hand painted christmas ornaments by courtney khail
Christmas is by far my favorite time of year. So much so that my husband and I actually got engaged and married just a few days before Christmas itself! (I should clarify that. He asked me to marry him a few days before Christmas and we were married the following Christmas. We didn't just get engaged and run to the courthouse. Though let's be honest. There are times during wedding planning that doing just that sounds like the best idea ever. Anyhow, back to the point.)
In December of 2007, J. and I took a trip to NYC to celebrate graduating from the University of Georgia. To escape the cold on top of the Empire State Building, we walked around the gift shop and stumbled across an ornament with Santa climbing the Empire State building King Kong-style. It was cheesy and we loved it- so we bought it. Ever since then, we collect at least one ornament to represent the year. (Usually just one, but our epic 2 month cross country road trip landed us 3 so there are exceptions to the rule.) Then every year when we decorate our Christmas tree, we hang them together and relive the memories. There is the handblown glass cartoon bride and groom deer my parents got us for our first Christmas after the wedding, the the ski life chair for when we moved to Colorado, the key for our first house together in Denver, the two bears camping, and this year a "Decatur" ornament with a flying pig since we both agreed pigs would fly before we moved back home from Colorado. (Just goes to show, never say never.)
So even I'm a little surprised that it took this long to make these. But better late than never, right? Right.
I'll get these onto my site soon, but I couldn't wait any longer to share them with you. You'll be able to buy them in person on December 13th at the Ponce City Market West Elm (more on that exciting news later!) but until then, you can snag these one-of-a-kind beauties via Facebook or Instagram. They are $20 each (plus shipping) and there is a (very) limited quantity available, so if you want one- don't wait too long! It's first come, first serve and I'd hate for you to miss out on the one you had your eye on.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Here's to the season!