"Oh, Christmas tree..."

There's my cute widdle Christmas tree. :-)
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Gobble gobble gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Right now I'm sitting at my parent's kitchen table, my Mom is cleaning up the bathroom and getting fresh towels, my Dad is wrapped up like a burrito on the sofa watching Sci-Fi channel and my sister is sitting on the other sofa with her laptop. So yes, it's as if I never left. We're all casually doing are own thing and exchanging stories and conversation. We're also getting our Christmas lists together so that the shopping can commence.

Plus, we have little furry animals running around to play with! YAY!

*happy sigh*

Now, hopefully we'll maintain this calm since we've removed the huge stress of cooking this year from the menu. *crosses fingers*

A Heart-y Soup

Hehehe, look at the widdle celery "heart," awwwww.
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Thanksgiving Cheater

That's right, I'm just going to come right out and say it. My sister and I split the bill to have Thanksgiving catered in this year. *runs away and hides*

*looks out from under cover*
*creeps back out and brings soap box along*
*gets up on soap box*

Ever since I was able to walk I have helped my mom cook and prepare for Thanksgiving. Not in the classical Thanksgiving sense, I'm talking the Italian-American Thanksgiving sense. We're talking about people up to about 20, multiple meat courses (yup, that's right, we're not big fans of Turkey you may have gathered), multiple starch and vegetable courses, homemade sausage stuffing (you'll have to torture me to get the recipe out of me), soups, then desserts up the wazoo along with nuts and coffee to round everything out. Over the years, thankfully, the amount of people has gone down and we are happily left with just immediate family. Hence the idea of "hey, why don't be pay other people to do it this year?"

So, it'll be nice to just warm up food and chill out for Thanksgiving. No running around the kitchen or running back to the store for forgotten items. No yelling and screaming at each other people of the cooking stress and no f*cking peeling potatoes!!! F*ck you potatoes!! I love you, but damn it you are horrible on the hands!!

*steps down from soap box*

A Tough Broad

My cousin Rachel made it through Basic Training on a broken ankle. Now that's a tough broad. ;-)

Thanksgiving?

Wasn't there a holiday that was just before Christmas and Halloween??

Whether or not you believe in the holiday, I've definitely taken it as time to celebrate the family and friends that are worth you cooking a whole big meal for and being thankful for the year's blessings. Also, I have all these cute stuffed animals themed in Thanksgiving Day attire! Damn you Christmas for sneaking up and not allowing enough time for my Thanksgiving decorations!

*grumble*

Weekend Shopping

While in South Jersey, there were many interesting places to shop in the downtown areas of Hammonton, NJ and Cape May. Coming from Connecticut I'm so used to paying out of my nose for anything remotely cool or useful, so I always love when I travel in the US because, besides traveling to NYC, I always end up saving money shopping in that area. Hence, my excitement at food and "cool things" prices, so much so that I had to ask one cashier "really...REALLY??"

Here's a breakdown of cool places with websites, if the place even has one. If not, then I included a Google Map pinpoint so that you can at least visit the place if you happen to be in the area.

Hammonton, NJ:
Antique Market Place: 111 12th Street, (609) 567-1889

• an awesome selection of unique things from god knows when, set up into little displays to show off their qualities; like the dram of Avon perfume I bought for my mother was displayed in a little vanity set made to look like it was in some woman's bedroom from the past.
• CHEAP; I can't stress that enough, I walked away with a BUNCH of items and only spent a small amount considering what I had purchased.
• baseball cards and sport memorabilia.
• great selection of china and service wear from all over the place; I got this great tea and luncheon set from Shofu Japan that is pre-WWII. Now I bought it because it's gorgeous, if it happens to be worth anything, meh, not interested in selling.
• great staff; the owner helped me wrap up everything since he knew I was traveling back by car and needed some added insulation, plus he gave me a discount on everything, so YAY!

Cape May, NJ:
Dellas 5 & 10: 501-503 Washington Street

• harkens back to the time period where the "five & dime" ruled, before the mega stores ruled the world and these mini department stores reined.
• has an old-fashioned soda fountain in the back where you have to go to purchase your items, so yes, tempting people with food as they cashed out started way back when.
• they had these amazing items that looked like they came out of a time capsule: chattering teeth, classic prank items like sour popcorn and disappearing ink as well as magic items
• incase you were a traveller desperately indeed of a pair of clean clothing, you were in the right place as they had everything down to undies and shoes available
• a must go if you are in Cape May

Import Bazaar: 306 Washington Street Mall

• the review on Google says it all: "Always worth a stroll inside if for nothing else but to oggle the array of kitsch. Like an oversized garage sale there is something for everyone or no one."
• so I walked away with a walking stick (hehehe, did you see what I did there :-P), a back scratcher and some other things that only a place like that would sell.

More to come once I dig up all the business cards I took that are sitting in one of my coats.

The Chelsea

I have to say that this was by far the best hotel I've stayed at in my little life of hotel staying, The Chelsea of Atlantic City. Not only were the hotel rooms impeccably clean and styled, but the kind people at the late night staff took it upon themselves to let us check in 12 hours early since they felt bad for us having our original room for the night of the 5th (in a completely different hotel) sell ours out from underneath us. Apparently paying for a room is not enough of a claim to a hotel room, not when there's a teachers conference in town.

Anyways, moving on to better things...the styling of The Chelsea is very mod and reminded me of one of my favorite shows, Mad Men on AMC. It's very 50's/60's with a kitschy, jet setter flare to it. A cream base, accented by pale blues and dark browns and blacks and full of patterns from that time period as well as accent pieces that Urban Outfitters only dreams about.


At first you don't think it works together, but it does in an interesting way. A very pale blue light with a textured light browny barely green wallpaper.



Light blue velvet curtains with a brown trim. Accented by a large brass light fixture. And the use of the blue made it OK to mix the metal finishes in the room which I didn't think I would like.



And just look at the bathroom...*drools* The pattern is just simple brown circles on a cream base and with the quadrants of the circles darkened a bit. The granite floors made the countertop and the wall pattern flow nicely. And just look at the huge backlit mirror! *wants*



Last but not least, the accent pieces. Oh yes, you are looking at a cockatoo bedside lamp, that's right. At first I have to say I was a bit turned off by it, but then if you take it along with the whole room into consideration, you begin to accept the bird's presence in the room. And there's a look at the heavy black headboard with white trim.


All in all, a superb hotel with wonderful staff and an impeccably interesting decor. A must see if you are staying for the night in Atlantic City.

A Long Weekend to Remember

Executive Summary:

- great times spent hopping around Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Cape May and Hammonton, NJ.
- did some great antique shopping which will continue the next time I make it down there
- met some interesting people down in South Jersey
- saw a great scaled down NIN show in Atlantic City
- hung out with some great people and met some new ones

...and more importantly I didn't spend all of my money either. I may actually be able to pay all my bills! Isn't that cool. :-)

Elaboration will continue when I find some time and can collect my thoughts.

Lucy

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Atlantic City

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President Obama

I am proud to be an American again. We have a regime change that we've been needing for quite sometime and I am honored to have cast my vote in this election.
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At the Top

Yay for gym time. Woooooo!
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238th St. Stairs of Doom

Yes, I have to climb those.
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Building Pr0n

Amsterdam & 70th
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Verdi Statue

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Verdi Square

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Waiting for the Train

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Starbuck's in Riverdale

Man, it's warm out today.
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