oh Christmas tree

We love our little apartment, but if we're being honest, it's a bit of a shoebox. So naturally our past Christmas "trees" have really just been oversized branches that had fallen off of larger trees (and obscenely priced at city tree stands).

a typical Grady christmas tree...

But not this year... the morning after Thanksgiving D & I laced up our boots and headed east on I-90 to Papa's tree farm, just south of Issaquah, where we could get dirty cutting down a real (life-size) tree of our choice. My favorite thing about trips out to 'the country' with the D-man is that I am reminded that these are his people. I forget sometimes that my city-saavy hubby, who loves live music and public transportation, is really just a country boy at heart. I genuinely believe that if you plopped this kid down in a small town with a pickup truck, a work shed and a few acres of land, he would be happy as a clam. And maybe the mayor. But I digress.

Papa's tree farm was as charming as the come. I could have sloshed around in the mud & rain drinking hot cider & smelling pine all day. We were new at this, so our selection process was pretty hilarious. As we scrutinized each tree, weighing the benefits of Doug fir vs. Grand fir, bushy vs. spacious branches, I was strangely self-conscious that the trees could hear our judgments. Regardless of how lopsided or awkwardly shaped a tree was, I found myself compelled to say something nice about each one. (note to self: trees are not kids... I need to take off my school psychologist hat on the weekends...)

We tried (of course) to agree on an absolute maximum price before we even looked at any trees, but in true Grady style, we lost sight of any budget restraints the second our boots hit the mud. We approached it more like one would shopping for a puppy... throwing any 'rules' out the window the second we spotted our "perfect" tree, beckoning us to take her home... sure that another family was going to swoop in and snag her the second we walked away...

Here she is! A Grand Fir.

cuteness.

I think we picked a winner.

No better way to wrap up our day than beers & kobe burgers at the Issaquah brewery...

Tasty cider, meet the always-delicious Hazelnut Brown Ale.

Danny making our beverages make out. And getting awesome looks from other pub patrons.

Reason #417 why I love this guy.

And here she is in all her glory!

merry christmas friends.