O Christmas Tree

Jon and I made a trip to Lowe's and picked out our very first tree.  As you can see, Jon had a great time going through and pulling out all of the trees I wanted to see.  :)

It didn't take us long to find a winner, and I was ecstatic.  We brought home a 7' fraser fir.

I had heard a great idea from a friend to keep the bottom part of the tree trunk that gets cut off after you buy it and make an ornament out of it.  I'm not sure what I want to put it on it, if anything, but I think it will be cool to look at it in the years to come and always be able to remember our first tree.  So we loaded up the tree and the excess pieces trimmed from the bottom of it (these are a great to add around your house for free decor) and headed home.

I had already moved the bookcase that was in the corner of the living room to make a space for the tree. I knew I wanted it to be in our view if we were sitting on the couch (our usual hangout) that way we could enjoy it as much as possible.  Once we got it all set up in the stand, it looked like this.

I almost love it just as much in its authentic state with a few lights as much as I do all dressed up.  There's just something about rustic elements in a modern space that really appeal to me.  BUT since I had two boxes of ornaments I've been collecting over the past couple of years, I knew I had to put them to use.  And I must say, I'm glad that I did.  I'll post the "after" in my next entry along with photos of the rest of our holiday decor.