Dear Santa,

I have been a pretty girl girl this year! I have done a lot of good things (just a couple bad things), given to charity, made new friends, become closer with family, and adopted a poor, defenseless puppy and given him a home. ;)

So with that, here's my Christmas list! Don't forget I'm in Houston - remember where you used to bring me toys as a kid? THERE!!! I'm pretty much the same person - just taller and fatter now.

I promise to be good all next year if you bring me all the things on my list this year. Thanks, in advance, Santa Claus!! Love, Mer

1. Turbo Beetle Convertible (yep, still on the list!)

2. A big, fat sapphire cocktail ring

3. Burberry collar and leash for my designer doggie

4. 7 foot tall black TV armoire with a new TV (after all, mine ist he one my parents bought me when I left home in 1994!)

5. Vintage print Gucci bag

6. Brown Escada sunglasses

7. New gym wardrobe

8. World peace and global environmental awareness

9. The man of my dreams at the breakfast table on Christmas morning. :)

Mer-ry Christmas!!

Hi everyone! So I'm heading out to Houston tomorrow for the holidays. I'm looking forward to seeing family, friends, and showing Sheridan my hometown (The Livable Forest...)! He's flying into Hobby Airport, which is the GHETTO, so I hope it doesn't scare him! hahaha

I could bring the Baci ball, but he's just too darn big!! I purposely bought a "purse dog" so that I could travel with him, but it turns out the stupid breeders mated the Maltese with a Standard Poodle (instead of the Toy Poodle), so my giant 18 lb puppy won't fit under the seat, as planned. He'll be in good hands, though, with Prasad (my old roommate, at our old apartment) and Rose, who's house/dogsitting for 6 days! Much thanks to you two, P and M, for taking care of my baby. I know he'll be in great hands!!

Meanwhile, I'm off work until the 2nd of January, so postings could be sporadic. So to all the rest of my friends and family scattered all over the place, I miss you lots and love you tons. Thank you for all your love and support throughout this crazy year - all your friendship means so much to me. Best wishes for a lovely Christmas holiday and a safe, fun New Year's celebration. May 2008 be our best year EVER!

Love, Mer

Raleigh’s Best Ever Cookies

This recipe is from the Raleigh Junior League cookbook, You’re Invited. I actually won a cookie-baking contest with this one once… true story!! If you have time and the inclination to bake, it’s truly the best cookie I’ve ever had! Enjoy.

My doorguys in my building will be enjoying these cookies tomorrow to thank them for giving my doggie treats, getting me help when I'm locked out of my place, returning items to exes that I don't care to see, and making me feel so safe and secure every night when I go to sleep. :)

Love, Mer

Raleigh’s Best Ever Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (18 ounces) crunchy peanut butter
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 (10 ounce) bag M&M’s or Reese’s pieces
1 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine first 9 ingredients and mix well. Mix in oats. Stir in chocolate and candy.
3. Drop by tablespoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, on a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
5. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Yep, More Birthday Celebrations!

At this point, it's just becoming silly. We celebrated the 4th annual 29th birthday *again* this weekend! Drinks, gossip, friends, and some very amusing photos... but the best part was having my Sheridan come to town to meet all my peeps and play house with me for a weekend. :) Thanks to all of you that joined us at Wine Cabana (and then Old Town Saloon for the late-night party) for yet another birthday celly!

Saturday night, Sheridan and I met up with the future in-laws for some dinner at their house and then a cheesy little Christmas parade on the SD Bay Sunday night. I'm so excited to have met a guy with an awesome family - the Halls are great people!!

OK, the birthday is officially done and it's time for Christmas. Houston, here we come!!!

Love, Mer

The Extended Birthday Show

So this weekend was a trip up to see Sheridan in SF for my actual birthday on Sunday. We had a beautiful, romantic dinner a deux on Friday night at this sweet little spot called Tiramisu (we would have never found this place if it weren't for the concierge at our hotel - it was adorable!) and met up with Sheridan's friend Brent and his gal pal du noir for drinks and funny stories about Sheridan. I kept thinking that these stories were from high school, or something, but it turns out that they were from a couple of years ago!! I'm glad he has recent stories which include rather silly behavior, too... hahaha We're obviously meant to be together, because I'm the queen of it!

Saturday we had breakfast at a sidewalk cafe, went to Union Square and did some shopping (Sheridan got some awesome shoes that he graciously let me pick out - swoon!), and hit the Yahoo! year end party Saturday night. I've NEVER been to a party so cool in my life - casino, live bands, arcade, indoor ice skating rink, ice sculptures, open bar, food for days... it was an awesome time!! Sunday - slept in, had breakfast with my very old friend Marc, who lives in the city (he spilled some of my embarassing stories!), rode the cable cars down to Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square, and roamed around the city until it was time to go home. Parting is always such sweet sorrow, but this week, my honey's coming to visit on Thursday - so it wasn't quite so bad this time!! :)

Anyway, the birthday extended to yesterday - some girlfriends took me for a lovely lunch at Il Fornaio in Del Mar, and this weekend is the birthday soiree at a wine bar with about 20 of my peeps. It's the most extended birthday week ever, but I love it! Thanks to all my friends and family - and Sheridan!!! - for making this year's birthday so full of joy and love. I'm so lucky!

Frisco

Well peeps, I'm headed to San Francisco to celebrate my birthday with Sheridan this weekend - I'm so excited and ready to see my sweetie and have some fun to dull the pain of turning 29 again!! I'll be sure to get back with some pics and potentially... stories. :)

Say a prayer, please, for my friend Nicole, who's watching Baci this weekend. Godspeed, girlfriend!!

And last, but not least, happy shared birthday, Gina!! xoxo

Love, Mer

Oh Christmas Tree!

So this is the first time in YEARS that I've put up a Christmas tree, and I'm really excited about it! :) My tree turned out gorgeous this year, thanks to a new (well, used - I bought it from Craigslist!) fake tree. I've been doing research to compare the most earth-friendly manner of celebrating this tradition, and I have decided that for me, the fake route is the way to go. Turns out that potted trees are REALLY pricy, and my allergies couldn't handle it anyway. So my new, but used, pre-lit tree is going to be with me for a long time to come to be as 'green' as possible!

What do you think? How lovely are her branches?

Love, Mer