Seeing wreaths on doors during the holiday season just fills me with joy. It’s not something we do in France, and so I love buying mine at the annual holiday fair in my town. One year when I went up to order mine, I told the florist: “by the way... I’m going to paint it.”

The next day, my surprise was delivered. What I had said had sent the florists on a full-on creative spree - they had picked out this special blue pine leaf to add a twist to the traditional NE wreath, and paired it with bright orange berries.

On the spot, I made the executive decision to make that my color scheme, instead of the traditional red & green. When I was finished, I showed it to the florist who told me “Wow… it’s more beautiful than the real one.” My response? “Isn’t that what paintings are supposed to do?”

What holiday decoration item always makes you smile?