Movies of Myself

Christmastime Is Here

Much to my disappointment my father lent our Christmas Pilgrims to my aunt this year. Holiday traditions are a huge deal to me and the Pilgrims were an instant classic. To make up for this I took solace in several other annual celebratory events and even established a few new ones which will hopefully be repeated for many years to come.

*Winter mix cds were made and distributed. I think they really capture the quiet and capacious solitude of being snowed-in this year and I am rather pleased with it.

*Chicken wings for Festivus. Also drinking Martinelli's straight from the bottle in bed.

*A mountainous amount of cookies were produced this year, all devoured with alarmingly ravenous energy by friends, family and co-workers. I've baked Christmas cookies ever since my sister was knee high and making up plates for Santa but I have to admit I am more than a little proud of all I've learned about baking this year. Chewy toffee chip cookies have become my trademark. My cousin Aaron ate like six of them in the space of three minutes after Christmas Eve dinner. 

*Speaking of Christmas Eve dinner we had swedish meatballs and noodles and it was the bomb. We followed it up with a viewing of Inglourious Basterds, which was a delight. We were in stitches during the gloriously explosive blowout finale. We decided that noodles andf gore will definitely be called for again next Christmas Eve. 

*Christmas earrings. I hope to pass this gag gift back and forth for years to come.

*Going to the movie theater on Christmas Day. I can't believe I've never done this before! I feel like a bad Asian! We  thorougly enjoyed ourselves today. There's nothing wrong with a little Sherlock Holmes on Christmas.

*I kind of miss the old days when my sister would get up at the crack of dawn and run out and attack her stocking. Now she and my mom sleep in til freaking like ten or eleven o' clock, totally spoiling our Xmas mojo. However, our dog figured out yesterday that there are presents under the tree for him, presents of the treat variety, and he could not wait for Christmas to arrive.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

And all of a sudden I'm struck with an urge to unlock a door with a key that's too big for my hands.

Mid Week Mini Music Mix

I've made a concerted effort to keep this holiday season as stress-free as possible, so I'll keep this brief. A cup of tea and a comfy chair are waiting for me after I pack my bag for an almost two week stay in L.A. 

I just wanted to share some wonderful and not so traditional Christmas songs with you and send a little cheer your way as you make your final holiday preparations. I hope we can also take a little time out to think of those less fortunate than us and how we can make this season a little warmer for them. I am very much looking forward to Christmas with my friends and family and I am counting every last blessing I have (including the existence of an Aqua Teen Hunger Force Christmas album).

That Was the Worst Christmas Ever! - Sufjan Stevens

25th December - Everything But The Girl

Feliz Navidad - Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Winter White - A Fine Frenzy

Red & Green

Some holiday thoughts:

• I made a vomitrocious amount of cookies on Sunday. Piles of cookies. These are some of them. Needless to say, I have had it up to here with cookies.

• Yay for reusable gift bags. That's mostly what I'm using this year because I'm bad at wrapping presents and am just going to very quietly and sulkily admit that I don't even enjoy it very much at all. Buying the paper and the ribbons is great, but implementing them is awful.

• It is so great to see the Christmas cards I made for people in action. I love getting them in the mail, love seeing them displayed at people's houses! It just warms my heart.

• I did all my Christmas shopping this year without stepping foot in a mall. I hit up a couple of strip malls and a Target, but not the shopping center. In fact, I haven't been to Westfield for months. 

• My sister has gone on a four day cruise to Mexico. I am going to use the first couple of days of my vacation to furiously read past her in Pride and Prejudice, our winter Sisters book.

• The only other good thing about my sister being gone is that she won't be there to snoop through all the gifts I had shipped to the house.

• However I am pretty sure our mother will snoop through them all.

• If I don't eat Din Tai Fung, Kogi, Wurstkuche, Five Guys and Blue Marlin when I am down in L.A. I will consider life not even worth living.

• I keep looking at the holiday paper chains I made and my eye is caught by the pattern that looks exactly like a strip of bacon, like the one smack dab in the middle of the picture below. Next year I am going to make the chains with ONLY that paper so that I have yards and yards of festive Christmas bacon.

 

Any way you run, you run before us.

 

It's mother flipping baking time. This week I've been testing out the recipes I'm going to bake for Christmas Day with my family. I've decided to make three new cookies this year, so a trial run was deemed expedient. I hope my co-workers are in the mood for cookies.

I always listen to holiday music when I bake for Christmas, but today was such a bright and sunny day here it just didn't seem to fit. Today reminded me so much of all my beach trips throughout the year. The beach is my solace, my thinking and walking place, a little pocket of peace.

The same can be said for the music of a band called, fittingly enough, Beach House. I have been listening to them all day. They make a beautiful, sweeping dreamy wave of sound, a breath of soothing melody that fans all around you.

Beach House's new album Teen Dream, is a work of genius, almost outlandishly pretty. Set for a January 26th release, it is somehow perfect for both the balmiest summer afternoon and for the heart of winter. I can't wait to listen to it throughout all the seasons of 2010.

Zebra - Beach House

Lover Of Mine - Beach House

Better Times - Beach House