Maria = MIA for months and months? Yes. Life is complicated. AHHHH. Yes. But very soon I will be eating Pecan Pie. So.

(1) Bear To Do Notepad. (Little Otsu, $6) Grocery lists. Beer lists. Wine lists. Room assignments. All the better if your to-do list is encouraging — flip the page after you To-Did-It, and the pad itself exclaims, “You Did It!”

(2) Fill-in-the-Blank Cookbook Log (The Small Object, $14). A unique way to organize your cookbooks. Better than post-its?

(3) Anne Taintor Paper Cocktail Napkins (Kitchen Kapers, $5). Subtly tell your family what you really think. (The “Ta-daa! Let’s have a cocktail!” napkin would be particularly apt for me.)

(4) Dysfunctional Family Bingo (Knock Knock, $8). Get the fun ones to play.

(5) Winter Iris Apron (Anthropolgie, $32). Because this is the only piece of clothing in Anthropolgie under $40.

(6) Big Wish Life Size Wishbone Necklace ($32, soradesigns on Etsy). So apparently Jennifer Aniston made a dainty little, tiny wishbone necklace popular because she wore it in “He’s Just Not That Into You.” I prefer my jewelry non-dainty.

(7) Wood Rings Bottle Opener (The Curiosity Shoppe, $34). Much harder to lose when attached to the wall.

(8) BONUS! Not included because has little to do with Thanksgiving!!! But, this is what I’d wear to T-day if I had $88 to spare:

(PJ by Peter Jensen Bunny Sweater, Urban Outfitters, $88)

In the past two weeks, I have accumulated quite a few sudden, urgent, and odd obsessions.

1. My first new obsession is quite a lot of work: learning Chinese. If you, like me, have lived your whole life in America with exposure to zero non-western languages, I’ll have you know that Chinese is quite a treat, with its four tones, phonetic spelling (pinyin) and complicated characters. *If you’re interested, I’ve recorded some of my fave sites for Chinese language learning at the bottom of this post, after the jump and next to the asterisk.*

2. Maybe because I’m unemployed, I have begun to love Anthropolgie with such passion that I visit the page regularly to see if something will go ridiculously on sale (fail). Anyway, they have lots of bright necklaces now (Pow! Accessories), including this one which is called a Strawberry Harvest Necklace. It’s only $200! Er. I’ll have to wait on that one.

3. Shout-out to my local library! I forgot how AWESOME libraries are. You can save tons of money and read tons of book and feel very smart. Queens libraries are esp awesome because there is like one every half mile, AND you can take out books for something like 20 days and renew them up to 3 times AND to check out you just put your books on this mat, and it knows what you have and prints out a receipt telling you when everything is due. Magical.

4.  I put the icon really small in my collage because I’m embarrassed. (I like American Idol. Breaking hearts and fueling dreams!) THERE. I said it. I DO. This week is the first time I ever watched it. Lucky for me there were two episodes on. Cara is a bitch, first of all. But I like Simon. I mean, he is too mean. But when he likes someone, he gives them a little wink and he has that adorable accent. And also Ryan Seacrest IS hot. I get it now. But is his real last name really Sea-Crest? Seems too good to be true.

5. I’ve just started reading Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (yep, thanks Queens Library!). JUST LOOK AT THIS PROSE which is (1) melodic, (2) hysterical: “All at once we were madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other; hopelessly, I should add, because that frenzy of mutual possession might have been assuaged only by our actually imbibing and assimilating every particle of each other’s soul and flesh; but there we were, unable even to mate as slum children would have so easily found an opportunity to do.” (Ah, I love that! Don’t you?)

6. OMG. I stopped in the Forever 21 at Herald Square, and the accessories (second floor) look like CANDY. It’s because there are so many, piles and piles, and they are all really brightly colored. I was in love. While I particularly liked the in store set-up, the accessories this season are really bright and unique, and just a little cheaper than at Anthropolgie. I usually wear “costume jewelry” anyway. That way, I can have a lot more : ).

7. The Reader. In my opinion, this season’s best movie. It has at least two things going for it from the very start: Kate Winslet (I love her), and Stephen Daldry, who directed one of my favorite movies, The Hours. (I don’t know if it’s true, but according to IMDB he’s also slated to direct a production of one of my fave novels, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.) (more…)

Happy Birthday to Britney Spears, Lucy Liu, and ME!  Although I don’t really plan on celebrating this year, I still thought I’d pull a Maria, and share my Birthday wish list.  Based on my selections, you are probably envisioning me as a cross-dressing grandpa who likes to take photos and stare at manatees.  You are basically correct!

