Thanksgiving Bake

As soon as classes finished up on Monday, I practically sprinted off campus to get to the train station. My beautiful best friend's face was there to welcome me back home & we caught up all afternoon - plus we baked Pinterest-style oreo brownies. I ended my first day home with a trip to a diner with an old friend who seemed better than ever as far as mental states go, which made me so happy.

I got up early and went to my high school for the all of the next morning. The vibe was different, but mostly the same. There were so many faces I wanted to see, but only so much time to see them. This ended up being my motto of sorts for all of breaks - I wanted to reconnect with lots of people but there are only so many days in a week. That good old Catholic guilt washed over me about not being able to see everyone. Spending time with my very close friends and my family were high priorities for the break, but I also wanted to work and bake and relax. Maybe winter break will give me enough time to get everything done and see everyone.

I made these two-ingredient pumpkin cookies, to which I added a from-scratch Nutella frosting with chopped hazelnuts. I brought them to Sam's house for the first of our two Thanksgiving dinners and I think they were a decent success. We started off the day of eating by participating in the Turkey Trot, a 5K race that runs through downtown York. 

Probably a good call on our part.

We also ventured out to the outlets at midnight, mostly to observe the crazy people rather than search for deals ourselves. We went with Erin and Ian - our favorite couple and the only people willing to do this sort of thing with us. Being the boring people we are, Erin and I were tired by about 1:30 and everyone went home, though the boys insisted on stopping for fast food.The next day was beautiful, and unseasonably warm, so we went for an afternoon walk and playground date in the park across the street which holds mixed memories for him and I.

I caught up with my work family at work on Friday and at our holiday party, which was fun because the whole dynamic feels a little different now that I've been at school. Not in a bad way, but not completely in a good way, just a new way. Sam and I also went with Sam's parents, his brother and brother's girlfriend, to get a Christmas tree. As soon as they started pulling out the decorations, I started to re-fall in love with the Christmas season. This much happiness is going to make it hard to be at school for three more weeks. Smiles, Morgen.

(look how cute our new favorite ornament is!)

Italian Goodies & Little Brother Time

I've just finished up all of my assignments that are due before Thanksgiving break, and have even gotten a head start on things due by the end of the semester. The next five days will be full of anticipation because I'm ready to be home with my dogs and family, plus I haven't seen Sam in more than a month! I had the lovely opportunity to have my little brother come spend the day with me again, while my parents were elsewhere in the city.

We explored Italian Market, which is in the southern part of Philly. Our family is mostly German by blood relation, but a significant portion of our family is Italian through marriage, so I like to think of us as socialized Italians. So many funny things happened to us that were soooo Italian; we stopped to help an old lady with her garden, dealt with a blunt but dear cashier woman, and had a man in the pastry shop tell us the best place to get cheese and to "tell them Dave sent you and they'll take care of you." It's charming areas like this that force me to fall in love with the city all over again.  

If you're in the area, I recommend you stop by Isgro's on 10th and Christian and buy any pastry (I love the chocolate chip canolis, but that's just me). Also, Sarcone's Deli on 9th and Fitzwater makes some great sandwiches (I did the Sinatra - proscuitto, spinach, fresh mozz), with the hard ass but affectionate Philly attitude and a real homey feeling. After you've filled up, take a walk through the Italian Market area with all the chocolate, cheese, and produce shops. Just please don't go to Pat's or Geno's. There's a perfect South Philly Saturday for you!

Rockabilly, Rittenhouse and Ritz Theatres

After a very college weekend last weekend for Halloween, I had a very city weekend to make up for it. There are certain things about living in Philadelphia that I would hate to leave.

Free music and good food are two of those things. I went to my first Free at Noon, which is a concert put on by WXPN, our local radio station. I invited Rachel to come with me and she agreed without even asking what kind of music it would be. Its good she didn't know ahead of time, because she probably would have said no if she'd known JD McPherson did throwback rockabilly R&B type music. It was an amazing show - he sounded exactly like he does in recording and the stage presence was to die for! Then it was off to Center City for the entire afternoon. We all know I love Underdogs, and as much as I hate to go without Sam since he loves it too, I went anyway before we sat and watched birds and shopped. 

