Christmas Eve

Santa has been kind to the little one last Christmas. She had about a dozen gift boxes under the Christmas tree which she kept on counting every morning. She gets more excited everytime there is a new gift added to the count.


Last year, I requested for winter clothes particularly boots and jackets. But this year, Madison got about an even number of clothes, toys and art supplies. At this time, she hasn't used up all the gifts but she has been constantly using her new collection of art supplies.


My family has decided not to do the annual Christmas gift giving. Most of my sisters are all grown up and trying to figure out what to give them can be daunting. Electronics are expensive. Sweaters are boring. Clothes can be tricky with (gasp!) sizes. So these past years, it was stress free holidays, at least for me. The only thing we have to worry is to wrap something for the little one which I usually do up to the last minute.










In terms of gift giving, I took Oprah's cue on giving away your own favorite things. Last year, I gave away Muji multi-purpose pens. My sisters seem to love it. It was cheap and practical. This year I have been crazy about anything Uniqlo Heattech products. I bought a whole pack of them that my Christmas shopping is done in one afternoon. The fact that it was on sale too makes it even sweeter.

My gifts that I gave out last Christmas. I am probably the laziest gift giver that I didn't even bother to wrap it. I figure that I usually give them out the last minute and no clutter which is good for the environment. I know. Lame. Thought that counts, no?

As for the little one, I got her a whole set of multi-colored Muji pens. She seem to prefer using all my pens on her art work even if I gave her cheap pens to use. It never fails, she takes my pen every time she sees it. Those are great pens too, it has a pointed tip and glides very smoothly. She recognized it when we gave it to her. She puts it in her pencil case and carries it around the house. Not bad for a $15 gift.

What did I got in return? One sister decided to be generous and got me a sleek winter coat. The rest are everyday items like pajamas and winter boots which would be of use next year.

How about you? Did you receive anything special last Christmas?



After the Storm

You probably had seen what Hurricane Sandy had done to New Jersey. We were lucky to be located on the inland side of the state that most of the damage around the area were fallen trees in the middle of the road. At this point we consider ourselves lucky.

And like everyone else in the tri-state area, we had a massive power failure (brownout) for about 7 days. I am sure it is somewhat minor in some parts of the world but when you are in the middle of winter in the East Coast, it can be unbearable. While we still have running hot and cold water at home, our heat is not running without electricity. No power meant no microwave so I have been heating our food on the stove top. No television either so we head to bed early in thick sweat shirts and socks. Good thing about all this was I started reading again till I doze off to sleep.

A couple of days after we thought we got a glimpse of normalcy, we had a snow storm with heavy winds. A couple of towns lost their power again. When our lights started flickering on and off during the night, I was praying to the high heavens not to take out our power again. Good thing we were lucky this time. We stayed home through the weekend and rest knowing it will be one hell of a week catching up with work in the next few days.

To my dear readers, I haven't given up on blogging. I actually do have a lot of photos to share even since last summer. I hope to get a patch of time off in between the holidays and share some stories in the next few weeks.

National Constitution Center

Philadelphia, PA

This was one of the stops we had on our weekend trip to Philly. And since, Philadelphia is an old old town, you would never ran out of historical places to visit. For the National Constitution Center is historic but not old. It is an interactive museum devoted to the U.S. Constitution.

The building opened in 2003 and is located blocks away from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

Inside the museum. No photos allowed on the interactive exhibition area.

The view from the second floor.

The view from the museum entrance. Across is the Independence Hall.

Feature Exhibition inside: Bruce Springsteen! I really enjoyed looking at his memorabilia. He is from the Jersey shore and any references from Asbury Park to Freehold makes me proud living in New Jersey. Too bad no photos allowed. I think the crown jewels of the exhibition were the items used from the album Born in the USA particularly the handwritten notes, the outfit, the red cap and the guitar used for the album.

 

I think this is his first car that he bought after his first album. Look at the trophy photo at the back, he looks so young and proud. He is destined to superstardom from here.

 

Hopefully, we would have time to visit the nearby sites in the future. It would be worth another weekend trip to Philadelphia.

My thoughts exactly

The NY Post cartoon summed up what I feel from the recent politics. So right on.

Reading Terminal Market

Philadelphia, PA - It is my second time here at the Reading Terminal Market. It is also unfortunate that we only have free time on Sundays to stop by here where only 70% of the market are open. The Amish stalls are closed Sundays.

