Wednesday Wishlist

It's better to give than receive, right? Riiiiiight. Until Christmastime, when at somepoint during the "giving" I wander off to the shoe department and find myself squarely in the "I want to be receiving" camp. (I'm an only child. So sue me.) While the joy of finding the perfect gift for someone you love is certainly one of life's great pleasures, it doesn't hurt to look for oneself, right? Right? Here are some things I would LOVE for Santa to bring me, although it's entirely possible I'm on the naughty list. Oh well, a girl can dream.

This year I'm dreaming of new skinnies, embellished sweaters and new rain boots. And something shiny you know, because why not? Realistically the only thing I'm getting on here is the nail polish.  And maybe the necklace.  Mr. Valentine are you listening???

Embellished Sweater, Rain Boots, Quilted Bag, Statement Necklace, New Skinnies, Pretty Piggies

What's on your wishlist this winter. And are you (like me) never able to find what you want when you have a fist full of cash? Then somehow find every store stocked with the perfect stuff when you are supposed to be shopping for everyone else? That's the universe for ya. She is a tricky, tricky minx. XOXO,

There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

I heard this song today (in the elevator no less) and it instantly made my morning. I love the Byrds and I love Fall even better, which we've quickly transitioned into here in Chicago. Not even 2 weeks ago it was in the 90's, 100% humidity (just ask my hair) and mosquitoes sent straight from Bon Temps, LA. Cut to this week, we are finally in what is my very favorite season here in the Midwest, Autumn.

I love these crisp mornings that turn to beautiful sunny but not hot days. I spent a quiet hour just walking around at lunch yesterday, because I know very soon I'll have either a baby and/or a blizzard to contend with! Here are some of the things that rock my world in the fall:

Pumpkin Spice Lattes:



I normally try to avoid Starbucks in favor of more local coffeehouses (I miss you Brothers K.) but there is a Starbucks in my building and let's face it, the Pumpkin Spice Latte is just about perfect:

Butternut Squash:



I can't wait to make a big batch of butternut squash soup. I put crisp pancetta & thyme on mine because really, when is bacon not awesome?

The answer is never.

My Kickass Frye Riding Boots:



I sometimes just open my closet and look at these boots. These aren't the exact pair I have, mine are a lovely Cognac brown with studs up the back. My husband still doesn't (and never will) know what I paid for them (hint: a LOT), but they are so worth it. This is one of those 3 things I'd grab in a fire.

(Ok, ok, I'd grab my husband, baby & dogs. Sheesh.)


And lastly...Halloween baby hats:



Sadie darling, you may want to start getting used to the fact that mommy is going to put you in all sorts of funny hats as soon as you make your grand entrance. 'Tis my god given right and payback for you pushing your way through my loins.

So there you have it. See? Elevator music isn't all bad covers of R&B and Jessica Simpson.

XOXO,

I'm pretty sure Jesus wasn't a procrastinator.

But here I am, on the eve of Ash Wednesday with no idea of what to give up for Lent. I took a totally unscientific poll this week (Mr. Valentine the scientist would be so displeased) and found that most people give up the usual suspects: smoking, drinking, swearing, chocolate, midget porn, etc. I don't smoke anymore, so that's out. I couldn't care less about chocolate so that would be cheating. I suppose if I really wanted to liken my Lenten experience to Jesus' 40 fast in the wilderness I could give up cheese but come on, we all know that ain't happenin'. (I have a segment called Fromage Fridays people. I am very serious about cheese.)

I think I'm going to take a two pronged approach to Lent this year. I've decided to give up a tangible thing - drinking of any kind. This will most certainly make St. Patty's Day suck but that seems a tad bit whiny when you are trying to channel the sacrifice of a man who wandered in the wilderness for 40 days before ultimately dying a supremely unpleasant death for all humanity.

I think that is a good start, however I'm not sure that me giving up lemon drops & prosecco really is the point of the Lent exercise, so the second "sin" I am giving up is a behavior. For the next 40 days, I am going to attempt to stop stop complaining/criticizing others. I don't think of myself as a mean person, but I am an OCD, type A, only child with a dash of Irish depression thrown in. I can be hypercritical, both of myself and others. So my real challenge for the next 40 days is to stop sweating the small stuff I guess. Stop complaining about my job and do something about it. Stop criticizing my husband for not cleaning enough and start thanking him for working so hard for us. Stop whining about the relationships in my life that hurt and try to find some peace in them.

It is easy to get bogged down by what tires us in life: bills, sickness, stress & pain. I'm hoping the next forty days reaffirm what I already know, that I am an intensely lucky woman with a lifetime of good still to come. St. Athanasius described Lent as "becoming by grace what God is by nature." That's a pretty tall order, but I think with forty Cosmo-free days and a renewed positivity I can find a little of that grace in my life.

New Year, New Look.

