The kittens decided that our little Christmas Tree was the best thing since sliced bread. It lasted in our living room for all of 6 hours before Chris woke in the middle of the night to a number of suspicious sounds and found all 12 pounds of Dexter precariously perched in the top branches.  Now the traditional tree is in our bedroom and I never see it. To compensate for my sad Christmas Tree-less living room I decided to fashion a faux tree on the wall with lights and then hang all off the felt ornaments that I made this year on it. I realize that the whole thing is beyond tacky but at least I have some semblance of a tree to look at, and thankfully the kittens don’t bother it at all.

I’m trying. I really am, but I simply cannot find the Christmas spirit this year. Somehow I managed to get my cards out last week (with a little assistance from Watson) but other than that I’m completely behind. My shopping isn’t done. I haven’t purchased pretty wrapping paper. I’ve yet to bake a single cookie and my tree isn’t even decorated. My to-do list seems overwhelmingly out of control. I’m attempting to give myself permission to not care that all of these holiday chores aren’t done (because that’s exactly how they feel at this point) but it’s seriously weighing on my mind. So here’s my evil Christmas “to do” list in all its glory:

• Decorate tree while stringing a million popcorn and cranberries
• Decorate house in cat-friendly manner
• Make cookies for work holiday party on Thursday
• Finish annoying felt ornaments
• Bake and prep for pre-Christmas with Family in Maine
• Plan and shop for actual Christmas dinner with CK
• Finish Christmas shopping
• Find cute wrapping paper and matching accessories, then wrap all the still-to-be purchased gifts
• Watch holiday movies
• Figure out something holiday appropriate to cook and post on Erin Cooks

See what I mean? Even a viewing of Love Actually seems like a big pain in the ass at this point. It’s really going to be a very long month if I don’t snap out of this anti-holiday sentiment soon. I mean…come on…I’m the Christmas Queen usually?! What gives?

I’m keeping it real this year and have decided that my motto for the gift giving (and receiving) season is “be practical.” That means if you’re expecting a present from me it will be something that you can actually use, wear, or should it come to it “re-gift” without shame. To that end I’ve made my own wish list a compilation of items that will serve me well throughout the entire year.

1. I tried to make homemade strawberry jam this summer for the first time and ended up with a very large batch of strawberry sauce. Unfortunately my jam never solidified but it’s great on ice cream. I blame operator error and the fact that I didn’t really have the right equipment to get the job done. This kit appears to be the key to my becoming a canning and preserving Queen.

2. The obligatory Apple product this year is the new Magic Mouse. I inadvertently picked out a really bad mouse when I started my new job and I really dislike it. So if Santa puts one of these under the tree for me my aching right hand will thank you and I’ll also be able to scroll from left to right again.

3. I love Julie Powell. She was my “I hate being an assistant and there’s hope for me yet” inspiration for many years. Now that I’m no longer working in an administrative capacity I thoroughly look forward to reading her latest memoir, Cleaving, about butchering, adultery, and quite probably lots of drinking.

4. Make cheese at home. Need I say more?

5. During the holidays I always curse the fact that I don’t own an extra bowl for my KitchenAid. When I’m in the midst of a baking marathon it is such a pain to constantly re-wash my one bowl. If I had another I could definitely be more efficient. This means more cookies for you!

6. I’m trying to branch out a bit and lately and I’ve been doing a little crafting. I’m not sure how long this interest will last, but frankly I’m sort of modified that I’m almost 30 years old and I can barely sew a straight line. If the zombie apocalypse happens tomorrow how will I sew clothing for my family in hiding? We’re all going to have to flee from high-rise to high-rise in tattered rags!

7. I adore Ellie. I also desperately need to start incorporating more light and healthy meals into our dinner repertoire. You know…dishes that aren’t slathered in butter and sour cream…

8. Ad Hoc at Home sounds like an incredible cookbook. Thomas Keller doing comfort food — how could you possible go wrong?!

My mother has already started to send me emails asking what I want for my birthday. Usually I just say, “Oh whatever…” but this year I’m going to regress back to a time when I used to be the Queen of Wish Lists. The best way for me to illustrate this would be for me to have you think way back to a day in the Fall when we were all still watching shows like Family Ties and Jem and the Holograms and the mailman would deliver the gigantic Sears Wish Book. In some ways that day was more exciting than Christmas. I’ve heard tell that many families had to share the Wish Book and each child would circle what he or she wanted with a particular marker or crayon color but I was an only child and that coveted Wish Book was mine all mine.

