Stories Collected While Living in France
Wreath on the door.
Urn sitting on the stairwell.
Wood stacked in a cart.
Balls stacked in an urn.
Christmas ornaments hanging from a tree.
Eighteen century documents under a dome, Santa's lists?
Red Riding Hood walking on the street.
Flower petals on iron.
Paperwhites blooming by a statue of Mary.
Christmas wheat, St. Barbe growing on a platter.
Tree top zinc star.
(Photos: Christmas decor at my friend's home Jean and Nathalie.)
What sits on top of your Christmas tree?
I love the pictures and especially love the idea of the documents being Santa’s lists.
I have a dove at the time of my tree.
~elaine~
Happy 21st B-Day Chelsea!!!
Your Birthday causes me to reflect that I had been married six months on my 21st birthday and was in my third year of college in Fresno, CA. Oh, I was also, 21 on the 21st of December. I was one day short of 38 when you were born and had a five year old. I had just started chemo for BC. I have had many happy years.
~elaine~
I’m spending Christmas in a friend’s house. She made a tree-topper of dried lavender from her garden and pheasant feathers (from a hunter friend) it looks very pretty!
Usually an angel…the urn with the curvy handle is to die for!
jackie
bliss farm antiques
I love your Mother Mary
An Angel sits on top of our tree that my husband picked out with the Hungarian colours prominent red white and green.
Love and hugs
Jeanne♥
My mother! Well, actually a felt angel that is supposed to look like my mother, she is beautiful and has red hair. Her aunt made it almost 40 years ago. I love it, my children especially love it and it has special meaning now, my mother passed away on Christmas last year, she truly is an angel now!
Merry Christmas Corey, to you and your family.
🙂 for the Santa’s Lists!!!! 🙂
Lovely collection! Two years ago, I had a rather Kitsch angel on top of my tree – I loved it and smiled every time I walked past the tree… last year it was a large felt-angel, very homely…. nice too! And this year it’s a hand made straw star with a red bow!!! I had teddies, birds, ‘spires’ and just bows on other years – always a cheerful sight.
Love, Peace, and hot cacao!!!!! Kiki
No tree for me, I’m what you would politely call a minimalist. If you wanted to be a little less kind, I’m lazy. I want to play hop scotch with Little Red Riding Hood!
Beautiful photos. I love the wheat grass growing on the cake plate.
I have had two papier mache dolls from Mexico, standing back to back, on the top of my Christmas tree for 25 years. The dolls have their name painted across the front of them. One is Yola and the other is Lorena.
This year I met a woman named Lorena, so Lorena, the doll, moved to her house to sit on top of her tree, and Yola is gracing our tree alone.
Did I notice a little flocking on your tree? Love it! We have flocked tree this year. It’s just so magical. I also love the rolled “santa’s lists”. All of the decor – so lovely, so simple, so French. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Corey, I haven’t written in a while but i always read your blog,love it actually,it’s on my blog roll. thanks. I have two trees. both small that i set on a eastlake victorian table and the other in a mojolica pedestal planter. The tree in my dining room is nature themed it has pinecones,birdnests and leaves i dry from fall. This year i was not as inspired bcecause f the deah of my best friend,Sharon, who died from ovarian cancer.But then when her husband came over his said you know this was always the best tree Sharon’s favorite, i changed my tune. I am still working on it.Every day it changes. My living room tree is more victorian. There i’ve gone on too much. Merry Christmas Corey xoxo Cathy
Sorry for all of the errors in my past message. A big OOOOPS!
I have 3 trees in the living room with just lights on them, no ornaments or toppers. The tree in my kitchen is decorated and we have a star on the top. I really like that wheat growing on the cakestand.
Love the simplistic, creative decor you’ve shot…less is more…less is more I keep chanting.
Our tree top has a golden angel and if she lit up I’d have probably paid twice the price.
A crow! He is perched quite handsomely on top our livingroom tree.
A raffie angel, who has weathered some 37 Christmas trees, sits atop another.
Your pictures are so magically beautiful, Corey, of an antique French Christmas. I have a few of my mom’s old, old ornaments that make it to the tree each year; bells and birds mostly. Your photos make me think I should record them in pictures. Thank you.
Thank you & your friends for letting us into their home this holiday season. Lovely, lovely! The dome over old rolled documents (uh…Santa’s lists)is very cleavor…going to copy it in my shop 😉 And I especially adore all the old urns. Fabulous!!!
NOTHING! I’m still mad at my cats for peeing under the tree. However, if I WERE to get out of my Christmas grouch and decorate my tree, there would be a cluster of vintage ornaments and some very sparkly snowflakes.
