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Dec. 20th, 2014 12:51 pmApparently the secret to last-minute Christmas shopping is to get up at the asscrack of dawn the Saturday before Christmas and be done by noon. My morning was bananas, but I can't deny I Got Shit Done.
It was a banner morning for shopping. I caught the bus into the loop and picked up a few sacks of popcorn at Garrett's, which is a Chicago franchise popcorn shop that I'm pretty sure uses crack in their cooking process somewhere. My stepfather wanted some for Christmas, so it's now sealed up in ziplock bags in my luggage.
Then I went to Macy's, which is much like a fool returning to his folly, because Macy's on State is hellish at the best of times due to its ancient building layout and elevators to nowhere. But it opens at 7am on holiday shopping weekends, and at 9am was still essentially empty. I couldn't quite believe my luck but I wasn't going to push it, either, so after picking up a couple of ornaments as small gifts, I bushwhacked my way down to the basement and chilled in the food court for a while.
The nice thing about Macy's is that it connects via the Pedway to Block 37, the mall across the street, which ALSO connects via the Pedway to Daley Plaza, home of the Giant Picasso Baboon, which is where they hold Christkindlmarkt every year. For an idea of what Christkindlmarkt is truly like in Chicago, may I recommend my fanfic Christkindlfuckup. It is exactly like that.
The Markt is actually really pleasant early in December, especially before dark, but it gets busier and busier as Christmas draws near. People were actually queuing up at 10:30 for access to the ORNAMENT SHACK where all the Christmas Ornaments are sold (most of the Markt is open booths, but there are two giant ORNAMENT SHACKS where you enter slowly and do a lap while you select which hilariously hideous ornaments you wish to buy). There were also long waits for pretzels, wine served in ceramic shoes, and pastries of many kinds. I skipped it all and homed in on the kitsch, because Mum wanted a new centerpiece for the table, and then bought a fluffy hat, because I have a problem when it comes to winterwear. The struggle is real.
AND THEN I went and bought some seasonings for a cooking project at the grocery store, and had the singular experience of walking into Trader Joe's, which has a big NO PRESERVATIVES NO MSG sign outside their entry, while carrying a shaker of MSG in my backpack.
So now I am home with a new hat, a giant sack of popcorn, all the German Kitsch, a week's worth of protein bars from Trader Joe's, and a shaker of MSG.
Winning at Saturday!
It was a banner morning for shopping. I caught the bus into the loop and picked up a few sacks of popcorn at Garrett's, which is a Chicago franchise popcorn shop that I'm pretty sure uses crack in their cooking process somewhere. My stepfather wanted some for Christmas, so it's now sealed up in ziplock bags in my luggage.
Then I went to Macy's, which is much like a fool returning to his folly, because Macy's on State is hellish at the best of times due to its ancient building layout and elevators to nowhere. But it opens at 7am on holiday shopping weekends, and at 9am was still essentially empty. I couldn't quite believe my luck but I wasn't going to push it, either, so after picking up a couple of ornaments as small gifts, I bushwhacked my way down to the basement and chilled in the food court for a while.
The nice thing about Macy's is that it connects via the Pedway to Block 37, the mall across the street, which ALSO connects via the Pedway to Daley Plaza, home of the Giant Picasso Baboon, which is where they hold Christkindlmarkt every year. For an idea of what Christkindlmarkt is truly like in Chicago, may I recommend my fanfic Christkindlfuckup. It is exactly like that.
The Markt is actually really pleasant early in December, especially before dark, but it gets busier and busier as Christmas draws near. People were actually queuing up at 10:30 for access to the ORNAMENT SHACK where all the Christmas Ornaments are sold (most of the Markt is open booths, but there are two giant ORNAMENT SHACKS where you enter slowly and do a lap while you select which hilariously hideous ornaments you wish to buy). There were also long waits for pretzels, wine served in ceramic shoes, and pastries of many kinds. I skipped it all and homed in on the kitsch, because Mum wanted a new centerpiece for the table, and then bought a fluffy hat, because I have a problem when it comes to winterwear. The struggle is real.
AND THEN I went and bought some seasonings for a cooking project at the grocery store, and had the singular experience of walking into Trader Joe's, which has a big NO PRESERVATIVES NO MSG sign outside their entry, while carrying a shaker of MSG in my backpack.
So now I am home with a new hat, a giant sack of popcorn, all the German Kitsch, a week's worth of protein bars from Trader Joe's, and a shaker of MSG.
Winning at Saturday!
