the 2010 christiemas season list

GOD DID YOU SEE OPRAH'S FAVORITE THINGS?! times TWO?! wtf what does it TAKE to get on this SHOW. please note that oprah typically has one "favorite things" episode per season, during which she shares pretty much every delightful (not to mention expensive, extravagant) treat with her audience. it's really like winning the lottery. anyway, this year, since it's her last year and she is completely and utterly spoiling her audience to its fullest (hey, im not complaining... im only complaining that im not IN her audience...), she decided to up the ante and host not one, but TWO favorite things episodes for two audiences. therefore, episode one aired on friday and episode two aired today. i mean, friday's was spectac enough (i mean, the WAY people are flipping OUT... you can't make this stuff up people!) but today's episode was even better... apparently, today's audience was waiting in line for their turn to get into the studio when the show that had been taping just prior ended and all these people from THAT audience scurried on out with their presents galore. anyway, my personal favorite was how oprah innocently asks today's audience how they felt about seeing all those other people floating out with their presents and one woman in the audience was like "we were PISSED!" i mean, come on lady, have a little class... oh who am i KIDDING. you really think i would have kept MY mouth shut if oprah had asked MY opinion about that situation? please. PLEASE.

anyway. a cruise trip and a yet-to-be-released 2012 VW beetle later (um. that's what im SAYING)... let's just say oprah's audience was nice and satisfied. ugh. gag me. A CRUISE?! A CAR?! oprah, you're killing me here... anyway! haha merriment and sunshine! i keep forgetting. believe it or not, this blog post was not devoted to the wonders and glories of oprah's favorite things. rather, it actually got me thinking of my OWN christiemas list o' favorite things (i mean, who WOULDN'T start thinking of their own list, right? ... no? eh, oh well.) because i dont live nearly as extravagant a lifestyle as the oprah herself (nor do i remotely care to, to be perfectly honest), this list was certainly not as jaw-dropping as the presents that were handed out on the oprah's show... but i guess that's good because, who are we kidding? it's not like im going to be BUYING all these things for all you blog readers out there. i mean, im grateful to you guys (believe you ME!) but let's be honest here... i do have my limits! but then i was thinking about how i really dont WANT all that much stuff (im telling you. i lead a VERY simple lifestyle!)... so instead... im going to present to you a list of the things i think no christiemas season should do without...

sooo... without further adoooo... i present to youuuu...

the 2010 christiemas season list

1. mariah carey's christiemas cd - now, don't get confused. i know she just released a new cd recently. which im sure is absolutely fantast, but i cant attest to it since im waiting to buy it this weekend. no no. IM referring to the oldie but GOODY... mariah carey's christiemas cd from like 20 years ago is something that will make any grinch start singing and dancing for all the world to see. if you cant get happy by listening to that cd, well, im just plain sorry. so, dont hold back! sing! dance! joy to the WORLD!

2. the starbucks christiemas cd (from last year, at least) - okay. maybe you dont need the entire cd (although it IS quite delicious). all you REALLY need is to hear "baby, it's cold outside" by norah jones/willie nelson and you will be SET. i remember sitting at my desk at work listening to that song on repeat for days at a time last year. let's just say not much work was getting done as i sang to myself (and kind of out loud. and by kind of, i mean TOTALLY out loud) and just stared out the window thinking about cozy fireplaces, snowflakes, and cozy white hot chocolate (i dont like normal hot chocolate. just a friendly fyi!)

3. love ACTUALLY and elf - these are without a doubt my two favorite christiemas movies of all TIME. granted, they're not what one would ever consider classics (and you KNOW im a classic kind of gal) but still. these two will beCOME classics in just a few years/decades. they are timeless and a-mazing. one of my favorite questions to ask people is what their favorite love actually couple is. for me, im always torn because i love them ALL but i would HAVE to say it is between the little boy's tumultuous crush on the american girl (i personally want to adopt that boy as my own) and his fantastic stepfather. or maybe it's the prime minister and the monica lewinsky lookalike (i mean, such pure and INNOCENCE. well. kind of. but you get the idea.)... ugh i just cant decide. talk about warm and fuzzy. i already watched it once to kickstart the holiday season. im eagerly anticipating the next viewing.

