Christmas and Boxing Day Festive Three-Fer; Plus the Final Decorations on the Big Tree

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day, my friends! I hope you had a fun and chill day. Although we saw very few people, L and I still celebrated in style, joined by our dear friend, Nick. It was a bitter-sweet day, as we all missed Karen so much, but she was with us in spirit. 

I have a three-fer for you (three outfits "fer" the price of one!), and I have the final batches of decorations on the Big Tree to show you! Are you ready? Grab a handful of chocolate and a mug of something suitably festive and join me, won't you?

This is what I wore on Christmas morning. 

It's a variation on all the previous outfits worn with my Christmas Tree Skirt in the past - it's not a skirt I get really creative with styling, as it doesn't need much. 

• Cardigan - no label, thrifted; last worn here in September for a wee shop
• Blouse - CABi, thrifted; last seen here in September with orbs and sequins
• Skirt - handmade, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here in December 2019
• Shoes - Seychelles; last seen here (2nd outfit) earlier this month

As I mentioned, Nick spent the day with us - this is permitted under our current restrictions, that a single person can pick another household of up to two people as their "bubble". We couldn't leave Nick alone on Christmas! 

L and I were up early and did our stocking presents, then I we both showered, and got dressed for the day. 

I did have a house-dress on overtop of this (this one here, a snazzy vintage piece by Mr. Robert!) to keep my clothes safe while I made us brunch. 

I whipped up an egg, pepperoni, mushroom, pepper, onion, sausage and cheese scramble, with roasted potatoes, a buttered English muffin, and a half a grapefruit with raspberries. Lots of coffee, so that I was civil (heh), and we were set until dinner. 

Attempting to get Vizzini to hold still resulted in...a Three-Eyed Cat! 

"Give me more food or I'll curse you all!"

That totally won't work, Vizzini - 2020 has done that already (it feels like). 

He loved having Uncle Nick over - there was much rubbing and purring. 

"You didn't say Uncle Nick was coming, Woman! Let me down!"

This was a very comfy outfit to wear for the day. 

We watched a football game, as well as some comedy shows, and just chatted. We reminisced about Karen, so there were some tears too, but being together made it so much better. 

The stuff: 

I had my shoes on very briefly, then put my slippers back on. 

Gold bling: 

All my favourite seasonal jewelry. The big tree pin was a gift from Ev (Evelyn) who was my boss at Christmas House. 

• Belt - vintage 70s, thrifted, Powell River
• Bracelet - thrifted
• Star/snowflake bracelet and earrings - Metropolitan Museum of Art gift shop, NYC
• Small tree brooch - Avon
• Large tree brooch - gift from Ev

I pinned the cardigan shut with the big tree pin, and added the small one to the neckline. 

All ready for a Zoom call! 

L is wearing one of his nicest shirts (he has an amazing collection). 

And Nick dressed up in one of his fancy shirts, plus a bow-tie and waistcoat. 

Merry Christmas, my family! 

And a VERY Merry Christmas to L and me - we bought a new car! 

It's a 2017 Jaguar F-type convertible. Its name is Vlad, as the colour is called "Carpathian grey" -  it goes VROOM...really fast! L's been saving for 8 years for something really nice, and he loves sports cars; we've had two Miatas in the last couple of decades, but have been carless for 4 years while we saved money. 

Backing up a bit here, I wrapped L's presents on Christmas Eve and discovered that one of his gifts was a BARGAIN. 

Isn't that an awesome tie? It has a blue/aqua rooster on it, plus some irises at the bottom. 

I've never heard of Leonard Paris. 

It definitely has a Japanese vibe to it...

But it's made in Italy (100% silk), so I looked it up online...and they are 177 Euros each, which is $265.00 Canadian dollars. I paid $7.00 for this at Flavour Upstairs back in the summer. 

On Christmas Eve, while L and I played boardgames, Vizzini kept an eye on things. 

"I'll report any suspicious decoration activity."

We tucked a few presents under the tree for us, plus Nick's. 

And a few from Mom too! 

My stocking presents. 

So much chocolate! Yay! It's like Santa knows me. I also got some graphic novels, loads of boots, socks, tea, a calendar and gift cards to Flavour Upstairs and Turnabout. 

Vizzini got very interested in the Spinnakers chocolates so I had to put everything away. 

"I was looking for my present! Where is it?"

So we showed him his new snoozing house. 

"Really? That's it?"

He didn't seem too thrilled. 

"Maybe if you filled it with catnip mousies?"

Cats, never grateful! We opened the presents under the tree after brunch. 

I got a book of "Torrid Romance" comics from L, Fluevog gift cards from Mom and L, a Panthers ornament from L, and a lovely necklace and some handmade ear-cuffs, both from Mom.

