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Dear Santa…

Published on December 16, 2010 in Bios and Stuff We Love. 3 Comments

  

..ehhh, I’ve been a good girl this year (?)  Welllll, except for the time that I saw Gus licking the butter sticks on the edge of the Thanksgiving dinner table right before we ate and didn’t tell anybody…  and the time I smuggled home-popped-popcorn into the movies in my giant Furla, then used the movie theater’s butter machine…  aaaaaand the time Gus did one more round of business than I had bags, and we ran.  Oosie.  On top of which, I may’ve gotten a little rowdy this year.  

  

I also haven’t quite grown out of this habit yet…  I’ll try to work on that next year.  

  

…you still love me, right Santy Claus?  

  

Anyhow, I promise I didn’t do anything rotten enough to get myself demoted to the Naughty List.   (That’s where people like Karrie belong…)  BaaaaaaaaAAAHAHHahahahAHHaaaaahahhaa.  Here’s what’s on my list this year:  

  

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1.  SNOW.  Pretty please?  Christmas never feels the same without it.  If you could create some sort of blizzard, keep it around 30 degrees, and make sure Claymation Rudolph and It’s a Wonderful Life play on repeat with no commercials, that would be fan-TASTIC.  

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2.  A few gorgeous frocks: DVF Tiny Dancer Corset Dress – $498 $298 / DVF Mini – $185 / Rosamosario La Fata Dress – $725.  The DVF on the left is one of those dresses that doesn’t look like much on the hanger, but I put it on and it changed my life.  It’s wildly flattering, appropriate for almost any occasion, and it’s on sale.  I have visions of wearing one of the lovelies below when I turn the big 3-0 in March.  

  

3.  Tickets to Wicked on Broadway in Chicago.  Because I’m duh-duh-dying to know what went down between Glenda and what’s-her-face before Dorothy came along, and I only have until January 23, 2011 to find out.  

  

  

4.  Ugg Dakota Moccasins – $100.  I have a firm belief that the true cost of something is (the price) divided by the number of times you wear it.  Which actually renders these things, like, negative 2 cents.  And listen, I did my due diligence…  the ones at Wal-Mart for 10 bucks are literally lined with gauze.  No spanks.  

5.  Melissa Clutch from Club Monaco – $138. Since it has every color of the neutral metallic rainbow in it,  it’ll work hard and work with almost everything.
  

  

6.  Big Easy Knob from Anthropologie – $12 each.  I’ve been swooning over these ever since I ran across them on Oh Joy’s blog.  They’re 1.75″ in diameter and totally delicious.  Like big hunks of gorgeous jewelry that would make any crusty old dresser look like a gem.  

  

7.  Flower Mirror from Tonic Home – $375.  Part modern, part retro, part swirly twirly gumdrops – and altogether pristine & girly.  I dig it, I’ve dug it for awhile, and I wanna mount it over the dresser with the pretty knobs.  

  

8.  Bliss Body Butter – $28 for 6.7 oz. Listen, people aren’t kidding.  This stuff really is like buttah.  Supple, luxurious, and the lemon/sage version is refreshing without being overwhelming.  Plus, in its absence, I might turn into a scaly dragon this winter.  

  

9.  I would love a few yards of this Yellow Ikat fabric to reupholster the long bench seat at the end of my bed.  Come springtime, I’ll be itching for something fresh, happy & bright, comme ça.  

  

10.  All that said, I will CHEERFULLY trade #’s 1 thru 9 if my entire family can hole up in this place for a week with no cell phones or computers, and just kick it old school with board games, books, and maybe a deck of cards.  Whatever happened to the days when entire extended families all stayed in the same house over the holidays?  When people made snowmen?  When everything wasn’t in fast-forward mode all the time?  I call a re-do.  

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Thanks so much, Santa.  And…  well, maybe just to be safe, you could leave #4 under the tree for me?  Just so my feet will stay warm.  The floors can get very cold in those cabins, you know.  

xoxo!  

3 Comments

Are You There Santa? It’s Me, Karrie

Published on December 15, 2010 in Stuff We Love. 5 Comments

Oh, how I used to love my little Mexican grandma singing to me, “You baytor watch out, you baytor not cry, you baytor not pout, I’m tellin’ you why.  San-ta Claus eez coming… to town!”