4. salted caramel hot chocolate - okay, okay. i know i said i dont like hot chocolate (except for white hot chocolate, since i dont mind white chocolate) but this is the only exception to that rule. i dont know what it IS but something about that salted caramel flavor atop the fluffy pillows of whipped cream topping the piping hot chocolate... ummmm i could SCREAM IT IS SO GOOD. go to starbucks and please grace yourself with this fantasmic delight. please. tell them christie sent you. i mean... i dont really know what they'll do if you DO say that i sent you but whatever. any possible way to self-advertise, really. hahaha.

5. peppermint ice cream!!! - okay again. i know im not the biggest fan of ice cream but there is something about eating peppermint ice cream in the wintertime that screams holiday perfection to me. my personal favorite is this peppermint ice cream from graeters or UDF in the nati. man, does the nati know how to do ice cream. matter of fact, im going to have some as soon as i get home tomorrow, thank you very much.

6. ornament from the kris kringle marketplace - i was TOTES going to start this tradition last year, since i had just moved to chicago, but... well, i kind of forgot. anyway, no time like the present and all that right? SO, starting this year... im planning on going to the kris kringle market in daley plaza (in downtown chicago) and buying a christiemas ornament. have you SEEN some of the ornaments they have there? they are abs-o-lutely a-mazing. from this year forward, one new ornament a year! let christiemas in chicago reign!

7. a rendition of "Twere the Weeks Before Christiemas" - last year, this poetic genius was on a slight hiatus since i was still relatively new at my company and i had some degree of shame and/or a filter... well, 1.5 years later... all that is OUT the window and i cant WAIT to get started on crafting this fine work of poetic genius/christiemas spirit fingers at its finest, if i do say so myself...

so there you have it... for now...

joy to the WORLD!

bringing the world's holidays together, one funfetti cupcake at a time...

so i was debating whether christiemas festivities should begin this week or next week, but i think this week is quickly winning out. let's be honest here, i held out long enough as compared to in years past when you KNOW christiemas began in july. this was moreso a conscientious effort because i am just darn DETERMINED not to suffer from christiemas burnout before the grand december 25th itself. please. i've waited long enough. heck, starbucks has brought back their christiemas cups. it's TIME to start the season in full FORCE, thank you very much.

and dude. what a wonderful time to coincide one of the grandest seasons in the united states (christiemas. just to clarify) with one of the grandest holidays in the motherland (india. just to clarify)... diwali! woohooo! granted, i never celebrated this holiday growing up but it sounds so delightful and sunshiney and happy and merry... basically, it's totes spotlight material for the maliyacular... a blog devoted to flowers and springtime, sunshine and summertime, foliage and falltime, Mariah Carey and Christiemastime... but i digress.

okay. so it seems like everyone in india has been celebrating diwali the entire week (i may be slightly exaggerating. all i know is that they get the day off on friday. im just SAYING.) and MAN, do they celebrate in style. sigh. i want to go to india. haha i know PLENTY of you are reading this and being like... what. fair enough, i know i know. to which ill respond... well, WHAT?! i think it sounds so merry and joyous and just plain festive! just like christiemas if you will. i mean, think about it. there are all kinds of similarities. they're both religious holidays. they both involve the... festival of lights. they both involve happiness and spirit and sunshiney warm and fuzzies. well, you get the idea, right?

and the FESTIVITIES that take PLACE?!?! today was such an educational day at work. i learned about what the holiday actually celebrates but also HOW it gets celebrated over there. crafts and sweets? um hello, this is SO my kind of holiday. apparently, diwali also involves some sort of fireworks display (i mean, understandably, right? festival of lights... fireworks...at least, i think that's the connection. im still LEARNING, give me a break here!). anyway, putting all that information together (man, today was such an educational experience at work, let me tell you. im exhausted! haha), i decided it is about time WE celebrate some cultural roots and our counterparts half a world away by having our own little diwali celebration at work tomorrow.

i was super excited. i mean, arts and crafts? sweets? singing and dancing? general merriment? hooray hooray hooray!

well, so much for THAT idea. after my coworker voiced his concerns about my general sanity/craziness levels, i decided to just tone it down with... of course... baked goods. i mean, obvi. it's not like some coworkers and i gorged on chocolate last week in honor of halloween. but whatever. a mere side note, really. and how fab is THIS?? FUNFETTI cupcakes.... in honor of the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS!!! GET IT??? funfetti is just about the most colorful kind of cupcake if ever there was one... i mean, with the frosting and sprinkles, it TOTES resemble fireworks, right?? right. well, whatever, we're going to go with that for now. and i think the decision to bake those funfetti cupcakes was simply fate. because as i was walking down my grocery store's baked goods aisle, what did i stumble across but... CHRISTIEMAS FROSTING!!!!!!!!!! eeee!!!!! it's like all the grandest things in the world just came together in one simple grocery aisle. lakfjojer!lkJlkjaals!