And I didn’t just circle things I wanted. I made charts complete with quantity, description, size, item, and page number. Yes, I was a control freak even at 8 years of age. So just for old times sake I’m going to provide my family with this cute visual list of things that I would love to get for my quickly approaching 29th birthday. According to the calendar June 3rd is only 21 days away. Yikes! I can’t believe I’m only going to be in my twenties for one more year. How did this happen?! Oh well…on with the list:

1. I’m hoping to spend the evening of my birthday with a few close friends at Cuchi Cuchi.

2. I’ve wanted this French Bull Utensil Set for several years now and it’s almost always out of stock, but via some miracle it’s actually available right now. Obviously it would fit right in with my whole pink kitchen theme.

3. So I shrunk my blue Reading is Sexy shirt and can now only wear it as pajamas because it would be scandalous for me to be seen out in public with it on. I’d love to have the new pink ringer version though, preferably in extra large so that when I forget and dry it again it will still fit around me.

4. When I bought that Julia Child prayer candle a few weeks ago the owner of the Etsy shop assured me that she can make any kind of prayer candle that you want. So what I really really really want is a prayer candle with Ina Garten on it.

5. This write-on mug is just awesome. That is all.

6. I can’t make homemade strawberry jam or chicken stock if I don’t have a proper stock pot (in Caribbean please).

7. The new iPhone comes out in June. My iPhone is now two years old and is practically a Mac antique. This one is all CK. No worries Mom.

8. I’d like to read Michael Ruhlman’s new book Ratio so that I can hopefully start to figure out how to compose some of my own recipes.

9. Zombies. Need I say more?

10. I really need a mani/pedi. If someone were to get me a gift certificate that would be outstanding. I don’t care where I just need to go.

xoxo,
Erin

CK and I spent Easter in Maine with my family. I started off the festivities earlier in the week with a box of nostalgic Paas Easter egg dye and a cheapo package of white eggs from CVS. The results were less than stellar. You’d think at the grand old age of 28 I could actually make Easter Eggs that looked better than this, but apparently not.

Once in Maine we decided to test our hand at decorating. My sister Nicole and I tried our hardest, but as evidenced below icing and the finesse that such a skill requires does not run in the family. Needless to say none of this will ever make an appearance on ErinCooks. Initially my mom and I thought we were out of red food coloring so our color scheme took on a life of its own, but then we found two more boxes in the pantry. Our rainbow looks more like a Dr. Suess puddle but the cake tasted awesome and the finished product was super vibrant on the plate. You can learn how to make your own rainbow cake at Om Nom Nom.

We ended the afternoon gorging ourselves on ham and roast beef. In case you haven’t figured it out yet all we do in Maine is eat. We also rock the Fiestaware and the paper napkins.

Happy Valentine’s Day! This morning CK and I enjoyed a trashy yet delicious breakfast of McGriddles and Mimosas (made with orange juice from McDonald’s). I promise our Valentine’s Day dinner will be much more romantic and holiday appropriate. How will you be celebrating today?

I’m not ready to give-up my pretty little tree yet. I’ve managed to taper off the constant Christmas music playing, as well as delete all of the holiday themed movies and specials from the Tivo, but I just can’t take down the tree. Maybe this weekend? To further aid in my Christmas-is-over denial my friend Carrie sent me these fabulous kitchen themed ornaments. They are so adorable that I’ve decided they can’t possibly be put away after New Year’s Day. They have to live on the baker’s rack, hanging next to the LED stars that I also refuse to put away during the year, forever and ever. This is a doubly perfect place for them since Carrie has claimed on more than one occasion that she’s going to move in with CK and I and live on that shelf.

Remember your favorite teddy bear and how soft and comforting it felt to hold it? How about the silky fur of a Persian kitten sleeping on your lap? Well my favorite teddy got washed and went from being called Fluffy to Scruffy, and long-haired cats make me want to curl up and die from allergies so when I felt this blanket for the first time I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

CK and I actually came across these blankets back in October during our trip to Seattle. It was raining and we hanging out in a mall until it was time to go to the airport. While browsing around Restoration Hardware we stumbled upon magical decadent brown leather club chairs covered in the absolute softest throws I’d ever felt. I would have gladly stayed there all day snuggled up with those cozy blankets, but instead we flew back to Boston and I bought throws for my mom, grandmother, and sister for Christmas. Then I proceeded to steal my sister’s throw and curl up in it anytime she wasn’t looking. I was so annoyed with myself for not buying one, but CK (aka the best boyfriend ever) secretly ordered one online and it arrived today. In pink of course.

Perhaps the best part is that they’re on sale right now. I’m sure they wont last long and it’s going to be a long cold winter. Why not invest in something comforting that will make you forget that fact for a few moments?

CK broke my ballerina. He walked in, tossed his keys in the basket by the door, and sent the poor girl flying across the room. When she landed her head was knocked clean off. Time to go find the superglue. Hopefully I don’t seal my finger to my nose or some other nonsense while completing ornament surgery.