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!

10 comments:

Rosemary said...

Yay,
You have a comment section now. Glad to see your blog is working now.
Love the tree!! You look adorable in your wellies. It looks so cold there.
You found some great stuff at the Thrift stores!!
I also love your glittery houses.
Have a great week Jenn!
Rosemary

MS said...

It is good to see a picture of the blogger too, and not just her creations. :)

One suggestion. I would not insist on bloggers having a Google identity to blog. Make comments open to anyone and just leave moderation turned on.

If you do insist on logins, then use Blogger in Draft's dashboard, which lets you open up logins to people with other online identities too, including AOL and OpenID. Here's the link: http://draft.blogger.com/home Set you're commenting preferences there and you'll be good to go.

Jenn Thorson said...

Thanks, Mark. I did just fix that, as I hadn't realized how it was set. It's sort of like having a new car-- you've got figure out where everything is. :)

Fabulous Photo Gifts said...

Hi Thrifty... nice wellies? (has that been said before? )(lol), amazing that you can just wander out into the wilderness and chop down yourown tree!

Looks like you had a good 'haul' from your thrifty shopping.

Merry Christmas! Jonathan
P.S your blogger blog looks fine - there are some blog dressing and optimising tips over on our blog if you get a moment. Tag clouds and social bookmarking icons etc.

Jenn Thorson said...

Thanks for checking it out for me, Jonathan! Best of luck to you with your shop/blog this Christmas.

--Jenn

crpitt said...

I love the wellies!!!
I just have boring green ones that stub my big toes at every step :)

When I go up to Scotland to stay with sister for Christmas we are going into the forest to get a tree (steal one).

Looking forward to next weeks post :)

Unknown said...

Wonderful finds.I too am in the Pittsburgh area and find lots of goodies in my thrifting! Merry Christmas.

Carrie said...

Great to see your Christmas decor. Beautiful trees.
Do come see my holiday home soon:
http://oakrisecottage.blogspot.com/2007/12/my-holiday-home-part-i.html

Carrie

Deb said...

Hey Jenn.....I'm so glad you have a comments section now! I loved looking at your Christmas decorations (again!) and reading about your venture into the country to get your tree....Blue Spruce is my favorite too! It's been years since we've had a real tree b/c so many people have allergies so looking at yours was a real treat! Merry Christmas!!!

Debbie

Greg said...

Ooohhh, I stayed away too long...you got a whole new look and Comments and everything!!

What a beautiful tree...and all your decorations! I'm especially fond of the cardboard houses...just *love* those.