I do wish to see the market in its full glory when it is crowded and full of life. Maybe we need another visit in the near future, hopefully we would make it on a weekday.

Not to be discouraged, we were able to go around the market place and saw interesting things to eat. There is so many choose from. I just can't decide where to start.

The great pastrami. Look at them pickles!

 

Or while in Philly, why not a Philadelphia cheese steak.

 

And there is always a nice spicy Gumbo. The Crab & Shrimp Etouffe was fantastic.

 



 I can never resist an old fashioned Lemon Bars.

Another creperie! I am putting this joint on the next time "to do" list.

Too bad it is the height of summer. We can't leave this in the car. I would like to take home those carrot cake.

 And I would like to take some artisan cheese too.

Yikes! For that price, those Roquefort cheese better be worth it. Maybe we were paying for the mold.

Nice old fashioned ice cream bar.

I would give this one an A for presentation. Look at those chicken and empanadas. Look really awesome.

Well, I hope you are hungry now as I am posting this. This is the only downside on market places like these, your eyes tend to get greedy with all this.

And yes, I want them all!

Creperie Beaumonde - Philadelphia

Philadelphia is only about 2 hours away from where we live. We have been here so many times but often enough we haven't really stayed here longer than a day trip. When hubby suggested that we could make a short weekend getaway out of it, well, I couldn't say no to that.

Crepes had been one of my favorite foods. I like them warm and very sweet. Paired with an awesome cafe latte, then it is my little of piece of heaven.

We heard only good things about Creperie Beaumonde in Philadelphia. And since we were in the area, we thought of checking it out.

We are really loving the vibe here in Philadelphia. Long row houses and streets lined with nice restaurants. Parking is really tight.  

 



Inside Creperie Beaumonde. The place is smaller than I thought but it has a second floor dining area.

 

My main meal was Mushroom Buckwheat crepe with mushroom sauce. I love anything with mushroom. It was so good. I would order it again.

Dessert was a simple Banana Nutella crepe with hazelnut ice cream. The little one ate all of it. The hazelnut ice cream was fantastic.

Hubby went for the exotic, he ordered the Cajun gumbo. It is spicy and not to shabby. When you slice it in half, it will ooze shrimp and okra with spicy cajun sauce.

 

His dessert was the Apricot compote. It was good too. But I prefer fresh fruits with my crepes.


We had a great meal here. It is a bit pricey but it is a great place to meet up for brunch. We will stop by again. Next time we will try more of the house recommendations.

Quote of the Day

My apologies for not posting much. I have a lot to share that didn't end up here since I can't keep up with the days. Life is such a sprint but it is my fault too. I have too many projects in hand this summer and too many tradeshows in so little time. I'll promise to share them once I catch my breath within the next few weeks.

As a busy bee, I still have time to check FB and got a little bit nostalgic when I read this quote from one of my favorite authors:

“You are still young.
free.. do yourself a favor.
before it's too late, without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can.
you will not regret it.
one day it will be too late.”
― Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake




I need to getaway this summer, at least before it gets cold again. Soon.

Bette Davis talks about kissing scenes

This was one of those perfect interviews where the guest was so relaxed that she didn't mind talking about anything. Bette Davis has so much spunk that she reminds me of my Grandma.

9th Avenue International Food Festival 2012

New York City - Another street fair that I look forward to every year. Like the Taste of Tribeca in downtown, it is a collection of sample fares from nearby restaurants. At least this time, the tasting portions have reasonable prices.

Tandoori Chicken.

Paella is always a safe bet on street fairs.

This one needed a close up.

The Poseidon Bakery is the best Greek Bakery in NYC. Those sweets all seem to be floating in honey. I would like to eat those with coffee in hand.

Always a welcome sight, a Japanese Takoyaki.

These are the goodlooking sweets from Mitchel London Foods.

My last meal of the day: soft taco and hibiscus tea. A very good combination. I would like to have this again.

I noticed that I have been going to the same festivals every year. I just love them. Summer doesn't last long in the East Coast. This is also a good reason to be out and about. Often times, the heat too can be unbearable but this is held only once a year so I make the best of it.

Happy Birthday Victoria!

Every year you get old, I feel older. 

With lots of love (as if),

Ate