Oh, Christmas Tree...

It's one of my favorite times of the year. As hard as it is to believe, the Christmas season is upon us! So this past weekend, Erich and I took on the adventure of finding our perfect Christmas tree. We'd decided we would go early Saturday, something I especially looked forward to after the Tribe's heartbreaking loss on Friday night. When I first looked outside on Saturday morning, I saw beautiful, wintry sunshine, but I knew it would be cold - the coldest morning of the season so far, in fact, with temperatures in the low 20's. So armed with fleece, gloves, and Roots gear, we headed out for our first (and arguably most important) stop of the whole morning: a coffee shop.

Brew Nerds is a really cool shop in downtown Winston. Although they claim they serve 'coffee for smart people,' they let us drink coffee there, too. And we've quickly learned our favorite drinks. Below, I took a break from my 'Moravian Cookie Latte' long enough to capture a shot of Erich enjoying an 'Original Sin.' Perfect way to start our day.



Then we hit the road. During our search for a Christmas tree last year, we headed up into the mountains, selecting a tree farm off (and I mean, way off) the beaten path. We loved the tree, the folks who worked there, and the hot apple cider. And our original plan was to go back there again this year. But with time drawing a little shorter this season, we elected to head out to a tree farm we'd heard about here in the Triad. Naturally, we had to listen to the holiday episode of Car Talk along the way. It's one of Erich's favorite things ever on a Saturday morning. (I secretly like the show, too, but do not let that get around.) When we arrived at the tree farm, we saw lots of different options, most of which were pine or spruce trees. Although we thought many of the trees were beautiful, we worried about the stability of the branches for hanging ornaments. Erich's concern here is obvious...



Fortunately, we decided to explore another possibility. I had read of a family-owned tree farm up in Jefferson, North Carolina. Wisely, they decided to cut several of their Fraser fir trees each week and bring them down from the hills. Before long, we found the 30-foot Santa Claus signaling the entrance to the lot. We immediately knew we'd be able to find our tree there. I guess we just love a good, old, classic fir tree. Without too much trouble, we both honed in on a beautiful 7-foot tree. In no time at all, our tree was trimmed, netted, and loaded into the back of the truck.

Once we got home, Erich hauled our tree into the house all by himself. Beast. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, we started bringing boxes of lights and ornaments out of storage. To the tune of Feliz Navidad holiday music, we wound our way through a tangle of garland and lights. Several strands later - and with all the bulbs working! - our tree was finally lit. With egg nog for nourishment, we soldiered on, hanging ornaments with Tar Heels and Scarlett O'Hara and even a tiny flat-screen TV depicting the theme from 'SportsCenter.' Finally, the star was placed at the very top, and our work was done. To be sure, I'm a little biased - but I think it's the most beautiful tree. And while it probably isn't perfect, it really is the perfect tree for us...