White Fluffy Icing

One of Williams-Sonoma's flagship stores.

Something very interesting happened to me today.  I actually got into the Christmas spirit.

You might not find that to be particularly odd, given that it’s mid-December.  But it’s been years since I’ve really felt the excitement and buzz of the holidays, and not only is it nice to be back, I’m taking it as a very encouraging sign.

Let’s see… last year, we’d just lost Mom, and I was pretty much in zombie mode.  The year before that, The Boy was less than two weeks old on Christmas Day, and I was pretty much in zombie mode.  The year before that, I was grieving a miscarriage, and I spent a lot of time trying not to pay attention, because I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but Christmas is all about Baby Jesus and Virgin Baby Mama and Perplexed Baby (Step) Daddy, and angelic announcements regarding babies, and babies stirring in the wombs of their mamas at the news of other babies.  An incredibly beautiful story at the center of my soul had suddenly become salt in my still-gaping wound.

By my math, that means that 2006 was the last time that Father Christmas lifted my holiday spirits.  Wow, it really has been a while.

So, what happened today that elevated me to that elusive plane of jolly good cheer?  Well, the Christmas carols I’ve been playing non-stop have finally kicked in, for starters.  And my manager took our small group to Mark’s for our official holiday celebration (which, by the way, allowed me the pleasure of confirming that it’s the best ding-dang restaurant in Houston, a city full of fantastic restaurants).  After we toasted to a successful 2010 and expressed high hopes for 2011, we traded stories about Christmas traditions, and telling about my childhood traditions really got the juices flowing.  It also didn’t hurt that I ended the meal with a trio of mini egg nog desserts: flan, cheesecake, and torte, with a chaser of actual egg nog.

But, all that aside, what really gave me a Christmas buzz was receiving an email from Lauren, who works for Williams-Sonoma.  Because that, my friends, means that I can pass along a really great gift idea for the sophisticated food-lover on your list that you still desperately need ideas for, with less than ten days until Christmas.  (Or perhaps, like yours truly, you haven’t even started shopping…)

A few months ago, I spent my lunch hour at the Williams-Sonoma in Highland Village, and when I went to check out, I noticed something very interesting at the counter.  It was a beautiful antique cookbook on display… not at all what you’d expect among all the gleaming new everythings there.  Tom, a.k.a. The Most Helpful Sales Guy in the History of Retail, saw the delighted can-this-possibly-be-true look on my face, and explained.  Of the hundreds of stores they operate, 29 were selected to carry a handful of one of a kind books, which are sourced from a store in San Francisco called Omnivore Books on Food.

Those of you who know me personally know that I’m a crazy bibliophile with the beginnings of a decent antique book collection.  Two universes were colliding, and my wallet was in the crossfire.

I gently paged through a couple of the books, each of which had a handwritten card tucked inside with a charming summary of its contents.  One was a gentlemen’s guide to entertaining from the 40s, which was witty and delightful and laughably anachronistic.  Another was an authentic tome on Cajun cookery, which looked like it was from the 60s.  When I asked, Tom confirmed that the folks at Omnivore carefully select which books should go to which store, based on regional interests.  And he also confirmed that once these particular books were gone, they were gone, and Omnivore would ship other unique works to replace them.  I had to slowly step… away… from the… books… and go back to the office.

People!  This is like hiring a personal shopper with amazing taste in rare books about food.  I wanted to run home and tell you all about it, but I felt like I needed the complete list of 29 stores, lest I superbly tick you off. (Remember when I told you about Barbara Fairchild’s book tour?  I posted the dates a day too late and Reader Jess missed the NYC date.  Doh!)

Then life got in the way, and Halloween came out of absolutely nowhere, and it was all downhill to today.

That’s where Lauren comes in.  I had to make five or six phone calls to Williams-Sonoma today to find her, but once I did, it took her about two seconds to get the list of stores in my grubby paws (err, inbox).  And getting to share this with you is like Christmas coming early.  Fa la la la la!  Thank you, Lauren!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have halls to deck, bells to jingle, and a box of ornaments to locate…