Monday, December 5, 2011

Crate and Barrel: Survivor Woman


I love Crate and Barrel. We're talking serious love. Like meet the parents, put a ring on its finger at the top of the Empire State Building, small but intimate destination wedding, have 2 kids together kind of love. Every time I'm in there I could spend thousands of dollars which is saying a lot because it's so reasonably priced! I'm also convinced that I could live in Crate and Barrel as though it were my home.

One of my favorite books as a kid was From the Mixed-up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler, because seriously, how cool would it be to live in a museum? But as I've grown up, my fantasies have also become much more adult, and by that I of course mean I want to live in a Crate and Barrel instead of a museum.

Think about it, there is no better place to live. I mean, my local C&B even has a Starbucks inside, could it get any better? My routine would be as follows: get a good night's sleep in one of their immaculately made beds, taking turns on each of them of course so I could eventually decide which is my favorite. Then I would spend my morning wake up time leisurely sipping a latte from the onsite Starbucks or made with one of the various espresso machines in the appliance section. While enjoying my caffeinated beverage, I would curl up on one of their sofas or armchairs and peruse this season's catalogue or read one of the books they have as props for their pretty bookcases. Then I would wander the china section, adding pieces to my fake wedding registry. After that, you would find me in the gourmet food section, making one of their scrumptious soup mixes and perhaps sampling a little bruschetta or chips and salsa on the side, washing it all down with one of their custom drink mixes, perhaps the jalapeƱo lemonade!



Stuffed from my tasty lunch, it would probably be time to stretch out and take a nap on this chaise lounge:


Ahhhh, bliss.

Now it's cookbook time. I could spend hours scanning cookbooks, reading recipes, drooling over beautiful pictures of expertly prepared meals, and my new home allows me to do just that. First I'd grab Giada's latest, then pick up the new Barefoot Contessa, and finish off with the latest dessert book, be it cupcakes, cake pops or whoopie pies. After all this cookbook reading, I'd surely be hungry, so once again I'd hit the gourmet food section, maybe make use of on of the electric griddles or frypans and whip up a nice risotto mix, maybe throw in some dried salami or something. After some light nighttime reading of this season's catalogue, I'd curl up in another gorgeous bed and fall asleep, dreaming of linens and silverware.



Ok, so I could probably only do this for a day or two, but you give me an iPad and a few trips to the grocery store and I could milk this for weeks. The various sleeping and lounging options in this store are what make this scenario so tempting I think. I could while away hours playing games and reading and listening to music curled up on one of their loveseats, just you watch me. Les Stroud may be the Survivor Man of the wild outdoors, but I, I would be the Survivor Woman of the untamed interior of a moderately priced home store.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Holiday To-Do List

Hi friends! I've been MIA from the blogworld lately and it's mostly because I've been buuuuusy. My husband and I went to his family's home for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful and it was so good to spend some quality time with my in-laws. I'm sure that makes a lot of you want to vom, but I'm going to brag, I have great in-laws. Then I got back and work was cray cray. Now that all those real-life responsibilities have been dealt with, I am back to the fantasy land that is my blog.

The holiday season is upon us, and since I love lists, I've made a to-do list that I'll share with all of you. This is a list of things that I feel I must accomplish to fully experience the holiday season.


Holiday To-Do List
1) Buy my husband the BEST $30 gift EVER. I’m thinking a collection of Pez Dispensers.
This Christmas we've challenged each other to buy the best cheap gift for each other that we can. So far I'm stuck on Pez Dispensers. I'm not thrilled with that idea, please help.
Ok, they do look pretty awesome. Also, Pez is delicious.

2) Watch the following movies:
Home Alone
Little Women
The Family Stone
Muppet Christmas Carol (could prove problematic because I only have it on VHS and do not own a VCR)
The Office’s Christmas episodes from Seasons 2-4
The OC’s Christmakah episode
Nothing says Christmas like tricking bad guys.
3) Bake cookies (this year I’m thinking eggnog cookies and mint chocolate chip)
4) Buy Candycanes which will inevitably continue to be eaten through April

5) Awkwardly hang Christmas lights because we live in an apartment that has no decent place to hang Christmas lights, therefore I just kind of pin them up in random places.
6) Make my cat wear his Snuggie
Look how much he loves it!
7) Purchase the MOST obnoxious holiday gift wrap I can find
8) Indulge in an Eggnog Latte or a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks
9) Listen to N’Sync’s “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” approximately 12,098 times

10) Buy some type of sparkly outfit piece, jewelry or headband to punch up my festive factor for holiday get-togethers. (Even if it’s not needed b/c I already own sooooo many sparkly things!)
I'm just like a magpie. Attracted to anything that glitters.
If I accomplish all ten of these items of holiday merriment, I'll be so much in the Christmas spirit that I'll be just like this:
Happy Holiday Season everyone!!