The Great Holiday Decor Struggle, 2008

With the party two days away, we are still decorating, looking, deconstructing, and reconstructing vignettes all over the house. Not to mention cooking. I read a blog recently which suggested I should not "stress" about decor. Ah. What? "Stress"? Wait. What? I don't even understand this language: Is this the native tounge of Laid Back Land? It is entirely foreign.

I am not stressed about it but I will get it right, no matter how slowly I need to take it to truly construct something beautiful and no matter how many angles I need to consider it from. I owe myself putting my abilities to the test and I owe our guests a lovely environment. No, I am not "stressed" about it, rather, I am committed. I am also quite certain Michael Caine in a movie whose name I cannot remember was absolutely correct when he said, "There is nothing easy in adult life." Or something to that effect. Consider your expectations managed: You are reading the work of a bobbed, manicured, lilty-voiced, country club Gimlet-y task master, drill sergeant, and perfectionist. Now that I have come clean on that, I can show you a couple of the issue-areas I am working on in between the cooking and cleaning and wiggling my nose at things I find less than Blushing Hostess-y...


A console in the dining room. What to put on the wreaths is driving us mad. We have tried several small grouped items, none of them are satisfactory.

One of the centerpieces to which fresh cranberries will be added. It has been reconsidered several times. Ugh. Are we there yet?



This part of the decorating is now referred to as Putting on The Dog and may indicate that we've gone around the bend but we remain fearless.



On we go.