1. Anthropologie Tick-Tock Cardigan.  I actually almost bought this for myself, but the only size left was too big on me.  I wear a lot of cardigans, and lately I’ve been trying to diversify so my cardigan collection doesn’t look Mr. Roger’s (who, by the way, wrote 200 songs during his career!).  This cardigan actually (sometime during the last half an hour?!) just sold out, but there’s another cardigan that is identical. (Albeit, a different name and more expensive.) Anthropologie, $60 before…but now $118

2. I like boat shoes, because I think they are funny and make me feel like an old, grumpy man.  I own a pair of blue patent boat shoes, but they aren’t the best quality, and they’re falling apart.  These Sperry Top-Siders are more durable than my last pair, and they’re red!  6pm, $44.85

3. KIVA gift certificates!  KIVA gift certificates are perfect for holiday gifts (or birthday gifts).  You can designate the amount (as little as $25!), and the recipient gets to pick who to fund.  Kiva

4. Every Monday is more pleasant with Gossip Girl.  Anticipation builds up throughout the Monday workday, and I leave work in a better mood.  I usually don’t have the patience to endure spoiled rich kid drama, but Gossip Girl is different.  The dialogue is hilarious and charming, which I discuss to great deal on gmail with my friends- concurrently, while watching the show.  And all of us are no longer in high school or college.  Amazon, $36.99

5. Even though I’m not in NYC, I am fairly well versed in New York happenings.  My homepage is the NY Times, and I read New York Magazine and Gawker daily.  I also like drinking tea and reading the New Yorker.  New Yorker subscription for me (please)! Subscribe here, $39.95

6. I don’t know much about SLR cameras, and don’t really own a camera (other than a camera I got 8 years ago), but I’ve been dreaming about getting an SLR for a long time.  I really enjoy taking photographs, and I’m excited to think of all the adventures I could document with a fun camera.  I’ll probably end up buying one for myself soon.  Birthday/Christmas present for myself?  Sounds okay to me.  Canon Rebel XSi w/ lens, $639

7. I don’t know how I picked it up, but “good grief” is definitely part of my daily vocabulary.  This scarf is ideal for my neck.  Fred Flare, $24

8. The most pleasant thing that I have inherited from the previous tenant (sorry! not the mix cd with Limp Bizzzkit!), is a catalog subscription to Williams-Sonoma.  Ha!  The most recent catalog advertises a wonderful 3-D BEAR CAKE PAN.  When I went to investigate it online, I noticed an even more wonderful surprise.  A GIANT 3-D CUPCAKE PAN.  Instead of filling the icing mold with cake batter, you can pack ICE CREAM in the mold, thus resulting in a GIANT. ICE CREAM. CUPCAKE.  Note the picture above!  Magical.  Williams-Sonoma, $36

9. A MELODICA!  Aka the most glorious, dazzling instrument other than the ukulele.  It is like playing a keyboard, and tooting a kazoo, AT THE SAME TIME. Try to fathom THAT!  Musician’s Friend, $35

10. I love manatees.  I have even discussed my attraction to manatees before.  On the WWF website, you can even adopt a manatee!  If you choose the $50 or $100 option, the WWF will give you a plush manatee!  Not so fond of manatees?  Whale shark fan, perhaps?  There are over 90 species you choose to adopt.  WWF, $25/$50/$100

11. I like pens, stationery, and crafting send-worthy letters.  I have been dreaming about getting a WAX STAMP for a long time, because when I think of wax stamps, I think of Thomas Jefferson and his tight glasses.  I always thought that using wax stamps would be difficult, but then I noticed that Paper Source sells wax sticks that can be used like glue sticks!  You just have to squirt a puddle of wax, and stamp!  Paper Source, $6.80 for the wax, $9 for the seal

12. Argyle socks!  My favorite!  I have a hard time finding ones that I like (preferably blue and green), so I had to settle for the weird color assortment above.  Joy of Socks (heehee), $7.50

Note: The middle picture is the cake my friends made me last year.  A glowing T-Money cake.  No, I do not know how I received that nickname.  The candles make the cake worthy of a being in a Darkness music video.  Below is a picture of the cake, unlit.