friday favorites.

our 2004 holiday cd design.

here are my favorites for this week, the holiday edition:

• favorite gift given. i snuck into my then-boyfriend's (now husband's) house and took a bunch of his family photos he had laying around messily on his dresser and had them framed. when he opened them, he was shocked and touched. this ranks as his favorite gift received ever (we quiz each other incessently. well, actually, i develop quizzes and he answers, usually with a sigh.) this gift was even more special as it was the first and last christmas i got to spend with his mom and when he opened them in front of her, i knew that she felt i could take care of her son.

• favorite gift received. when i was about eight, i wanted a puppy so badly (who didn't?). though my mom didn't get me one, she did give me a white spotted flopsy, flipsy stuffed animal puppy i named "rags." i thought it was such a great compromise. i think i forgot about the real puppy.

• favorite holiday memory. getting to decorate the tree with my grandmother's fragile vintage ornaments. as i child, i had to be super careful with them. when my mom let me decorate the whole tree with them, i felt grown-up and the tree looked gorgeous.

• favorite holiday gift wrapping secret. double-stick tape, kraft paper (including brown lunch bags) and grosgrain ribbon. dresses up any package. it's all i used this year.

• favorite holiday splurge. white poinsettias. ok. i know it was a huge splurge, but these plants don't last (despite what it says here), so i consider it an "extra." i planted three in metal buckets and placed them on our front porch. instant christmas.

• favorite holiday tradition. going to my best friend's house next door to my mom. each christmas morning, we'd run over to each other's house and exchange gifts. the best part? her dad would give us the same gift each year (he still does). gifts have ranged from a handmade rubberband gun to c rations (long story) to a floppy stuffed animal monkey. even though we're "up in age" shall we say, this exchange always lets me know that no matter how old i get, i'm still loved and will always be their "adopted" daughter.

• favorite new holiday tradition. giving something handmade. though this tradition started out of necessity (due to budget crisis 2003), i'm going to continue it. we made our own holiday music mix* with custom label again this year (hint: never buy memorex cd-rs; they're awful) and i made these cookies, which were a hit. i had aspirations of making rosemary-infused sea salt, but i couldn't find the containers or the sea salt. found the containers though with the help of gnome g (thanks again!), so i'll be prepared next year.

*songlist (for bex):
winter wonderland   
bing crosby   

up on the housetop
gene autry   

a marshmallow world   
bing crosby   

christmas island
the andrews sisters

must be santa
brave combo

hey santa!   
chris isaak   

(everybody's waitin' for)  the man with the bag
the brian setzer orchestra

merry christmas baby  (extended version)   
elvis presley   

green christmas
barenaked ladies   

east tennessee christmas
chet atkins   

good morning blues
ella fitzgerald   

the merriest
june christy

santa claus is comin' to town
johnny mercer

rockin' around the christmas tree
brenda lee   

linus and lucy
vince guaraldi trio

someday at christmas
stevie wonder   

white christmas
charlie parker

have yourself a merry little christmas 
diana krall   

what child is this
poncho sanchez   

if i needed someone 
michael hedges   

note: i had to mess around with the final playlists because of itunes' digital rights management stuff. i ended up adding a song at the end of some of the cds so that i could burn additional copies of basically the same playlist. argh.