Finding my "hygge" in the Polar Vortex...

It's currently 3 degrees in the Twin Cities, with a windchill of -18, and I just realized I left my lunch on the counter/have to venture out into this crap. I CAN'T DEAL. 

Seriously, this polar vortex coupled with a malingering cold/sinus infection has sapped me of any semblance of Christmas cheer. My nose is so chapped and irritated that it legit started bleeding at happy hour last night. I get home every night, and essentially say "screw it" to the half-decorated tree, noble intentions to get presents dealt with, and plans to go to the gym. It's pretty much straight-to-bed for me, to burrow under covers and ignore the chill coming off our picturesque-but-drafty 100-year-old windows. 

A Facebook friend shared this article this morning, about the Danish concept of "hygge," and I checked myself for a minute (as I sat sulking at my desk still wearing my Uggs and giant scarf). It's only December 14th. And we had the most unreasonably beautiful fall ever this year. If I'm already feeling this negative and bitchy, after just one cold snap, during the purported "most wonderful time of the year," what the heck is going to happen to me come January, February, and March when it's STILL sub-zero? 

"Hygge" roughly translates to "cozy," and the principle centers around reframing the negatives of this time of year to positives...filling a season of cold and darkness with warmth and light. Sounds right up my alley, as the usual resident Little Miss Sunshine...

So I'm searching for hygge in the daily grind, and finding it all over the place: 

Hot chocolate, cozy socks, my polar bear rug, and snuggling up for an afternoon (GOD I MISS THAT FIREPLACE!!! Ahhhh Chateau de Liz!!!!!)

Giant, woolly sweaters...and delicate pretty jewelry to offset the mammoth effect. 

Sipping a glass of red wine and admiring the Christmas tree, which I am bound and determined to actually finish decorating tonight.

Admiring Christmas cards from loved ones. 

Even better, spending some quality time with loved ones: cocktails NOT optional, festive environs strongly encouraged. 

Here's to kicking my bad-attitude approach to the season to the curb, and finding happiness and hygge and giggles all around. Meanwhile, Minnesota friends, stay warm!! And if you want to come over for wine and an ABC Family holiday original movie marathon, hit me up! 

A Holiday Lately I'm Loving

I have a SERIOUSLY severe case of the Monday blues this morning after a totally weird weekend...Highs? Seeing the Minnesota Orchestra take on "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on Saturday, Minnesota getting its first big dumping of snow all day yesterday, and a spontaneous Café Latté stop with Matt to end the weekend! Lows? Being sick as a dog with what I am convinced is a 21st-century version of the plague (aka the common cold and an accompanying fever, bleh). 

Minnesota's unseasonably warm temperatures and a busier-than-usual schedule have left me feeling a bit Grinchy this holiday season. I can't believe we're less than two weeks out! I have yet to get one single present actually ordered, let alone wrapped and under the tree (which Hal and I have yet to set up...EEK). That said, here's how I'm planning to get things feeling a bit more festive around here: 

-I just peeked through this gallery of New York City's holiday windows as I finished this morning's coffee - so pretty! Gotta say, Tiffany's are my favorites. So classic! 

-In lieu of sending traditional holiday cards (because, duh, no spouse/children/significant other/pets, hahaha), I went a little crazy in Emily McDowell's deliciously irreverent holiday shop online. Friends, expect some slightly off-color greetings from yours truly this year...and stay tuned for the Schwegfam Christmas card reveal, it's similarly irreverent and, I think, delightful. 

-The current soundtrack of the season is Leslie Odom's fantastic holiday album...I'm convinced he can do no wrong. Take a listen to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," then add the whole album to your holiday Spotify playlist - you won't regret it. If Christmas carols just aren't your jam, 1. BOO YOU SCROOGE! and 2. Take a listen to DJ Earworm's 2016 United States of Pop. Jury's still out for me, personally...

-As soon as I have a few free days/evenings, I'm hitting up Twin Cities holiday classics with everything I have in me. With Loring Park's Holidazzle right outside my front door, I have no excuse not to take a wander through the Christmas market...but I'll be making a special trip to the Como Conservatory on the nastiest day I can find to soak up the warmth and bask in the loveliness of the holiday sunken garden. 

-Kitchen-wise, I need to NOT go my usual route of "Bake all the Christmas cookies!!!!!" in the name of fitting into a gown on New Year's Eve...yikes. That said, there are a few festive events on my social calendar that require an offering, and I'm feeling shortbread this year for some reason. These pistachio butter cookies and these rosemary shortbread cookies both sound just different enough to be worth a try...stay tuned, and here's to hoping the great 2013 Christmas Oreo Balls Disaster isn't repeated. 

