Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

Our tree is officially DONE and we couldn't be more thrilled.  I'm not sure why it took us so long this year! But my mom and I both agree it's our favorite tree so far (: Decorating the tree is my mom and I's favorite part of Christmas.  It's out thing each year; just her and me.  Listening to Mariah Carey, Amy Grant, and Steven Curtis Chapman while decorating is always a memory I hold close to my heart.

The theme is Winter Wonderland, so appropriately, we had our live oh-so-yummy-smelling-tree flocked.  We've only gotten it flocked once before, but I'm growing particularly fond of it.  We don't get snow here in California, so a fake supplement sure is fun! Here's how it turned out:

{Lights dimmed}

We filled in with white and gold poinsettias,

lots of sparkly ornaments, 

& used some bright red ornaments to pop off the white tree.

Ornaments are a big deal in our house.  My brother, Colin, and I have been collecting them since we were born.  Each year we get a new one from my mom and dad and grandma.  I've been blessed enough to get one Precious Moment ornament each year from my grandma, so I'm up to 20- counting this year!  They're so special to me.  

This one is especially close to my heart because- if you can keep a secret- I may or may not still sleep with my baby blanket.

Another favorite, because I adore The Nutcracker.

Some of my other personal favorite ornaments I've collected over the years are:

{Baby's first Christmas}

This one happens to have a switch on the underneath side that plays music.  Being a total music person even from a young age, my mom says this was my favorite ornament when I was little just because of the sound.  She said it was almost annoying so precious when I'd make it play for hours (:

I'll leave you with the whole room's appearance.  I'm sitting in here looking at the lights as I type this and am remembering why I love this time of year so much.  It's the one time of year that it's appropriate to have  unreasonable amounts of glitter, sparkle, and extremely high electrical bills from all the lights (:

Oh! PS. Look who found her stocking on the fireplace hearth today! 

This is her "I know I'm not supposed to be up here but I smell my bone that was in the stocking last year and I'm so happy I found it" face (:

I'm sharing this post with Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Party as well as:

 Stop on by! And be sure to come back tomorrow for Courtney's guest post!

I can also be found at Imagine. Create. Play taking part in Amber's fun series!  Go check out her adorable blog (:

Love and Winter Wonderlands,