o christmas tree

it’s christmas time in the city! 

the christmas tree is one of my very favorite christmas traditions. we used to drive about an hour awhile every year with my aunt, uncles, and cousins to a family-owned farm. we always brought along ‘i spy’ books and played christmas songs (my mom would round up all the tapes… and then the cd’s!). the farm always had fresh apple cider, a warm, rustic stone fireplace, cats (i loved the cats!), and a donkey named rosa. we would all go out and search for the perfect one… sometimes it was bitterly cold and our hunt was much shorter. i remember layering with multiple pieces and lots and lots of socks. my dad would usually cut down the tree and when my brother got to be a little older, he helped as well. then we would all take a photo in front of the ‘country pines’ sign (usually wearing handmade puffy paint sweatshirts and big scrunchies). we watched as they wrapped our tree… i can still remember the sound of the machines, the chainsaws, and the smell of rich pine. i had a dream of one day taking my kids here … however, my sister and brother-in-law (who are both coming to visit tomorrow!!) went last weekend to cut down their tree and were informed that it’s their 50th year and sadly, their last year. however, we hope to find a similar farm in north carolina to create these memories at once our kids are old enough to take in the experience. did you cut down your own tree? there is just something about a real tree for me… 

so being able to take parks with us this year was so special

i have been going to this same market near uptown charlotte for the past nine years… it’s where we get our flowers/produce in the summer and pumpkins in the fall. and those windows in the distance are the hospital where we welcomed our sweet baby boy into the world. it snowed the sunday after he was born and i remember looking out and thinking about taking him here … and here it is! just like that.

he wasn’t so sure for the first few minutes… that face

and then he thought, ‘wait, this is pretty fun!’ 

we go to the simpson family tree market on kings drive in charlotte

they are seriously the nicest people ever

love going there!! 

e

his leather bowtie is from petite prairie 

we came home and started to decorate 

i remember my mom and dad playing records on our record player as we enjoyed hot cocoa with marshmallows while decorating… frosty, dolly + kenny, and the carpenters were always top choices

what a family selfie really looks like! 

i just love that little face

what are some of your favorite traditions 

&

real or fake?

stay tuned for the one we picked 

and how we decorated our first tree as a family of three