-Finally, tis the season, after all, to pay it forward. In a totally inspiring turn of affairs, my board's high schoolers decided to go to Feed My Starving Children this holiday season and spend some time giving back...I'll be joining them tomorrow for a morning of packing food and getting back to the reason for the season. So proud of them! Other worthy programs and initiatives I'm hoping to be able to share some time or money with this season: Wreaths Across America, which recognizes fallen veterans each holiday season...the Notre Dame Club of Minnesota's annual Centro Christmas party, which provides holiday cheer for over 1,000 attendees annually...and my office's Toys for Tots drive, which is looking a little sparse so far.

101 in 1001 #2: Take a weekend road trip.

What happens when you combine a couple of exhausted choir nerds, two Upper Midwest holiday concerts, and yours truly over the span of less than three days? 

MAGIC, that's what. Hal, Matt and I made plans over a tipsy dinner this fall to attend a double-header of Luther College Christmas in Decorah, Iowa, and Concordia Christmas in Moorhead, Minnesota this past weekend. With the Luther show at 9:15pm Friday and Concordia at 7pm Saturday, and a collective 800-mile round trip on the books, insanity was sure to abound. 

Hal picked Matt up from work downtown early Friday afternoon, then headed to Lakeville to rendezvous with me (and to drop our bags - we spent the night at the Schweghaus!). We hopped in Hal's car, turned on the Hamilton Mixtape, and before I knew it the 2.5 hour drive had flown by. I don't remember ever laughing so frequently, so hard, or over such random, inane things...so grateful to call Hal my roommate and that him being my roommate brought Matt into my life! 

Matt, as an Iowa native and being familiar with Decorah, recommended Old Armory Barbecue for dinner...and from the moment we walked in, we knew it wouldn't disappoint. 

As Matt struggled with barbecue sauces, we waited for our obscenely giant amount of brisket, pulled pork, grilled chicken nachos, ribs, and assorted sides to be ready before heading off to Toppling Goliath Brewery, Matt's self-professed favorite brewery in the whole world. While he claims he loves them for their superior beer, I think it's because he ran into no fewer than three people he knew within five minutes of entering the premises. Reason #1 Matt is awesome: he knows everybody, everywhere. 

Meanwhile Hal and I took awkward selfies. Wtf spastic hand. 

We headed to Concordia, evaded parking attendants, snagged a stellar spot, and selfied with the giant Christmas tree, with Matt legitimately on Hal's back at one point. 

Having gotten our festive snap of the night, we proceeded to be utterly amazed by Luther's six choirs, the orchestra, and the program in general. I remember at one point feeling like we were just cocooned in this insane, otherworldly environment of pure sound and feeling...with over 300 musicians and singers, the atmosphere and talent was genuinely all-encompassing. 

Once all the amazement and singalongs and genuine mind-boggling performances were over, we met up with Matt and Hal's friend Nick outside the concert hall! Nick teaches piano at Luther and, even five minutes after meeting him, I knew he was formidable and utterly lovely. 

With a gas station stop taken care of, we drove home in time to tumble into Lakeville beds just after 3am. Yours truly, being incapable of sleeping in, was up less than four hours later to enjoy some Mama and Papa Bear time, before the boys woke up and we all got ready for leg 2! 

Hal headed to downtown to pick up friends Colin and Amanda, which left these two clowns with three and a half hours to Ham Jam, sing along to Jason Robert Brown, and talk about everything from legal matters to families to relationships and feelings and ethos on life in general. Mattycal, you are utterly my favorite. 

We made ridiculously good time in getting to Fargo, but we derailed slightly when Matt spotted his new favorite sign/pun in the world: 

I actually pulled over and turned into the parking lot to ensure that this was captured for posterity (and giggles) before we met up with the other road trip crew. Lucky for us, Michael, being a Fargo native/local, was kind enough to join us for dinner and give us an insider's peek at the city. He steered us to the Hotel Donaldson (HoDo), which I had heard SO much about while dating Jon...his friends were all obsessed. Now I am too, having enjoyed their lavosh, half a Cuban, and a mind-blowingly good apple cider/whiskey/smoked cinnamon cocktail. 

The show, like Luther, was amazing and immersive and left me just utterly dumbfounded at the talent of the student body. Seeing a choral show with four incredibly gifted singers added an entirely different dimension to the experience, too...they appreciated both shows in a technical manner that was beyond me and my mediocre singing voice, ha. 

While the rest of the choir nerds had to get the show on the road and drive all the way back to the Cities after the show, Michael hosted me overnight and rolled out the red carpet showing me around Fargo! We stopped at Mezzaluna for cocktails and an insane cinnamon-pear panna cotta...

...before breezing through Dempsey's, The Toasted Frog, and Drunken Noodle, strolling around the utterly charming downtown and taking in the sights as we went. 

