I was spoiled to have five full days in Missoula over the Thanksgiving holiday this year. I flew to Missoula on Tuesday evening and Tom joined us all on Friday evening (he had to stick around with BECU for the black Friday crazies). This holiday was particularly special because Tyler Velin (my cousin for some of you readers who might not know) was getting married.
My parents prepared the food for the rehearsal dinner—and when I say food, I mean a gourmet meal! I don’t have photos of it, but trust me, Steak Gorgonzola, baked potatoes, ceaser salad and bread was gourmet!
I don’t have pictures from Friday either when we did our annual tree hunt with Tyrell and Kristi (you’ll have to look at my sister’s/parent’s facebook pages soon for these photos) but our mission was to find three trees: one for Kristi/Tyrell, one for the dining room of the Gibson Mansion and one for the main grand staircase. Well, we were successful! Check out the size of the tree we got for the staircase:
It’s probably illegal so I shouldn’t write this online, but I think the original tree was close to 50’ tall—but don’t worry we used all the extra branches for miscellaneous decorations throughout the mansion.
After we lugged the tree down the hill with a tarp, a game cart and a lot of muscle, we were ready for a break! And that break took the form of a celebration in honor of Tyler and Sarah. The decorations were breath-taking as SHEC transformed into a wonderland of twinkle lights, candles, and vintage décor.
We’re so proud of Tyler and happy that he’s found a woman to put up with him J. She was a beautiful bride and we danced the night away in celebration!
Tom looked as handsome as the groom (more handsome in my biased opinion) and my whole family dressed to impress but the only picture I have to show for it is a few pictures from the shoulders up, but you can use your imagination!
The next day we said our goodbyes to Tyrell, Kristi and their pups and we set out to decorate the Gibson Mansion. I feel like we didn’t really help much, because decorating a four story Victorian Mansion is no small feat but we made a dent at least!
The biggest project is always the giant Christmas tree in the stair case and thank goodness Tom was there to help stand it up—that thing is HEAVY!
But then of course there is plenty of critiquing to be done by me and my mom! “Turn it to your left—no your other left! Perfect!”
And just when you think the hard part of the job is done (getting the tree set up in the house), you realize that it’s a large blank slate, desperately in need of some adorning. So, we set to work. First, the lights placed by the boys!
And, in order to see the “dark spots” we tend to utilize the 3D glasses—it helps you see the holes! Plus, you look really rad while you do it!
But Tom preferred the naked eye :)
When the lights were up, it was time to place the ribbons and pearls—and don’t forget the tree topper! Mom and Dad found a beautiful new porcelain doll tree topper, complete with vintage dress and purse. This one is kind of blurry but it’s so pretty (after several twist ties and specialty attachment pieces to keep her from falling over)!
Unfortunately, we did not have time to go through the three large boxes of ornaments and trinkets to finish out the beautiful tree but I think we left it in a pretty beautiful place don’t you?
Stay tuned to the Gibson Mansion website and Facebook page to see the finished product with all the ornaments. It’s going to be breathtaking. Sadly, I won’t be able to get home to see the final picture, which is why I’m so glad I got to help set it up! So long Montana—hope to see you again soon!
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