Acquiring stuff

People sometimes complain that they don't know what to get me on occasions when that's appropriate (hi, Mom!). So below is a list of stuff I'm interested in having, roughly categorized and in no particular order. If it strikes you as weird, no, I'm not kidding. I'm buckling down and getting serious about minimizing our resource usage, so I really do want a sprinkler timer, etc. Seriously.

Music

• Anything by Susan Tedeschi, Rilo Kiley, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spoon
  
• Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
• Sister, by Letters to Cleo
  
• Infinite possibilities, by Amel Larrieux
  
• Mama's Gun, by Erykah Badu
  
• Half the Perfect World, by Madeleine Peyroux
  
• Bowmboï, by Rokia Traoré
  
• Humming by the Flowered Vine, by Laura Cantrell
  
• Dreaming Wide Awake, by Lizz Wright
  
• Make Yr Life, by the Butchies
  

Books   

Generally I like: mysteries with a sense of humor; fantasy that isn't horribly cliched; books about food and cooking; books about politics and culture; and books by and/or about women. Don't be all funny and get me something by Ann Coulter just because I said that. Maybe I should change that to, "books by and/or about women who are not bigoted psychopaths."

Authors of whom I am fond: Pat Conroy, Barbara Kingsolver, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Douglas Coupland, Jennifer Weiner, bell hooks, Rebecca Wells, Gloria Steinem, Lawrence Block, Susan Wittig Albert, Melanie Rawn, Carrie Fisher, Toni Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Neal Stephenson. Unless otherwise specified, please assume I own everything written by each of these folks; this list is just to give you an idea of my taste. I have a wish list at Powell's under lioness at ology. And here's some other specific stuff I want:

• Operating Instructions, Rosie, All New People, by Anne Lamott
  
• City of Glass by Douglas Coupland
  
• The Splendid Table, by Lynne Rosetto Kasper
  
• Anything about politics by Steven Gillom
  
• Choice Cuts, edited by Mark Kurlansky
  
• Flux, by Peggy Orenstein
  
• Another Planet: A Year in the Life of a Suburban High School, by Elinor Burkett
  
• Joe College, by Tom Perrotta
  
• The Silk Road, by Jane Summer
  
• Hats in the Ring, by Evan Cornog and Richard Whelan
  
• Cookbooks:  French, Thai, Chinese, American, Greek; and anything by Rachael Ray, Charlie Trotter, Alice Waters, James Beard, Bobby Flay, or Caprial Pence.
  

DVDs 

• any season of Six Feet Under
  
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  
• Heathers
  
• Keeping the Faith
  
• American History X
  
• Better Than Chocolate
  
• LA Story
  
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider
  
• Wit
  
• Real Genius
  
• Shadowlands
  
• Shawshank Redemption
  
• Silence of the Lambs
  
• Something to Talk About
  
• Steel Magnolias
  
• Young Frankenstein
  
• Lion King
  
• Muppet Movie
  
• Gone in 60 Seconds
  
• Contact
  
• Fried Green Tomatoes
  
• Hudson Hawk
  

House/kitchen stuff

• Serving pieces. I prefer clean, modern shapes in shades of red or white pottery, dark wood, or nickel/silver.
  
• A cheese board and cheese knives.
  
• Big square tablecloths. If you've seen my living/dining area, you know these should be in creamy shades of ivory, taupe, or brown. Red would also be nice. My table is 60" square and extends another 18".
  
• A beautiful soup tureen, suitable for serving at table.
  
• A large, round, clay casserole with a lid. Should be at least 4" tall.
  
• One of these kooky ornaments
  
• The red mineral vase here at VivaTerra
  
• This recycled glass carafe
  
• Envirope hammock and stand
  
• Sprinkler timer
  
• I always dig good wine.  I like buttery Chardonnay without smoky oak; crisp, citrusy Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc; all kinds of Riesling; big, frisky reds like Zinfandel and Shiraz; all kinds of dessert wine; and this particular Italian sparkling red, Brachetto D'Acqui. I also love port, Sauternes, muscat, grappa (especially the chamomile-infused sort), and good whiskey. I tend to prefer wines from places other than Europe, but I've been known to dig Spanish and Italian.

• Organic and/or fair trade shower gels, lotions, and lip balm
  
• Anything vanilla or lavender from The Body Shop, or any of their body butters
  
• Fun bath stuff! We have this ludicrous bathtub, and I like to be in it. I enjoy fizzy, bubbly things that smell like vanilla, lavender, ginger, chamomile, lemon, jasmine, cinnamon, roses, gardenia, pomegranate, blackberry, honey, caramel, blackcurrant, or orange.
  
• Socks.  Lots of them, preferably comfy and soft, in black, purple, navy, and dark red. I like extra fluffy redonkulous pairs for wearing around the house, and I need more pairs for grown-up wear. I'm really serious. I need socks.
  
• Hair jewelry. Basically anything pretty that will show up in blonde hair and make me look like a grown-up while also keeping my hair out of my face.
  
• Earrings or necklaces. I like dangling or chandelier earrings, and hoops with personality. I like wires, not studs or posts. I dislike chokers; I like heavy pendants and long necklaces (at least 18 inches). Don't be shy about size - I like big pieces and can carry them off well. I tend to like pink, red, blue, green, and purple stones. I prefer silver to gold, ethically and aesthetically; copper, brass, and gold "fill" or plate I can't wear, because my freakishly acidic skin will literally eat through them. Srsly.
  The Sundance catalog is pricey, but their jewelry is just gorgeous. I own the Frida earrings and wear them at least once a week; in the current collection I like the Bangalore Moon earrings, among other pieces.
  Other specific pieces I like:
  - this necklace
  - these earrings and the pendant that goes with them
  - these earrings are so delicious
  - when I say hoops with personality, I mean stuff like this or this

Good places to get me gift certificates

- Container Store
- BookPeople or Powells.com
- Williams-Sonoma
- Sephora
- The iTunes music store

But you know, since we are blessed to have so much of what we want, I would also be very happy if you donated in my name to any of the following:

- Capital Area Food Bank
- Feminist Majority Foundation
- Heifer International - give someone a goat or a llama from me!
- Ms. Foundation for Women
- Oxfam, which does many cool things to make trade fair, fight poverty, and so much more
- my local Planned Parenthood - did you know President Bush's grandfather was on his local affiliate's board back in the day?
- SafePlace, the local women's shelter and rape crisis center
- UNFPA, the UN Population Fund, which, among other things, helps people in the developing world get good health care