Day 4: It adds a sparkle to the day...

...says Mr. Osato in James Bond's You Only Live Twice...wise man.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love champagne, better known as sparkling wine in California, and cava in Spain. My favorite is Cristalino Cava Brut— it's a sparkling wine from Spain, made from the grape varietals Macabeo (50%), Parellada (35%) and Xarello (15%). Produced by Jaume Serra, this lovely sparkler offers a fine alternative to Champagne at less than half the price. I usually get it on sale as Cost Plus World Market for $5.99. It is the best, forget the rest!

Here are some notes: Cristalino Cava Brut has a bright green-gold color and shows fine bubbles. It has a pleasant nose of green apples, peaches, toast, flowers, cinnamon and herbs. Crisp and bright, dry with medium-full body, this sparkler offers rich flavors of apples, figs, lemon, roasted almonds and pie crust. It is fruit-forward and balanced, with a clean, lemony finish.

Yum.

Day 3: The Nutcracker

It is Christmastime after all! Matt and I have been attending the San Francisco Ballet's production of The Nutcracker since we were dating, about 20 years now. It has been a holiday tradition. And this year it takes on a whole new meaning—it's Jackson first time! We have tickets for the matinee performance on the 26th (Boxing Day) and we will be dining at the Fairmont Hotel's Tonga Room—a new tradition.

Day 2: Cowgirl Creamery Cheeses

These cowgals make amazing cheese! My fav is Mt. Tam named after Mt. Tamalpais near San Francisco. It's a smooth, creamy, elegant, triple-cream made with tasty organic milk from the Straus Family Dairy (another West Marin fav). Mt. Tam is firm, yet buttery with a mellow, earthy flavor reminiscent of white mushrooms. It won 1st Prize in the soft-ripened category at this year’s American Cheese Society competition. Try it, you wont be sorry!

As an added bonus, if you give a gift of one of their hand-picked collections or a cheese-of-the-month subscription proceeds support a number of sustainable agriculture organizations including the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, a group whose goal is to preserve West Marin area ranches and family farms. And, of yeah, Matt happens to be the stewardship director there. Yay!

cowgirlcreamery.com or 866.433.7834

Day 1: etsy.com

Most of you have already heard of etsy.com but for those of you who haven't had the pleasure, let me tell you, you are missing out. The website is dedicated to seller's of handmade goods. Some of the designers are amazing and I have found most of the prices to be very reasonable, especially since so many of the items are one of a kind and truly pieces of art. Matt and I have made the pledge to try and stay away from the mall this holiday in an effort to find special things for our loved ones and etsy.com is the perfect place to start. Some of my favs are Curly Girl Glass and Doodlebug Finery: Luxuries for Little Ones. That's their stuff above. Enjoy!

saucymom's 25 days of christmas or marcy's favorite things

So Oprah has her list of favorite things (see oprah.com) and frankly this year they seemed pretty lame. Not because a lot of them weren't pricey, but because they didn't seem that unique. I can't promise that all of my favs are going to be unique either, but I am going to take a whack at a list. Each day I'll add something new. I hope you'll check it out! Happy Holidays everybody!!(:

I must have these shoes!

These shoes are from an image on an Amy Butler sewing pattern. My fear is that they are vintage, but I am hoping they aren't. Anybody seen them before? I'd be so grateful if someone could tell me who the designer is.

Who would you be in the movie about yourself?

So I used to have this fantasy that someday I would write a screenplay about me and my three closest friends. We've all been friends for about 25 years, so you can imagine the stories. I know I will never get around to it, plus it would probably end the friendships! Not a good idea. But I do have fun casting it in mind. I used to think I would be played my Meg Ryan because she is always the good-girl-next-door type that follows the rules and wants everybody to like her (yes, I hate to admit it, but I do want everyone to like me, ick!). But now I think it would be Cameron Diaz. Not because she is glamorous (I am far from that these days) but because she is a geek.

Who would the others be you ask? LB is definitely Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock would be great as EL and no one else could play HS but Helen Hunt. If you know these chicks, you must agree, no?