These are a few of my favorite things in 2009… 

Williams-Sonoma Mini Croissants – Next Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter morning, make life oh so much easier with these yummy treats.  The regular size is too big, go with the minis.  It may seem a bit pricey until you eat them – then you’ll be looking for excuses to have these in the freezer all year long.  The croissants can be made individually, it’s just the ‘sitting out overnight’ that requires just a little touch of forethought…

 Large Bar Soap – Maybe you are scratching your head, but hear me out…Instead of saving the pretty soap for guests – use it yourself.  Try a lavender or linden scent.  What you will discover is it feels special, luxurious to use nice soap.  A touch of the spa every morning, hence you feel special all day long…

 Francesca’s Collections – A girlfriend and I discovered this store (online) shopping awhile ago.  It is best described as like Anthropologie minus the massive price tag.  The clothes are hip and artsy.  They get shipments in three times a week and there are ridiculous sales aplenty.

 Costa Rica – When I first saw pictures of Costa Rica, I immediately thought of Hawaii (without the long plane ride and high costs…)  Hummingbirds, butterflies and dragon flies abound in this lush paradise.  The people are great, the food/water is clean, there is no violence to speak of and it is unbelievably affordable.  The ocean is warm and the sun is hot.  Perfecto – going back in March…

Blind Pilot: 3 Rounds and a Sound – This CD is a playful mix of quirky, vulnerable lyrics with unexpected pacing and instrument choice (horns, banjo, xylophone – what???…)  The boys of Blind Pilot are storytellers – twisting words and meanings, such as in “One Red Thread.”  It is haunting, hypnotic and sexy all at the same moment as the narrator reflects on early selfish love…Or in “Two Towns From Me” with it’s dreamy, sing-along quality…Or the toe-tapping rhythm of “The Story I Heard” melded with pleading, longing words…Love this CD.  Sounds like: The Thorns.

Capri Blue Aloha Orchid Candles – Slip into heaven and light this candle.  It truly makes any space smell like fresh flowers and the islands – add gentle music and an umbrella drink, you are on vacation…

VRBO.COM – I have had fantastic luck renting homes internationally and in the states through this site.   The prices are great and you can let your own tastes/desires be your guide.  A word of caution – chat with the owners before picking a place, you’ll be surprised how much of a difference this can make later if you run into any issues…

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Busso – Surprisingly this is the book that stayed with me all year.  It’s about a married couple and how things can all change in an afternoon…The characters are complicated and hilarious.  The pre-wedding supper is without question – priceless.  Russo perfectly illustrates how perception, memory and reality don’t always add up…

Homemade Jams – This year I’ve become a bit obsessed making jams. from blueberry to cranberry to raspberry and lots of berries in between…It’s all good.  I never knew how easy jam was to make and what a perfect gift for sharing…Downside: once you go homemade, there’s no going back to stores (expensive habit depending on the time of year!)

Wii – Everybody has fun and the kids play for hours and hours – leaping, twirling in the air.  I never laughed so hard getting beat by a seven year old!

Mad Men – Sure it’s slow and slightly depressing, but the characters are awesome.  Strangely, it sometimes feels like I’m witnessing what my own family used to whispers about  years ago – illegitimate kids (couple uncles passed off as cousins), affairs (everywhere), alcoholism (everywhere)…I swear I feel like I am finally coming to understand my own past better as the stories of my grandparents/aunts/uncles come alive watching this show.  I knew they drank/smoked a lot, but I didn’t know how normal it was back then…And finally the mean things my relatives did to each other long ago make sense.  Geez, they were all drunk in fantastic clothes playing hard…

Mad Men often illuminates the masks we all wear every day to make our own separate peace with the decisions we make each day…

Sprungli Chocolate – Let these miniature truffles in the flavors hazelnut, plain, champagne, cappuccino and bourbon vanilla (contains alcohol) melt in your mouth.  These chocolates are unbelievably tasty – so worth the long distance order…I finally understood what all the fuss was about Swiss Chocolate when I tasted these – Yum!

What became one of your favorites this year????

I jumped on the Mad Men bandwagon this weekend.  I’m completely hooked.  I love the characters.  Each one has secrets, often behaving badly in one way or another only to shine a day later.  We witness the dregs and glory of each character as they struggle in quiet desperation – a desperation that is all too familiar our own lives. 

 Each of us struggles with moments of ‘quiet desperation.’  Sometimes these moments may stretch into how your life feels all the time.  It may seem like the grass is in fact greener over there on a different lawn or possible on that road not taken.  But that is an illusion that leads only to chaos – just watch Mad Men.

 The main character Don Draper is that illusion.  This man is miserable – on the inside, but all the world sees is someone irresistible.  Women want him and men want to be like him – yet he is lost.  He is desperate to feel – anything – to get into his own life.  Yet he can not – he tries with booze, work, success and many, many women to fill the ever-expanding emptiness within, but he is still empty.  In fact, more empty, for when he looks into the eyes of his daughter or son he knows each day he is less the man he wanted to be…Good stuff!!!

 It is easy to believe the person down the street or even in the next cubicle has it so much better than you, but that is just a myth.  Each of us struggles with our own brand of quiet desperation – maybe you cling to a past that needs to be let go, or hold to an idea of how it is supposed to look, or maybe something is ‘not enough’…

 I encourage you to stop looking over the fence and be where you are.  Forgive yourself for whatever failures or transgressions you have made, real or imagined – let go of the past.  Today is a new day and maybe, just maybe you will discover your own backyard is pretty nice place to be.