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The Christmas groupchat is back for our new annual tradition of Tree Time. Casey Wilson, Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael return to talk about fluffing, fronding and everything in between. Casey, June and Ku’s trip to Aldik’s opened up a whole new world of Tree Time. Forget coastal grandma, Jessica is bringing coastal Christmas ornaments. And SuChin is using her Christmas Village to fight the patriarchy. Hark, hear the angels sing.

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Please note, Add To Cart contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners.

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• Watch The Deep Dive’s Christmas Spectacular here

• SuChin’s new Lemax pieces include the Popcorn Factory and Museum of Nature & Science

• Su personalized Xmas with these Wonderland Scene Monograms from Anthropologie

• The Tree Time gang’s fave Xmas stores: Balsam Hill, Aldik Home and Traditions

• Heidi Rose Robbins is our fave astrologer

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Transcript

SPEAKERS

SuChin Pak, June Diane Raphael, Kulap Vilaysack, Jessica St. Clair, Casey

Kulap Vilaysack  00:07

Welcome back to Add To Cart my little santa elves, I’m your auntie, Kuku Vilaysack.

 

SuChin Pak  00:13

And I’m your other auntie, SuChin Pak, Ku I’m scared. This is the scariest episode of the year for me. And of course, because of that, you know, we believe in manifestation and vortex and energy and all of that, I vortexed a clip of June and Jess talking about poinsettias, poinsettias, and it was vicious.

 

June Diane Raphael  00:40

It’s interesting that no one said, and no one had the courage, maybe, to say they loved a red point set.  Because you don’t, you don’t love a red point set. And honestly, what I want to know is, where do they all go after the season? Who’s growing them?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  00:57

I never seen people come after a plant.

 

SuChin Pak  01:00

Oh, flower hard. No, a flower nay, a flower that just peaks her precious head out just once a year, nay, once a year, not a dandelion, not a bougainvia, not a wee No, just once a year, just a hello, Merry Christmas.

 

Jessica St. Clair  01:19

I thought we all stood against ponsetius, and what I am now seeing in the comments is we have angered and upset, not just like those people, but also their ancestors, their mothers, their grandmothers. I didn’t realize in Mexico.

 

June Diane Raphael  01:37

Let’s bring them.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  01:38

Su, of course, your voice will be a voice of reason that’s always needed, but it doesn’t keep us from inching any closer towards mania. But you know, it’s important that you hear Susu. Why? Because this episode, the moment we pull the lever and light up the neighborhood, it’s tree time. 2024 baby. We’ve assembled our holiday heroes, our Christmas comrades, our seasonal soldiers. Please Add To Cart. Casey Rose Wilson, June Diane Raphael and Jessica St Clair.

 

Casey  02:11

Thanks so much, so happy. And if you’re watching this, welcome to my neighborhood and my

 

Kulap Vilaysack  02:16

Wish. Casey. Casey, to you. You are an author of an amazing book, but also you invented the term tree time. Could you speak on that?

 

June Diane Raphael  02:26

Could explain what it is?

 

Casey  02:27

And I’m so glad you said it, because I will say, and I don’t want to call anyone out here, but the phrase has made its way around Tiktok, around Instagram, and what I don’t see is my name attached to it, and it’s hard, you know, it’s like, it’s hard not to be tagged. It’s definitely my legacy. So I just like to just, we’re mine, and I appreciate that.

 

June Diane Raphael  02:46

I mean, I do think that other people have said we’re gonna go sit by the tree, and have said time, but.

 

Casey  02:51

No, they’ve never said and have some tree time. They’ve said we’re gonna sit by.

 

June Diane Raphael  02:54

This is like our manager saying she invented the world Cool beans.

 

Casey  02:58

Guys, I’m gonna log off. Okay, no one has called it tree time as a form. We’ll give it to you. We’re giving you love to spend time by the tree. I’m not saying the activity is not we know the activity. I see what you’re saying, yeah, tree time. TM, yes.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  03:16

This isn’t like Kim Kardashian trying to trademark Kimonos.

 

June Diane Raphael  03:21

Skemonos […]

 

Casey  03:25

But this is a shorthand and a snappy way to say something that then is created into a movement. So remember, it was in my calendar?

 

June Diane Raphael  03:33

Yes, you scheduled.

 

SuChin Pak  03:34

That’s where you took things to the next level, which is, you schedule. Thank you. Jess, you scheduled. That’s right, so I will you defined it in a way that has never, never been defined.

 

Casey  03:46

It’s both a calendar item and something you spend time doing, and then a state of mind, I hope you carry with you when you’re not.

 

Jessica St. Clair  03:52

It’s like when Jesus is not carrying you, he’s still with you. You know, there’s exactly like that footprints, yeah, the footprint that’s when he was clearing that.

 

SuChin Pak  04:02

Oh, still gets me.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  04:03

Let’s begin our conversation in this round table. But just going around the horn, I want to hear how many trees do you have? What’s your what’s your tree count? People talk about body count on tech talk that we’re talking about tree bodies.

 

SuChin Pak  04:16

In theory and in planning or up now.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  04:19

Up now, sir, and you’re going last so get comfortable.

 

Casey  04:23

We know you’re at zero now.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  04:26

No, but we need to. We need to get ours out before we yell at you. That’s what I mean. That’s what’s happening. And we’ve built we’re billboarding it right like this. So real quick, I have a nine foot bedroom tree. It’s it’s family, it’s fun, it’s 10 together with red bows in my bathroom, I have a flocked mini tree. It’s just 1.5 […]

 

Jessica St. Clair  04:51

You might be the first person ever to have a bathroom tree. I’m really.

 

SuChin Pak  04:55

Oh no. Kim’s been doing it for I know. But in this, in this circle.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:00

Oh, God bless her.

 

Casey  05:01

Yeah, okay. And God bless you.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:02

She’s up to stuff. Thank you.

 

Casey  05:04

You trickled it down to the masses.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:06

I have a countertop tree that is under three feet, that’s on the kitchen island. It’s this year. It’s shiny bright ornaments. Only shiny bright. You know how I feel about a shiny bright, too. I mean, I got it from you, Casey. I learned it from watching you.

