paper crowns

christmas tree festivities.

Our tree is up!

I live for all things Christmas and this is the first December in a long time that I've been in the same place two years in a row. That means that I actually had all my Christmas tree gear on hand and didn't have to brave the Black Friday masses by running out to buy hooks or extension cords or whatever! Kyle and I both grew up with real trees, but since we'll often be up in Canada visiting my family over the holidays, we figured last year that faux was the way to go. I love ours! We even bought these fir-scented sticks that you hang inside the branches and it makes it smell like the real thing! We hung an absurd, over-the-top amount on there last year and I feel sorry for any of our friends who entered the haze. I know it smelled like we were living in a tree.

I've collected a few of my ornaments here and there over the past couple of years, but most were acquired in a frenzy last December. I wish I'd thought to collect ornaments on my travels in Korea and beyond. I didn't buy any while living there because most things that expats buy in Korea never make it home. I think that's why I went so crazy with the ornaments and the tree and various decorations last year. I realized that after three years of living the buying/reselling/buying/reselling expat life, I could actually acquire things for my home that I planned to keep and carry with me. My own stuff! Ornaments for my tree that I take out year after year! I'm a huge sucker for holiday traditions and, as a kid, unpacking the boxes of Christmas decorations was the big annual thrill. It's this warm, nostalgic, comforting feeling that returns every December and never gets old. Getting to unpack a few ornament boxes of my own this year was the perfect way to kick off the season.

I'd love to make a new tree topper, a few homemade ornaments and perhaps a garland or two. Hoping to find time over the next few weeks! I made this ruffle tree skirt last year and it was... rigorous. It turned out great! But I was DIY'ed out for the rest of the holidays after taking that project on.

Oh! I wanted to take a minute to mention the pretty necklaces that I'm wearing in this post. They are handmade by Rachel of the Etsy shop Kokoro Kara, and she was kind enough to send me a couple as a gift. You can see the necklaces I'm wearing here and here. I love the colorblocking and pops of gold (made out of beautiful vintage brass beads!) and they've become a staple to my wardrobe over the past few weeks. If you'd like to purchase any of her lovely pieces for yourself or as a holiday gift, Rachel is kindly offering a 15% off discount code on your entire purchase! (just enter the code PAPERCROWNS at checkout.) She donates a portion of every sale to the World Wildlife Fund. A really wonderful thing indeed. 

Is anyone else in the holiday spirit yet? Have you amassed any sort of decoration collection that you love to pull out every year? Oh, and if you need a little help keeping up with the Christmas countdown, you might want to check out this Twitter feed ;)

a golden leaf garland.

I've failed to decorate my apartment with any fall/Thanksgiving paraphernalia this year, aside from a sad, last-minute attempt at carving a small pumpkin for Halloween, which wouldn't even light up. I attempted five different candles before abandoning ship.

I was in the spirit yesterday, saw my deer head on my living room wall, and decided to break up the expanse of white with a leaf garland for his neck. Bright red and orange leaves are becoming more scarce around here by the day, so I figured I'd put to use some gold craft paint that I had on hand!

Some crispy leaves + gold paint, stitched together (really gently!) with some transparent thread. I was expecting the leaves to fall apart with every stitch, but they remain miraculously intact! I'll probably switch up the garland a bit for Christmas, but it's nice to have a festive touch in here for now. 

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving to those of you in the U.S.!

fall in the mountains.

We encountered spiders, caterpillars and hay bales galore at a little orchard on our way to visit Kyle's parents the other week. Not pictured: me leaping in terror from the hay bale spider when I spotted the hairiest real spider I've ever seen, lurking in the shadows of one of its tube legs. This thing had lime green stripes, you guys. 

Fall in the mountains is like nothing else. You see it everywhere you go, every time you look up. A red, yellow and orange expanse, stretching into the heavens. This blazingly beautiful marker of transition, and my favorite season. Fall is fleeting, but the mountains give you more of it. A bigger screen, a broader scope. They pack more fall into your eyeballs in those few short weeks before everything fades to gray. 

It's November! An excellent month indeed.