loves. likes. discoveries. obsessions. complaints.: List 32

Love: Cocktail parties. They tend to be clustered around the holidays, replaced by dinner parties and barbecues the rest of the year. This makes December a month to look forward to, but leaves me wishing more people had cocktail parties randomly - in March, say, or September. In large part, this is because I love hors d'ouevres. Over the years I've gathered lots of good recipes for fancy finger food, like duck and cherry skewers or wonton squares with ahi tuna, but two old-school standbys that always go quickly are updated pigs-in-a-blanket, with chicken-apple sausage and mustard, and these Indian-spiced deviled eggs.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pastry-Wrapped-Sausages-108715

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Garam-Masala-Deviled-Eggs-234401

Like: While I am one to scour Etsy and smaller stores for cool things, I also like to come across gift ideas that feel like finds even though they're from mass brand stores, like...

West Elm's Wood Wall Clock and their Sheesham-Wood bar accessories:

Or J Crew's cashmere fingerless gloves:

Or Urban Outfitters' Pendleton Motor Robe Blanket with leather carrying strap:

Discovery: Tilden Park in Berkeley has a wonderful old carousel. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving it opens every night through December 23rd for "Christmas Fantasy in the Woods." You drive through the pitch-black park and then come across a clearing chock full of Christmas lights, the merry-go-round spinning, surrounded by decorated trees, and Santa waiting to take requests. It's a wonderful December holiday ritual.

Obsession: America loves The Nutcracker, with multiple versions staged each year in nearly every city. The San Francisco Ballet's version is spectacular, with the setting shifted to 1915 San Francisco, sumptuous production design and costumes, and imaginative takes, like having the Russian candy cane dancers burst forth out of gigantic Faberge eggs, or a gorgeous sequence with a Snow Queen and King dancing amid an epic snowfall.