Tuesday, November 21, 2023

13.21 A Year of Decision - Great Ornament Search of 2023

I just finished a yearly project. Each day of the month I posted on a pre-determined theme. During the month of November, I'll post a collage of all my photos on the daily theme from the past year. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month was "Decision." 

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Another trip to the vet - Hannah's back infection is cleared up! Yay!
Keeping Going - I've been blogging for so long and I'm so happy there's still an active blogging community.
Every Day - What tiny inconsequential decision do you have to make every single day?
The Last Holiday Cards - Every year there comes a decision in February or March about what to do with the holiday cards we received in December. Every year I recycle them, but every year I feel guilty about doing so.
Blind Taste Test, Cola Edition - In which I declare Coke repulsive. 
Blind Taste Test, Lemon Lime Soda Edition - In which both Dr. BB and I declare 7Up flat and gross.
Saturday in the Park - The dog park with Jack and Henry.
Every Day - Strawberries or cantaloupe for breakfast?
Oat Free - Finding gluten-free granola without oats is hard.
Goodbye Beloved Sweatshirt - I said goodbye to a beloved article of clothing.
None! - Anticlimactic jury duty. 
It's On - I got a job. Finally.
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Hannah count: 1
Food/beverage count: 4
Dog park count:1
Sign count: 1
Whines about products count: 1

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So many decisions about food. Are you indecisive about food?

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My big decision right now is what my ornament of the year will be. I like to get my ornament ordered during the weekend after Thanksgiving so it will get here in time for sure. For those of you who are new here, every year I buy ONE ornament for our tree that represents something about the past year. You can see a roundup of all the ornaments I've chosen on this post

Previous searches:

So, this year I have to make a decision about what ornament to get for the two of us, for our friends who just got married this year, and for Humphrey's person, who finished cancer treatment AND adopted a new dog this year. 

Contenders for our ornament:
1) Zip code ornament ($12 from Burnt by Design) - It's classy looking, but maybe a bit generic? 

2) River ornament ($20 + $4 shipping from Johnny and Jeanne) - We actually live at the confluence of TWO rivers, so I messaged the seller to see if they could put both rivers on an ornament. 


3) Book Tree (on sale now for $6.99 + $7.99 shipping from Chippico Toys) - I really like Style #1, but am not so sure that ordering from Vietnam is a good choice. 

4) Gingerbread family snow globe ($13.95 + $6.95 shipping from Baien Shop) - Maybe I have mentioned this on my blog before, but when we first started dating, my husband first told his family about me when they were making gingerbread men cookies and his sister decorated one with my name on it. It's sort of bittersweet for my husband, though, because it makes him think about his mom.

5) Custom map ornament ($24 from Portraits By Us) - I'm super tempted by this one. I could do where he grew up, where I grew up, and where we are now.

Contenders for Humphrey's person:

1) Paw print name ($5.99 + $5.99 shipping from Frontier Designs AK) - Maybe Humphrey's name is a little long for this? 

2) Puppy's First Christmas ($9.99 + $6 shipping from Thunala) - This would require me to decide which photo of Humphrey to use. How to decide?!

3) Personalized dog bone ($11.99 + $3.97 shipping from Our Vibes Collective) - I think these look really snazzy.


Contenders for our friends who just got married: 
1) Wedding date ornament ($7.99 + $5.99 shipping from Modern XMas) - I love the simplicity of this ornament.

2) Wood hanging heart ($40 from Etched In Time Engraving) - I'd like it maybe a little more if it were just a circle with their initials on it, but I like the look of this.

3) Engraved wooden circle with initials ($17.25 + $4 from All About Impressions, which is a local shop!) - This is really more what I had in mind with the above one. They both look really great, though.

4) First Christmas Married ($9.99 + $5.99 shipping from Keptsake, which is an awesome store name)

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Do you have any favorites among these ornaments? 

35 comments:

  1. I LOVE the map ornament! Also the wooden initial one or the calendar one for your friwnds. This is such a wonderful tradition.

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    1. I have immediately started creating statistics on which ornaments are preferred by my readers!

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  2. I love the map ornament ! Years ago, when a good friend of mine was getting married, I got them custom cutting boards in the shape of the state they lived in, her home state and England (where he was from.) I did not anticipate that the Rhode Island cutting board would come with a bunch of little islands, though... She insisted it was cute, but I can't help to think it was annoying to keep track of all those little bits.
    The book tree is adorable too.

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    1. UGH!! They couldn't figure out a cutting board for RI that wasn't a series of little islands. How annoying!!