 

Casey  05:20

Christopher Radco, who I would like to make a documentary about, if anyone’s interested.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:24

I am, and finally, in my living room, I coined the phrase hero tree.

 

Jessica St. Clair  05:30

I get to have that. Okay, that’s absolutely.  We’re giving that to you […]

 

SuChin Pak  05:35

Also, Gilded woodland […]

 

Casey  05:38

Needed our phrases so, so June, you have phrases out there as well, and we wouldn’t dare take credit, you know.

 

June Diane Raphael  05:45

But I don’t, yeah, great, yeah, wonderful. So Kulap, I was like, on hero tree, got it.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  05:50

Now I moved to Jessica St Clair.

 

Jessica St. Clair  05:52

Well, I’m gonna disappoint you guys in that I only have one hero tree right now, but she is my first Balsam Hill. She is a 7.5 er. She is a balsam fur. She is a candle lit. I get the birth analysis, candle lit, white. She does not have the option to go colored. And I’ve been going back and forth and back and forth about that, but I’m sticking with her, because cool up. And I have to say, like we are on a text chain called Christmas is here and cool up. And I had to go separate. We had to go separate off to our own special text chain, because I did something radical this year, which is I put her up on election day, and I went before everybody on the Christmas is here text chain. And that was a surprise to everybody. It was an emotional decision. I’ve never looked back one. And then I also, and this is just, I’m putting Pin Holders here for us to circle back to these themes. But I did something that was something very new for me, which is I did a base layer on the hero tree of of coastal Christmas ornaments, and that is my base layer, much like a capsule wardrobe. That’s my body suit, if we’re gonna, if we’re gonna go back to Kim Kardashian, that’s my body suit. And now this weekend, we’re going to layer in the family ornaments, but cool up. And I had to go on to a separate thread, because for a while, I would say, for almost two weeks, we were the only ones with any trees up.

 

SuChin Pak  07:27

That’s right, an election tree. This could be a new phrase.

 

Jessica St. Clair  07:31

That’s right and SuChin, sorry, just like to stop SuChin, do you want credit for that one or is that just.

 

SuChin Pak  07:37

That’s all Jess, that’s all, just look at her.

 

Jessica St. Clair  07:39

How, could I take your baby?

 

Casey  07:42

Just get get on them. You know.

 

Jessica St. Clair  07:43

Time stamp it right now. Send it to the lawyer.

 

Jessica St. Clair  07:46

What I want to say, what I want to say, just briefly about Kulap, because on our Christmas Spectacular, she’s mentioned quite a bit because I give her deference as kind of an elder, even though she is not the oldest among us, necessarily, but she has the most deference I give to Kulap, and what she does for me is she says to me all the time, trust your instincts. You’ve always been going here. So when I said, like, I can.

 

Casey  08:12

As it relates to Christmas, take.

 

Jessica St. Clair  08:14

Exactly right? That’s, that’s all right. Kulap. Is this right? And she says, You’ve known it’s right all along, she is my Yoda. She is my Christmas Yoda […]

 

Casey  08:26

That’s another phrase, and you guys […]

 

June Diane Raphael  08:31

[…] Yes, grab the website. Please grab it now.

 

Jessica St. Clair  08:40

All of our production staff members, on this I hope you’re on a second screen.

 

Casey  08:45

Feel about like they have people helping kids get in college now, like you can have a coach for literally, it’s a great idea. Jessica and I have a boundaries coach. You know, it’s like, why not a Christmas coach?

 

Jessica St. Clair  08:55

A great idea. Honestly, I would book a session. I would book that, should.

 

Casey  09:01

It’s true. And, you know, I just thought it was interesting. Like June, you put up your hero tree, which is so beautiful, it’s a new boss. And I’ll let you describe her. But you reached out to cool up last night, and you said, Do I need a bigger bow? And and we could, we could all chime in. We can all, Oh, I think so too. I said, But I […] that at the end of the day, cool up. Will make that decision. Kulap again.

 

SuChin Pak  09:26

What chat is this?

 

Casey  09:27

Is Christmas here, our text thread. That is the three of us. You want Christmas is there SuChin, Christmas is on the 24th we’re yeah, here.

 

Jessica St. Clair  09:36

Christmas is here. You’re on. Well, question please. I just want to say, and I guess a move over to So, just so that’s the hero tree up. And I actually feel like, for her first year on this planet, I want her to feel special. I don’t need she’s given me so much. Babies and June and I have said we wish we could give money to boss, more money to Balsam Hill for their products, because there’s. So excellent. And I kind of feel like I have, I don’t have a need for anything else. I found the love I’ve been waiting for. I found my missing piece.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  10:07

I know, but I know. I know for a fact, next year it’s gonna be a little polyamorous, because I know you’re working on, Dan, your husband, to get you a balsam tree in your body.

 

Jessica St. Clair  10:17

We’d be having a tree immediately. But I had to, first of all, I didn’t ask him about the election trees, so that was and he had a lot of pushback about it, but I didn’t listen. And so, and anyway, we’ll talk about that too, June, about how you would have gone early, but you have a spouse that you respect, and I think that’s beautiful.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  10:34

Scott has no say, go ahead, yeah.

 

June Diane Raphael  10:36

But I wish you guys it’s not like, no say, like, I’m up against a lot, a lot of I’m up against a lot. And I do feel like, Finally, my friends are really, you guys seem to be really seeing that. Now, I know, but it’s always been the case that I’ve been honestly walking seven feet behind […]

 

Jessica St. Clair  10:57

7.5 Balsam Hill tree. Behind Paul, yeah, behind fluff now, talk about fluffing. We have so many things to talk about flocking

 

Casey  11:07

Well, now Kulap, if I could just circle back to the rendered services that I see every photo is Kulap, like on her hands and knees, like doing things. And then we went shopping the other day, and June’s like, Ku, you’ll help me with this. And I’m like, it does bring to mind when Jessica was not paying Heidi rose Robins for several years, still not.

 

SuChin Pak  11:25

She’ll not okay.

