a veritable christmas extravaganza went down at the hunt abode this past saturday. i kept telling the kids, “the extravaganza! it begins this saturday! it’ll be an extravaganza!” basically seeing how often i could use the word extravaganza in one minute. turns out, i used it a lot. with thanksgiving officially behind us, we went full-force into the fa-la-la season with a visit to a tree farm. jordan had bball and nathaniel was at school so it was just the five of us. we started with breakfast at our favorite local bagel shop. they make the best ever french toast bagels. like best ever. then we headed over to a tree farm to pick out the perfect one. we normally do the whole lot-farm thing but goodness gracious, the tree farm was an event! tractors take you out to the fields, you search and search, cut it yourself, carry it to the car (is this all sounding like a lot of work and you’d rather just go to the lot to pick one already-ready christmas tree?). nevertheless, i loved it. i have always loved the christmas season but this year, having a little person who’ll be experiencing his first christmas has made me want to bring it even more. hopefully the tree farm becomes a tradition. steve’s obsessed with traditions. we’ll do something one year and he’s like, “let’s make this a tradition.” truth be told, i find it endearing. anyway, where was i? ah yes, tree farm. so william proudly sawed the tree himself and steve carried it out (hence the whole “mountain man” appearance he’s taken on in the pictures. yum… what??) and then we went home to festoon the house with all the christmas decorations that have been collected over the years. with my christmas playlist going in the background of course… the likes of josh groban, faith hill, bing crosby, the nutcracker… you know, the usuals. it was a seriously lovely day.
oh! and thank you all for your christmas d.i.y. emails so far!
and i also wanted to make sure you all knew the parker peanut butter thing was a joke. had steve really fed parker peanut butter already, i’d have CUT HIM.
I'd never heard of a tree farm before this year. We don't have those in Alabama. At least, not where I'm from.
Wait a minute! We don't have anything where I'm from.
I would just like to add that Parker has grown out of that baby carrier like whoa since I saw him. He used to be tucked in so nice, and now he's all arms and legs!
Festoon. What a word.
And french toast bagels? Wha what?!
I love that Steve the mountain man loves tradiitions.
Parker. Cute as always.
@man, alabama. get on it. also, don't you tell me my baby is growing! damn! he just had his 4 month–15 bs 4 oz and 26.5 inches. so i guess the doc told me first.
@molly, festoon. seriously such a good word, right?!
I just wanted to let you know that I've seen babies (like, little babies) drinking orange crush out of a bottle on the subway. Suddenly peanut butter doesn't sound so bad, eh?
Next, don't you wish there weren't lots of trees precut? So many get wasted and it hurts me to think about it. If everyone did it your way, they'd only be cutting down what will get used!
Go Bridget. I'm pickin' up what you're putting down!
loved y'alls extravaganza. Now really wishing we had a tree farm here. annnd french toast bagels? that sounds like one of the best things ever.
looks like you had great weather for the big tree hunt too. us on the other hand…
and people actually thought steve fed parker peanut butter. c'mon people. its like saying he gave him a beer. what is wrong with people?!
so funny! and so cool that you can go and cut your own christmas tree down.
@reagan, you probs see allllll sorts of things on the nyc subway, yes? and that is CRAZY. and yes, it should be farm only! that is an idea.
@tucker, they are amazing. i'm not just saying that either. they have these like chunks of cinnamon/buttery goodness in every bite. incredible.
@nessa, what if i told you we have given him beer??
jk people.
steve looks so manly about to cut a tree.
we get the pre-cut ones at home depot. we're weenies at this.
This is too precious!! I've always had a fake tree and I'm sure it's nowhere near as fun. And french toast bagels sound fantastic! I must find a way to try them. Thanks for sharing!
i enjoy reading your blogs and the photography that goes along with it! i was wondering…how do you make your collages? i've just been using picasa, but it doesn't offer a whole lot of flexibility. if you have any tips maybe you could send me an email…or post an entry sometime.
wish we had a place to go cut down out own tree
sounds fabulous! Living in the city, I miss the tree farms. But the drive to one seems way too daunting! Instead, I will live vicariously, thank you very much.
I have always wanted to do this!!! You don't understand- it's like a childhood obsession that stayed with me into adulthood. So fun to (kind of) experience it with you.
looks like you guys had so much fun! btw i must add that steve is so good about taking pictures! in my fam i'm the only one who takes pictures, therefore i'm never in any of them. go steve…
@andrea, don't be fooled. it's usually me handing him the camera like, "TAKE A PICTURE YOU FOOL."
oh em gee. french toast bagels. i'm obsessed.
What a great time! It looks like you got perfect tree picking weather too! Also, cute outfits all around.
french toast bagels?! i had no idea. that sounds incredible. i want it in my belly, now.
In love with this post and how happy you look wearing little parker around!
xo
Thanks for taking us with you on your tree finding expedition. We have a faux tree (blah) so there's not much tradition involved there!
You let your baby eat peanut butter? Consider yourself judged.
This is how rumors get started.
I've never heard of french toast bagels. I'm so intrigued now.
Nope, I find 'mountain men' pretty hot myself!
That looks like a fun time you had!
Pretty cute how William cut the tree himself! That's a big deal.
Your daughter Lindsay looks so cute! She seems like such a sweet girl.
Love your hat too.
loving everything about this.
love the picture of you in the bagel joint. gorge.
and can we please discuss the house specialty?
french toast bagels? fork it.
and the mountain man look. yeah.
not to be all sayin' your husband's hot but if the shoe fits…
xx
Friend! I have been an itsahuntlife slacker! (and a slacker on MANY forms of other life)… BOY oh BOY can't wait to catch up!!! SO much! SOOO much!!!! love.
is it weird that the only thing i noticed about this post was your sunglasses?
so of course now you have to tell me where you got them:)
@the sweet spot, nah. totally allowed. h&m!
What farm is this? I think we're in your area and we're looking for a place to bring our 20 month old.
what great pictures!! Love them!
And love that you guys cut down your own tree. we weren't able to do it this year and it made me kind of sad. It's so fun to pick it out and so satisfying to cut that sucker down.
Happy Holidays, Bridget! 🙂
We went to cut a tree down this year. We did it year before last too. I love it! Christmas is so much fun !
-Hannah
seriously looks like the most magical day. i'm with mountain man though, traditions are my fave. my favey fave. that'd be so cute if you do this every year right up till little parker boy has some babes of hisself.
Aww, this is great! Look at Parker all snuggled up with his sweet hat! Your tree looks perfect.
It looks like a great day! My husband desperately wants to get our tree from a tree farm. I may have to give in next year!
i was explaining the tree farm to stephen the other day while i was freaking out over the prices of xmas tree out here..
im sorry, 60 bucks for a 3ft tree? r u effing for real?
we got a british christmas tree instead.
this story will have to continue on my blog..or via e mail.
What tree farm did you go to? We tried out the Beverly Tree farm (didn't even know that old red barn was a tree farm) and it was nice but a little small! I LOVE getting our tree at the tree farm, the experience is so worth it even if it is a bit more work.
This definitely sounds like a good tradition!! I love it!
Also french toast bagels? WHY don't they have those in Seattle? That sounds SO amazing. I love bagels and french toast both so much!!
&& Merry Christmas Season!
Christmas tree picking is my favorite part of Christmas… Yay for Parker's first-time!