Back From Philadelphia

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I enjoyed my cold East Coast holiday American style.
M.'s mom made an impressive stuffing from toasted cubed challah, carrots, celery, onion, and spices. Her cranberry with apples baked on top was delicious too. All in all an impressive meal.

She has inherited these beautiful plates from her mother (M's gran, who passed away a couple years ago) and I just love them. So cute!


M's mom is an excellent cook, and her idea for Thanksgiving dessert pretty much ruled. She made chocolate chip cookies from scratch and made sure they were very thin. We used them to make ice cream sandwiches. No pumpkin pie, which was OK with me.

It was nice to get away, though I had planned to do some work on my trip and didn't get around to much of it. Actually, there was a lack of Internet availability at my in-laws and that really took its toll. I had to admit to myself that my functionality is dependent on the web, so if there's an apocalypse, look for me under a desk, curled up in the fetal position trying to access e-mail on my Blackberry.

I enjoyed downtown shopping (H&M, Ubiq shoe store, Philadelphia City Sports, and Urban Outfitters, if you were wondering). I have been looking for some comfy sneakers for a while, and I managed to find two pairs that were on super sale.


My silver Pumas are pretty sweet, no?

Urban Outfitters had some cute things that I wouldn't lug across the country, but felt the need to share:

These candy cane shot glasses are kinda neat.


Cool vintage-y frame
This key ring is so cute, and sorry whoever is making money from this, but I'm going to totally DIY it for myself. I saw it. It's a piece of plywood with a screen print and three cheap hooks.

A lot more cuteness was at the Philly Urban Outfitters, but not on the website. The H&M was good, but not as good as the South Coast Plaza one, or the San Francisco one. Still, I bought a skirt and a blouse for work. And there were a few boutiques I looked into too, but if you don't live there, I'm not going to make you sad by talking about them.

I got a couple more weeks of teaching and then the semester comes to a close. Can't believe it's almost the end of the year.