 

June Diane Raphael  11:26

She’s still not. That was never really corrected. No, I was meeting with our astrologer twice a week. I think for a while it was like you got the cancer rate, but now it’s like, you got a clean bill up.

 

Casey  11:38

You know that I want to send you a bill?

 

Jessica St. Clair  11:40

No,  I bring that up as much as I can, like, if I’m going for a dermatological procedure, always be like, Oh, God. You know, this is all because of cancer, and that’s nine years ago for a discount. Yeah, just to see if there’s some wiggle room. Let’s see if there’s some wiggle room.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  11:55

Yeah, that’s I respect it now, June, please speak. Speak on your you, you, you have the aforementioned hero tree, but you have a lot of trees.

 

June Diane Raphael  12:04

And I will say, a new tree, and I went cheap on this one, and I think that’s okay. I think ultimately all roads are gonna lead to Balsam. But I also think it’s like, you can only get one Balsam 100% they’re very you know, and it is truly the difference between, like, renting and buying. And so I know, I’m throwing my money it’s good after good money after bad. Yeah, I might as well lighted a fire, but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on a TV room Balsam. So I got a very slender corner tree. Now, one tree that I’ve had, but one thing that I’ve been honestly considering, and Jess and I talked about this up, you know, our show, the other Magus is for us justices. It’s a wrap of wrap.

 

Jessica St. Clair  12:52

What we’re adding to that?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  12:55

Oh, you are. I mean, I guess hard work show up and do a little.

 

June Diane Raphael  12:59

No, but after the there’s gonna be some overlap, but I’m actually glad to have a little more time to explore this. But there was a tree on the Balsam Hill website that was like a two, almost two dimensional corner tree that was half the diameter, so it’s not fully round.

 

Casey  13:17

She’s kind of like an apartment, or just a smaller space.

 

June Diane Raphael  13:21

Or just like a corner that you can’t fit a big tree in.

 

SuChin Pak  13:29

That’s happening at Balsam.

 

June Diane Raphael  13:30

It’s mind blowing. Honestly, innovation, the technology, the Yeah, they are forward thinkers. Are thinking of every space you know, and how to get a tree.

 

Casey  13:43

I would kill to be in that conference room with all our pens out and sharpen them and say, What do we got? Where I like? Where are the ideas, guys?

 

June Diane Raphael  13:51

Yeah, you got a round room. What’s the tree look like?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  13:55

What are the problems? Let’s figure out the solutions.

 

Casey  13:57

Let’s solve where’s the white space with the tree of course.

 

June Diane Raphael  14:02

So I did go cheaper in that and you can tell, you know, that’s a tree you have to look at with yoga eyes, soft eyes. Is she flocked? Is she flocked? I don’t remember if we, if we met the flocks here and but believe me, after, and I know we’re about to get to Casey’s trees, but after having such an intimate experience with Casey’s new block tree, I never I love you know about this one? I am she’s got a new one, and I’m sure she’ll speak about it. But I spent a long time talking to the tree salesman at all Dick home, all day home, and long time they sell trees to to, you know, Christian or like, she’s not getting a balsam. These are different models.

 

June Diane Raphael  14:49

These are different I don’t Well she’s getting a balsam.

 

June Diane Raphael  14:52

The scale that she has to go up on is so high, I don’t think they may get it Balsam. But he. He showed me in Kulap, Casey this point, when he talked to us about this, you were you were over by the flock. You ended up okay, but Kulap, and I were closer to another arrangement of flocks. And he said, I’ll never forget it as long as I live. I looked at this tree, this flock, and I was like, I’ve never seen anything like it. And he said, Actually, you’ll notice that sometimes in certain areas the snow is built up a little more, and in other areas that the branches are sort of crossed, they’re not supposed to look perfect. This is a tree you’ve carried through the snow in Los Angeles. You just in a forest. You carried it and you just pegged it. You dragged it. And that’s the energy it was giving.

 

SuChin Pak  15:45

That was the effect a man said this act […]

 

June Diane Raphael  15:48

Of it a rustic available.

 

SuChin Pak  15:51

Let’s put his number up. Let’s do a service to our listeners.

 

June Diane Raphael  15:54

Well, we all listen. We also heard about just the aldic calendar and how the design the tree designers, how, and I’ll never forget this fact as long as I live, they allow two cashiers, not tree designers.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:11

Because they have four tree designers. They hired one more this year on staff.

 

June Diane Raphael  16:15

That’s right, yep, but they have two cashiers who get to go up at bat and decorate one big.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  16:24

Deal in the store.

 

June Diane Raphael  16:25

That’s really special.

 

Casey  16:26

It’s nice to promote from within. Yes, you know, right?

 

Jessica St. Clair  16:29

Exactly. I was like, that’s a pipeline. I want to make sure I want to be a part of wow, you know, and the Alba and culture. I will say this about Kim Kardashian. And I don’t know if this was this year’s or last year’s, she did a hallway of flocked trees. It looks like you’re going through a forest. And I thought, Boy, that’s a great idea.

 

Casey  16:51

Now I will say Aldic, I don’t believe Aldic made a misstep with this tree. I will say, but yet, we saw it in Courtney Kardashians page, which is the upside down tree, and it all like, it just feels fun. It’s like all this crazy stuff’s happening. And whoa, there’s one that’s upside down like you don’t I don’t think, think, should I put that in my home, but it feels fun there.

 

June Diane Raphael  17:11

Yes, Agree, an assault. It’s an I totally agree. Is that up, down, down tree, it should never be ever. It should never.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  17:19

Just because they can be inverted, doesn’t mean they should.

 

June Diane Raphael  17:37

One of the things I found fascinating about that, what that gentleman told us about trees was that, he said, I said, you know, how long do you fluff for? And this was staggering. I’m thinking 40.

 

Casey  17:51

I’m surely thinking that I’m about to do it […]

 

June Diane Raphael  17:55

Kulap, was that my house for an hour fluffing my tree? And he said, three hours. Three hours.

 

Casey  18:01

He said, take you said, if you want it to look good like that’s off to.

 

SuChin Pak  18:04

You need to three hours to just for the conference callers that are on the line. Yeah, the fluffing. What is fluffing? What? Okay?