hoorayy!!! so get ready, world! let the christiemas festivities BEGIN!!!!! and what better way to begin the christiemas festivities than by saying... well, happy diwali!!

ps apologies for the lack of blog posts for the past MONTH. wtf, i know right? ill try to keep up. hell, i KNOW ill keep up. i gotta keep the world merry for the next two months at least! it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it...

happy first cozy coffee shop day of the SEASON!

i wish i could've written this entry this weekend when i was actually celebrating my first.... cozy coffee shop day of the season!!! woooohooooooooo! im not alone in this regard, im sure. right?? the grandest season of allllll, falllllll, is upon us, ladies and gents! i hope you're ready!!! i certainly am. after like the millionth day of 90+ degree heat, not to mention some pretty disgusting humidity, i have been MORE than happy to welcome the merriment and delights that only fall can bring (what can i say? im a wimp in the heat... im also kind of a wimp in the cold... i just kind of suck at temperature extremities, let's face it).

granted, i celebrated my first cozy coffee shop day by... working on some stuff on my laptop at a starbucks... glamorous, i know. but whatever. starbucks has their salted caramel hot chocolate again, so we're back on good terms. man, you just never KNOW what days you'll find me loving the 'bucks and what days you'll find me hating the 'bucks but whatever. it's all part of the adventure, right? sure, why not. haha. fickle may be a better word for it.

here's the thing though. my local starbucks is only about the coziest place ever. it's got those comfy chairs (which i didnt sit in because i had to whip out my darn laptop) that are PERF for a cozy afternoon of reading while sipping some warm beverage of choice... salted caramel hot chocolate... nonfat, extra, no foam, sugar free vanilla chai tea lattes... coconut steamers... caramel macchiatos... oh i could go on and on. granted, i could make my own chai with real tea bags and grinded cardamom (have you ever HAD this kind of chai? i love my parents for introducing me to only the most delightful, cozy drink the world over) and curl up on my ever-cozy plush couch at home but... well, i dont KNOW. there's just something about the idea of a coffee shop that is just so darn delightful to me. so, cozy starbucks it was, in honor of my first cozy coffee shop day of the season.

ahh can you not WAIT for the rest of this darn SEASON?! as i sit here typing this, im staring gleefully at my cozy pumpkin/cinnamon/vanilla candle that still remains to be lit at some point in time (note that this candle is only about three years old. but whatever. i need matches!) and mentally reviewing the list of fall treats i want to start baking asap (among other things, pumpkin cookies (preferably iced), chai cookies (MEG! YUM! thanks for the idea last year!!!), pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin cheesecake bars, pumpkin chai (i used to get this during my whole addicted-to-starbucks phase of life, but now i think im ready to seize the bull by the horns (is that even an EXPRESSION?? or did i totally just f it up?) and make up this sugary deliciousness of a beverage mySELF))))... (i lost track of how many parenthetical comments within parenthetical comments i just made there...) well, you get the idea. haha. do you like how i threw in those chai cookies just to break up the monotony of the pumpkin flavored items on the menu? sigh oh well. when you've found a winner, you've found a winner. and the winner here is clearly pumpkin. and chai. hence... the pumpkin chai. hahaha. i tickle myself. but seriously, it's actually quite the tasty of beverages despite the onslaught of a whole bunch of random spices... but whatever.

i cant WAIT to make my homemade pumpkin chai one saturday morning and sip it cozily while munching on a freshly baked pumpkin cookie while taking in the lovely scent of my pumpkin/cinnamon/vanilla candle as i read my latest book on my cozy, plush couch on a crisp fall morning, with the sun beaming through my windows as i watch the leaves fall gracefully to the ground, perhaps changing ever so subtlely from green to orange to red...

soooo, in other words... i will more than likely be going to my local starbucks this saturday morning, order their sugar-ridden chai tea latte, and sit at one of their wooden tables (complete with wooden chair) while i pop open my laptop (because im obvi NEVER looking at this thing) while staring out at... the sidewalk... for inpiration since, hello, there are no trees (with falling leaves, no less) dotting my ever-beloved Clark Street...

im just SAYING!

in gratitude of,

the first (of MANY!) cozy coffee shop day of the grandest season of allllll, falllllll!!! :)