Sometimes I get a little present happy this time of year, imagining what might be under the tree for me (my husband is a pretty good gift giver). But this year, I’m so not thinking about presents, I’m just thinking about people. I am unimaginably happy to have Jake come home from Barcelona to mess up his room and expect me to wait on him. I am over the gosh darn moon that my sister and brother-in-law are leaving the warmth of Miami for the warmth of my couch. And on Christmas, my other sister will come and try to get us listen to “Tuck Everlasting” until we fall asleep on her. And our good friends will come and spend the day. This year, it’s people that feel like the biggest, sparkliest gift I’ve ever received.
Ho, Ho, Ho! Toni Claus, here. Just trying to help out with your shopping today, with a couple good ideas in case you’re stumped at this late date.
1. a good blow job, I mean DRY. The Drybar has just opened in Chestnut Hill. Cue the angels. This place is total nirvana. No cuts, no color, just a blow dry that will last and last. And just $40 will make your friends happy. Route 9 near the hallowed ground of the on-its-way, Wegman’s. http://www.thedrybar.com/book-an-appointment?gclid=CKXXs9iXvLsCFTJp7Aod5TsAZw
2. Patch NY is in the South End now. This cozy little store has lots of goodies. 46 Waltham St, Boston. Hours: 12-6. http://www.patchnyc.com/pages/visit
3. Just got a new mascara that I think might change the world. Or at least the world of my lashes. Tarte. $20. Big bang, bargain price. Go to your fave makeup place. Got mine at Sephora, Chestnut Hill Mall. http://www.sephora.com/?om_mmc=esv330231-GG&om_kwpur=332758463&ppc_crid=29514330257&site=us_search4. Ralph Lauren boxers. TJMaxx has a whole slew of these right now and who couldn’t use a few new pairs for those in your life with jingle bells. for your nearest location: http://tjmaxx.tjx.com/store/index.jsp?cid=TJMaxx:PS::HV_Brand:5
4. Brookline Booksmith continues to deliver in the “cute stuff” gifty area of the store. Loving their dish towels and socks. And of course, they kill it in the book department. Plus they’re independent. 279 Harvard Street, Brookline http://www.brooklinebooksmith.com
Yesterday was one of those days, where once again I was amazed by technology.
I didn’t buy a whole lot of stuff in Spain, but I was sorry not to have bought some oil for Christmas gifts. So, I asked Jake to go to La Boqueria and get a specific oil at a specific place. I’ve only been asking him to do it for two weeks, but well, he’s 19. Anyway, yesterday he went and called me to find out where it was, and together, on the phone I directed him. He found the place, and then sent me a photo of the oil that I’d described, and boom, we were good. WE WERE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING TOGETHER. As Chris Farley said in his famous interview with Paul McCartney, “It was awesome.”
A really brave college sophomore tells the truth and helps solve the problem of rape on campus.
Scanning Facebook the other day and amidst the Christmas tree photos and posts of vacations, cute kids, and Candy Crush requests, I came across something that just stopped me dead, and made my heart beat a little faster. Someone I used to work with’s daughter was going to be on Chronicle that night and she was telling people to watch. But it wasn’t the cute story you might imagine a mom would brag about.
Jackie, a sophomore at Syracuse had been raped a few months ago and instead of cowering in the shadows and allowing this life altering experience to stop her, she came forward to publicly tell her story and try and help other girls who have been sexually assaulted to do the same. Go Jackie. And big kudos to some great parenting by her supportive family, too.
According to the story, 25% of young women, that’s one in four will be sexually assaulted before graduating. And less than 5% of rapists ever see a day in jail. Ouch. These statistics are overwhelmingly terrifying.
He may be gone, but his words are still moving mountains.
“It never hurts to see the good in someone. They often act better because of it.” This is a quote from Nelson Mandela. A powerful, powerful quote. I just heard it in this short clip from a Super Soul Sunday Show–Oprah interviewing Jack Kornfield, a former monk. And it stopped me cold (actually the weather stopped me cold, but I digress). I know that when I’m around someone who expects me to be more, I am more. Simple as that. I am going to get on this bus and drive. Man, Nelson was a smart man.
Here’s just one story. Just one story out of many about just one little girl killed at Sandy Hook Elementary on that horrific day last year. It’s pretty beautiful. And absurdly sad. Like all the stories. But the message is that there is good out there. There is love out there.
If you don’t support stronger guns laws, consider it. Consider Emilie Parker.
Are you talking to me? When it comes to holiday shopping, I’m so not.
It’s funny how I really love to shop. Except when i really have to. I am not one of those organized girls who shops for Christmas all year long, unless I go on a trip and tuck away a little something special for someone in my bag. I envy and admire those people who have it all done by June. Me? I seem to prefer waiting until December to jam my whole gift list into 20 days. I am so not like this. I am generally on time for everything, preparing well in advance so as to be ready for said event. But playing Santa to the masses, and becoming relied upon to give a really thoughtful gift, well, I could use some fucking elves, is the thing. The stress is enough to ruin the good feeling I get from the movie “Love Actually”, which has actually become my favorite holiday film, surpassing “A Wonderful Life”. If you haven’t seen it, I beg of you to make yourself a big bowl of popcorn, put on your best cozy pj’s and put that thing on your tv, computer, phone, or whatever other new technology I’m not aware of that people are watching movies on these days. Really. Tonight.
The movies opens with Hugh Grant saying, in his sweet, but sexy British lilt, “Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
That’s a nice piece of writing. A really nice piece. And an even better sentiment. And when Hugh says it, it’s even nicer. Anyway, I am going to watch that movie and remember that love is all around, which is more important than making yourself Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in order to get the perfect gift. The perfect gift is love. Although, admittedly, it is hard to wrap.
*the gratitude-a-thon 