Back in the saddle

Boy, when you've slacked off on blogging it seems really hard to get back into the swing of things! I've been gone for a week and a half and suddenly I feel like I have nothing to say. Part of my absence was for vacation and part was just sheer laziness.

My mom and I spent 5 days in New York City as a fun "girls' weekend" and we had a blast! Neither of us had ever been there before and neither of us have husbands who'd be the least bit interested in going, so we decided to jet off and have a little adventure of our own. We talked about it for months, finally started planning and before we knew it we were getting off the airplane at La Guardia!

We did and saw as much as we could possibly pack into those few days. I was the trip planner and my sweet mom was game for anything. She let me drag her up and down that island and never complained! She's a fun traveling companion because she's usually up for about anything.

We saw three Broadway shows: "The Lion King," "The Drowsy Chaperone," and "Hairspray." Chaperone was definitely my favorite, although the others were definitely entertaining. It was my favorite because it was everything I would imagine a Broadway musical to be. It was hilarious, there was a tap dance number and even guys in vintage aprons. Perfection, I tell you.

We shopped, of course! My favorite places were Pearl River Mart in SoHo and Tinsel Trading Co. in the Garment District. The former is basically a department store filled with Asian imports. Neatest stuff! I bought Maren two pair of satin brocade slippers and a string of the prettiest little paper lanterns with peonies on them. The latter is a store that I've seen featured in Martha Stewart for years now and it did not disappoint! If you have the December issue of Home Companion, that's their stuff on the cover and there's a big spread inside. It was magical! I spent a bundle there and could have spent much more! Can't wait to decorate for Christmas with my goodies.

Anyway, there's much more but I need to go make my grocery list for tomorrow. I'm hosting Thanksgiving here at my house so I need to figure out what we need for the big dinner & the rest of the weekend. Hopefully the commissary won't be a total madhouse tomorrow; I'm going as early as I can in the week because I know things will just get worse as the big day nears. Tomorrow I'll share some of my recent thrift finds! It's good to be back!