String up some lights

Hello blog! I'm back just in time for Christmas. I have been savoring the past two weeks since finishing my semester (only one semester of law school left and then I am a working woman. Can. Not. Wait.) Though I have failed to decorate you, blog, with pretty Christmas pictures like the rest of the blog-world (I'm sorry that you're kind of like that one house on the block that refuses to go out in the cold to put up Christmas decorations, or, even worse, only has one tree lit, or one measly wreath up), my life the past couple weeks has been full of Christmas. I have...

...attended a Christmas dinner party at my boyfriend's for his dad's law firm, catered by an out-of-this-world chef, Chef Michael. Everyone should visit his French restaurant on the North Shore. His mom is the cutest and we had an ornament exchange- his dad read "The Night Before Christmas" and every time he said the word "and" we would pass the ornament we were holding. I ended up with a sparkle star. Oooh how I love sparkles.

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...sipped afternoon tea and champagne at the Four Seasons. It sounds fancy, but of the five people in our party, one spilled her glass of champagne and the other three poured the tea without the strainer, filling our cups with tea leaves. More than once. And we asked for extra tea sandwiches.

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...did plenty of Christmas shopping on the Mag Mile.

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...decorated our apartment with lots and lots of lights. I have a great idea for any extra lights that hang down from a doorway or mantle- stuff them in a pretty clear glass vase and place it on the floor, a table, or the mantle.

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...finished a Dexter marathon. 1 season, 3 nights. It was wonderful.

...munched on burgers, fries, and shakes at The Counter. Such a fun restaurant.

...viewed the windows at Marshall Field's (fine, Macy's) and saw the gorgeous tinseled tree. The theme this year was believe in Santa.

...baked a coconut cake and made a gingerbread house, all in one night. I was in my kitchen for like 6 hours.

Our gingerbread house did not look anything like this. Lets just say it was sort of a California-style house, as in, it had been through an earthquake and a landslide.

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...went to a cookie baking party with my boyfriend's family. This was no ordinary cookie baking, this was serious cookie baking. All the sprinkles were hand-placed and we made at least 15 different kinds of cookies. My favorite were the spice stars- the pepper flavor was a nice reprieve from all the sweetness! Unfortunately I cannot find the recipe for the life of me.

...went to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Christmas concert for my dad's birthday.

So there, blog, now you have at least a few pretty decorations and some Christmas spirit.

Thankful for...food

The next two weeks for me are a time-out from the real world- it is not holiday season, it is finals season. Needless to say, posts will be limited. I just wanted to share this thoughtful contribution on the tail end of Thanksgiving weekend.

PS I don't know what came over me, but I could not get enough of my mom's came-from-a-bag stuffing with added dried cranberries this weekend. Yum.

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I am thankful for...

I was afraid that my previous anti-turkey post would sound too bratty, so I just want to clarify that it was all in good fun and follow up with a thankful post. Though I could never begin to capture it all, I am thankful for...

Food on my table

Family to share moments with

Friends (especially those who I can go for months without seeing but who call me over the holidays and everything picks up just from the last moment we left each other)

My sweet boyfriend

My education

Good health for myself and my loved ones

Our new president

My cozy home

DVR

My trainer at my gym

Warm socks

My kitties

Ice cream

Target

Kindness

Good wine

The internet

Having clothes on my back

Coats to keep me warm

A bed to sleep in (and a TV to fall asleep to and leave on all night so that I wake up to HGTV in the morning)

HGTV

Good books

Sparkly objects

Green tea

Warm showers

Nail polish

Good memories

Lots of love in my life

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No turkey for me, I'm sticking to sweet potatoes

This Thanksgiving I am boycotting turkey. Big words, I know. This is a pretty melodramatic story, I'll admit. So I have spent years trying to convince my mom to buy an organic and/or free-range turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. This year she decided to order a non-frozen, free-range bird from a local meat market. I was really excited about this, so much so that I would drop this in conversation. Anyway, on Sunday she called and I asked, "so you ordered the turkey from the meat market right?" I should have known something was up when she paused, and sort of sighed, and then said, "no, I got one at the grocery store a few days ago. I just thought it would be easier." There was some discussion and raising of voices and then, here is the real kicker, she says "Wait, I compromised with you! I bought you the brown free-range organic eggs that you like!" What? This is a compromise? I think for a few seconds I even briefly wondered if she realized that eggs come from chickens and not turkeys and thus this was not even close to a compromise. So after all this, I made my declaration. I am boycotting the turkey.

Like I said, pretty melodramatic. I'm sure that my mom just rolled her eyes, knowing my tendencies with meat (I was a vegetarian for many years). Plus, I don't even really like Thanksgiving turkey actually. I get all hyped up for it every year, and then every year I take a single bite, remember how dry and bland it is, and immediately regret wasting that valuable real estate on my plate.

