Have you ever lost yourself in a daydream while scrolling the computer while looking at the homes of celebrities? I have. This morning, I just wasted one and a half hours scrolling. I am amazed at what people with money spend on homes. I thought I was extravagant, but my entire real estate property fits into and costs less than a typical celebrity closet. What do they do with a twenty thousand square foot house with ten bedrooms, eleven bathrooms, a swimming pool, and a tennis court?
Wealth only breeds opulence and ridiculous waste. Although, I would like to live on the land where some of these mega-mansions are situated. Usually, they are high on a hillside or an ocean waterfront. I like those properties with the lot size listed in acres. Those would allow me to develop winding paths through wooded areas and open spaces. Of course, each of those acres would cost me a million dollars, which I don’t even come close to owning.
I have scrolled through many English properties, but I have seen glimpses of many that are of estate size with castles and formal gardens that turn me on. There is something to be said for the British aristocracy; they knew how to live. Of course, they are criticized for having inherited wealth. At least I can brag about being born dirt poor and leading a comfortable life and will leave Earth also dirt poor.
The thing that set me off scrolling this morning was a task to make reservations at Macy’s Walnut Room for lunch. Every year for over a hundred years, the property in Chicago at State and Randolph Streets, formerly Marshall Fields and now Macy’s, has held a function known as Breakfast Under the Tree. The building is unique because it has an eight-story interior atrium around which they built the Walnut Room restaurant. Each Christmas Season, they erect a seven-story tall Christmas tree in the center of the atrium and place tables around it. Guests come to eat breakfast with Santa. Many families of several generations come to celebrate with their youngest progeny. After breakfast, the kids sit on Santa’s lap to give him lists of their wants and the address to their house. When Santa is overloaded, he sends a Fairy Princess around the room who sprinkles fairy dust on children’s heads to grant them their wishes.
I thought I would be wise and reserve a table this year. In past years, we went down early and waited in line, sometimes for two hours, to get a table. Waiting in line outside on State Street when the wind is blowing and it is ten degrees does not put me in a joyous holiday mood. That wasn’t going to be me, not this year. As it turns out, I won’t be waiting for a table because even though Christmas is six weeks away, the restaurant is fully booked for the entire holiday season. And, my friends, that is how I sidetracked myself into looking at celebrity houses. I would have had more fun playing solitaire.
Filed under: Biography, family | Tagged: Celebrity Houses, Christmas, Macy's Walnut Room |
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