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  3. The river ornament is SO cool! I am also partial to the book tree one. And for your married friends, I love all the options but my favorite is the round tree cross section. So pretty! This is one of my favorite posts of yours every year. Yay for ornaments!

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    1. Oh, I'm glad you like this type of post. I don't do very many yearly posts, but this one is a real tradition.

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  4. I LOVE the book tree! But if you're not comfortable ordering from Vietnam, I also love the map ornament. For Humphrey- I got an ornament for Muffin's first Christmas with her photo, and i love it so much. But the dog bones are nice too.
    For the married couple... I think I like the first one best. But I'm sure they'll be happy and touched by any of them. I can't wait to see what you choose!

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    1. I also like the idea of having a photo of baby Humphrey in the ornament, too. It will just bring up so many memories for Hump's person in the future. But I'm not sure if I have a good enough photo...we'll see.

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  5. What a great tradition--I'll have to go check out all the other years...

    Your haul here is so amazing--I love the rivers one so much!

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    1. I did hear back from the owner of the shop that they could do the two rivers, too, so it's a strong contender.

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  6. I love the book tree. I get your hesitation, however. And the one that is a slice of a tree branch with the initials on a tree is unique and very pretty. Not ostentatious or super crafty looking. Love that.

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    1. I love your criteria for ornaments - not ostentatious or super crafty looking! LOL. What a combo of things.

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  7. Ahh! These are all such great choices! I really love the rivers and books (but understand your hesitance on that one) for you, and the paw print name, and the calendar :D

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    1. I duly entered those into my list of stats!

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  8. My favs are:
    1) The book tree ornament (second is the gingerbread)
    2) The personalized dog bone is DEFINITELY my fav
    3) The calendar. So simple, so sweet. LOVE IT.

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    1. Thanks for weighing in. It's always interesting to hear what other people think.

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  9. This is such a fun tradition. I would for sure get the book stack tree ornament!! Even if it's coming from Vietnam! I like the dog bone for #2 and the calendar for #3!

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    1. It is one of my most favorite holiday traditions! It's so lovely to unpack them every year.

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  10. THE RIVER ORNAMENT. So cool. Ornaments are fun to shop for.

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    1. I know! I love the river ornament, too. It looks so cool.

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  11. I like the map one. For the pet, I like the one with the photo of the dog and the first Christmas. I really like the last heart one for the newlyweds, or the one with the tree etched on it. I have a favorite Christsmas decoration that was given to me by my dear friends, who I used to babysit for. They gave it to me the year we got engaged (Dec. 16th). It's a Santa with a heart.

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    1. My secret hope is that people will think about me every year when they unpack their ornaments in future years. LOL. Sure, they'll think about their wedding day or whatever, but also that *I* gave it to them.

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  12. Ooh I like the river one but I also like the paw prints...decisions decisions.

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    1. So many decisions - so little time!

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  13. I personally love the map ornament, but I think the book tree would be perfect for you :) (They're all great, I have to say.)

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    1. Of course you love the map ornament! That makes 100% sense to me.

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  14. I could 100% tell the difference between Pepsi, Coke, and RC. I was a Pepsi drinker back in the day, but then I got pregnant and switched to Coke, and it never switched back. Weird. I've never liked RC.

    I like the river one if they can do both rivers, and the map one if they can't. Very cute! For the marrieds, I like the one with the calendar, and for puppy's first Christmas, I like one with a photo.

    I'm very decisive about things for you to buy today, aren't I?

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    1. I really appreciate that you're not dithering - better decisive than leaving it for me to decide!

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  15. I'm looking forward to looking at your past ornament posts. I love the white hearts for the married people, the bone shaped one for Humphrey's person and pretty much all of them for you - so helpful, I know. I particularly love the river one - kind of different and very pretty.

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    1. Hmmm...the river one is just in the lead! We'll see how it shakes out.

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  16. The river and the map ornaments are my favorite! I also like the second ornament for Humphrey's person, and the calendar ornament for your friends who got married.

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    1. I ordered them yesterday and once they all get here, I'll post and let everyone know what I chose!

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  17. River (1) or maps (2), personalized bone (for Humphrey's person... too bad you can't incorporate a dying tumor cell in there somewhere...), and etched tree (not the heart). I'm not a fan of photo ornaments - to me, they always look a bit freaky, LOL.

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    1. I don't like photos of people on ornaments, but I like the idea of Humphrey's person seeing a photo of his cute little self in future years when he's a giant dog!

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  18. Oh that book ornament is fun.
    I also like the first wedding one.
    Such a wonderful tradition to get an ornament every year.

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