I know, it isn't like this boycott will have any real effect on the world, the environment, the turkey industry, or my family. We are having a small Thanksgiving with my grandparents (I am the only child of an only child). My mom will roll her eyes at me again, probably reliving the horrible years when she would have to make separate dinners for her meat-loving husband and vegetarian daughter. My grandma will be beside herself that I am not getting enough to eat, despite the 12 other dishes. My grandpa will probably disregard the fact that I'm not eating turkey and then argue with me about how because he has a Second Amendment right to carry a gun he could go shoot a turkey for us (a major point of contention between me and my NRA card-carrying grandfather). My dad will not have any idea that I'm not eating turkey, even if I specifically tell him, and just be really happy there is more for him.

So I decided to eat my turkey on Monday this week and made a really delicious white chili. Accompanied with goat cheese and almond green beans and a fresh French baguette with roasted garlic, it was better than any frozen grocery store bird. I was planning on including the recipe in this post, but I am home at my parent's in Indiana and the recipe is in my recipe box in Chicago, so maybe later.

In any case, Happy Thanksgiving, whether yours is filled with turkey or not!

Bring on the red cups [holiday season]

The red cups are back! And, sadly enough, the commercial entity that is Starbucks just ushered me into the holiday season. I have been shaking my head at the Christmas decoration merchandise that popped up the day after Halloween, turning a deaf ear to Christmas music in stores, and begging my early-decorator grandma not to put her lawn reindeer out until at least Thanksgiving. But there was something different tonight- maybe that all the storefronts on Michigan Avenue are putting up Christmas displays, that the side streets already have their tree lights up and bright, that the Magnificent Mile Festival of Lights is on Saturday, and that I received the most precious holiday email from Kate Spade this afternoon. I got that tingling feeling of excitement in my stomach though. I officially cannot wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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So on the festive note, I began my Christmas list!

1. An eternity scarf. Typical me, can't decide on a color.

2. Tory Burch Reva flat. It's about time- anyone care to choose a color for me? I'm thinking black and gold, but the green or orange is so pretty and deliciously impractical.

3. Lululemon yoga pants, since I'm now a gym class whore with a 7-month pregnant instructor who kicks my butt.

Nothing gold can stay...

Come back weekend, you were fun...

This weekend I:

*Enjoyed a lot of cheap but delicious Trader Joe's red wine, TV, and a yummy spiced candle

*Treated my parents to the Chicago culinary experience- Hot Doug's for lunch and Sweet Mandy B's for dinner

*Watched the Notre Dame game at a really fun Notre Dame bar

*Spent Saturday evening with good friends, good drinks, and good conversation

*Finished my Halloween decorating (spiderwebs with little orange spiders in the bushes, check)

*Went for a autumn afternoon walk

My camera and I went for a walk on Sunday afternoon and I held my own Halloween decoration contest around my neighborhood. Here are some of the highlights.

"Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold,

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay."

-Robert Frost

A leafy path.

Oh so mum-my.

Garden with ghouls.

Follow the pumpkins home.

No decorations, but I love this old house. Could be haunted, no?

Lovely ghoul.

A small witch accident.

Enter at your own risk.

And the best for last...

Arachnophobia!

Welcome to September

It's September!! This is my favorite month of the year for several reasons- it has always marked the start of a new school year, the month ushers out summer and welcomes in autumn, and, most importantly, it's my birthday month!

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Reason to Celebrate

I'm not quite sure what got me thinking about bizarre holidays, perhaps it was a desire to justify eating a lot of barbecue food like I did over the weekend or wanting to feel guilt-free for a day when indulging in ice cream/M&Ms/Skittles/ect., but I came across several special days that are coming up.

July is...

National Blueberry Month

National Hot Dog Month

National Ice Cream Month

1 Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day

3 Compliment Your Mirror Day

4 Independence Day

6 National Fried Chicken Day

7 National Chocolate Day

7 National Strawberry Sundaw Day

9 National Sugar Cookie Day

10 Teddy Bear Picnic Day

14 Bastille Day

14 National Nude Day1

15 Cow Appreciate Day

16 National Ice Cream Day (actually, this is every day)

20 Moon Day

21 National Junk Food Day

22 Hammock Day

26 All or Nothing Day

27 Take Your Pants for a Walk Day

30 National Cheesecake Day

To be truly a "National" day, Congress first has to pass an act declaring that day a National day. Anyone can create one, though it would probably take a connection to a Congressman, a crafty proposal, and a lot of work and waiting. Many days are simply created by companies (aka card companies), special interest groups, and local governments.

If I were to create a day it would be National No-Driving Day, and anyone caught driving (except for in emergencies I guess) would get a ticket. I hate driving and walk everywhere in the city, and I think a lot of people, and the Earth, would benefit and enjoy it. Also, you would have to be eating ice cream while you walked.

Stars and stripes

Happy Fourth of July! I hope everyone's weekends are full of sun, barbecues, and lots of sparklers.