 

Jessica St. Clair  18:15

Are you talking about speaking? Some people call it. We found out fronding.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  18:21

Fronding, interesting, sure, sure. So with these artificial trees, they’re they’re boxed up. And so when you unbox them, you unfurl them, if you will. I put on gloves. You have to.

 

Casey  18:35

Why do you bring them to life? My gorgeous hands, I mean, I fly on fluff for three hours, and I didn’t like hurt my hands.

 

June Diane Raphael  18:44

Well, look, I mean, well, the Balsam comes with a paragraph, right, right? So there, there’s that, which is that,

 

Kulap Vilaysack  18:50

And he knows Casey, do I love ceremony?

 

Casey  18:53

Yes.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  18:55

Do I did I come to June’s house with my own Christmas labeled kit and caboodle that I opened it up.

 

June Diane Raphael  19:03

Oh, that’s beautiful. Yes, she did. It was a Christmas toolbox. I never seen anything.

 

SuChin Pak  19:11

Sometimes I think you’re married to Paul. And I thought, what will we be talking about this year? What could we say? What could we say? I was thinking in my mind. I said, Why are we doing this again this year? Just run last year’s My God, ice. I’m sorry more. I It’s okay. It’s it’s the first of many apologies continue.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  19:32

Yeah, just you know I know what you’re saying. Because I was Paul’s like, let me see, let me, let me look at your toolbox. I’m like, I know. I go, Paul. I know yours is gonna be better. But fine. He’s like, no, I just want to understand.

 

Jessica St. Clair  19:44

And he always wants to understand […]

 

Casey  19:46

Symposia, all those things ordered by nightfall. I’m sure

 

Jessica St. Clair  19:50

there’s a million Amazon pie. I’m sure he has one labeled with the label maker. I’m sure I just want to understand. Every time he says that, know that there is something to fail. Curious going on, but he wants to siphon off your knowledge. Okay, go ahead. KU, so you get on your gloves, and then what happens?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  20:08

Get on your gloves and you are just, you’re honoring your trees. You’re the design of the Balsam fur the hill. And you’re just, you’re just expanding them. You’re making them look lifelike. You’re putting life into them, such and pop. Does that make sense?

 

Jessica St. Clair  20:22

Can I ask you this Kulap? Are you because when I was fluffing, I should have asked you, are you sometimes taking a frond up like so you’re not just spreading out? Are you sometimes bending up to hide the trunk.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  20:37

With the Baltimore specifically, there are different types of branches inside that are more about giving levels, okay? And then the outer ones are more decorative, okay? So you can do whatever you want. For June’s tree, I just noticed that, like, the tips needed to be pulled out to make it more expansive, to give it the width that it needed to and it all of it is for the service of it looking fuller. And then also, like, making the ornaments look good.

 

June Diane Raphael  21:04

Well, one thing I hadn’t done at all, because please know that, I thought, Well, I had already fluffed the tree before she came over. And she’s saying, you know, I know we’re working around Emmy’s nap schedule, and this is that. And I was like, Well, unfortunately it didn’t work out, like she’s gonna come over and be like, it’s fluffed, but maybe we have a, you know, cup of coffee instead. And she came over Thanksgiving and saw it, saw it, and put opened up her caboodle, put her gloves on, and went to work. So I was shocked that there was more to do, because I had a ladder out for her, but I didn’t understand how to do the top. And you did look at the top and you were like, Oh, what, and I was like, I didn’t get to it. But the truth was, I didn’t know how to, yeah.

 

SuChin Pak  21:52

Wow, June, the vulnerability here the.

 

June Diane Raphael  21:56

Yeah, I might cry. I didn’t know, but I think that’s why cool up is our Christmas coach TM because, because I knew you wouldn’t a make me feel badly about it. But I also want to shout out Casey, because when I saw her decorations of her tree, I said to her, she has, I really believe a department level, Aldic level. Oh, I for designing.

 

Casey  22:26

I agree. You. I’ve honestly never been more tired.

 

Jessica St. Clair  22:29

You’re giving us, like Plaza Hotel, your hero tree gives us like a wow factor that I don’t think I’ve ever seen.

 

Casey  22:39

I told Dave about my compliment, because I’m like, I don’t think I’ve received a compliment that’s touched me as deeply I said, you not gonna believe what June said today. And he was like, true.

 

June Diane Raphael  22:53

It’s true that little things, and also, I know there’s so much from your your, you know, your home tree that you grew up with that it’s a really, I just love it. I love it. And I do think that you have always had it, but it’s also just wow. The scale at which it’s presenting now is just fantastic. So much Wow. You know it’s fantastic.

 

SuChin Pak  23:21

Okay, so, June, how many trees just spit it out?

 

June Diane Raphael  23:24

Well, okay, sorry. So we got the hero candy cane alley, candy cane and then the pepper Candy Cane Lane. We have four trees. We have four trees. Where’s the fourth bedroom? Kids in the boys room?

 

Casey  23:36

Oh, cute. And what’s the ornaments on?

 

June Diane Raphael  23:38

Yes, um, that’s where. And, you know, I told Casey about this yesterday, but my hero tree has a lot of like Star Wars.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  23:54

Well aware of Santa Paul shears, you know.

 

June Diane Raphael  23:57

Okay, so, yeah, he’s already some comic con, yeah, lanyards, yeah […]

 

SuChin Pak  24:08

I know, but if it was a lanyard tree, I mean, I’m just throwing spitballing guys, I could be wrong.

 

June Diane Raphael  24:14

No idea. No. Well, he does not see this as women’s work.

 

Jessica St. Clair  24:23

No, okay, if anything, he’s very like patriarchal about it, like he, if anything, is like, well, you should see the way he presides over his Christmas Village. He decides whether those people live or die. He decides what the economics are on Brixton lane. I mean, it is, and it’s like that with the ornaments too. It’s like, you’re you’re not gonna fucking masculinity there goes on this branch. He’s the jealous well […]

 

Kulap Vilaysack  24:54

He does homework, he he buys a hallmark ornament every year. Like who among us does that?

