OOO #52: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like
I was hoping she meant Medea, trees, and Nutcrackers
Outfits
Ohio
My husband and I, as we often do, overplanned our Sunday. We wanted to go grocery shopping and complete other household chores, get our Christmas tree, plus I needed to grade about 25 essays, all before 2:45, when we were due to leave to see the new (three-hour) Napoleon movie.
We managed to do all of that (!) but we had to change our plans about where we got our Christmas tree. My husband decided that we should skip our trip to Dublin (shaving off a good 15-20 minutes of driving each way) and to go to Strader’s in Grandview instead.
Strader’s has been family-owned and operated since 1951, and their Grandview/King St. location is their original location. I was really impressed with their Christmas tree selection and their prices were surprisingly reasonable. We estimate that the tree we got this year would have been 30-40 percent higher at the place we usually go to! Not only that, but the sales associate who processed the tree and helped my husband tie it to our car was the kindest and friendliest person we have met in a while. Overall, Strader’s is a great place to get a tree if you haven’t gotten yours yet.
Other Things I Like
Week Two of Christmas decorations continues. This week’s theme: Nutcrackers.
I am not sure how this happened, but I have somehow amassed more Nutcracker-themed Christmas decorations than I’ve realized. I haven’t seen the Nutcrackers since I was very small (but I’m planning on going this weekend!), and yet… they seem to popping up all over my house.
A recent trip to Easton’s Sur La Table spurred an uptick in this collection. I bought a mug and a dishtowel (I know I am in my 30s because “festive dish towels” now have their own stack in my linen closet) on a complete whim because they were so cheerful and made me smile in the store. I brought them home and quickly realized that I had already purchased several other Nutcracker-themed decorations in the past year. First, during our trip to DC, I saw this pink glitter Nutcracker ornament at the Kennedy Center gift shop and felt very strongly that I should have it. It is currently propping up my Duomo advent calendar.
I then realized that last year I bought Nutcracker-themed placemats from Rifle Paper Co., that I have yet to unearth from our holiday decorations boxes (note to self—over winter break, I need to organize these by holiday as they are currently not organized other than by “ornaments” “lights” and “neither ornaments nor lights.” this is… not a good system). I also bought a matching table runner I found on Etsy in mid-November that should arrive soon. I cannot get enough of these placemats—seriously look at these things. I definitely asked for more things in Rifle Paper Co.’s Nutcracker collection for Christmas. 😬
I don’t know how this keeps happening—and full-sized Nutcrackers are not my thing—but I keep finding myself drawn to the aesthetic of illustrated Nutcrackers and their friends (particularly ballerinas and animals). I’m not trying to start a collection (other than postcards and Sezane sweaters, collections are also not my thing), but each year, more and more of these guys seem to congregating at my house. Maybe it’s my love of classical music and memories of going to Lincoln Center during the winter? Or maybe it’s just because two of my favorite decor companies have landed on this motif. Regardless, having the occasional nutcracker around my house seems to make very happy!
That’s it! Have a great rest of your week!
LOVE the skirt in your first photo!