Decorating our home...

One of the benefits of being in San Francisco for Thanksgiving was that we could decorate our Christmas tree early and enjoy it for the entire month of December. So, we began in earnest Friday morning after a hearty breakfast including some fried potato patties courtesy of our Thanksgiving feast. (Honestly, who can really make mashed potatoes for two and NOT have leftovers!)

The before and after pictures below are really quite striking. Jeff is the stylist for our tree...and I think you will have to agree that the tree is truly quite beautiful. Our collection of ornaments is very special to us. We've assembled an enormous collection of special ornaments from our travels together (e.g., Florence, Hawaii, St. Michaels), some pieces Jeff has collected, some handmade ornaments from friends (and one I made as a child), and several pieces from my grandmother and our friend Nancy. We've added framed pictures of Jeff's neice and nephews, and a handfull of White House historical ornaments. This is a special tree.

Jeff made the comment tonight that we should leave our decorations up all year. :) So tempting. Between the tree, the garland, and our fireplace, we simply don't want to leave the living room. Dobie certainly agrees...she LOVES the fireplace. (So do we...it is COLD in San Francisco this week!)