My first order of business in 2010 was to get a new blog template, hope you like it. I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions as they more often than not set you up for failure, so instead, I've got some goals for 2010.

1. Learn how to use my new camera. Between my awesome family, friends and Mr. Valentine, I was able to purchase this sexy little number:



Trouble is, I have no idea how to use it. I refuse to be the girl who has an awesome camera that never leaves auto mode so I've signed up for a photography class here in town and hope to post many envy inducing photos of my dogs, husband and cheese very soon.

2. Get back to my pre-marriage weight. I, like many newlyweds, spent the first year and a half of marriage making googly eyes at my husband over wine and cheese. It's a jolly nice way to spend your time, but unless I want to be forklifted out of my house in a year I need to dial it down a notch. This means back to the gym 5 days a week and to resist the drug pushers that work the Whole Foods cheese counter.

3. Stop swearing. I swear like Chicagoans vote, early and often. It's not really my fault, my dad is a chef and if you've spent any time in a restaurant kitchen you know that Mother Teresa would come out of one swearing like a sailor on leave. I can swear in English, French and Spanish. My dad taught me how to say "shit" in French when I was a little girl, so as you can see I never really had a chance. But it is a nasty habit that I need to kick before me and the hubs procreate. I don't really want to raise a mini Andrew Dice Clay.

There are goals of other natures too: financial, career and marriage goals, but I've learned that the only people who want to hear about those are your best friends, dogs and therapists, who incidentally are paid to care.

"Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies." - Demetri Martin

I like to think of myself as a guy's kind of girl. I love beer, whiskey & basketball and have on more than one occasion made some dude my bitch when it comes to sports trivia. That said, I am a total chick too, and said "chickness" seems to flow a little more freely around the holidays.

My most recent expression of girlishness is surrounding Christmas decorations. Mr. Valentine & I braved the snow and got our tree on Monday. You may remember that my Christmas ornaments were STOLEN last year by someone who has a cold dark pit where their heart should be (my money's on Kanye West. I DO live in Chicago). But I finally accumulated a respectable new collection of trimmings for the tree and they are fabulous. Even the hubs thinks so, saying that we replaced our old ornaments with better ones. I concur that this fresh crop of ornaments is better and I can tell you why in one word:

GLITTER.

I am not talking about the ill-conceived Mariah Carey movie. I'm talking about Martha Stewart meets overzealous scrapbooking with a hint of 5 year old girl thrown in glitter. My tree looks like Glinda the Good Witch of the North decorated it. I mean there is glitter EVERYWHERE. And it is fantastic. Glitter snowflakes, glitter balls, glitter bows and the Pièce de résistance, glitter tree topper from Pottery Barn that cost as much as the damn tree. (Not joking, not even a little bit.)

But I, like a magpie, am attracted to the sparkle which in my mind makes it a logical investment. Because if you can't drown yourself in glitter at Christmastime, when can you?

The Grinch Who Stole my Christmas Ornaments

Some of you know that last July, in the process of moving, someone who surely shall burn in the fiery pits of hell stole my Christmas decorations. I'm not even going to try to analyze the psyche of someone who would steal Christmas ornaments except to say that their Karmic backlash should be swift and forceful. I'm thinking death by fire ants.

But I digress.

So now I have to restock my Christmas decoration arsenal. I had some ornaments that are impossible to replace, but thought I could at least get started with the basics: lights, bows, candy canes & balls (stop laughing pervs). I did not anticipate this to be a Tolkien level task. I figured the basic layers of Christmas tree decorating could be found at Target & Home Depot so I schlepped my poor husband around last night after work to get started. (Me being completely OCD, I need the decorations in advance of the tree to avoid any Charlie Brown Christmas references).

We started at Target, which usually does not disappoint, but it appears they've gone a little off the rails in their quest to be "hip". All I wanted was some bows and red, green & gold balls (again, stop laughing pervs), but they were nowhere to be found. If I wanted a 1970's revival tree with disco balls, hot pink & electric blue I would have been good to go. Apparently, if you're a square like me who just wants a green, red & gold tree, Target has passed you by.

We pressed on to Home Depot, since it defies all logic to shop without buying anything. I had seen an ad with a happy looking family gathered around the friendly Home Depot salesman buying strings of Christmas lights for $1.77. My incredibly patient hubs and I finally tracked down a not so friendly Home Depot salesman and tried our best to recreate the magic of said commercial. That would have been easier had he not laughed when we asked where the $2 lights were with a dismissive, "Those were gone in November." He wandered away muttering about how he hated his job. I hear ya' buddy. I worked retail once.

$18 dollars later, all I have are 600 Christmas lights and memories of the ornaments I use to have. It's a start. I'll find enough ornaments and bows to deck out my tree, even if I have to journey to Walmart.

Scratch that. If it comes down to that I'm switching to Hannukah.