I drank a lot of tea and almost finished two papers that are do in the next few weeks on Saturday, so I rewarded myself by taking me out on a date. If you ever forget about yourself, it's a great move because you'll always be grateful to yourself for taking you out. I went through all the works, did my makeup and dressed up. It's a great self-care step.

My date of choice was a panini at the Noshery and a movie in Old City. I had been waiting to see Perks of Being a Wallflower but I couldn't wait anymore! The movie was beautiful. It broke my heart about three times over, but I was okay with it. Some of the cool parts about going to a movie alone include getting to sit wherever you want and crying without any shame. I walked through the lit up streets of Old City in a romantic haze when I left the theater.

After a fulfilling weekend, it's back to the grind. Except the grind includes ABC Family movies and coffee since I got ahead yesterday. Hope everyone else had a nice weekend, if not, do something for you today, because you deserve it.

Smiles, Morgen.

Falling leaves , puppy dog tails and denim jackets

I got out of the city again because someone asked me to work. I wasn't totally sold on going back home for the second weekend in a row, since it always takes me a bit to get back into my groove into the city when I go back and forth. My dog, as well as my parents, seemed happy to have me back and I enjoyed seeing the leaves and relaxing.

I was barely home long enough to eat spoonfuls of Nutella and grab my denim jacket to bring back to school. York was very pretty in the autumn sun but I got back on the train on Sunday morning to meet my friend for brunch. We went to this adorable little cafe in south Philly called Ants Pants Cafe. I had a sandwich with eggs, ham, tomato, avocado and brie. Delicious! I would recommend it as a treat, because it's a little pricey but even the coffee was a memorable aspect. I'm also happy to have my denim jacket, now it feels like fall.

    

Take me out of the city

It's hard to explain to people how boring the city can be. Don't get me wrong, Philly is full of so much dynamic and amazing culture that one can never see it all.But the city never changes - hardly any trees to change colors, a smoggy atmosphere and general dullness. I was so grateful to go home for the weekend and see the river, hike up some rocks, and drive on some dirt roads. Nothing helps the soul like a weekend of exploration and chilly fall days.

Brother in the city of brotherly love.

Last week was pretty low key as far as my school work went. However it got pretty lonely here, which tends to happen following a visit from Sam. It's not only that I miss him, which I do a lot, but it's also that having a loved one here helps fill in the emptiness. The white concrete block walls and hard linoleum floors feel less harsh with love filling in the cracks.

So it was very nice this weekend to get a visit from my little brother, Chris. I haven't blogged about my little brother much before, but him and I are really close and have always sort of been each other's support since we were really little. Since life at our house is hectic right now and I haven't been there to help, the poor guy has kind of been a little stressed in all the new adjustments. 

After he got off the train, we grabbed some food truck food in West Philly. I got some Carribean soul food and he got a cheese steak  I was excited to get the chance to show him around the city - take him on the subway for the first time, his first train ride, his first cheese steak and his first concert. I reluctantly took him to my school's homecoming concert, which was Big Sean. I'm not much of a rap music fan but I know Chris has been wanting to go to a concert since forever and my parents haven't quite found the time.

Museums and fall weather.

 Sam was here, again...Not as though I'm mad about it. His visits never seem quite frequent enough though they happen about every two weeks. I actually am so distracted in the mean time that it seems like it's only a few days between visits. This weekend we were fortunate enough to have lovely autumn weather and got to see great friends. The very cool part was that the Smithsonian was having Free Museum Day. Living in Philly, I am fortunate enough to be close to a bunch of museums - we decided on the Academy of Natural Sciences. The area there is really pretty with a big fountain in the middle. Of course we had to go to Rittenhouse afterwards and get our hot dogs from Underdogs.

Saturday night was quite chilly so we got coffee and hot chocolate from Seven Eleven to cuddle at the Bell Tower. Talked about dreams and stuff and took in a wonderful night in the city. So we wandered through the city until it was time for the bus to pic up my boy and whisk him away to western Pennsylvania. 

Now I'm left to write this paper about revolutionary women and their view of marital institutions - hope everyone gets to have as great a start to the week as I do!

Smiles, Morgen.