alkonin

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. If we pack fruit and yogurts for a couple of lunches, I am confident that we'll be able to stick within budget. Your suggestions are printing now, and I am sure that they will be well used by the end of the trip. I will report back when we return...

I'm headed to London in a couple of weeks with my husband, and we have to stick to a serious budget. We have around 500 dollars for the week to spend on lunches and dinners. We like all types of food and are open to all sorts of suggestions. Your recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks.

thanks for the leg-lifting/neutering advice. my parents have 2 male maltese that were neutered, but still lift their legs constantly. i guess that's what my hang up was with that. maybe they weren't neutered young enough. anyway, we're going to pick out the puppy on sunday.

bed bath & beyond is a great place to register. i wish we had. apparently they will give you cash for returns (there are always returns). we stupidly registered at bloomingdales and williams-sonoma and received only a few items. if it's inconvenient for people to get to where you registered, forget it. they'll pick something out on their own. i cannot tell you how many pieces of lenox (i hate lenox) i wound up with. and cookbooks. lots of them. no pots or dishes, but plenty of cookbooks. also, decorative towels. as a general rule, i don't like decorative anything. we got a trash can. and a matching towel hagar thing. trivets. returns can be tough. i had to get real mad in order to unload my lenox shit. i convinced the manager at tj maxx to take back items that were not purchased at his store (the decorative towels and trash can--totally came from a tj maxx somewhere). if you already have most of the stuff you need, register for stuff you want. a friend of mine registered for lots of dvds and a computer moniter. if i had to register now, i would do so in the form of a vacation fund. congrats on the impending nuptuals!

well, i think we'd prefer a girl, to elimainate the risk of leg-lifting. some more options are: edna dottie ramona lenora

Lamont is GREAT!

not yet. we've been waiting to get a dog for about a year now, and we've kept a running list of possible dog names in my filofax. some of the contenders, however, are: girl names: blanche mona rhoda ruby stella maude boy names: Henry Wallace Tony Arthur Lionel Schneider any other suggestions? i like the idea of giving puppy a sort of silly human name, and I am partial to those names from 1970s tv shows (not that these names are all specifically from tv shows).

this is the best piece of advice i have ever received.

We are getting a pug, which are generally quiet, well behaved, sociable little beasts, and just the kind of dog that does well out with its' owners. the puppy wil be 10 weeks when we bring it home, and we're spending the first 2 weeks of its arrival home. we (my husband & i) will both be working 9-5 until january, when i will be going to grad school full-time, and spending more time at home. until then, one of us will come home during the day to walk the dog and spend a little quality time with him/her. we're not likely to try and take the dog out with us early on, but when it is ready (mature enough and well-mannered), we plan on bringing the dog allover with us.

In a couple of weeks, we're getting a puppy. We have been waiting for said puppy for a very long time, and we are extremely excited about his/her arrival. We like to go out, and we plan on bringing out pup along as much of the time as possible. What i would like to know is, what are the dog-friendly spots (restaurants, bars) in philadelpiha?

my brother and i were all about golden grahams and cinnamon toast crunch when we were younger. it was rare that we were ever allowed to get them, because my parents we generally no-sugary cereal folk, but on those rare occasions, it was so good. we'd sneak froot loops and count chocula from my cousin's house every time when we went over there, because their parent's weren't so strict about which cereals they allowed in the house. As far as hot cereals, we loved peaches & cream instant oatmeal. we were allowed to have that only on rare occasion as well.

forgot to mention that royal tavern also has a really good jukebox, and golden monkey on tap.

Standard tap is at the top of my list, also monk's, new wave, and royal tavern at 7th and passyunk. royal tavern serves up a yummy beet salad.

I had a surprisingly good tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread, carrot sticks, water, and a couple of salt water taffys. will have my apple in a bit...

This is the first Thanksgiving my husband and I will be hosting, and we will be 10 people (both sets of parents, a brother each, a grandma and a cousin). We are giving people assignments so as to cut down on some work/expense. the day starts with cream cheese stuffed celery as we watch the macy's parade. in-laws are bringing the pickies: cheese platter with cheeses, salamis and pates, olives and cornichons crackers crudite with 2 dips (hummus and tzatziki, i think) for dinner, we'll be having: soup course (spinach eggdrop with little meatballs), made by my father salad course pasta course--homemade ravioli of some sort--something with squash or pumpkin? turkey course will incude: turkey leek and mushroom stuffing homemade cranberry and apple sauces sweet potatoes mashed potatoes brussel sprouts string beans for those who don't like brussel sprouts noodle kugel glazed carrots cornbread for dessert: pumpkin & apple pies (made by my mom) chocolate something lemon squares

d'angelo's is very good. pricey, though. my husband questions the integrity of a toupe-wearing butcher, so we don't go there all that often. anyway, we've been living in philadelphia for about a year and a half. for the first few months, we shopped almost exclusively at either the super fresh at 10 & south or reading terminal. that changed after i found a decent produce store (jin's, on 20th just above chestnut), and we started shopping at whole foods. we'd buy most of our produce from jin's, pantry stuff, chicken and beef from whole foods, and occasionally fish, though it's too expensive and not of the best quality (previoously frozen, occasionally stinky). now we're getting the small amount of pantry stuff we need from trader joe's (but not their pasta), produce and meats are still primarily coming from jin's and whole foods, as well as from the farmer's markets. i am pretty happy with this set up, but need a place to get good fish at a reasonable price. i do intend to try reading terminal again, based on suggestions, and am happy to pursue other avenues as well, though chinatown is unfortunately out.

ew. thanks for the heads-up.

1. grilled meunster with tomato and bacon on sourdough 2. tuna melt (swiss or cheddar) on a sesame bagel 3. peanut butter and honey on wheat bread (the honey has to have soaked into the bread and formed a bit of a crust), sometimes with sliced apple, sometimes not. 4. grilled brie & raspberry jam

my vote goes to delorenzo's on hudson st as well. truly great tomoto pies. irregularly shaped, crispy crust, just the right tomato-cheese ratio...i especially like it topped with peppers and onions. the peppers are slightly pickled, and really, really yummy. whenever we visit my parents, who live in trenton, i request delorenzo's. i just can't find a worthy replacemement in philadelphia...

both.

i am, admittedly, overly picky. i'm not nuts about reading terminal mainly because it isn't worth it to me to fight the crowds on a saturday to buy what i consider mediocre stuff. i haven't been there in a while due to the prolferation of farmer's markets, so i'll try again. but i have been consistently disappointed from not just the fish vendors, but from just about all of them. as for chinatown, i go there only for vietnam palace. after dinner there on saturday as we were walking back to the car, someone who was working in one of the fish places, leaning against the doorway, spat into the store. being that i won't be able to identify the exact location, i can never buy fish in chinatown.

i order whatever my husband won't eat if i make it at home. for example, he hates beets and artichokes, whereas i LOVE them. so if we're out and there's something with beets or artichokes, i am all over it.

snapple's "just plain tea" is exactly that.

i don't know where to buy seafood in philadelphia. i avoid the italian market at all costs, and am not a big fan of reading terminal. whole foods' seafood selection is, at best, not great; it is also way overpriced. my question is, where do you find good, fresh fish in philadelphia?

just finished a north star orchards asian pear.