Ruby Trees

November 4, 2009 my Granny, Ruby, lost her battle with brain cancer. During her last days, I prayed diligently for her to no longer experience pain, & when she passed I was relieved to know that she was now walking with our heavenly Father, pain-free. My family was very close to her; literally, we lived 2 doors down the street. Granny had one of those huge traditional southern homes, & we were always at her house. Her house was so big, that there was a room in her house that was only used for Christmas; we called it The Christmas Room (clever, I know hehe). Last Christmas, the first since her passing, the family pulled out all of Granny’s decorations & decorated the entire house. We quickly realized that for a big house you need a lot of decorations. My aunt Karen thought we should decorate each room with a theme; I was totally down with that idea, everyone knows I love themes. We had a bird tree, a blue tree, a candy tree, a mini tree, and on and on. There were so many themed-trees in Granny's house that we could have easily burnt the place down in a matter of minutes. Thank goodness we didn't though. Here are just a fraction of the trees that were up last Christmas:

The famous Christmas Room with a candy themed tree

The dining room

The blue tree in "yonder" (or the family room if you don't speak southern)

A mini tree a the top of the stairs

On the flight back to Richmond after Christmas, I was thinking about my granny & all the wonderful memories I had with her, especially at Christmas time. Then I remembered that I had 2 Christmas trees that have been sitting in boxes for a couple years. At that moment I decided that I didn’t want them in boxes during the Christmas season anymore. I decided that I was going to turn them into themed trees & call them My Ruby Trees (again, I am so clever at naming things, aren’t I? haha). For my themes, I decided that one tree would be a candy tree, just like Granny’s, & for the other tree, I decided that since Granny practically lived in the kitchen (& made the best New York Style Cheesecake that has ever graced my lips!) and I love to bake as well, that I would have a baking themed tree as well. Since last Christmas I have been hunting for tree skirts, tree toppers, ornaments, & garland for my Ruby Trees. It has been such a fun way to honor & remember her throughout this year. So, in addition to our regular tree, this year we have 2 Ruby Trees.

My Candy Tree

My Baking Tree Miss you Granny and we love you! Thank you for making my childhood so bright!