A Pine Old Time Decking the Halls

It’s tradition: the first full weekend in December, one of my best friends and her family and I all troop out into the fields of Western Pennsylvania in quest for the perfect Christmas tree.

This year was no exception.

Me, I have a particular penchant for a blue spruce. And with such choice at the tree farm, it wasn’t long before an excellent specimen was found-- tall, not so wide I won’t be able to walk through my livingroom, and mmmm.... pine scented! (That’s me below posing with the tree and looking a bit snow-blind.)



It was a sloppy, slushy day, so I was really glad I wore my Wellies!..



Here’s my friend’s little brother kindly doing the honors with the saw...



I’d tried my hand at this myself a year or two, but Josh is a whiz with the saw! In just a moment, the tree was cut and headed to the car.

Of course, no journey to this area is complete without a little bit of thrifting and antiquing. So along the way we hit the St. Vincent de Paul in Monroeville....



A brand new antique mall near Murrysville...



A Salvation Army and a second St. Vincents in Apollo, PA, along with the “We Miss Back When” Antique Mall...



And here’s what I found:



Would you believe the World War II souvenir pillow cover and the Victorian print from 1904 were both THRIFT STORE FINDS?





In both cases the prices were far lower than antique stores and plus, this way my money went to charity.

You also see above a couple of cute vintage hankies, two vintage cookbooks, an eccentric 50s pink glass lamp, and one plate in a set of crystal Depression glass-- Anchor Hocking’s “Waterford” or “Waffle” pattern. (I’ll be showing you more of this in a week or so when I set my Christmas table!) Nothing like helping to complete a set!
So, how did the trimmed tree turn out?

Here are just a few pics of what I’ve gotten done so far. Like the living room...





The dining room...




And the entryway...





The cardboard cathedral isn’t old and I bought it new, but the Christmas ornaments were from the thrift store.

Well, that about wraps it up for today. Next week I’ll share with you a little thrift charity project I’ve been working on, as a part of BlogCatalog’s Blogger’s Unite “Act of Kindness. See you then!