We bought that exact same tree-topper star and we are having trouble getting it to sit just-right on the top tree branch! The cone just seems too wide to fit on any branch. Might try doing what you did - squeezing 2 branches in there - when I get home from work today.

Aw! What a lovely tree! I love the topper :)

cute tree! I cannot bring myself to put one up, because I feel as though it would not be aesthetically pleasing when mixed with my home decor.

That's not really what I would picture your tree looking like.

ohmygosh! that is one of the most perfect trees I've seen! great job!!

Thanks you guys for the nice compliments! I was actually feeling so-so about the decorations.

Bobbi - I agree. I'm not sure what my dream Christmas tree would look like - but I do dig the clear ball ornaments. It would be rad to have a tree overflowing with just those and lights, perhaps.

I'm square in the hodge-podge tree camp. It should have your grandmas ornaments and your great aunts and your mothers and the ones you get as gifts and space ghost. I loathe those big packs of matchy matchy ornaments in big box stores. The best ornaments we have are older than we are and the ones I've found at yard sales. That is just me though. I think it has a lot to do with what you had growing up. Theme tree people probably had theme tree moms. My grandma sets up three trees every year and I could see that happening to me...Especially if I inherit her vintage foil tree with tri-color light wheel :D

Kevin - I agree. My mom even had this badass patchwork quilt tree skirt. My sister has a lot of our vintage ornaments - her tree is really cute. It's all candy-land hodge-podge. She kind of claimed all the cool ornaments before I was adult enough to have a Christmas tree of my own.

Those vintage foil trees are so badass (and worth lots!) - I hope you end up with it.

I love the evolution of your tree. It totally inspired me to make this post:
http://tubulidentata.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-tree-ideas.html

It's amazing how Christmas trees can become works of art.

Allison - I love those trees! I tried posting a comment on your blog but something is wonky and the comment screen won't load. Anyways, I'm dying over the first one and the second to last. So cute!

Thanks for letting me know, I think I fixed it now!

The second to the last one is my favorite. I love that it's bigger than the normal "tabletop" trees, but not quite full size. The red looks so crisp, especially against the white.

I'm so pleased with how my tree came out this year. It turned out to be the perfect tree I never knew I wanted. We have all these random ornaments that were gifts or inherited ones - the random Christmas tree was what I grew up with - but then when I added a bunch of real pine cones and pretty plastic icicles it kind of unified it somehow, and made everything match, even though it didn't really. I just keep staring at it.

I think it looks lovely!

That Santa is totally scaring me!!

Its funny you say you like the undecorated version because I think Im leaving my tree ornament less this year. It just looks so much more classic and sleek with just the lights to me. And I love my ornaments - im just taking a break from this year.

I think you should decorate your tree to match your kitchen! And get a smaller tree that you can put on a table. Either a white one with silver and lime ornaments, or a green one with white, silver, and lime. And of course clear. I like the clear ones...especially when they're filled with fun things like glitter and fake snow.

Aura - I'm loving the idea of doing a smaller table-top tree. And you know I love lime green. I just saw the cutest clear ornaments filled with nature objects on A Cup of Joe - amazing.

I saw those thirty minutes after I left you that comment! Actually I left her a comment saying that I had just got done telling you.