I've had a headache all day, Hubb thinks it is because my computer monitor is too far away and I think it is from MSG or allergies or else I'm beginning to get migraines. Ouch. Maybe drinks will help me. Free drinks.

I'd forgotten about my obsession with Kai perfume...I went through three or four samples when it first came out, and just received another sample in the mail yesterday. I finally splurged and got myself a vial. It makes me feel simply, cleanly, naturally good. In a wonderful delicious way. Like I just want to go home and lay in bed with my head under the covers and smell the way it interacts with my body chemistry.

Christmas is in full swing and we still have a month to go. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. I'm just busy thinking about New Year's.

He's finally gone. My beloved Chester passed away on Friday. I don't go home for Thanksgiving and my dog dies. Shows me. I miss him. We have known he was on his last leg for a while now...I got to see him twice in a month this fall, to say goodbye, even though I didn't really believe it. I was planning on doing the last and final farewell at Christmas but he couldn't hold on that long. My poor baby booper boy. But, as Hubb reassured me, Chester most definitely made it to doggy heaven. He was the best dog. Such a good dog.

I am sort of afraid to ever get another canine, because I'll expect it to live up to what Chester was. Smart, energetic, but still always ready to lay down and groan and sigh and put his head on my pillow. Always excited to see me, the only other man allowed between myself and Hubb in bed. My Chester bester booper boy. He will always be My Dog. Nobody will ever replace him.

1. My oven broke on Thanksgiving. No joke. As soon as the turkey was finished (timing which I am forever thankful for) the oven started wailing a god awful siren and flashing "F3! F3! F3!" in giant red terribleness. It was like a terrible sitcom as we ran up and down the stairs to my angel of a neighbor's oven to tend to the dressing, and watched the rolls expand in the toaster oven. I won't get a properly working oven for almost two weeks...so the turkey pot pie will have to remain a dream this year.

2. We still have at least 15 pounds of turkey left. And with no oven to make a casserole, and no taste for soup, I'm going to have to get creative.

3. I got a new cell phone. It is a camera phone. It is fun. And I get to keep the chirping birds ring tone. Fabulous.

4. I also got an absolutely fantastic vintage wool peacoat with fur trim. I checked it out a week ago at Una Mae's Freak Boutique, put it on hold, never returned to buy it, and returned to find it was still there on the rack a week later. It was a sign. I had to have this coat. It is fabulous.

5. Hubb and my brother found a huge stash of firewood, which we immediately began pilfering for ourselves. This winter is saved from a diminishing firewood supply! Yay!

5. And I got to spend a week with my brother and my mom, visit the Robie house, see a wonderful play, eat way too much food, buy tons of Frango mints, decorate my house for Christmas with my mom, and have lots of fires. It was the perfect Thanksgiving. And I'm thankful for that.

Oh my god, so we were given the BIGGEST DAMN TURKEY THAT EVER LIVED in a wonderful serendipitous turn of events, and it is living in my fridge, frozen, hulking, no doubt frightening the carrots and the kale. I, too, am slightly afraid of this thing, this gigantic bird that will probably take ten hours to cook, and make enough drippings for seventeen gallons of delicious gravy. I can't even fit anything else in my oven when he's in there. Oh my god I can't wait. I'm sort of worried that I will a) drop him as I am transferring him into/out of the oven and ruin Thanksgiving; b) not have enough time for him to cook all of the way through and ruin Thanksgiving; and/or c) get completely sick of turkey before Thanksgiving dinner is even finished, and 20+ pounds of bird will end up rotting in my fridge until New Year's. But I'm also terribly excited. What a way to kick of being a "grown up" and hosting our first major holiday! With a huge fucking bird! I believe I will call him Archibald, Archie for short.

Thank you for your life, Archie. I will enjoy you, my guests (except for the vegetarians) will enjoy you. And Hubb and I will enjoy you in countless sandwiches, casseroles, soups, and stews for quite some time. Thank you for your sacrifice to make my holiday special.

Now I'm going home to begin cleaning and cooking. Yes, it is Monday and I'm already starting to cook dinner for Thursday. I LOVE this holiday!

Happy Turkey Day y'all.

Winter is here...in case you haven't noticed. I've been wearing more clothes, enjoying my new earwarmers, drinking more in the evenings to warm myself up, and slowly fattening up to protect myself from the elements. Ah winter. How I've missed thee. And how I wish I hadn't gotten rid of all of my fat pants.

I'm antsy for a pair of suede pointy-toe wedge-heel boots but I can't find any anywhere. And I really really want them. I saw an incredibly large woman on the bus wearing them, and I swear I can do them better justice. Even though they were still super cute clinging tightly to her rather large ankles.

Although I hate the whole Ugg thing, and I'm not one for cowboy boots in the city, I am liking these right now:

I can't really explain it.

Tonight is full of social obligations, drinks with a former coworker who I miss terribly, dinner date at a new restaurant with the Hubb, bars with friends, etc. Sleeping in tomorrow is the gold at the end of this rainbow of a winter Friday evening.

