Holiday WISHES

When making a Christmas or Hanukkah wish list, it’s hard to pare down to one thing without sounding like a pageant queen begging for world peace. That said, we all have that secret wish. Therein lies the problem—who is decent or loving enough to think of giving it to us? We have all been on a self-deprivation kick since the economy faltered, but this holiday, I say go for the gusto! I want a pair of zebra-upholstered settees and have made it clear to one and all that this is my one chosen gift. For those whom I’m too squeamish to mention the Marcia lay-a-way project to, I’m asking everyone near and dear to give me large unframed photos of themselves and their families. I want to choose the frames, but I’ll plaster my hall with family and friends. They have seen me through tough times, and I want to see them every day and be thankful. Here’s what others from the AH&L staff are wishing for:

KATE ABNEY
“The holidays are a time for indulgence, so I’d wish to be able to eat all the sweets and holiday bakery treats I want—without the guilt!” —Abney is Assistant Editor

ELIZABETH ANDERSON
“A white Christmas so that I can spend all day building snowmen with my 2-year-old. It would be his first snow day!” —Anderson is Advertising Art Director

RACHEL CARDINA LASSERRE
“Two tickets to Palm Springs, please! I have been longing to stay at both Viceroy and the new Ace Hotel, as well as do some shopping and enjoy being a newlywed.” —Lasserre is Art Director

HEATHER J. PAPER
“I’m wishing for just one piece of furniture—the jeweler’s table (shaped like a piece of a puzzle) from Bobby McAlpine’s new line for MacRae. Life can be one big puzzle and this table is a reminder that can be a beautiful thing!” —Paper is Interim Managing Editor

CLINTON SMITH
“I hope that Christmas House tops last year’s success and that we are able to surpass last year’s $100,000-plus donation to the Alliance Children’s Theater.” —Smith is Editorial Director

INSIDE STORY

The holidays have wound up being bittersweet (but, really, more sweet). Daughter Anabelle begged for a French Bulldog after our Peach Blossom, who was possibly the oldest living French Bulldog in Christiandom, passed away in September. I tried my usual gambit of contacting the French Bulldog rescue folks who had a perfect black Frenchie (OK, it had only a minor gastric issue, but it was heads above the competition—blind, deaf, vicious with children, etc.). But they visited us and we were declined! It seems that our New York pad, albeit temporary, is a bit too small. What?  Four-hundred-and-forty square feet is a veritable acre in Manhattan. Anabelle’s response to this turn-down was, “We got turned down for a used dog?!” So, unbeknownst to her, I went out to Ishkaboobie, Alabama, and bought her a French Bulldog puppy that is colored like a Boston Terrier—a pied, the rarest of the breed. Naming her Turtle, I raced back to NYC and started house hunting. We may lack in square footage, but Anabelle will only have eyes for the pied.