Fargo! So cute! Such a surprise. I loved it! 

Having strolled to our hearts' content, we headed home, jammied up and ate the best drunken noodles I've had since my Cambodia Thai days in South Bend...be still, my beating heart. Could've pretty much died and gone to heaven right then and there. 

The next morning dawned with Michael making scrambles and fetching lattes from Atomic Coffee, before a truly comprehensive tour of Fargo. He's a killer tour guide - anecdotes, stories, gossip and commentary abounded, with lots of hopping of the car and exploring along the way. Favorite? Seeing Concordia College for the first time after all these years...it was a big part of my life for awhile there, and I fell in love with its pretty campus, charming architecture and the abundance of corn-related puns (their mascot is the Cobbers, represented by an ear of corn called "Kolonel." HILARITY ABOUNDS.)

Having explored to my heart's content, I hopped back in the car, started "Hamilton" at the beginning, and rapped my way home. Such a great weekend. 

Random items of note: 

1. Never stand next to Matt Callanan during a "Silent Night" singalong. 

2. Don't clap until the VERY end at a Lutheran holiday choir concert, no matter how tempting it may be. 

3. Mixing one Rainbow Mento with two peanut-butter M&Ms tastes remarkably like peanut butter and jelly. 

4. Talking about Wagner with choir nerds is a surefire way to make a lifelong friend (Tried and proven, TWICE, this weekend.).

5. The road from Fargo to Minneapolis is exactly long enough for a 20-minute Mom chat and the entirety of "Hamilton." The road from Minneapolis to Fargo (and from Minneapolis to Decorah, for that matter), however, is best traveled with friends in tow. 

a facetious 2016 Christmas list from yours truly

...in order from most realistic to most "in your freaking dreams you crazy person."

1. this timeless and appropriate "Brunch Squad" sweatshirt, which I actually just ordered for myself from Old Navy...a steal at $25.

2. Drinking implements for festive events: for example, the "Chambong," which is LITERALLY A CHAMPAGNE BONG...or for those of us who can't get through a holiday sober (which is apparently the Schwegfam's M.O.), the "Santa's Flask" wine stocking. 

3. As my current iPhone 5 is missing texts on the regular and never seems to have enough storage, I'd like an upgrade to an iPhone 7, preferably accompanied by this glitter-filled, totally ridiculous Kate Spade case. 

4. Tickets to the Metropolitan Opera's 50th anniversary gala in New York next May...featuring pretty much every major star currently singing in the opera world. While not necessarily realistic, it's not totally out of the question with seats going for around $200 on Seat Geek... 

5. While we're at it, let's take advantage of all the Trumpies "boycotting" "Hamilton" and snap up some fantastic seats to see it on Broadway, a steal of a deal starting at $500 (plus a non-essential organ, your first-born child and your soul). 

6. Since it's already basically our Cheers, where everybody knows your name, I'd like a regular Friday night reservation at Spoon and Stable, preferably at the chef's counter so I can actually become best friends with Gavin Kaysen and learn the secret of their divine pumpkin ravioli and flawless tamarind pork chop. 

7. I'm actually going to write Santa a letter to ask for this one, the item that I think should be topping every Irish fan's Christmas list this year: I'd like Brian Kelly fired, please, and (in my perfect fantasy Christmas world) replaced with Urban Meyer, who (duh) should be all about leaving Ohio State to come coach Notre Dame. In my perfect fantasy Christmas world. 

8. While we're discussing totally realistic things Lizzie should have, let's throw a goldendoodle puppy on the list. It can be best friends with Molly and I will die and go to cuteness heaven on a daily basis.

9. Since clearly I'm going to receive all of this and absolutely 0% of this list is rooted in fantasy or pipe dreams, I might as well go all-out and ask for the real cuddly life partner I'm wishing for: Prince Harry. He's already proven he's got a thing for brunette Americans with the whole Meghan Markle thing...but I think Kate and I would get along so much better. Plus, I bet he could get me "Hamilton" Broadway tickets...Harry, baby, call me. 

10. And to round out the list of everything I need in life to make me happy: a champagne button, and preferably an accompanying butler to deliver said champagne. It's already a thing at London's Bob Bob Ricard, and I think it definitely needs to cross the pond in time for 2017 and the impending Trump presidency/lunacy. Why don't we make it a two-for-one, actually, and just get me Prince Harry to deliver champagne at the press of my champagne button? 

Alright campers, get cracking! I'm sure if all of you pool your resources you can pull this off in time for 12/25. In the meantime, I'll be hanging out at my place in my brunch sweatshirt, drinking wine out of a plastic Christmas stocking...cheers! 

*All commentary in this post is, duh, no shit, facetious and 100% intended to amuse rather than to represent my actual Christmas list, you sillies.*

A Home Alone holiday!

