My tree, let me show you it
Though it has served me well, I decided to replace my small tree from Joann's this year which a larger one, primarily due to greater-than-expected keychain ornament acquisitions at Anime Expo. I started pricing out trees last weekend, and holy cow did they turn out to be more expensive than I was anticipating. Fortunately, after checking Target, Menards, Home Depot, and Hobby Lobby (which only had small, 2" trees and was a complete bust), I eventually recalled that K-mart is still around and even located right down the street from the Hobby Lobby.
Though K-mart mostly had the same display as everyone else, it also had a conveniently sized, not pre-lit (seriously, why are all the trees pre-lit?) 6' Appalachian Pine on sale for $25 that didn't look too obviously cheap. Hello, new tree!
Fresh out of the box, my tree could probably give Charlie Brown's a run for its money. It's the droopy top branch that really completes the picture.
Adding branches.
Ta-dah! The completed product.
Size comparison with my old tree. After this, the old tree will be sent into graceful retirement at my parents' house, where it will live to old age as part of my Mom's ever-growing fake indoor forest.
No, that is not a euphemism for taking it out back and shooting it.
Lining up the decorations.
The newbies from AX.
Decorating.
Due to its proximity to the hearth where all the ornaments were, this side of the tree ended up noticeably more decorated than the others. Probably not a bad thing, since it's the side I'll see the most anyway, but next year I'll be a bit more careful in spacing. Tree learning curve and all that.
The finished product.
Two great BIG pictures of the main sides of the tree are available here and here if you want to scroll around and see where I staged this year's Christmas Go match or whatever. Selected close-ups follow.
Let's see, I spy with my little eye two alchemists, four ninjas, a ship in search of treasure,
two dragons, a hat that talks, and a puss in boots for good measure. (Also, Canada.)
Ever since discovering poisonivory's journal, I've been getting back into Disney as a fandom, particularly the extended Duck family. (Kingdom Hearts may also be partially culpable.) So this Friday I was shopping at the mall, and thought I'd check out the new ornaments at Hallmark, as I do every year, and then not buy anything, again as I do every year, for while they are pretty they are also very expensive.
However, I really liked this one (it's officially titled "Wise to the Disguise"), since I think it exactly encapsulates Donald and his nephews, not to mention being all Christmasy, and mentioned as much to my mom. Mom then bought it for me as this year's decorating present. :D (She gets me and my siblings a new ornament or set of lights each year.) It really is adorable, though difficult to properly photograph. ^-^ I just can't believe I own a Hallmark keepsake.
I played around with a bunch of camera settings for these photos, and while just leaving the camera on auto flash generally resulted in the clearest images, they lose some of the atmosphere in the lighting. Ah, well. Mentally add a layer of light and sparkles to each image, okay?
Oh noes! An X-egg has gotten loose on the tree! We'd better call for Amulet Heart!
Is simply yelling OBJECTION! at the sight of Phoenix Wright characters played out yet?
I am amused that while Phoenix and Edgeworth are both pointing with great gusto, and Apollo is at least trying, Klavier is obviously just posing for his fans. (He's a rock star lawyer, if you did not know. That is, a lawyer who also does vocals and lead guitar in a popular rock band.)
I think maybe Naruto is trying to show Sasuke a new move? And Sasuke is not impressed?
Gon and Killua have finally escaped the incredibly boring Chimera Ant arc to explore new lands! - like my Christmas tree. Well, as long as they're together I'm sure they'll have fun.
...Germany seems kind of tense, but at least Italy's having a great time. He'd probably love a slice of traditional Cooper Christmas pizza, but as he is a fictional representation of a non-fictional European country, I don't think he'll be able to come.
There are also a number of doves and bluejays nesting the branches that are new, and some new general shiny round ornaments I didn't bother to individually photograph. (You can see them in the big photos linked above if you're really curious.)
Only 26 more days 'til Christmas!
Though K-mart mostly had the same display as everyone else, it also had a conveniently sized, not pre-lit (seriously, why are all the trees pre-lit?) 6' Appalachian Pine on sale for $25 that didn't look too obviously cheap. Hello, new tree!
Fresh out of the box, my tree could probably give Charlie Brown's a run for its money. It's the droopy top branch that really completes the picture.
Adding branches.
Ta-dah! The completed product.
Size comparison with my old tree. After this, the old tree will be sent into graceful retirement at my parents' house, where it will live to old age as part of my Mom's ever-growing fake indoor forest.
No, that is not a euphemism for taking it out back and shooting it.
Lining up the decorations.
The newbies from AX.
Decorating.
Due to its proximity to the hearth where all the ornaments were, this side of the tree ended up noticeably more decorated than the others. Probably not a bad thing, since it's the side I'll see the most anyway, but next year I'll be a bit more careful in spacing. Tree learning curve and all that.
The finished product.
Two great BIG pictures of the main sides of the tree are available here and here if you want to scroll around and see where I staged this year's Christmas Go match or whatever. Selected close-ups follow.
Let's see, I spy with my little eye two alchemists, four ninjas, a ship in search of treasure,
two dragons, a hat that talks, and a puss in boots for good measure. (Also, Canada.)
Ever since discovering poisonivory's journal, I've been getting back into Disney as a fandom, particularly the extended Duck family. (Kingdom Hearts may also be partially culpable.) So this Friday I was shopping at the mall, and thought I'd check out the new ornaments at Hallmark, as I do every year, and then not buy anything, again as I do every year, for while they are pretty they are also very expensive.
However, I really liked this one (it's officially titled "Wise to the Disguise"), since I think it exactly encapsulates Donald and his nephews, not to mention being all Christmasy, and mentioned as much to my mom. Mom then bought it for me as this year's decorating present. :D (She gets me and my siblings a new ornament or set of lights each year.) It really is adorable, though difficult to properly photograph. ^-^ I just can't believe I own a Hallmark keepsake.
I played around with a bunch of camera settings for these photos, and while just leaving the camera on auto flash generally resulted in the clearest images, they lose some of the atmosphere in the lighting. Ah, well. Mentally add a layer of light and sparkles to each image, okay?
Oh noes! An X-egg has gotten loose on the tree! We'd better call for Amulet Heart!
Is simply yelling OBJECTION! at the sight of Phoenix Wright characters played out yet?
I am amused that while Phoenix and Edgeworth are both pointing with great gusto, and Apollo is at least trying, Klavier is obviously just posing for his fans. (He's a rock star lawyer, if you did not know. That is, a lawyer who also does vocals and lead guitar in a popular rock band.)
I think maybe Naruto is trying to show Sasuke a new move? And Sasuke is not impressed?
Gon and Killua have finally escaped the incredibly boring Chimera Ant arc to explore new lands! - like my Christmas tree. Well, as long as they're together I'm sure they'll have fun.
...Germany seems kind of tense, but at least Italy's having a great time. He'd probably love a slice of traditional Cooper Christmas pizza, but as he is a fictional representation of a non-fictional European country, I don't think he'll be able to come.
There are also a number of doves and bluejays nesting the branches that are new, and some new general shiny round ornaments I didn't bother to individually photograph. (You can see them in the big photos linked above if you're really curious.)
Only 26 more days 'til Christmas!