Nobody can say that Elvis isn't festive.

This is how my life-size cardboard standup gets in the Christmas spirit every year.
The majority of this post is going to be dedicated to my Christmas tree. Obsessive? Maybe. At least I'm not a Grinch (*cough*like my brother*cough*). This is my tiny tree, not the one my post is dedicated to. This little tree stays up year-round in my room and showcases my Elvis ornaments.

When I took the ornaments off this year to put them on my big tree this past Thursday, they were so dusty that Elvis had grey hair. And, as we all know, Elvis
never, ever had grey hair. It was practically illegal. I took that as a hint (along with the fact that I could write my Christmas greetings in the dust on my furniture) that it was time to dust my room. I did so after I decorated the tree, and my bookcases thanked me.

The tree that this post is dedicated to is a vintage 1960's (somewhere around there) aluminum tree that I got at an estate yard sale after my great-uncle and great-aunt died. It was about $5, and online they are ridiculously expensive, so it was quite a thrifty buy. Okay, so it's not the prettiest tree ever, not the most logical fad that ever hit America. But that's okay. It's very unique. It actually reminds me of something from Whoville. And putting it up is a long process. It's basically a wooden pole with holes drilled in it, and you have to put all the shiny branches on it. Each branch is in a little individual brown paper wrapper. It's sort of cute. Even if the branches occasionally shed little pieces of silver on the floor, and I have to crawl around and find them before my fat cat tries to eat them.

Here is what it looks like when it's finished. Not so pretty, I know. And the fact that it's cramped in a corner doesn't help things. But hold on...it gets better! I promise.
It comes with a little color wheel. It's a plastic wheel that attaches to a little spinning thing with a light bulb that shines through it. This is what you're supposed to use, instead of lights. It actually looks really pretty in these pictures, but in reality it doesn't light up the whole tree, only the bottom of it. Which makes it look like someone spray-painted the bottom and left the top. So I like to put two strings of lights on it. Here's with the color wheel:

Notice the big flower things on the ends of the branches? They remind me of Dr. Seuss's Whos for some reason. It's very whimsical.

So I put two strands of blue lights on it, which is not easy. Because the branches fall out when you try to wrap the lights around. Anyway, the blue lights and blue ornaments, plus all of my Elvis ornaments and a few of my other favorites. Tradition alert: Every year since I was born, my mom has bought me (and my brother) a Christmas ornament (occasionally more than one, but usually one). So I have a whole box of ornaments that I put on our real tree in the living room. There's everything from a "Baby's First Christmas" carriage, to Eeyore, to Harry Potter, to handmade ones with glitter and my school picture on them. This is the beautiful ornament I picked out this year, to reflect my newfound love of sewing.
I believe this one was last year's, or either one Mom actually gave to me for Christmas (I get ornaments very often as gifts, especially from my piano teacher, who started the Elvis obessesion). It is so obnoxious, but I love it. The headlight lights up, and it plays "Santa Claus Is Back in Town." Speaking of obnoxious, just wait until I post a picture of my Elvis stocking. It is the tackiest, coolest stocking ever. I'll give you a hint: think white jumpsuit pants, blinking lights, and a song.
My family went to Disney World for the first time over Thanksgiving week in 2006 (we went again for my senior trip this past January). Everything was beautiful, already decorated for Christmas. This was my ornament for that year. You can't really tell it, but the little hanger has mistletoe hanging above them.

So here is the finished tree. I just love it! In reality, it's not this bright of a blue. The silver sort of gives it a strange teal glow. Sort of like the glowing glass of milk in "Suspicion."

Last Thursday evening, me and Mom went to a musical program at the local university called "A Mini Salute to Broadway." I had to go to something for a fine arts experience and write a two page paper about it, so that's what we chose. We were planning on going to hear the Army Field Band and Soldier's Chorus, but then we saw this in the paper, so we sort of ditched that. I feel slightly guilty, like I let down the army or something. Anyway, the program was a lot of fun, but my favorite part were the songs from classic musicals, like "The Sound of Music" and "Fiddler on the Roof." I love musicals.
Last night I was in the mood for a Gene Kelly musical. So, partially to please and support the US armed forces, and partially because I hadn't seen it in quite a while, I watched "Anchors Aweigh." It's such an adorable movie, with great songs and great dancing. I sort of have a thing for Navy guys, especially if the guys are Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Plus, my grandfather was in the Navy and a Pearl Harbor survivor. But I don't want to talk too much about that now, because I'm planning a special post about that on December 7th. And I'm hopefully going to include lots of lovely pictures of my grandpa in his handsome Navy uniform in Hawaii and at home.
I only have school tomorrow and Tuesday, and I'm super excited. I have a lot to do, though, homework and presentation stuff. Plus, I'm hopefully going to catch up on my NaNoWriMo novel. I go through spells. One week, I go days without writing and nearly give up. Then suddenly, I get motivated and go write several thousand words, which is what happened this weekend. I'm nearly halfway through now, which is so nice, even if I am a week behind. I'm hoping to catch up this week and cross that finish line!
Finally, I have a slight disclaimer of sorts. Just to avoid any confusion about my last post, I wanted to say that I did not make those owls in the picture. I'm planning on trying to make some, but I highly doubt they will turn out that cute, and I did not make those particular ones. I found them on Etsy and don't want to take any credit. But aren't they adorable?
Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)