So as if Thanksgiving and Black Friday weren't great enough with my siblings home and all reunited under my parents' roof, we had yet another major Schwegfam tradition on Saturday of last weekend! Every year, my mom organizes some kind of fantastic holiday outing for us on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Last year we went to Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" at the Orpheum after a great dinner at J.D. Hoyt's; in 2013 it was Ike's brunch and "A Christmas Carol" at the Guthrie. It always feels like the official kickoff to the Christmas season, and I love few things more than getting dressed up and going out downtown with my family, which makes it even more special in my eyes. 

This year I was pretty much shit-my-pants-excited because our outing was to one of my all-time favorite places: Orchestra Hall! Anyone who has read here more than briefly knows way too much about my obsession with the amazing Minnesota Orchestra...I've been a regular attendee since their lockout ended (even though I'm usually on the WAY younger end of the audience's spectrum!). Their program for the weekend? A particularly unique and amazing combination performance and screening of "Home Alone!" COULD NOT WAIT. 

My mom, Em and I started our day with manicures and a little more shopping at 50th and France. I loved the sparkly decor on all the trees and every street corner. 

We parted ways, and I went home and got all cleaned up for our family Christmas card photo, which we'd decided to take on my building's roof. I haven't written much about it yet, but I decided to cut off literally half my hair before my Boston trip a few weeks ago, and I'm still figuring out the six-inches-shorter thing. Of course, being a patented basic bitch, when I finished applying makeup and taming my hair, I took and shamelessly Snapchatted a selfie. And then saved it to my camera roll. Because days when I look this nice are few and far between, okay?! 

Gotta say, the Christmas card photos turned out pretty flipping cute...stay tuned for a full reveal as soon as my mom gets them mailed!

Photo-taking done, we drank a little wine in my apartment and headed over to Butcher and the Boar for an unbelievably fantastic dinner. I've loved that place since my original Minneapolis roomie, Kathryn, and I were among the first to dine there after they opened across the street from my old apartment! This was Em and Jon's first trip, and I think we all had a blast. I'm afraid we were probably "those" people having way too much fun, talking way too loudly, and taking way too many pictures.

I drank their perfect Classic Manhattan, while Jonathan and my dad split a few bourbon flights. I'm not a huge bourbon/whiskey person, but for a really well-done Manhattan, I'll cave, and Butcher and the Boar's is amazing. 

Cute sibling photos: 

A mama-daughter keeper (that I'm totally framing):

Our "titans of the gene pool" parents: 

And our insane dinner. If you go, get the Stuffed Jalapenos, the Texas Long Rib, and the Brussels Sprouts!! Although everything was fantastic. You can't go wrong there, I swear. 

Orchestra Hall got WAY into the spirit of "Home Alone," which was super fun for me...I'd never seen it decked out or quite so silly for any of my other events! The amazing team there had gone all out to replicate some of Kevin's booby traps from the film. From broken-glass lights and ornaments...

...to giant (and smaller) spiders "crawling" around...

...and my personal favorite, a treehouse complete with a flying "Kevin" that concertgoers could launch themselves! It was so creative and entertaining, and set the tone for an insanely magical evening. 

So here's how this all works: The movie is shown above the stage, with the orchestra below. It's the entire movie...just without the score in the background, and the conductor literally watches the movie on a tiny screen at the rostrum, conducting and cuing the orchestra as the movie calls for it. IT WAS SO FREAKING AMAZING. I directed and conducted a middle-school band program in South Bend for two years in college, so I can appreciate on a very basic level how technically challenging conducting is in general...and I cannot imagine the difficulty or precision that this would take. 

Fortunately, Sarah Hicks, the Pops conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra, is a goddess and my 100% girl crush, and she effing killed it. In five-inch heels, no less, legitimately almost dancing while she conducted. The woman is a freaking virtuoso. I was so stunned and so completely blown away from the moment they played the Twentieth Century Fox intro music that I actually started crying. It took orchestral performance to an entirely new place for me...such a cool, unexpected fusion of pop culture and a traditional art form I love and appreciate so much. 

My mom took some video, which is a true must-watch: 

Isn't it unbelievable?! So much talent and skill. The concert also included the amazing Minnesota Boychoir to sing the traditional chorale parts of the score, and concluded with a totally festive and perfect rendition of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Loved literally every minute of it. 

As if the night could have gotten better, or as if Orchestra Hall's team could have knocked it further out of the park, the entire audience left the theater to this: 

On first glance, I thought it was fake snow. Nope. It was feathers, as in this scene: 

PERFECT, I TELL YOU. Thanks for making my holiday season, Minnesota Orchestra. Sarah Hicks, you are my idol. And Kevin McCallister...keep the change, ya filthy animal.