I love the ear-cuffs! I wore the white and red ones right away! L also got me a gift certificate to the Patch. It's like he knows me. 

A closer look at the cool necklace from Mom. It's by Zsiska. 

The black ball is magnetic, and the necklace is adjustable to long or short length. Cool! Thanks, Mom! 

I changed in the afternoon, as I'd booked a Zoom call with my family, including my uncle in Melbourne, Australia and my aunt in Parksville (up-Island), as well as my brother (in Courtney), and my former sister-in-law and her daughters/my niece, and Mom. 

Of course, I had to dress up! 

• Dress - People's Market, consignment; purchased here for $12.00
• Shoes - Marc; last seen here in August with all the red and white

I wore my fleece-lined tights and had a football jersey over this for warmth prior to the call. 

The dress itself is cotton with velvet dots. 

The top sheer part has smaller dots. 

And the two snakes - which don't go all the way around (I'll let it slide) - are hand-sewn plastic crystals. They have red crystal eyes, which is why I went with red accessories. 

Including my Santa hat! For dinner, I cooked us a roast beef, peasant buns and butter, roasted potatoes, cauliflower and carrots, sautéed mushrooms, and stuffing, with onion gravy all over it. It turned out awesome and we were SO full after. 

L and Nick approved of this outfit, but once we finished dinner, all bets were off, and I changed into my very comfy house clothes for the evening. 

The stuff: 

Wearing my shoes around felt festive. Clomp, clomp, clomp. 

Black bling: 

A few sparkly things, and the ear-cuffs. 

• Earrings - vintage fair
• Silver/onyx ring - Toccara, vintage fair
• Fang cuff - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Sidney
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Ear-cuffs - gift from Mom

I took a screen shot during the call. That's my uncle Brian and aunt Joan in the upper left, me in the middle, my oldest niece, Zoe in the upper right (her mom was cooking turkey dinner in the kitchen in the background), and my mom below her, and my brother Dave on the bottom left.

Good of you to join us, Mom! She fell asleep by the fireplace and didn't wake up till I called her - she would have missed the call! So good to see the fam! I'm so glad I was able to facilitate this. 

Sadly, due to technical difficulties, my dear aunt Lois and uncle Brent were not able to join us, but Lois sent a picture. 

She's wearing a Christmas sweater and doesn't she look lovely in red? She's my dad's younger sister -I'm physically a blend of her and my mom, looks-wise, lucky me! 

After a late night hanging out with Nick, L and I slept in on Boxing Day, and hung out at home relaxing after all that rich food (and drink!) and chocolate we'd gorged on.

We had a Zoom call booked with our other family, our dear friends, in the evening. Again, gotta dress up! 

• Dress - vintage 70s, Ian Peters (attributed), consignment; purchased here for $40.00
• Boots - Teleport; first worn here in November with turquoise

I styled this up properly, including a necklace down the front. 

This is a super comfy dress to wear. 

I wrote this post while wearing it, in fact. 

You know, just chillin' at home in my sparkly black and silver dress, as one does. 

The stuff: 

I only wore the boots for the Zoom call (I have to get up and show off my outfit - my friends expect it!), and for these pictures. 

Silver bling: 

Just a few things that I love. 

• Belt - vintage 70s, thrifted
• Necklace - Dots
• Rings (as above)
• Earrings - thrifted

The Big Tree: Moons, Minis, and RANDO!

And here we are, at the last of the Christmas decorations on my big tree. We still have the village and my childhood ornaments to get through before the end of the year, and then I'll be done...just in time to take it all down!

I've saved some of my faves for you here, including my moons. 

This liquid gold moon has a silver star hanging from one tip - this was by Dept. 56 and was $19.95. It's porcelain. I loved these so much. 

I also love these porcelain moons. 

The colours are so rich, and they have that matte finish that I love. 

Purple, blue and gold. The points of the crescents are very pointy. 

These were $7.95 each. 

I also have a couple of acrylic moons. 

In red, and yellow. 

And purple. 

These were $4.95 each. 

This resin gold moon has three gold stars that dangle from the bottom.

This was $5.95. 

I liked these moons - they were carved from wood and handpainted in India. 

They were $7.95 each. 

These plastic moons live near the bottom of the tree as they can't be broken by inquisitive little cats. 

Purple, and teal. Such rich colours. 

You can see the gold backing on the India moon there too. These were $3.95 each. 

I have a collection of miniature fruit and vegetables. I like food on my Christmas tree. 

A red apple core...

And a green apple core. 

A strawberry. 

And a beet! 

Beets are so...festive, right? 

How about a slice of watermelon? 

These were $7.95 each (handmade stuff costs more!).

