room Tree in 2019 to my list.  So, technically, Monday's tree was the 14th.  And this tree makes 15. For our new house, we've been here for four Christmas seasons: 2017, 2018, 2019 and now 2020.   In each of those three previous years - and again this year - we have a second tree in our house - a smaller tree in the front room.  Or, Green room.  Or, Library.  Depends on who describes it.   This year - like previous - we cut down a smaller Fraser Fir and Nat decorated it with vintage ornaments in our front window.  Her...

This is the second Christmas Tree in our house this season.  I covered the first one - in our family room - here on the blog .  This one is in the green room.  Or 'quiet room'.  Or library.  Or front room.  Whatever you'd like to call it.  (We call it all of those things, btw.) This is a small Fraser Fir and this is very much Nat's tree.  I put it in the stand and keep it watered.  But that's it.  She dressed it up with ornaments and her special spherical lights.  And then keeps this room as her room for the season.  It is a special place at night when the lights shine and warm up the room.  There's a little couch on the opposite wall that you can (if you're invited!) sit and take it all in. Compare the tree to last year .  The carpet is new, but the tree is just about the same size.  Looks great.  As I mentioned in the post about our Family Room tree , I've posted about our Christmas trees since 20...

Back in September, Nat and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary.  10 years.  Holy cow.  I find it so hard to believe how lucky I've been.  Although I failed at *some* of years in terms of delivering to her the 'traditional' anniversary gifts, I've tried to stick to the plan.  For instance...nine years is pottery.  So, I got her both a flower pot and a glazed tile.  Ten years?  The traditional anniversary gift is tin or aluminum .  That one had me scratching my head.  I try to buy something vintage for these gifts and all my searches turned up housewares (platters or toasters or serving utensils) and I knew those wouldn't work.  But then I found this Merry Christmas banner.  It is tin.  Or maybe aluminum.  Not sure.  But it *is* metal and super thin and foldable/bendable/creaseable.  It was broken at the time - cut into four segments.  But the price was right - $5 - and I figured I could ...

We have a room in our #newoldfarmhouse that goes by a bunch of names:  the front room, library, green room, quiet room.  It is your normal formal(ish) living room.  But...Whatever we call it, it also is home to our more 'formal' Christmas tree.  And is a nice little tree to experience. I posted a photo of our Family Room tree yesterday.  That tree is big, gangly, colorful and full of ornaments of various shape and kind.  This tree?  It is understated.  Short (like seven feet tall), white lights, nicely-shaped and has all of our vintage Christmas ornaments on it.  It fits perfectly into our Green Room.  Like last year, it is a Fraser Fir and glows from the front window .  I've posted about our Christmas trees since 2010 including yesterday's tree. Here's our family room tree from this year (2018) that I posted yesterday . Here's v1 of our 2017 tree - our first in Downers Grove.  Here's v2 of our 2017 tree - the one ...