Chrismukkah Comes Once A Year

We had a lovely Chrismukkah party!

We spent the day getting everything (including my hair battle) ready and then had a lovely time until early in the morning!

A. and K. chatting while sweet J. smolders in his suit.

Roommates! YGirl with teased flippy hair!

Two handsome fellas!

Yours truly and the divine Miss M. under the mistletoe!

The Chrismukkah Miracle

It's a miracle!

A Chrismukkah Miracle!

I missed my calling

E. tells me I should have been a kindergarten teacher.

Why would she say this?

Umm, because I love construction paper, maybe?

More construction paper goodness to come!

A rousing success!

Thanksgiving Shabbat dinner was marvelous. The food was good, the company was great, and everyone had fun!

I made:
-Two Roasted Chickens with Garlic, Lemon and Za'atar
-Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Ginger and Raisins
-Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad
-Green Salad with Mint, Cranberries and Shaved Carrots
-Sweet Noodles Kugel with Apple and Cranberries
-Apparently Awesome Cornbread
- Baked Apples with Raisins

Friends brought:
- Turkey
-Desserts
-Teriyaki Green Beans (Thank you, J!)
-Spicy Beet Salad (Thank you, Steven!)
-Lots of wine!

Here are pictures of the table:

Thank you to:

- the lovely E. who resets the fuses when the oven blows the circuit

- sweet J who is our favorite overnight guest

- gorgeous Amy, vegetarian bearer of the Turkey

- Steven, who didn't have his usual potluck Shabbat dinner so that he could be at our dinner. He also washed all the dishes!

- the sassy Melissa, new shuk shopping buddy

- my new friend David (who has read my blog, bless him), the international man

- Noam - the most capable fellow I have ever met. I can't wait to cook with him.

- the delightful Elina. A most welcome addition to our friend group!

And so, I think it would be fair to say that I am grateful and thankful for a new home (for the year), new friends, a wonderful family (that I miss so much) and lots and lots of leftovers!

Now I am going to make chicken soup with the leftovers.

To Ikea I went!

Today I went to Ikea to pick up some things for the apartment.
We've moved in, but have almost no furniture and no decorations. Horror!

However, I required sustenance before entering the battlefield known as Ikea. So I went for sushi.

I have missed sushi so much! It's everywhere in Israel, but I am wary of raw fish and Israeli health code regulations. I had heard some good things about Japanika so I went to the one next to Ikea.

I had the business lunch - three rolls, a drink and an eggroll.

The sushi was... Okay. The waiter suggested another place, in Tel Aviv, that is much better. Let's put it this way, if I went to this place in Seattle, I wouldn't choose to go back because there are better and cheaper places around.

I was most excited about the pink pickled ginger.


Then I went to Ikea to battle the other Americans for the best stuff buy some housewares.

Afterwards, I collapsed into a taxi, stumbled to the train, tottered over to another taxi and grumbled up the stairs to my apartment.

Here I am with my stash of Ikea goodies.

Then I broken my overheard light (not really, but I'm not going to try to fix electric stuff) while trying to attach the new awesome shade.

Whew!

Tomorrow I have to buy vegetables and go to class. Friday is cooking day!

Wish me luck!

Oy vey. The new apartment.

It's huge. It's got a washing machine. It's got an oven, for God's sake! I should be happy right?

It smells awful.

Hopefully we will have furniture soon. In the meantime, it's pretty horrid looking.

Sleeping in the living room for the first night.

Check out those awesome shelves!
I love them!

The dining room.

The yet to be completed kitchen.

My room. It has closets all the way up the wall!

An enclosed balcony.

In my closet. What is this little cage for?
Blankets? Babies? Puppies?

I have since hung some curtains in my room to give me some privacy. I am sleeping on J's airbed until I can get a mattress from a family friend.

More to come!