'tis the season

christmas market on Henry Street-Dublin1

i bought decorations for our flat 

see the cool christmas sticks we made?

christmas stick #2 is above the couch (or should i say loveseat?)

christmas stick #3 is on the mantle

some golden bunches of grapes

Everywhere we go, Dubliners are in the spirit of the season. There is Christmas music, snow on the ground, and more importantly, Christmas markets! Christmas markets are tiny stalls that are given special permission in December to set up in the street and sell all kinds of crap. They are popping up everywhere--even directly outside of giant shopping centres. I received a list of the locations in my email but honestly, they are not hard to find.

Some of the Christmas market booths sell food and hot drinks but most of them just sell crap. It's all junk and novelty gifts like funky neon hats and holiday-themed jumpers. The vendors shout about how cheap *ahem* their items are and the voices add to the hustle and bustle on the street. I like the little booths and the swarms of people out, but unfortunately I haven't seen a single thing worth buying.

We wanted to get in the Christmas mood so hubs and I decided to decorate our flat. We went to the Arnott's bargain store and found all kinds of Christmas goodies. I think we spent €20 on ornaments and tinsel. In the two years since we've been married, we like to listen to John Fahey's Christmas albums on the record player while we decorate our tree and our apartment. It's our little tradition. Since we left most of our albums back in Minneapolis, hubs downloaded a few John Fahey albums off iTunes and we were good to go. Our theme is gold and silver this year, as you can tell. I am happy because it feels just as festive inside as when we are out in the merry streets of Dublin. What do you think of our decorations?