I don't really like carrots, but I do when they are roasted for dinner! 

Moving on, I put these minis on last, near the tips of the branches to show them off. 

My hand-blown glass hedgehog...

And my blown-glass frog. 

The frog looks rather flattened. 

Maybe he tried to hop across a highway? These were $14.95 each. 

I have some mini acrylic animals, which were $2.95 each. 

A fish. 

An elephant. 

And a seahorse.

I also have a red bird, which was $3.95.

And a faceted acrylic tomato. 

The tomato was $3.95 too. 

We had about 6 designs in this line of "animals on glass balls" - I bought three of them. They were $11.95 each. 

I had to have the possum - look at his curly tail!

I love the little mouse too.  

What a cute little thing! 

I didn't realize I had so many frog ornaments. 

This is a nice tropical frog. 

I like his grippy toes. 

I have some hand-blown tiny light bulb ornaments - these were $5.95 each. 

Yellow.

Blue...

And red. 

An assortment of acrylic shapes. 

The red star was $2.50. 

I love the rich orange of this one - it was $5.95.

We sold so many of these following ones. 

The big ones like this were $2.95. 

Green and yellow. 

This spiky drop was also $2.95. 

Purple! My favourite. 

This small acrylic drop was $1.95. 

One mini glass ball way up at the top of the tree.

That was $1.50. 

And this wee Santa was made in India and was $2.50.

That's it for the minis. 

And finally, the last of the decorations fall into the category I call "RANDO" - not just random, but rando! They are even more...rando! than random! 

This, for instance, is a glittery bird, possibly a dove. 

With a ribbon around its neck and a town on its back. 

You know, just like real doves, hee hee. This was $15.95.

I adore this...thing. 

I think he is supposed to be one of the magi, the wise men. 

I like the "flying" shape of him. 

And he has a wonderfully kind face. 

He has a couple of chips on this beard, so I think he was in the "take it" category, but these sold for around $17.95 each. I should touch that up with some paint. 

I love this polar bear. He's one of my favourite ornaments. 

I like his mismatched stockings and gloves. 

And scarf and toque. 

He was $19.95, and is by Dept. 56. 

As are the stockings, which were $24.95 each (not cheap!). 

They are sculpted by hand out of some sort of fimo-ish plastic clay. 

Purple and teal?

I swoon!!

I also had to get this stocking from the same collection. 

Pink and turquoise and purple and yellow. 

I love all this colour!

I don't know where this ornament came from. 

It's an empty hot air balloon, made of metal and resin. 

It's by Katherine's Collection and it's a mystery.

I think Mom brought these back from Holland for me. 

Little porcelain shoes! With windmills! 

I also have a rubber and leather soccer ball. 

I played briefly in elementary school. It was $5.95.

I love this glass and brass lantern. 

These were $4.95 each, and were displayed with the nautical stuff in the store. 

I remember that there were multiple designs of the "Whoops!" skiing snowmen. 

Yeah, that's about how I am on skis. These were $3.95.

I bought this decoration in the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas in 2002 when I went there on vacation with Tammy, my former boss. 

That was a strange trip. I'm glad I have an ornament to remember it by! 

I also have an ornament filled with real Tabasco sauce. It was $5.95.

I'm not sure why I bought it - I don't even own Tabasco sauce. 

We sold SO many of these gumball ornaments - they were $2.95 each. The red part is metal and the top is glass filled with tiny beads. 

They fell over a lot, and the tops smashed. Tiny beads everywhere. That happed on an almost daily basis. 

I have a cow skull! Yes, I do! 

"Southwest" was a theme in the 90s (it went with chili peppers, and cowboy-ish decorations). I just liked the skull. It was $7.95.

Remember the customer who sent me the Star Trek Romulan Warbird decoration? She included this "Happy Holidays Y'all" ornament. 

I think of her fondly when I put it out. 

And here we go, the very last ornament. 

It's a large empty velvet stocking, and was $5.95. 

So now, when you take a look at my tree, you can really see how many ornaments I have crammed on there. 

Feel free to click on the pictures to make them even bigger. 

I am so happy that I put my decorations up this year. They have given L and I a lot of joy and peace as we have gazed upon the trees and odds and ends of things. 

One last shot of the bottom. 

That just makes my heart happy! And I hope you all enjoyed this very thorough look at my decorations over the past 6 weeks (and if my house burns down, I've got a record for the insurance). 

As I mentioned earlier, we still have our village, and my childhood ornaments to get through, and I'm planning to get those pics posted by the time New Year's rolls around. 

And now, off to enjoy the rest of the weekend! I have a cat who needs some cuddling. 

There may also be some naps involved! 

Thank you so much for dropping by!