 

June Diane Raphael  25:00

Well, and now this year, last year, and is, is now starting this year is the kids get a special ornament. Just him, so they get a special [..] it’s like, this is your Hallmark ornament this year, and it’s me, yeah, he’s mastered the house [….] Yeah? And I’m like, Oh, that’s nice, you know, not, but I can’t you get one from him. I have gotten many ornaments from him through the years, but it’s now become like, what’s their ornament? Gus has arrived earlier than Sam’s this year. That was the whole thing. But, um, he does the advent calendars. You know, I don’t have a word, guys, but you don’t need to do anything. James. Just know that they’re, I know, but this will, this will interest soon too, because they’re already added to cart before I can come up with the idea.

 

Jessica St. Clair  26:01

He’s functioning light years ahead. It’s like when aliens do come to see us, they’re gonna be like, Oh, you guys are in the, you know, primitive stages. Could I just say my family, he’s had these advent calendars for three months. My mother had a woman in town in New Jersey make these ornaments, claymation ornaments, of all of us every year. And it would like be whatever we were up to. And so it’d be like, Oh, college. Jessica had a little middle degree, and then when I graduated, I took a job in advertising, and I was so sad. Everybody else’s ornaments were like, happy my brother’s paying basketball, and I just had a sad face on a briefcase, and my eyes were downcast.

 

Casey  26:42

Corporate Jessica. like, this ain’t school at this ain’t child.

 

Jessica St. Clair  26:46

I was in therapy for the first time this ornament. And they were like, This is what we see every morning at breakfast. And I was like, Fuck you guys. I was like, living at home. She’s just like looking, yeah.

 

SuChin Pak  27:01

You have to mass produce that TM.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  27:03

Okay I believe it’s Casey’s turn.

 

Casey  27:05

Thank you so much, Carrie, is I so in a twist, I have done less treats this year, but I feel I’ve put more attention to decorating. In other ways, less is more.

 

June Diane Raphael  27:17

I would argue your mantle has become.

 

SuChin Pak  27:20

Wow.

 

Casey  27:23

I didn’t even, never asked anyone to follow me on Pinterest, but I have a working folder. Everything’s such a private that I’m up to over the year, gathering images, gathering gatherings, growing away. And one thing I was hell bent on this year was like, and I didn’t totally come to fruition, but taking a cabinet, you know, like, if you have a china cabinet in your home, that now needs to become, I think, all your curios and your Christmas little collections, like we’re transforming, we can transform other spaces into.

 

Jessica St. Clair  27:54

But Christmas area Better Homes and Gardens and country live in magazine, as you know, they put out holiday issues. You’re the you’re the only one who’s still buying them. I know, and I, in fact, I’m late. I’m late and buying them. And I will tell you that they always are looking at those spaces. They are taking out the China and they were putting in vignettes. But a lot of times it’s for collections. So collections of vintage Santas will go in, into these things.

 

Casey  28:19

Don’t you know, I’m on eBay. I’m doing a lot of eBay work.

 

Jessica St. Clair  28:24

Yeah, that’s nice with like, 1950s Angel Carlos.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  28:29

And that’s where you got the blow molds, right, Case?

 

Casey  28:32

Yes, blow molds have become a part, big part of my life. And, you know? And I also added three. I had one, but I added three Hanukkah stations. My husband’s Jewish and said our home seemed dentist time, and so throw him a those are more spaces.

 

Jessica St. Clair  28:49

TM, Casey, because I don’t think has to be. TM, because you guys are getting it now.

 

SuChin Pak  28:56

Give the Webster’s ditch an example of a Hanukkah station.

 

Casey  29:01

So I found, and if you are Jewish, this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Because, you know, there’s not a ton of Hanukkah decorations, but I’ll tell you, I found a blow mold of a menorah. It’s all white, and it lights up. It is the most comforting gorgeous thing. Then I took light blue tinsel and silver tinsel, and then I took light blue, nice, shiny and bright Hanukkah ornaments, sprinkled around some gel, put some dreidels, and then I put blue lights. So it does wear feel very like the bathroom.

 

Jessica St. Clair  29:34

It’s where, you know, it’s a pass through, but that’s okay. Take a candy. Take some chocolate on the way. See if that was out. For me, that’d be some.

 

Casey  29:45

Holiday people are decorating for routinely. So it’s not that I’m turning my back. If anything, I’m a pioneer in this space.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  29:52

I think so, because where we came from, Casey, I recall barely a quarter of your mantle had a drain on so we’ve come up come quite a long.

 

June Diane Raphael  29:59

Marry a dreidel. And, you know, I think what I like about the because when you said it’s station, you know, there’s several stations, I was like, God, station to me implies that there’s, you go in, you […] Then you leave, yeah. Or you, you stock up on something, and then you go.

 

SuChin Pak  30:19

No.

 

June Diane Raphael  30:20

Just, it’s a station to look at a few things, and then you’re on the train.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  30:25

June, you’re the train, so you’re just going through choo choo.

 

June Diane Raphael  30:28

But it’s inviting you to stop. It’s inviting you to put your shoes on and then move and then […] keep going.

 

Jessica St. Clair  30:36

But something I want to report on the front lines is I have been to home goods probably once every four days since election to ask yes.

 

Casey  30:44

And I say this, as someone who has a shopping problem, everyone here can attest to that I’m working on my finances. I say this so seriously, how many times do you go to home goods like for real, at least? And I don’t shame anyone, because every time I’m texting with you, you’re like, just pulling up or just leave.

 

Jessica St. Clair  31:01

No, I have a problem. I’m if this is an intervention home goods, yeah, it’s the same one, and, and, unfortunately, there’s a, it’s a, it’s a plaza that has a Panda Express, where I stopped for an egg roll. Then there’s a Michaels, a home goods and a Marshalls […]

 

Casey  31:18

The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

 

Jessica St. Clair  31:21

Now, what I was gonna say, though, is something that’s very exciting. I have noticed is home goods is usually very much all about Christmas. But this year they have a tiny little corner for Hanukkah, a station, and they had a quite a large section for the Lunar New Year, which was gorgeous stuff.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  31:41

Jess, I want to say in support of you that I’m either going to home goods Marshalls since October, if not every week, every other.

