Amy Sherman-Palladino for Mayor

I didn’t discover the show Gilmore Girls until college. Then Bunheads was ripped from my TV lineup (at the same time that Pretty Little Liars was renewed for a 5^th season). Is it too much to ask for a girl to get her fill of small-town charm, crazy festivals, and lovable local establishments?? Thank goodness I live in a village that is borderline Stars Hollow.

This past weekend Forest Park went full-on Winter Wonderland complete with Santa and Mrs. Claus on motorcycles, tree lighting, s’mores, and live window displays.

Downtown Oak Park also hosted a Winterfest/Cookie Walk. For $20 you got a giant red tin and a list of all the businesses that were ‘Cookie Walk Participants.’ Think Trick-or-Treating for adults who are too lazy to dress up in October but are still craving sugar two months later.

If you didn’t attend Forest Park’s Holiday Walk or Oak Park's Winterfest this year, put it on your 2014 Winter Bucket List because these are must-attend events if you live anywhere close to here.

 They pulled up in a fire truck and then the cops let them sit on their motorcycles. Does this happen in real life?

Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor recreates Candy Land!

 This was my favorite window display by Todd & Holland. The characters were music box figurines. You can see the little girls winding them up here. Check out the video below:

And then we made a little stop at the North Pole (aka - right outside of Todd & Holland) to see a reindeer.

This wasn't a live window display, but Yearbook always designs the best windows year round. They were also selling these giant bottles of real maple syrup. If I had an extra $65 I would have definitely bought that and maybe just sipped from the bottle all year long. Just kidding. It probably wouldn't take a year.

Another great window at deedee & edee. The picture doesn't really do the scene justice. There were pugs-galore here, all with knights strapped to their backs trying to "save" the (cross dressing) princess. There was also a guy dressed up in a dragon suit outside the window helping people into the store. I didn't get the whole thing (knights saving the princess - trying to fight off the dragon) because the dogs were just too dang cute and distracting. Points for creativity!

And then Winterfest in Oak Park:

Live music as you're shopping? Yes, please.

Here are all the cookies we got. We hit up almost every place except maybe a few that were closed when we got there.