GRRRRR….
Pictures are wonderful…..a crown from Franc sits on top of my tree!!!
I know those stairs…that door. Are you on the 3rd floor?
a paper mache angel with wings and open arms
that I feel very attached to . . .thought I had lost, but found underneath the steps in an old box.
beautiful shots, are you ready for the holiday? presents wrapped? cookies baked?
C, how does Annie celebrate?
xo
I have a capiz shell star on top of my tree. It is fragile and I hold my breath every year when I open the box, aware that I might have quite the glue task if it is in pieces. Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!
At the top of my tree sits a pierced tin star. Love seeing La Madone decorations. What a clever idea to grow grass on the platter, great for Easter too. Vintage rolled papers also fun to see in the dome. Thanks for sharing their decorations.
Hi Corey, I love the photos in your post today. This is the way I want to decorate or Christmas; soothing, calm colors, and nature intertwined to create peaceful surroundings.
Are you going to give us a glimpse of your home in its Christmas splendor? I’m curioous what Christmas looks like with a special Corey twist?
I’m stealing the documents under a dome idea for my mantle. Oh, yes I am.
And we have a traditional vintage German glass topper … pale pink and silver with a bit of glass glitter.
No tree. But, I do have holly tuiles, monogram cookies. Nuts, fruit, spice and everything nice.
Only thing missing is “chestnuts roasting on an open fire”! OR…just throw them in the oven! Beautiful photographs! Merry Christmas, Corey!
Corey — you’ve outdone yourself. These are so lovely. Thank you for writing this blog and including so much lovely art in it.
Simple, understated French elegance. These images are simply beautiful!
I feel a book contract coming on! Corey, if a publisher or agent hasn’t contacted you yet, it’s just a matter of time. Tonight I paid $49 for a big, beautiful book about the south of France. Your photos shown above are as good as anything in the book. You have great artistic talent!
Joyeux noel,
Libbie in NC
Corey, STUNNING! Your photographs and subject matter is simply stunning.
Cory, your photo’s are gorgeous! But that’s not surprising because they are always gorgeous. I have not stopped by for awhile, life has just gotten in the way!
I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, wishing you and your family a joyous Holiday Season!
Corey,
I love your pictures! I love the Antique French Christmas Decor! ahhh. it was so soothing just to look at those pictures; they inspire!!!
You’ve captured the Christmas fairies abound your home! Traditional double star of spiraled tree bark, from my first Swedish Jul is atop the tree at home.
Corey, thanks for enhancing all of our lives on a daily basis and especially at this time of year. I have a 3-D silver peace sign on top of my tree that I made and have used since the sixties.
Your friend wouldn’t want to part with her zinc tree topper, would she? That is amazing!!
An angel that I made for my daughter when she was born has always topped our Christmas tree, now it tops hers. That’s okay … we went from an 8-foot tree to a smaller 3-foot somewhat scraggly pine, which is sitting on an old, painted-green chest of drawers. I found a wonderful old star with a wisp of an angel in my box of treasures and this now graces our wisp of a tree. The star is tilting precariously, but so far … all is well.
It’s been a wooden star for 4 years now …
We have a crown made of antique sheet music and covered in jewelry and vintage ribbon, then filled with red ostrich plumes on one tree. Another tree is decorated solely in silver ex votos, white ostrich plumes and clear glass balls with an antique silver Crown of Madonna filled with white ostrich plumes!
Natalie and Jean’s Renaissance was the loveliest place we ever stayed. They really do have a talent for adding romance to everything they touch. Thank you so much for connecting me with them. Joyeaux Noel to all of you
. Jean
Beautiful photos Corey! You give me many ideas! I love the grace and peace in these pictures. Have a wonderful Christmas!
Hugs,
Sherry
Gentle Merry Christmas hugs, Dear Corey…
Thank you for the antique French Christmas pictures! On top of my white tree, I have snow flakes crochet from my mother and aunt. The topper was created by two very old creamy white wool antique mittens forming a shape as if it were holding up the biggest and most ornate crochet star! German silver/gold and soft aqua antique ornaments are nestled in the branches with ice cycles that are stinking old from some ones collection long forgotten and found by me! (swoon) Love the wheat grass, the dome with lists, the simple soft colors! Love your Photography! Thank you for sharing, Merry Christmas season, savor ever moment! Brenda, Kindred Hearts antiques and Gifts, Walker, LA
the disco star from my husband’s childhood. we adore it! hard to get good photos of it, though.
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