A Small Christmas Tour

Our house is smaller, so our decorations are downscaled a bit. But that's okay because I got it all up before Thanksgiving and we had an early Christmas with the in-laws. I'm getting ready to take it down, but before I do, here's a little tour.

We had a fake tree from Target, but one section of lights crapped out last year. I just made-do and strung some lights across it. It was good enough. So this year I started to put it up, but when I checked the lights, all but *one* little strip at the bottom of the tree were out!

So, I the next morning I went to ... (duh, duh, duuuuuh) Mallwart. Yes, I did. I was on a serious budget and I needed something right then. I browsed the trees online at Mallwart, Target, and Hob Lob. Mallwart had a cute flocked tree for cheap, so there you go. I hate that store. Hate it. But in these times, I'm sorry, but budget wins out.

And it's a pretty gorgeous tree, I must say.

And guess what? There one damn spot where the lights crapped out! One evening the Hubby noticed they were exceptionally bright, and when we turned it on the next morning, they were dead. You get what you pay for, and that's what I get for shopping at Mallwart. Next year that spot will go to the back (provided no other lights go out), and then we will get something else after that. Jeez.

(There's a little preview up there of the kitchen. There are these weird folding doors with sheer fabric panels. Those ugly babies will be out of here as soon as the tree is down. That cabinet behind the chairs is gone, and there is a whole wall of new cabinets in its place.)

This is the bookcase on the other side of the wall unit. That "believe" is all red, glittery goodness. I bought the flag at The Elephant's Trunk Flea Market the fall before we left Connecticut. It might be hard to see, but the round silver tray is collaged with a picture of my sweet grandmother in her garden, photo by my cousin Jon.

This is the bookcase below the TV. Those little silver cups are (I think) antique ice cream or sherbet dishes from someplace called Snow's. It has the name on them in a font that has snow on top of each letter. They are so cute. I coveted them at my favorite store, Taken for Granite, but they were a little pricey. I went back a little after Christmas and they were in the sale shed for 50% off!

My poor husband got worked to death over the Christmas break. We had a whole kitchen's worth of new cabinets from Ikea that we never used. Out of those cabinets I got pantry storage in the laundry room, an 11' wall of kitchen storage, a craft room, and a workshop for Hubby. Over the break, he built all that (except the laundry room one) and we made the family room/teen cave in the basement.

I'll post pics as soon as I can. They might be a little crummy as I broke my camera and have had to use my phone. Phooey!

Update: I called WalMart yesterday and went around and around with an assistant manager who said I couldn't return the tree, not even for a store credit, because it was a seasonal item and I didn't have the receipt. I argued that while that is true, it is still defective and didn't even last through the season it was intended for! And once I plugged the tree in and everything was fine, why would I have kept the receipt? Because I should have expected the lights would die on it so soon?! I offered to bring the tree in and plug it in for him so he could see I wasn't just "renting" it for Christmas and then trying to return it.

So last night I wrote a nasty-gram to WalMart on their site, and got a call today from a different assistant manager than the one I spoke to yesterday. She said to bring the tree in tomorrow and she is going to give me a store credit for the full price. I would rather get my money back so I could get a tree elsewhere next year, but that's okay. I know that if I returned anything there without a receipt that's what I would get in return. So, I'll use this to get another tree next year, and I will keep the receipt FOREVER! So, the squeaky wheel gets the grease -- or the persistently complaining customer gets the store credit. :-) Just wanted to give credit where credit was due.