Saks & Dunkin' Donuts... Good Times.

Most people are quite surprised when they hear about how low-key my holidays at home actually are. For a girl who believes it her true mission in life to spend the last three months of the year actively spreading holiday cheer to all who will hear, my actual holiday festivities are fairly mellow. This Thanksgiving was no exception.

My sister and I arrived in Cincinnati around the same time on Thanksgiving afternoon. While Thanksgiving typically consists of my parents cooking up a variety of dishes (most concoctions a derivation of some Food Network idea or other), this year was... slightly different. Let's just say my sister and I entered our house to the sight of... well, this:


A readymade meal from the local grocery store. Haha- good times. If you're going to go, go all out, right? Sure, this meal was huge and complete with all the trimmings but, well... there was just some necessary supplementation that HAD to take place. No better way to supplement than by...


Heading to the local Boston Market. Well, hell, if you're going to go, go all out, right? I mean, have you HAD Boston Market's cornbread?? A-maze.

Anyway! Now that Thanksgiving is outta the way, we can FINALLY focus on the REAL holiday at hand... ljfaldsfkjl!! Welcome to Christiemas!!!! While many individuals also assume that I would be all OVER Black Friday (because of that Christiemas zest I tend to spread to all the land), I actually can't. stand. Black Friday. Sure, I can appreciate an economic boost as much as the next person. But seriously? Pepper spray? Trampling people in lines?

I. Do. Not. Think So.

Therefore, when my parents had the brilliant idea of getting out of our house today to do some shopping, I was the first to nix it. As if shopping isn't annoying enough on a regular basis, you better BELIEVE that I have zero interest in shopping on today of all days.

Rather, we decided to head to downtown Cincinnati, since my sister had to return something at Saks. (I know, right? Don't ask. I'm not sure how we are related, myself.)

What better way to start off an afternoon of high-class downtown shopping than with a cozy cup of coffee? I mean, there's nothing like a cozy little latte or espresso to sip on whilst perusing those high-end shops, right? This explains how we ended up at our first stop of the day...


Sigh. Way to really plummet those classy levels, I know. But oh WELL! Dunkin Donuts coffee is just so darn delicious it surpasses all rules of classiness.

Yum, yum, yum. But I digress. Next stop...


While I could not care LESS about anything high-end retail, I have to admit it was more than a little entertaining partaking in this shopping experience with my parents. While most of this experience involved my parents picking up various items and commenting in hushed (and not-so-hushed) tones on some of the ridiculous prices, at least my sister got some decent shopping done...

Haha- she WISHES. It was at this point in this little shopping experience that my parents shifted their attention from the exorbitant prices to... well, health and safety issues. I believe the words "Will you take those shoes off? You are just going to fall and break your leg" (complete with genuinely concerned tones and "looks" exchanged between my mom and dad) occupied the majority of the conversation at this point in the shopping experience.

Ahh- good times. Welcome to Thanksgiving and Black Friday festivities, Maliyacks-style. Classiness, at its finest.