Christmas List

It's that time of year again: the time when multiple family members ask me what I want for Christmas and my birthday (it's the 22nd, just in case anyone would like to send me a gift. I will be 32. Which sounds old to me, but I digress.)

I happen to think that I'm just about the easiest person ever to shop for. I mean, I never, ever have trouble buying things for myself. In fact, this Christmas shopping season alone, I've bought myself a painting (a little one - we're going to decorate our new master bathroom around it - I love it), at least one Christmas tree ornament, a dress, a skirt, an awesome sweater (on sale), about five books and 10 pairs of gloves (Target has such cute gloves: 2 pairs for $1.49. Amazing!) I have also purchased gifts for almost everyone on my list, too, but really, I'm not so hard.

But just in case anyone needs help, and as a reminder for me, when I'm doing my AFTER-Christmas personal shopping, the Internet, as usual, comes through with great ideas I'd never have thought of on my own. It's the season for the blogger/ reporter "wish list" article. I've seen a million of them, but I have a couple of favorites:

Mr. Henry, Manolo's blogger of the gourmanderie, offers a few lists, including this one, which focuses on kitchenware that is not only useful, but design-y, too. He is a man after my own heart, that one. In addition to being a good list (though I've got some of what's on it), it totally vindicates one of my kitchen design decisions - the only one questioned by the architect. She was like "You'll have all these cabinets, so you can even put away your KitchenAid mixer". And I was like "The mixer stays on the counter. It is so much more than just an appliance." Plus, it's really heavy. But I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks of it as kitchen sculpture.

In Slate, Sara Dickerman takes on the oh-so-arduous task of recommending books for would-be (and be-be) food snobs. Bill Buford does something similar for the New Yorker, but with the emphasis on (mmmm) meat. Both lists are fantastic, but I have to admit that I have a preference for Dickerman's (btw, she might be my new favorite writer. I looove Buford, but something about Dickerman's content and style has been really appealing to me lately. I've been linking to, like, everything she writes).

Specifically, I really want the first book she recommends: The Food Snob's Dictionary. It's like it's written for me: kind of jokey and really designed for somebody who pretends to know more than they actually do about food. Perfect.

Of course, as I've told Cooper (so he'll get it for me), the only thing I really actually do want this year is a potato ricer. I know: the most random gift ever. But this Christmas Eve, I'll be going to sleep with visions of perfectly fluffy mashed potatoes dancing in my head...

And sugar plums, of course. Wouldn't be Christmas without them.