Ok...You might have read that I once came kicking and screaming to this fair and docile State.
embarassing but true...dropping head.
But...Hey...I was the original Christmas girl. Really...the only one.
Winter...hot chocolate at the first snow fall...skiing...skating
cozy fires. Rosy cheeked kidlets. mittens warming on the vent.
When we would move to a new home...the first thing I placed in my mind
was the Christmas tree!
And it was always simply beautiful, winter. Snow outside lit up the season.
Switzerland as a child...
later with kidlets of our own,
Upstate Ny in the hills...Colorado in the mountains...NY in the Catskills.
Then came......FLORIDA??! screeech!!
Where will we put the tree?!?
How can we frame the year without seasons? No snow??
10 years later it has seeped into my soul...well really, it seeped in about 6 months later...Just as much as my snowy winter homes.
There is such a subtle beauty with the season changes here...it feels like my senses are so heightened.
seasonal colors have changed for us...
what was once red and green is now fuschia pink like the blooming bromeliads, that feel like gifts when they serenade us in purple and the brightest pink only at Christmas.
When I once used the hardy forest green color of the sturdy pines,
I now am drawn to a more tender yellow- green... of new growth.
I notice the ocean changes in mood and color in the winter.
It seems more thoughtful, more greyed...more serene. More private.
And...so goes the decorating of the season..In my new to me home of 10 years.
I love using the foliage and plants
be they coconut or pineapple...
Adding found gifts from the sea to the garland and wreaths...starfish, shells...
eating outside...what a privledge. What beauty
Using what we have...palm fronds
make a hearty wreath...and make sense in our clime...
They celebrate with the best of them...maybe more gently,
like the winter sea.
A beautiful nautilus can hold it's own with any
tinsel star...just look at that proud specimen!
perfectly
...And Santa...well
He's stoked too! Hang ten old man!!!
He's stoked too! Hang ten old man!!!
Enjoy your beauty that surrounds you this season...
27 comments:
How lovely. I spent the holiday season when I was 17 in Florida. I loved it so much. It was so festive and happy and warm!
LOVING all these photos. My corner of the world is covered in snow and so sparkly. No warmth here.
Santa is rocking the holidays(although HE should be working hard all through december!!:P)
Love the idea of using seashells.
These photos are all beautiful. I've always wondered how I would adjust if I moved to a tropical climate - now I know!
I love all these decorations. They're just gorgeous.
Did you grow up in Switzerland or visit as a child? How cool! :)
My first Christmas in FL, I swam on Christmas day just because I could!
I love the way they light the palm trees.
My best friend just moved to Florida last month, and he is having a REALLY hard time dealing with the Christmas tree waiting for him when he comes in from the pool. He says it's freaky! So...6 months? I'll have to tell him. Great pics!!
A fabulous post Linda & of course, it's not where you are but who you're with that matters! I'm sure with your great style, you've been able to create a gorgeous Christmas a la tropical style. Santa on his surfboard definitely has an Aussie flavour!
Millie ^_^
such lovely garlands...i agree Christmas in warm sunny weather can be a bit weird but has its charm too.
when i moved to Andalucia, i spent my 1st Christmas on the beach. it was the best ever.
have fun garland making !
How lovely,I sure am envious,of the warmth year round.
Just beautiful!!!
This will be my first Christmas that is not in tropical Florida!!!
I love all of your natural elements!
I love the wreathes and Santa ornament, beautiful decorations- Looking at the view I forgot all about the snow. Enjoy...
nice post...love the palm frond
wreath best. while in st. augustine & ormond this past weekend i enjoyed their
beach/tropical christmas street lights. in st. aug beach it was jellyfish, starfish, seashells, sand dollars..so pretty at nite!
i prefer the simplier, natural versions of christmas here in florida...of course flying to iceland on christmas eve is nice too! best of both worlds...
Florida does Christmas well! Pretty photos. I always wanted a sand dollar decorated tree (after seeing one at a gift shop in South Florida) but I think I'll have to wait until I MOVE to South Florida. :-)
My ornament of choice these days is the pine cones I pick up in my front yard. Glittered of course.
Oh my goodness how pretty! I must admit, my first couple of "winters" down here in S.Fla was a little odd for me being that I grew up in the northeast, however, I've learned to enjoy the perks!
WE HAVE LOTS OF SURFING SANTAS HERE IN SAN DIEGO...WE HAVE A CHRISTMAS PARADE AND EVERYONE IS IN SHORTS, POINSETTIA'S ARE GROWN RIGHT HERE SO WE CAN THEM FOR GREAT PRICES...I MISS THOSE SNOWY COLD WINTERS, REALLY ONLY AT CHRISTMAS..GREAT PHOTOS AS USUAL
Beautiful - as usual - onward to Christmas!! hope your Thanksgiving was great.
Joni
For a minute, I thought the pictures were your own home, Linda! Beautiful and inspiring. I was born and raised in FL, so this IS cold to me! Thanks for another post full of lovely sights. I love it!!
Thank you so much for your kind comment on Color Outside the lines. I love your Christmas pictures and hope to visit again. vickydarnell in East TN.
After 7 Christmas in the tropics, believe me or not, I would love to see the real snow again! :)
I've done the move to FL thing, now when does the decorating as beautifully as you do happen?
I love it. All of it.
Ohhh more eye candy I loved the palm fronds wreath idea...actually I loved it all!!! Hugs French;)
Those are awesome pics, Linda. Yeah, we can do Christmas anywhere!
You seem to be faring wonderfully! Beautiful pictures. I love the starfish on the wreaths and especially love the palm frond wreath.. I have a few surfin' Santas collected from my travels to the Virin Islands.. Can't have Christmas without a surfin' Santa!
Happy Happy! :)
Linda, you put it more wonderfully than I ever could. I spent 3 Christmases in Germany and thought it couldn't get better than that. Then I went to Guam and experienced a Christmas (or Easter) morning sunrise on a tropical beach.
Now I'm in the desert and experiencing the bougainvillea, the life and rebirth amidst the rugged backdrop...and I love it all.
It's ALL good. It's ALL a blessing. And as I say to people who say it wouldn't feel like Christmas to them in Arizona, I say, in reality, Christ was born in a desert/warm climate, NOT in the snow!
I just got a wreath for the beach house today with white starfish and things - it's beautiful. But now it's there and I'm back up here.
I don't usually decorate our beach place for the holidays except for a wreath because we're always up north during Christmas, but...
I was just saying today how I look forward to doing it someday soon and these photos are inspirational.
Your blog is just gorgeous! I've been here before but it just seems to get better. I'm adding you to my blogroll.
We just bought our beach house...but sadly we wont be there for the Christmas holiday...I am living my dream through your blog!
Hi Linda! I stumbled onto your lovely blog at Kimba's. We are native Floridians (though we live in what I call "old Florida") and I told my best friend recently that the one thing that really, really bugs me about Christmas is Floridians who decorate with snowmen and other snowy decor, when there is so much natural beauty that surrounds us to bring us pleasure and sparkle our homes at Christmas. What a treasure that you have been able to experience it all, yet have chosen to delight in the "tropical tidings" while you are here. Your blog is beautiful - I'm sure I'll be back.
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