 

Jessica St. Clair  31:51

But did I do this to you Kulap? I think it’s everything like I did this to you.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  31:54

I didn’t go last week. I didn’t go last week because I knew last week.

 

Casey  31:57

Something happened. Well, you guys are going together?

 

Jessica St. Clair  32:02

Oh, yeah.

 

Casey  32:04

You’d have to kind of leave.

 

Jessica St. Clair  32:07

I have to move. You’re all going together at three?

 

Casey  32:11

Yeah, well, it’s just, it’s in low, you know […]

 

Jessica St. Clair  32:20

much as I say, as much as I say that I’d want to meet you guys there. It’s a very solitary experience for me. I don’t want anybody with me. And in fact, I do go with BB. I go with BB, but, but when I really need to center myself, I go alone. That’s, that’s shadow work I’m doing.

 

Casey  32:38

I’ll be honest. I’ve gone to Marshall too. But I do always need to do a circle back by my first that’s for a fact.

 

June Diane Raphael  32:45

And I will say having gone to Aldic recently with Casey and Q and traditions, you know, I found that our traditions work was very separate. We come together to show things, you know, but then we were off on the ornament when I walk immediately broke several ornaments. Truly upon arriving, it was like I was at my first station, and I broke many ornaments. But then when we got to aldix, and I don’t know if it’s because the scale of that place, but I couldn’t you had to be together. I needed them. I had I felt like I’d never get out. I’d felt like I lost, honestly, start a new life by one of those trees.

 

Jessica St. Clair  33:28

I mean, you probably got married to that guy. How much time did you spend time there.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  33:35

Casey and I have been there every year.

 

Casey  33:37

Never in the corner from.

 

June Diane Raphael  33:39

I will say this about Casey and Jessica for two women who who wrote a book about.

 

Casey  33:45

I have seen you guys try to get out of these conversations.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  33:50

You were doing deep talk you were doing.

 

June Diane Raphael  33:54

I guess I was, I guess it wasn’t small enough. I was just asking him about his experience as an altic worker.

 

Casey  34:16

I just want to quickly describe the last tree I got because it was an impulse purchase.

 

Jessica St. Clair  34:20

Let’s be, this is the new tree. This is the flocks.

 

Casey  34:23

It’s, yeah, so I’ve always reserved for our family room a tree that we get a lot, you know, a real tree that’s always been like, and we do that tradition days. We’ve got a blocked one day’s done, but that day coup really put it in my head. That day, it’s like, that day is done. And it’s hard because, like, that’s the memories, like strapping the tree to the car for my family.

 

Jessica St. Clair  34:43

In the parking lot of Home Depot. That’s not a la. We aren’t if there is no actual snow on the ground, that’s not a tradition.

 

Casey  34:52

Yeah, so I was accepting that sort of as I was walking around, but I was still very much struggling with it when i. Tsar when she came into my room, and as I said, when you find out you know who you’re going to send the rest of your life with you, kind of want your life to start right now, because.

 

June Diane Raphael  35:09

She’s a flock. It’s a he, it’s a he or she.

 

Casey  35:13

She, because she’s a bigger gal. But boy, does she stand tall. She’s only 7.5 but could have fooled me when you put her up.

 

Jessica St. Clair  35:20

7.5 tree that it was an was almost an afterthought, like that is a giant tree.

 

Casey  35:27

That’s my hero. Kevin June, you did make me get the the more expensive one, because I was gonna get just the one like light, white lights. And then you and your friend that works at aldik talked me into quite more expensive one. Guys. It is the most gorgeous Fox tree. It goes the lights. There’s 20 settings you can do pastel lights. Now I’m like, is this an Easter tree?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  35:48

This that the pastel sold me? Yeah, it was unbelievable.

 

Casey  35:52

Guys, the colored lights can go from super bright, and then they fade so slowly out and then back on that it it’s not like seizure inducing. It feels so calming to wear for tree time, which Danielle has had questions about. She says, quote, do you just stare at the tree? I don’t get it well, yeah, especially with this one, because you don’t know what the lights are gonna do next.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  36:14

Well, she took me and June’s breath away because we had to haul it.

 

Casey  36:20

Right open about my recent breast augmentation and lift. I can’t lift. I lifted my TTS, I can’t lift. A big box orders, how long […]

 

SuChin Pak  36:34

Look in the mirror, Jess, look in the mirror. Go ahead ask that question, get the mirror. I’m just got hand mirror.

 

Casey  36:41

Thank you so much. Now, mine was more by choice than Jessica’s, but I, you know, I we are still in recovery, and that was a heavy tree, and boy, did they both really put their backs into it.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  36:55

I was looking forward to saying goodbye to my friends after all day, because Casey and June had driven together. And then next thing you know, it’s in my country, she’s driving a work car.

 

June Diane Raphael  37:04

That happened so quickly, too, and there was no discussion before the purchase of like, how will we get it home? Because there’s car seats, and there’s all manner of things. I had all of the stuff from the show Jessica in the backseat of my car. And there’s all manner of things God provides. I needed both of you.

 

Jessica St. Clair  37:21

Yeah,  God does provide. Get it in.

 

SuChin Pak  37:24

Then Casey, what’s the count? Both houses? Count, full count?

 

Casey  37:27

I’m at six.

 

SuChin Pak  37:28

You’re at six.

 

Casey  37:29

I took down my kids tree, my podcast room tree, because my podcast is so small and I’ve got that one.

 

Jessica St. Clair  37:35

Your Coca Cola tree. Didn’t you have a COVID? I let the Coca Cola tree go. But that’s sad, because that was a tribute to your mom.

 

Casey  37:43

Why would that one go?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  37:44

You know, we have to round out this episode and and put SuChin the hot seat.

 

SuChin Pak  37:50

Okay, well, I mean, it’s a very short, short, you know, what do you what do you want me to say? That hasn’t been said before.

 

June Diane Raphael  37:57

You guys, I want to ask you something after last year’s episode, did anything stick? Did you approach?

