Tag: pink Christmas tree

  • Cottages and Bungalows Christmas Issue

    Cottages and Bungalows Christmas Issue

    Cottages and Bungalows Christmas Magazine 2013I got word last December that a magazine was interested in featuring my house in their 2013 Christmas issue. A couple of weeks after the initial email, Cottages and Bungalows had arranged for a photographer to come and shoot my home, all decorated for the holidays. And now, one year later, the issue is out on newsstands!

    I knew which rooms were being shot of course, but I had no idea they would use all of the photos in a ten-page spread. I was out to lunch with a friend when I saw it, and whoa, was I excited. It’s so fun to see the pink Christmas tree in print, and for the old house to get one last hurrah!
     
    Cottages and Bungalows Magazine Christmas Issue

    Cottages and Bungalows Magazine Christmas Issue 2

    Cottages and Bungalows Magazine Christmas Issue 3

    Cottages and Bungalows Magazine Christmas Issue 4

    Cottages and Bungalows Magazine Christmas Issue 5

    Thank you, Cottages and Bungalows!

    p.s. If you’d like to see more details and get a little more information on those decorations, I wrote about it last year, here and here. It’s kind of cool to see how different it all looked in the magazine’s photos versus mine.

  • Christmas Decorations (Part 2: Downstairs)

    Christmas Decorations (Part 2: Downstairs)

    Yesterday, I showed you the upstairs, as it is decorated for Christmas. Today is all about the main floor.

    PInk Christmas Tree

    I did find a better place for my DIY Colorblock Christmas trees than the dining room hutch. I split them into two groups and put half on a side table, along with a snow globe, little brass tree, and tiny deer. I have a lot of deer in the house right now. I put the others on the coffee table. I added a poinsettia (poisonous! [oops, they’re not]) and my Eames bird (sharp little spike feet!) for the photo shoot, but those are both now safely out of reach. The kids play on the coffee table everyday, so I usually keep it completely cleared.

    Colorblock Christmas Trees

    Fa la la la la, pink Christmas tree.

    Pink Christmas Tree!

    So, the pink bulbs. They’re not my favorite. I love (LOVE) my pink Christmas tree, but I’ve always wished the bulbs were clear. Well over a third of them were burnt out, and we’ve tried many times to find replacements. Last year, I called Treetopia (the company I bought the tree from) to ask about replacements, and they said that they couldn’t help. This year, I tried again because we had the magazine shoot scheduled, and I didn’t want a bunch of dark spots on the tree (since I’m sure the pink tree is what they were most interested in). Apparently you can now buy replacement bulbs, and the “lightbulb specialist” I talked to said that they were available in clear with a pink base. Huzzah! Two weeks went by, and I received my bulbs. I ordered 250 clear bulbs, I received 50 pink ones. Better than nothing, but not what I was hoping for. Thus, the onslaught of hot pink lighting. Supposedly replacements will be on their way, probably sometime in January. I like pink as much as the next person (OK, way more), but I want those clear bulbs.

    That was a fun tree-light diatribe. Onward, to the dining room!

    Christmas Living and Dining Rooms

    I picked up all of the mercury glass on sale from west elm, and the banner across the window is from Minted and Alt Summit. The rest of the table setting was done with what we already had on hand.

    Christmas in the Dining Room

    There are a couple of kid-friendly flameless candles in the corner, and a few twee vignettes in the hutch. Our stockings are hanging by the built-in, and that area has also been de-coned, as noted. There was just too much going on over there. Related: Oh look, more deer!

    Dining Room Christmas Details

    Christmas Ornaments, Christmas Tree on a Toy Car

    This is what the table will look like when we host a family brunch on Christmas Eve. Except, you know, with food. I’m angling for Chilaquiles. That’s sort of festive, with some red and green, right?

    Dining Room, Set for Christmas

    I’m looking forward to seeing all of our decorations as photographed by a pro. I’m not sure if I’ll get a sneak peek, or if I have to wait until next year when the magazine comes out. I’m eager to see it though! When I was contacted for a possible shoot, I responded “you know our tree is pink, right?”

    Seriously, those clear bulbs need to get here.

    Dining Room, Looking into the Living Room at Christmas

  • Some Christmas Decorating

    Some Christmas Decorating

    So. Speaking of sequins, they’re featured prominently in my home for the holidays.

    Sequined Pillow

    The house may be photographed for a magazine (to appear in a Christmas issue next year), so I’m feeling extra pressure to do it up right.

    Pink Christmas Tree with Pailettes

    I bought our pink tree in 2009. Three years later, about 1/3 of the lights have burned out. Supposedly a “lightbulb specialist” will be calling me tomorrow so that I can place an order for replacement bulbs. I’m hoping I can get clear ones because when the tree is fully lit with its pink bulbs, the effect is a bit bordello-ish.

    Pink Christmas Tree

    I have more to do (the pressure!), so there’s more to come. Next week, most likely.

  • Santa Visited

    Santa Visited

    The kids have a new favorite toy, and so do I. And Santa filled our stockings with fun things. (I forgot to show you this little part of our home, all decorated for Christmas. There are brass deer.)

    My Secret Santa was good to me too. I still don’t know who it is though! Another package arrived, this time with a set of personalized colored pencils nestled in more pink tinsel. Eleanor has been decorating the tree with the sparkly pink garland.


    And then, a separate shipment arrived. Is it from my Secret Santa as well? It came directly from the shop, so no packaging to tip me off. It’s from someone who knows me well though — I wrote about wanting one of these camera straps a while back.

    Santa is very thoughtful.

  • Pink Christmas

    Pink Christmas

    It doesn’t feel like Christmas around here until the pink tree is up.


    I still wish our tree was a little taller. We have the 6′ tall version, but it’s a bit dwarfed by our 9′ tall living room. I noticed a new, lighter pink tree is available this year! Kind of makes me want to sell this one and get the other in a larger size, but I do love our little pink tree.

  • Kid-Friendly Pink Christmas Tree

    Kid-Friendly Pink Christmas Tree

    Our home is a bit of a mess right now since we’re going through the basement remodel, but we do at least have our pink Christmas tree up. Eleanor is a year and half old now and we weren’t sure how she would be with the tree, so we decorated it entirely with unbreakable ornaments. We’ve been reminding her to look but not touch, and she hasn’t touched them since the first day. She’s happy just pointing at the tree and exclaiming “birds!”.

    I know a pink tree isn’t for everybody, and it’s pretty close to Christmas now, but I put together a design board to show you how I made our tree kid-friendly. Not all of the items on our tree are available because we’re using things we’ve had for years, but if you’re looking to do a pretty and unbreakable tree at some point, I hope you’ll find some ideas here. With our without pink.

    • Gold Pailettes Pick, Martha Stewart for Kmart (2009)
    • Pink & Red Pailettes Pick, Pier 1 (2007)
    • Clear Plastic Ornaments, Amazon
    • Silver Starburst Ornaments, available individually at Crate & Barrel stores
    • Barcana Wooden Tree Stand, Amazon
    • Feather Bird Clip Ornament, Pottery Barn
    • German Glitter Star Tree Topper, Pottery Barn
    • Pretty in Pink 6′ Christmas Tree, Treetopia

    And if you want to see more of our pink tree (bedecked with lovely but delicate ornaments), be sure to check out our home decorated for Christmas last year.