So you know how every once in a while it seems like your attention it constantly drawn to something you've never really paid much attention to, like a certain type of food, a color, a word you never use but suddenly hear everywhere? Like there is a sudden surge of this thing, your mind catches every single instance of it, you feel like it is following you everywhere?

• Instance 1: when I learned that I didn't really like riesling, and suddenly everybody is giving it to us and bringing it to dinner parties and serving it to me everywhere I go. So I politely drink it, and in the end, wind up appreciating it a little bit more than when I decided I didn't like it at all.
• Instance 2: how in the past couple of weeks I can't escape the reference of "Small Wonder", that mid-80's sitcom about a robotic girl. She's everywhere! Referenced in bars, at parties, on television shows, myspace friend requests...I can't get away from the sudden and slightly disturbing Small Wonder resurfacing.

Random warm spot: I just realized that when my step-mother said "I love you" as I was leaving to come back to Chicago after her mother's funeral, it was the first time she had ever said it out loud to me. I am touched as I think about that.

Hubb and I spent the weekend with his parents, visiting the Farnsworth house, taking a Chicago Gangster bus tour, and eating out a lot. I also got to cook two wonderfully delicious meals (if I do say so myself) for them, which was an absolute pleasure. I love to cook to impress, especially when it is for the parents. In the process I came up with a recipe for cornbread stuffing that I plan to include in the Thanksgiving menu. Delish.

This week is cold, and slow, and unplanned...I ordered beads to make more necklaces for Christmas, and I have some pants I need to hem. I'd like to have the first fire of the season tonight, but Hubb won't be home until late, so I would end up getting drunk on hot brandy cider in front of the fire all by myself. Which wouldn't be entirely that bad, but not something I want to get in the habit of doing on a regular basis. It is a blessing that this week is so lame, I think I need some r&r in preparation for a week of my mom and my brother visiting for the holiday.

It is snowing and my nose is cold.

nonsense:

i have had a twitch on the lower lid of my right eye for three days. i haven't quite figured out what induces these things, these nervous stressed out ticks of mine, but there it is. it will probably go away sometime in january.

i've been a slacker, and, i admit, quite boring. nothing new. nothing of note. nothing fun. not exactly true, but i'm sticking with that excuse for not posting anything in some time. i have photos on my camera that deperately want to be transferred somewhere else...i just don't have the energy. i am at the computer all day long at work. the last thing i want to do when i get home is to-dos that make me sit at the desk. yep, pretty boring.

i'm excited at the upcoming winter months. i've pulled out the scarves and the knee high socks and stockings and even the boots. i'm totally ready except for the fact that i need a new cute coat. which will have to wait due to a suprise financial dilemma. but no worries.

my inlaws are coming tonight and i'm cooking them dinner. and we plan to drive to a cheese factory in wisconsin. and see the robey house. and visit a blues club. and hopefully relax a little bit this weekend. should be nice.

i got a new little moleskine datebook for 2006, and i've just finished transferring all of the birthdays, holidays and anniversaries that are meaningful to me. i love doing this silly little task because it makes me reflect on how lucky i am to have so many wonderful friends and family. and i love sending cards. it gives me reason to buy tons of stationary.

enough nonsense for now. maybe i'll post something of substance before another month goes by. maybe.

oooOOoooh...pretty

A girl can never have enough bags.

I am officially lazy. I tried to go to bed at 9 last night. I haven't uploaded any photos to flickr since July. I haven't cooked more than 1 or 2 decent meals in the last month. I've stopped reading, making jewelry, and even watching my beloved cooking shows. What HAVE I been doing? I have no idea. Working, I guess. And eating out. This needs to stop.

I got the BEST fortune last night with our thai food: "Stop searching forever. Happiness is just next to you." I tured to my left and smiled at the hubb. Yes indeed.

I found the BEST shoe site: solestruck.com. Cute cute cute. Though I'm once again on a shoe diet. On my birthday I bought a wonderful pair of exposed seam orange loafers. I'm really into orange everything right now. I want pumpkin colored sheets for my bed, orange serving dishes for Thanksgiving, orange pillows for the couch. Orange.

I'm preparing the menu for my first Thanksgiving in my own home. I think I'm serving only 6, which is a nice size for a practice Thanksgiving dinner. Here's what I have so far:

• pumpkin and butternut squash soup
• roasted turkey and homemade gravy
• ginger cranberry orange sauce
• apple sage stuffing
• roasted sweet potatoes with candied ginger
• garlic sage mashed potatoes
• sauteed kale with caramelized onions
• arugula, parmesan and cranberry salad with balsamic dressing
• ginger carrots
• a gingerale apple cider punch

For dessert I'm thinking either apple pie or pumpkin creme brulee. I'm leaning towards the creme brulee. Start and end the meal with pumpkin. Perfect.

Hubb treated me fabulously on my birthday this year, with a watch I desperately wanted, a tee shirt I didn't know I wanted, and a wallet I knew I needed but didn't know I'd love so much. Hubb is a wonderful gift giver, as is his little brother who sent me a delicious smoked salmon from Seattle. Best. Birthday. Ever.