 

SuChin Pak  38:05

I mean, it’s 364 days in between. So like it stuck for maybe 12 days, and then I had the rest of the year for the for all of the muscle memory to go right back to where I’ve been. I don’t have a tree. I don’t plan on getting a tree. I am neutral about poinsettias also, wait, wait, wait, you’re not getting a tree period. No, I am getting a tree at some point, but it’s not coming anytime soon. What are you doing? I don’t even know where the that tree? What is that thing that holds the tree?

 

Kulap Vilaysack  38:43

The tree base?

 

SuChin Pak  38:45

Yes, I don’t even know where that is. I don’t know where that is at this point.

 

Jessica St. Clair  38:51

But is the Christmas Village? Is the Christmas Village up Su?

 

SuChin Pak  38:55

The Christmas Village went up the day after Thanksgiving.

 

Jessica St. Clair  38:59

Wonderful. Okay, great.

 

Casey  39:01

Well, that’s great. And how is the village faring these days?

 

SuChin Pak  39:05

The village is great. I got a new piece. I will send it around. I guess I’ll text it to coup to text you guys on your group thread, since I can’t access that directly, well, I’ll happen to the Google doc if I can’t get coup to send it to? You guys. I The new the new piece that I got from my village, that what my village really needed was a popcorn factory, and it has a swirling popcorn where the popcorn pops when you turn it on. And I did that, speaking of patriarchy. I did that because I am raising a son, and I want him to understand that this is that this is all of our work together, that he doesn’t have to go around poo pooing it. You know, he can be a part of this. He is obsessed with popcorn. And so this was really for him, inviting him into the space, into Christmas Village, yeah, and inviting him, because my daughter, you know, we start talk, you know, we start planning, like, what will be our new we have, I get one sights and sounds, as they say in the LA Max world, and then I get one, just stationary. And the sights and sounds is what it is, because that’s the thing about LA Max, which I can appreciate. They just they do it exactly. It’s no confusion. There’s no thinking involved. There’s too much other things going on in your life.

 

Casey  40:39

They’re just like, this is the one that’s available this year.

 

SuChin Pak  40:41

No this the sights and sounds category. There will be sights, there will be sounds, there will be movement on those village pieces. And then they have just the light up pieces got you. And so I get one of each. So the sights and sounds was the popcorn, and then the light up one again, homage to my son, who loves, well, not so much anymore. He’s 12, but loved just an afternoon at the Museum of Natural History. And that is a Christmas version, where they have a little sign for an auction, a silent auction at the at the Museum of Natural beautiful. And that’s my stationary piece, those two pieces, and I felt like this year was the year I wanted to truly invite my son, because it’s been, you know, honestly, a me and my daughter type of thing for, you know, since the inception of this so she still has the keys to.

 

Casey  41:33

The mayor, yeah.

 

SuChin Pak  41:35

yeah. And I think even she can’t stretch that far to invite him to partake in that because she was reached across the aisle so much. Not that far, not she’s 10.

 

June Diane Raphael  41:49

I don’t know if you I would love to ask a question, suchin as somebody who, who, I don’t make our village, but I live, I live in the village with in the village, you know? And so I see I see the sights and sounds, and I see what’s going on. I see the new pieces. One of the things that Paul Shearer has been really struggling with, and I don’t know if this is the same as, what did you say? It’s la Max, as La Max, that line of Christmas Village items has, but I don’t know if it’s the same, but Paul is really struggling with the fact that he’s had some pieces for years that lit up from the back, and now a whole new line has been released that lights up sort of in the Middle. It provides a beautiful amount of light. It’s clearly like, this is the newer but how, what would you do in that scenario?

 

SuChin Pak  42:50

I mean, I can’t, I can’t imagine it, because LA Max has thought so far ahead.

 

Casey  42:56

That, and La Max is definitely the Balsam hill.

 

SuChin Pak  42:59

That’s there’s just not going to be an embankment on that. I mean, in fact, they’ve thought so far ahead some of the stuff that I’m like, this was a little unnecessary, but maybe in 20 years I’m going to appreciate this even I am not caught up to some sounds of it. There’s a lot of script involved. Let’s just say, in some of this, the sounds that I don’t necessarily love, but they’ve thought ahead, and you can silence the script and just have the background music, voice overs, voice work, there’s actor work. And my son and I’m now realizing where I am Miss stepping and where I get in the way of making sure my son is not part of the patriarchy. When I was upset, he likes all of the voices on all at once, and so he and I are like, that’s all. That’s too much. That’s cacophony. You’re a maniac. What psycho landed in our village? You do one voice.

 

June Diane Raphael  43:58

Like this podcast episode, everybody’s talking yeah.

 

SuChin Pak  44:01

But when we’re at our best, when we’re at our best, we let each person raise a voice at a time, and so one sights and sound will get a script, and then, you know, but not all at once. It can’t be like, hey, there’s my house. Hahaha, popcorn.

 

Jessica St. Clair  44:20

Everybody here. Silent Auction. I here. It is crazy what it sounds like.

 

SuChin Pak  44:25

And he loves, he likes to turn up it so, anyway, so, but the point is, is my daughter is the mayor. So after dinner, the lights go on in there. I went to Kulap’s house, and I saw the anthropology letters.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  44:41

The gift Casey for gifted.

 

SuChin Pak  44:45

It’s like a Christmas Village in an initial

 

Jessica St. Clair  44:48

Like a Swiss alpine al wood.

 

SuChin Pak  44:52

Correct, and you light it up. I got 1k and 1s each for their room, and that lights up after dinner. And. And everybody does that. And so that’s the extent this tree. I have a feeling this tree is going to come, perhaps the latest in tree time history.

 

June Diane Raphael  45:13

Interesting that when she’s talking about the trees.

 

Casey  45:16

It cut out. I said 23rd but right.

 

June Diane Raphael  45:22

What did you just say it again? Like, yeah, no, you cut out and out.

 

Casey  45:25

23 right?

 

June Diane Raphael  45:26

You literally cut out as soon as you started to talk about was that Father Christmas?

 

Casey  45:32

When will the tree go up?  Break our hearts. Go ahead tell us.

