The holidays are in full swing at Dior on Rodeo Drive. I just love the oversized ornaments in their window displays, as well as the smaller ones in the above window inset. However, enquiring minds would love to know more about where they came from and how long it took to have them made. From what I understand,  major corporately owned stores have departments dedicated to ‘visuals’ where they plot and plan out the look for all of their window displays. Therefore, they’re able to keep visual continuity in their seasonal window displays from coast to coast.

I recently came up with the idea to decorate my black artificial christmas tree in a tuxedo motif, a la shades of black and white. I used three different kinds of ribbon: shimmering sheer white ribbon,  black and white pinstriped ribbon, and lastly silver gray and black striped ribbon.  The finale items needed to complete the ensemble  were some simple white matte ornaments. Easy, right? Not really. I went to nearly every store I could think of in search of white round ornaments, and the only place I could find a handful of them,  was in a mixed box at Target. This box included white, matte silver and sparkling silver. I’m so tired of the whole glitter factor when it comes to holiday decor, a little goes a long ways. And I think those folks in China must think that us crazy Americans like everything dipped in glitter. I call it ‘Christmas throw up’. If it sparkles it must be fabulous, right? Wrong. I don’t want my home to look like a beauty pageant. I want it to ooze understated elegance. Ultimately I’m happy with how the tree turned out, but it was surprisingly difficult to accomplish. And, in case you’re wondering, all of those Bernardaud boxes around the bottom of the tree are empty. I’ve been collecting fine china from Bernardaud for over a decade, and those boxes are just way to cool to toss. Besides, they’re really handy to have if I decide to resale any of my items (not likely).

So, I hope your holiday decor came together as planned, and I hope the magic of the season fills both your heart and your home with gifts beyond your expectation.