let the reindeer games begin.
Well, after days of prepping and hours of cooking and cleaning, Thanksgiving is over. Time for the reindeer games to officially begin…
It was a good holiday, but my dad and I agree that next year, we’re going to have to set up things so there is less time on the prepping/cleaning, and more time on the enjoying. Beyond the prep work D & I (and everyone else) did the Tuesday and Wednesday before, I was literally in the kitchen at the stove in my pajamas from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., and was back there again after taking a quick shower and dressing. Although the meal came together well, it didn’t feel like there was much time to enjoy it (at least for me), although I’m happy that everyone else seemed to enjoy the day. I think next year we’ll go with a buffet, smaller portions (ie, cooking one pan of stuffing vs. three), and maybe disposable plates (at least for dessert).
Friday was officially the first day of house hunting. And from that, I have determined I am not cut out for house hunting. Nothing bad happened– my parents were fine/everyone got along– I just realize what a arduous, frustrating process this will be. Everyone you talk to has their own “advice” about what is the best option (renting, buying), what type of home to buy (townhouse, single family, twin, condo), and various tips/thoughts/feedback on what to look for within those parameters (“don’t buy something old–it’s a money pit!” “new construction isn’t as well made as old construction!” “be sure you have off-street parking! Think of the snowstorms!”). My head was spinning after we wrapped up our first venture out. We mainly did a “drive by” of some homes for sale in Collingswood and then checked out a new construction for condos right next to the speedline. The building was beautiful, but SO expensive. We are determined to stay within an affordable price range, so we shall see…
Saturday D ended up getting called into work so I decided I’d drop him off and check out the weekend sales. I was in desperate need of winter clothes and hadn’t been shopping in forever. Well, I definitely made up for it yesterday! Donnie worked from 2 p.m. until 11 p.m. and I literally spent that entire time out at the stores! I initially wasn’t having a whole lot of luck at the mall (although I did score some cute shoes on sale at Macy’s), but then I saw they opened a Francesca’s boutique there, a little shop that is also in the Marlton Promenade that my cousin Katie turned me on to. I nabbed three dresses from the sales rack and a purse that was 40% off AND a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law before I met D for his dinner break.
After that, I headed to Target. Oh, Target, my sweet, sweet mistress. Their clothing selection can often be a bit “hit or miss,” but yesterday, it was definitely a major hit. They had a ton of new sweaters/turtlenecks for $9 and an amazing selection on the clearance rack. I walked out of there with an obscene amount of clothes for a price that was nowhere near as obscene as I was expecting. Granted, I’m going to have to carefully budget myself until next paycheck, but it was well worth it…
Sunday, D and I did a “practice run” to my new job location, since I will be taking public transit to get there. I am very grateful we did this because there are 2 different stops on 2 different lines with the same exact name. And guess which one I thought it was supposed to be? Yeah… we definitely walked around a pretty sketchy area trying to find the skybridge that would take us to my office building. Fortunately, we found someone to direct us to the next station and then found another person who informed us I will have to take another train to connect to the station we need. Blergh. I was really frustrated/freaked out because based on the prices we were seeing for this additional rail line, it looked as though the cost of my commute would be WAY more than I expected (like, $350 more), but through some investigating and a help of our friend Tim, we learned that it’s only the difference of about $30, which isn’t so bad. This will mean I’m going to have to get up even earlier than I initially thought in order to catch not one, but 2 trains, although the difference is really only 15 minutes, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much… right?
After getting home, D and I ate some more Thanksgiving leftovers and watched the new Alice in Wonderland while I finally packed away my summer clothes to make way for my new winter digs and D wrapped the presents that we already bought. After I finished with the clothes, I finally cut up the t-shirts I’m hoping to use for the t-shirt blanket that I’ve been talking about making for about 2 years now (ever since visiting Kate & Scott in Scotland…). I still have a ways to go, but at least my closet is looking acceptable again and I finally have made some headway on a project I’ve been pushing to the top shelf of my closet for months.
And now I’m trying to bang out the blogs. I hate getting behind on this, but life keeps happening faster than I can write about. I’m hoping that soon, with the commute and the pay increase, I can buy a little laptop or maybe an ipad so I can update this more often and from the trenches, but we’ll see… right now I need to focus on paying off the things I’ve already bought and the one thing I have yet to buy that I need to: my plane ticket for my Euro trip this spring!!
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