 

Jessica St. Clair  45:38

I’m just looking at the calendar. Yeah and yeah, it doesn’t change every year it’s.

 

SuChin Pak  45:43

Yeah, well, the week of the 20th yeah, something like that.

 

Jessica St. Clair  45:51

Yeah doesn’t get easier. Okay, yeah, okay. SuChin, okay, let’s the forward think real quick. Forward think, okay.

 

SuChin Pak  45:58

And also, let’s, let’s move on.

 

Jessica St. Clair  46:01

We’re still an intervention, if anything.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  46:03

Next year, ladies, we are building a she shed is being built just for suchin There’s a full kitchen. There’s a she’s gonna have the closet of her dreams. Oh, my God, in a year, whoa, there be a tree in the she shed.

 

Jessica St. Clair  46:23

Oh my god. Mic drops. See she guides us. There’s only one set of footsteps.

 

SuChin Pak  46:30

Coach has entered the track.

 

June Diane Raphael  46:33

I hadn’t even Christmas.

 

Jessica St. Clair  46:37

I’ve lived so long in the dark, I didn’t even know there was a switch on that wall. Hadn’t even considered,

 

Casey  46:46

You haven’t even considered electricity, time thing that it’s not up. Is it a husband thing? Is it you thing? Okay, I don’t feel we ever really got it.

 

SuChin Pak  46:56

It’s a little bit of both, a bit, yeah, it’s a husband thing. Because I think I would get the tree the day after Thanksgiving and but it’s a tree’s alive, so we’ve then I’m like.

 

Jessica St. Clair  47:07

Well, it’s the live tree that’s gonna fuck you.

 

Casey  47:11

But I think we could at least do the 15th with a live one, like, if we’re just trying to compromise, yeah.

 

Jessica St. Clair  47:17

Or you leave it up longer, because that’s the other thing. And I this is a whole can of worms. I really think you need to buy the ticket to the Christmas Spectacular to see this. But we had it. We had, I thought it was actually had an absolutely just had.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  47:31

I pay for it out of my own money, because I support the art well, I appreciate it.

 

Casey  47:36

If she’s got true to extend, don’t we have more runway to back up?

 

Jessica St. Clair  47:40

I know, but if we’re dealing with husbands, that’s always going to be the immovable for, yeah, but maybe

 

SuChin Pak  47:45

The she shed though that’s new space. I mean, that’s the upside down trees. Could be there. I could have [..]

 

June Diane Raphael  47:55

No now we’re getting crazy. Let’s just get one right side out. Okay, right for a single tree, normal, normal, normal violence. I’m excited for you SuChin,  I’m excited for this new I love hearing about the new bringing me a lot of joy.

 

SuChin Pak  48:11

Good, I’m glad I could drop just one ounce of joy onto this juiciness of joy that that happens every.

 

Casey  48:20

In a way, your ounce of joy is means more than all of our excesses.

 

June Diane Raphael  48:27

In Christmas, we make meaning, wherever we make meaning, Tia and that so too.

 

Jessica St. Clair  48:35

And we and that’s what cool off knows is. Is when she said to me about my coastal tree, like you’ve been coming to this for years, and, yeah.

 

Casey  48:46

You’ve been hurling towards the coastal tree, there’s been no like history was gonna take us there.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  48:50

You know, yeah, before we leave, Casey, we’re inspired by you, because you have so much Christmas stuff that you have a storage unit that’s very far away, and it gets loaded, unloaded every year, right? So Paul’s idea elves that help, yeah, and elves that help. And Paul’s idea is that perhaps, at least my household, in the Raphael shear household, we do share, we do share. We share, buying.

 

Casey  49:15

Our we share a storage space, you mean? […]

 

Kulap Vilaysack  49:19

Yes, because we are at our limit. I’m at my limit because.

 

Casey  49:22

I will tell you the name of the one I do because it’s so far. It’s cheaper. You just have to schedule them to come in advance.

 

Kulap Vilaysack  49:29

Great, that’s what we like to hear.

 

Casey  49:31

I hope everyone wants to hear. Hears this a moving truck comes to my home. So it’s unload.

 

June Diane Raphael  49:37

We up, we understand, but that’s where we we finally had, you know, and Casey, you’ve been, you’ve been at the forefront of a lot of these Christmas conversations, because you’re doing things a little bit ahead and taking things to places. You know, some of us wouldn’t dare go, but when Paul said, hey, we’re maxed out. Yeah, we’re maxed out, he’s. Like, I need places for the bikes.

 

June Diane Raphael  50:01

Yes, it was a moment where we looked at Kulap and said, Let’s join forces. And it’s a one time.

 

Casey  50:11

Kulap, and I share a Gucci jacket. You guys will share a Christmas storage space. These are natural things for friends well.

 

Jessica St. Clair  50:18

And here’s the thing, Koi fish, they grow to the size of the pond. And I don’t want limits. I don’t want limits put on us.

 

Casey  50:27

I had to buy another home. I had to buy another home to find surfaces [….]

 

Jessica St. Clair  50:35

You did it. She’s grounded and heavy handed, yeah.

 

Casey  50:40

Thank you so much for joining us for Tree Time.

 

June Diane Raphael  50:43

If anyone’s still listening, I don’t think it is.

 

Jessica St. Clair  50:46

Ladies, let’s sing ourselves out. Let’s sing a carol.

 

June Diane Raphael  50:49

What should we sing?  [….]

 

CREDITS  51:05

There’s more add to cart with Lemonada Premium. Subscribers get exclusive access to bonus content, like where we tell you about the last item we bought or returned, and why subscribe now in Apple podcasts. Add To Cart is a production of Lemonada Media. Our producers are Kegan Zema and Tiffany Bouy. Brian Castillo is our engineer. Theme music is by Wasahhbii and produced by La Made It and Oh So Familiar with additional music by APM music. Executive producers or Kulap Vilaysack, SuChin Pak, Jessica Cordova Kramer, and Stephanie Wittels Wachs. Be sure to check out all the items we mentioned today on our Instagram at @AddToCartPod. Follow Add to Cart wherever you get your podcasts or listen ad free on Amazon music with your Prime membership.