Look closely at the windows. This is the bus that was stopped in front of us this morning when CK graciously drove me into the office so I wouldn’t break my neck on the trecherously icy sidewalks.

In case you’re wondering, no, I do not forgive Mr. Snow aka the Snow Day God. I now officially hate winter. Time to go find my boots.

At Costco today I found the Anne of Green Gables DVD collection on sale for $49.99 and into the cart it went. Once upon a time I used to own the VHS tapes but gave them away when we retired our VCR. I absolutely adore these movies. When they used to only come on during PBS pledge drives I fondly remember being glued to the television each time Anne made her annual appearance. To this day I still have a crush on the actor who played Gilbert Blythe. Jonathan Crombie: be still my heart.

When I first heard that a prequel to Anne of Green Gables was being published I was absolutely disgusted. It seemed that nothing was sacred anymore. Big business appeared primed to dictate the ruin of one of my most cherished childhood literary memories. I couldn’t comprehend how anyone would possibly think that they should infringe upon such a perfectly crafted story. Not to mention, did I really want to know in-depth details about the downtrodden and tragic days of Anne’s life before she came to Green Gables?

But believe it or not I was wrong and I’m terribly shocked about the whole thing. Before Green Gables is simply excellent. The writing is phenomenal. The story timeline has been meticulously researched, and the characters are well rounded. Each and every new person that comes across Anne’s path fits seamlessly into the tale just as though Lucy Maud Montgomery might have imagined it herself.

I loved learning how Anne developed her quirky vocabulary, including the inception of the phrase “depths of despair” and how she determined that it was her most ardent desire in life to have a “bosom friend.” The portrait of Anne’s kind parents at the beginning of the book is simply heartbreaking, but is balanced well by the few well-meaning souls who recognize in Anne a “kindred spirit” and thankfully take an interest in her education and upbringing.

Anne’s life prior to moving to Prince Edward Island does unfortunately resemble a 10 year indentured servitude to the Gosselin family. She’s constantly cutting vegetables, carrying dozens of buckets of water, and looking after an unbelievable number of very young children, but somehow she continuously maintains a bright and cheerful attitude.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the story is Budge Wilson’s ability to humanize both the Thomas family as well as the Hammond’s. Most of my poor opinion of the Hammond’s is drawn from the 90 seconds that we view their out of control household in the film version, but just like in real life there are always extenuating circumstances that make people behave the way they do. Wilson explores the nuances of each of these struggling families and makes it impossible to simply brand them as villains. Because of this even drunken and abusive Mr. Thomas comes off as being a redeemable character.

Anne Shirley is a charming child who has bewitched readers for years, and this well grounded tale of her past truly only serves to enhance the Green Gables experience. I encourage you to pick it up and reminisce. Personally, I hope to revisit the entire Anne series this year.

How excited was I when I got home today and found my Mad Men calendars waiting for me on the dining room table?! I’m so looking forward to spending the months of 2009 surrounded by vicarious pearls, heels, and pencil skirts. Unfortunately the calendar (designed by Dyna Moe) is sold out at Zazzle, but she still has some pretty fab framable pieces on sale.

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.

This is my grandmother’s nativity scene. She painted all of the pieces in a ceramics class many years ago and it’s been a part of my Christmas memories for as far back as I can remember. The donkey may be missing his ears, one of the wise men appears to have broken the top to his Frankincense container, and the shepherd on the left only has one leg, but I still love it all dearly.

When I was little I would spend a huge amount of time arranging and rearranging the figurines. Then I would inevitably have to do it all over again after a meddling relative would move the people and animals back into their “proper places.” I treated the nativity scene like my own personal dollhouse. Yeah, She-Ra was cool and I loved my Crystal Castle, but She-Ra didn’t have lambs and an itty bitty baby Jesus that fit perfectly in my mischievous little hand.

Honestly I can’t believe that the poor little guy is still in one piece as I not only used him as Ken and Barbie’s stand-in baby, but also was known to take him in the bath with me. Maybe I was pretending he was baby Moses floating down the Nile? I doubt it though. More likely than not I probably coverd him in green sparkly roll-on soap and pretended he was Kermit the Frog.

During the huge storm that hit Maine on Sunday I got it into my head that I was going to enjoy the snow from the bubbly depths of my mom’s hot tub. So I bundled up in a borrowed parka (no way was I doing manual snow removal in my pink coat) and got to work. Well 20 minutes later I realized I was insane and that even though the back deck was cleared off, it was filling back in quickly. Also, I was now thoroughly frozen solid and there was no way I was going out there again in my bathing suit when it was so bitterly cold outside. On the upside, all of that shoveling probably burned off a few cookie calories so I suppose it all worked out in the end.