I am excited about being included in today's CURATED TREE Anthropologie online Magazine article that was just published on their site. I was asked to select a group of ornaments from their selection available in stores and online that would go well together. In addition to inviting me to curate a tree, Anthropologie also asked two amazing bloggers to curate trees: Jordan Ferney of OH HAPPY DAY and Shauna Alterio of SOMETHING'S HIDING IN HERE
Click HERE to see my tree as well as Jordan and Shauna's curated trees at Anthropologie
KEEP READING FOR FULL ARTICLE!
The ornaments I selected for my CURATED TREE |
Here is the full interview they did for the article (only a small selection was published):
A: What would you name your tree based on your ornament selection?
MH: Land
and Sea
A: Can you talk a bit about each ornament you chose. What does each add to your curated
tree?
MH: I
chose each of the ornaments for various reasons—mainly I chose keeping my “land
and sea” theme in mind. I am always most drawn to whites and metallic for trees
because they reflect the light so well and the whites are such a lovely
contrast to the green of the tree. The animals ground the “land and sea”
theme—as well as the boat, house and bicycle—I couldn’t help but include the
bicycle, my husband is an avid cyclist who commutes everyday on his bicycle. Of
course, I included the collection of porcelain animals of my own design, I cant
wait to see those on my own tree this year! I included the glass and mirrored
balls because they reflect light so well—and the holiday is very much about
celebrating light for me. The felt garland adds a nice texture—as do the
snowflakes. Last but not least, you have to have lights! I always choose white
or clear lights, a tradition I inherited.
my "land and sea" ornament collection available at Anthropologie |
A: How many of each style ornament do you recommend buying to achieve the desired look?
MH: The
animals and objects you could purchase 2-3 of each for a full tree. The balls I
would purchase more—maybe 4-6 of each. The snowflakes would do with at least
one if not 2 boxes. I would purchase enough garland to cove the tree
circumference about 4 times, so about 6 lengths would probably do it. I would
do the same with the lights—6 or so lengths. Oh—and you only need one tree
topper!
A: Tell us a bit about the tree you had growing up, and your tree today. What's
the same? What has changed?
MH: My
tree growing up is much like my tree today. We grew up cutting our own tree
each year. My whole family would suit up and hike into the woods near our home
to look for a tree that had recently fallen and was still green or we would
look specifically for a long-needled white pine. White Pine are a lighter green
and are more unusual looking than the traditional Balsam Pine. We always had to
wait until Christmas Eve to cut the tree and the wait was torture! It also
meant no presents went under the tree until Christmas Eve, so after attending a
candlelight service we would come home to a tree all lit up and presents were
there for the first time. We always were allowed to open one gift Christmas
Eve—a great tradition we have passed onto our own daughter!
A photo of my cousin juggling in front of my grandmother's tree, early 1980's |
My uncle Josh and cousin Noah (still juggling!) in front of my grandmother's christmas tree early 1980's |
A: Any tree no-no's?
MH: For
me, adding colored lights is a no-no. It is too distracting from the rest of
the loveliness of the ornaments you just put onto the tree. Also, the other
no-no in our family is a fake tree. You can find the most scraggly looking real
tree and it still adds so much to a holiday—from the smell of the needles to
the glow of the green.
A: What do you listen to while decorating?
MH: We
typically listen to classical music while decorating our tree. The go-to album
has always been Handel’s Messiah. As a little girl, I always asked to play
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet playing—a favorite still.
A: What are you eating or drinking when you are decorating the tree?
MH: My
aunt Kaela would always make fresh Egg Nogg with Bourbon for tree trimming on
Christmas Eve and being the traditionalists we are, we still make it fresh with
eggs from our neighbor’s chickens. Really, nothing quite compares. Our family
also has a tradition of snacking on pistachios during the holidays—something
about cocktails and family need the cracking of nuts and a raging fire in the
woodstove. When I am not drinking Egg Nogg, I am usually sipping tea of some
variety, my favorite tea company is Tea Guys—their teas are amazing and they
are neighbors, so its always easy to get more!
2 comments:
I love love this tree. Can you talk about how you made it, in particular what you used to secure it to the wall? I would love to make one with my childhood family tree in mind. Thanks!
@sarah. I didn't actually make the tree! The stylists at Anthropologie did. It looks like string, doesn't it? I would post a comment to them in twitter or on the Anthropologie FaceBook page. It would be fun to find out!
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