On The First Date of Christmas...

I found a cute idea on some blogs I've checked out called The Twelve Dates of Christmas - 12 dates during the holiday season with your significant other. They don't need to be elaborate or expensive - just 12 things you do together as a date that you both enjoy to spend time together and ignore the busy bustle of the season.


We decided to do our first one on Sunday but sadly a bad cold prevented me from doing too much so we decided to do something simple and laid back and go to the movies.

Perfect for the windy day we had.

And cheap (we had a free ticket!)

Though Dan rolls his eyes at my crazy ideas, I know he enjoyed our First Date of Christmas.

I took a picture to commemorate though I looked (and felt) awful.

...

The snow has started falling here in KOP! Once it is over, it's okay if it never snows again. One snowfall is enough in my opinion.

Max hiding under a tree to get out of the snowfall

Deck the Halls

 

 

Christmas decoration & tree are ready! 

They make the apartment more homey & comfortable, I think. 

We have the most eclectic mix of ornaments & I love them.

My mom has been putting up her tree the day after Thanksgiving for years & and I've come to love that tradition. I try my hardest to not do any Christmas-y things until after Thanksgiving so once thats over, I feel like I explode in holiday things - Christmas music, putting up the tree, watching every Christmas episode of The Office, making my lists (for Santa & for my friends & family), & secretly wanting snow.

Thanksgiving Walk

Thanksgiving morning I usually like to get a good workout in but my shoulder has been hurting so I decided to take it easy & instead took a nice walk around my parents neighborhood with Dan & the dog. Taking a walk near the bay is always enjoyable but it was a little sad this time because there was some remnants left over from "superstorm" Sandy.

 

 

 

 

 Thanksgiving was wonderful though. Quiet. 

Thanksgiving is nice because you don't have to stress over gifts & sales & wrapping. You have one day with family (or friends) - no pressure. You just enjoy each others company.

As much as I love that, Dan & I did go to the KoP mall at midnight with all the other crazy nocturnal people. We were there until 3AM. We figured since we live in the shopping mecca of the east coast we should take advantage of it. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous....   32 days until Christmas!

Give Thanks

This has been a rough couple of months and it can be really easy to forget the positive things in my life & to count my blessings. Thanksgiving is tomorrow (seriously? where the heck did the time go? It's going to be Christmas so soon!) & what a perfect time to reflect on what I am really thankful for this year. I think I need to remember this list not just Thanksgiving week but everyday of the year.

1. My husband who takes care of me & puts up with my weirdness & accepts me for the imperfect person I am.

2. My mom & dad who are quiet when I need them to be & tell me the cold hard truth even when I don't want to hear it (but need it) and for providing for me from the day I was born & now - though the means may be different the intent & love is the same.

3. My brother Anthony - we don't always see eye to eye & we don't always get along but when it matters most he is there for me & reminds me how lucky I am to have a sibling so close in age.

4. My in-laws who accepted me into their family & treat me like their own daughter.

5. My sister-in-law Devin who really is more like the sister I never had - I never wanted a sister growing up (hey, being the only girl has its perks) but once I got to know Devin I couldn't wait for us to become sisters).

6. The rest of my family - the one I was born into & the one I became a part of on our wedding day for always accepting me & understanding & supporting the love Dan & I share.

7. Max - my puggle, my fur-baby, & a big reason why I wake up in the morning. He is not my first dog but he is MY first dog & the unconditional love he has for me makes me so happy. Max, we love you like child (even though I can hear you struggling & splashing Dan while he gives you a bath).

8. My true friends - Marissa (who has been by my side since '92 & I can be my true self with) and my "Cabrini Girls" (who lived with me for 4 years & still like me), plus the other people I am blessed to know & be friends with.

9. A warm place to come home to, a bed to sleep in, & a fridge full of food & to always being blessed & fortunate enough to live comfortably while so many others do not.

10. And finally, for my health, and the wisdom & knowledge I have gained over the last year & a half to take care of myself and to keep myself at a healthy weight.


I'm going to try & keep these things in mind not just on Thanksgiving but everyday. I have much more to be thankful for but then this would be a really, really long post and I have a Zumba class to get to (I am also thankful for Zumba, for proving what an awkward & bad dancer I am yet keeping me in shape at the same time).  :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Date

Saturday Dan & I went into Philly so we could curb a craving I had for Nifty Fifties milkshakes. Nifty Fifties milkshakes are like the best things on Earth.... try the birthday cake one, SERIOUSLY. Or the chocolate-cherry. Or the mint oreo...    Now I'm craving one again.

But we also got flavored sodas & dinner there, too.

It was a lovely night out with the husband - something I look forward to each week.

Can you believe it is Thanksgiving week? I swear, fall is going by so quick and Christmas is going to be here before we know it. I am trying to mentally come up with a list of things I am thankful for this year and will get to posting it sometime before Thursday.

Happy birthday, Mandy!


In 2005 I moved into my college dorm - I wasn't looking forward to it. It was the dorm with no air conditioning & it was an all girls dorm. Doesn't exactly scream "fun".


My opinions changed when I met one of my first college roommates, Mandy Green  (yes you will always be a Green to me, even when I think of you as Mrs. Belmonte). It didn't take long but she became one of my best friends and my partner in crime.

Now Mandy lives in Florida... which makes me sad because that's really far away. But it also makes me a little happy because now I have a friend to visit in Florida. ;)  I miss her a lot.


Have a fabulous birthday, 1/2 of Mandela.<3


Love,
1/2 of Mandela

I'm no Martha Stewart

but decided to be a nice wife & bake Dan his favorite cookies.

My idea of baking cookies is opening up the package from Betty Crocker and placing the pre-baked dough on a cookie pan but I wanted to try real cookies from scratch and what a better way to try than the butter cookie recipe Dan's mom gave me?

Well, let's just say it was quite the process. I had some trouble with the dough so I gave up on using my cookie cutters (plus, the only cookie cutters I have are dinosaurs, Halloween themed, and a random strawberry) and just made regular boring round cookies. However, I did bake these all by myself from scratch - no fires, no big mess, & I only ate one (okay, one and a half... and maybe I licked the beaters).

I must have done a good job though because Dan says they turned out yummy (and he is hard to please when it comes to these cookies). His only complaint was that they were a lot thicker than the ones his mom makes but he liked that I put icing on them.

I received a fabulous binder filled with recipes from my bridal shower back in June but this is the first time I've tried out a recipe from it - can't wait to try out the rest! Plus make cake pops with my super cool cake pop pan.

Things that make me happy lately

This (not so) little guy

Starbucks... or well, free Starbucks

 Alice in Wonderland ornaments that remind me of my honeymoon

Pulling off leopard print

This guy

Friends and their boys who don't make you feel like the 5th wheel but rather part of something special

Advent calendars... yes I know Christmas is still over a month away!

And bubble baths where your fingers & toes get super pruney....

:)