Guilty Pleasure Tuesday: Wrea-lly? Yes, Wrea-lly.

Today I bought this item on eBay. I haven't purchased anything on eBay in years, but in the spirit of my current obsession with the holiday season (and the fact that similar pieces are WAY more expensive than the offer that I placed), I decided to bring this wayward, plastic, vintage, ugly, fruity and totally fake-looking wreath into La Maison De Retro.

One of my favorite episodes of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" was when it was one of Will's first Christmases in California and Aunt Vivian sent him to pick up the super posh and Un-Christmassy Christmas decorations from some fruity Bel Air designer. Will hated the decorations and proceeded to decorate Philadelphia style with lots of plastically delicious and totally tacky Christmas finery. The neighbors, that all managed to have sticks shoved in their nether-regions, are appalled and want to have the Banks' residence restored to a more "appropriate" uppity seasonal decor (you know, that kind that doesn't look like Christmas at all...but rather like maybe you got attacked by a pseudo-crystalized forest/lovely country happiness/tres chic kind of fusion that doesn't really exude any kind of actual mirth, but allows you to look EXACTLY like you have a life-time subscription to Real Simple magazine like all of your other yuppie friends). When the family returned, they were shocked to find that the house had won a contest that was complete with a Girl-Scout troop singing Christmas Carols.

This wreath is that episode. For me, beginning a collection of superbly amazing, vintage, plastic Christmas decorations allows me to remember some of my grandmother's decorations (that I still have and use every holiday season) and allows me to contain, within my home, several lifetimes of Christmas cheer. These decorations may be on ebay now (and no longer as easy to find in thrift stores, unfortunately), but they could've easily hosted thirty previous Christmases full of drunken relatives, eggnog, ham dinners, "It's a Wonderful Life," and other holiday memories. You can't BUY that kind of karma.

With being said, I got this other fancy lot of plasticky Christmas loveliness, too (for an even better price...and combined shipping. Awww yeah). I'm planning, in the very near future, a warm-weather complete Christmas Dinner...and you're all invited.

I've even hosted a  Swap for some new recipes. Check it out, fellow Swap-Bot-ers.

Joyeux Noel.