Christmas In Astoria/ A Visit From A Friend


I was mystified by Christmas in Astoria. Not only did the neighborhood put up massive amounts of Christmas lights but, they also piped in Christmas music for the shoppers. After arriving back from Thanksgiving, it was hard to ignore the "Christmas Spirit". On December 20th, there was a blizzard on the East Coast. Despite the blizzard shoppers still braved Steinway Street to finish up before Christmas. The super decorated the building for Christmas. The lights and the tree in the lobby looked lovely. It will be sad when they take down the decorations because the lobby will be boring again.



We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning on Long Island with my family and Christmas Evening and weekend in Maryland. It was great to be able to see both families on Christmas. My parents gave us an adorable ornament commemorating our engagement for the tree. Dave's mother made us a lovely Christmas table runner and centerpiece for the coffee table.


We were finally able to have my MOH over to the apartment today. I was so excited to be able to show her the apartment and the neighborhood. She was a trooper and helped to put together the Wii that the fiance got for Christmas.

December Birthdays and Cupcakes!

December brings my father's birthday and my fiancé's birthday at the beginning of the month. We celebrated the fiancé's birthday in Astoria with a home cooked meal of manicotti and some Crumbs Bakery cupcakes. We are very spoiled because Il Bambino carries Crumbs cupcakes. I never thought I would find cupcakes I liked more than Magnolia Bakery. We tried a Tiramisu cupcake for my birthday in November. This time I decided to get a chocolate chip cupcake and a peanut butter cup cupcake. SOO YUMMY!!

December...



Immediately after returning from Thanksgiving, the fiance and I began preparing for Christmas. We dragged our six foot tall fake tree down the street from our parking space and up the stairs to the apartment. I couldn't wait to decorate it.

My partner in crime helped me set it up, put the lights on, and place some of the ornaments on the tree. We listened to some Christmas songs from the IPod while we were decorating. My favorite part of the Christmas season is taking each ornament out and remembering how we obtained it. This year, I have made it a point to collect ornaments from the different places that we have visited. I was so excited to put the Montauk ornament on the tree that we got the weekend we got engaged.

When I was student teaching, one of my cooperating teachers gave me this standing bear that is all decorated for Christmas. I FINALLY got to put him out in my own HOME!!!

November...


November -

We started to investigate the area and make some decisions regarding a kitchen table.

We went to a wonderful little store called Candy Plum. It has lots of fun jewelry and friendly sales help. You can find some great bargains if you're willing to look. Best part...my fiance liked the store too. We definitely will be back soon...

We investigated the Roman Catholic Church in our neighborhood -- Most Precious Blood Parish. We attended the 5:30 pm Mass on Saturday. The priest seemed nice enough. Like most other churches they are having economic difficulty. It appears that the members of the parish were older. Maybe there is a Mass with younger people at a different time? We will definitely be taking a trip back there.

Who? What? Where? When?


My fiance and I moved to Astoria on October 31, 2009. I had never lived in an apartment before. My fiance rented from an old lady in Richmond Hill.

We treated my friends who helped us move in to burgers at Bare Burger. Super convenient and tasty! I actually tried BISON!! (SO NOT LIKE ME!)

On Sunday, November 1, 2009, we went to Grand Cafe on 30th Ave. for brunch. It was amazing! For dinner we tried Il Bambino. The panninis were alright. I understand that it is reasonably priced but, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

The next weekend, my fiance and I took a walk down to Socrates Sculpture Garden. It was wonderful to be that close to the river. Hopefully one day we will go over to Roosevelt Island so we can see the lighthouse first hand. I never knew there was a lighthouse over there.

My fiance and I took lots of pictures with my phone. (I forgot to press save...Boo!)