Every time I hear that song on the radio, I STILL get giddy (gracias, Coast 103.5 for playin’ those Xmas tunes 24-7!).   Soooo, I might have pouted a bit.  I definitely did my fair share of crying this year.   But you know what?   Overall, I’m not too bad!  (I know, Mom, except for that time I let tickets to Dancing With the Stars fall through… time to move on…)

So here’s my list of goodies for Santy Claus.  Like the wise people behind that sage book The Secret once wrote, you need to put it out to the universe for it to come your way.  Right???

1. A niiice SLR camera – A Canon or a Nikon.  All I ask, Santy, is for one that can take beautiful, crisp, vivid pics.  I promise I’ll even teach myself Photoshop once I obtain said camera.  Hooray!

2. Headphones – either Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones or the Bose Noise Cancelling headphones.  One’s the equivalent of standing in front of a loud sound system at an underground rap concert, the loud, bass-heavy music throbbing energetically in your ears; the other, a front row seat to a lovely, classic symphony where every instrument sounds clear as day.

3. Drive Time: French Learning CD – One only need look at the miles I’ve accrued driving back and forth from LA to my love every week, to know I’ve got plenty of time to be learning another language.  Each year I tell myself it’s time to learn Francais and this year, I think I’m a gonna bust a move and make it happen!

4. J Brand “Houlihan” Skinny Cargo Pants – If I have to watch my long, lean Brit colleague walk past me one more time wearing these M*A*S*H inspired pants… I tell ya.  Sooo cute, with summery tan platforms or hot high heels.

5. Centerville Pies’ chicken pot pie – Just reading the “About Us” on the website for this Maine-based company made me almost tear up.  Two women, a former banker and deputy sheriff, put their careers on hold to pursue their dream of opening a pie shop for their friends and family.  Lo’ and behold, one year later, Oprah Winfrey herself exalted their chicken pot pies in Part 1 of her Oprah’s Favorite Things episode.  *Warning – holiday ordering has now stopped; all purchases will be shipped out at the beginning of January.  D’oh!

6. Williams-Sonoma croissants – Mmmmmm… can’t you just smell these buttery delights fresh out of the oven?  I know, kinda a weird “ask”, but I’ve been wanting a batch of these shipped to me from an elf for quite a while.  Idea courtesy of,  per usual, Ms. Winfrey’s Favorite Things.

7. Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? The Queen of All Things Perfection just released her 7th cookbook, and this time the focus is on “creating simpler yet appetizing dishes that save time and minimize stress in the kitchen”.  Amen to that, Ina!  I’ll buy what yer sellin’ any day.  Tell Jeffrey I said what up!

8. Books:  1) Paulo Coelho’s Eleven Minutes 2) Best American Travel Writing – Bill Buford 3) One Day – David Nicholls 4) Cooking for Two: 2010

9. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 4) – After years of hearing how this show was one of the funniest shows on the tube, I finally got a viewing when my man had knee surgery and I was forced to cuddle and watch TV with him for hours.  We devoured this series – it’s effing hilar – no, seriously – and it’s time for me to pick up where I left off, with Season 4.

10. Subscriptions to US Weekly and People Magazine – No joke, I’ve been asking for subscriptions to these since college.  My senior year, my boyfriend told me he was about to order me a People Mag subscription.  When we broke up a week later, one of my first thoughts was whether or not the magazines would be showing up in my mailbox.  They didn’t. 

11. Sade’s “Soldier of Love” album – Thanks to me mum, I started listenin’ to this soulful crooner when I was just a baby Hoosier.  I can remember drivin’ down the Indiana highway in our ’84 rusted out red Pontiac, jamming (probs in my fave ballerina t-shirt) to a tape of Sade.  

But, with all this said, I’d be remiss not to mention that these material things are just that… material.  I’d gladly nix any presents for some time well-spent with my loved ones – both the ones physically present, as well as those with me in spirit.

Happy Holidays, everyone!  And now, Marv, I just ask that you PLEASE stay away this year.

Keep the change, you filthy animals!!!

xoxo,

5 Comments