Weekend Wonders(Christmas Decorum)

This weekend was spent getting our apartment ready for Christmas!  Although we spend the week around Christmas upstate with family I like to decorate here to celebrate my favorite season.  Next week Mike will go to Italy for work, so I wanted to make it especially cozy for myself since  I will miss him immensely.  It is the first time ever he is going away, so I am a bit anxious about it.  The bright lights and smell of pine will most definitely make me more comfortable I think.
For the past two years I have decorated our tree with vintage jewelry from my great grandma and grandmother's collections.  It is the perfect opportunity to display such beautiful things, since they don't always make their way out during the year.  This coupled with classic christmas music, childhood memories, and my mom mom's christmas aprons in my kitchen make me nostalgic.  All of these things makes the spirit of my grandparents vividly come alive here.  Some of my favorite memories are at Christmas time, when their house was decorated and warm, with my grandpa playing Christmas music in the living room, and chatting about his latest Christmas gift find.  I miss him especially during this time of year.
We also did a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend as well.  The store were bustling, and it felt good to feel the holiday energy alive and well.  It's this energy that makes this time of year so special to me.