I know that for many people Black Friday can be very stressful and more about the sales rather than the experience, but that is not the case for me! This was only my second time Black Friday shopping, but I absolutely love it. Of course the sales are great, but the feeling of waking up after an amazing Thanksgiving feast to another full day of fun where I get to spend time with my mom, aunt, and friend exploring the stores and simply enjoying the festivity of the holiday season is what makes this day so exciting to me. Anyways, I thought I would share with you all the goodies I picked up on Black Friday. Though I purchased very little compared to most shoppers on this special sales day, I still thought you might enjoy seeing what I purchased.

Today I am sharing with you my goals for December! I love making goals and constantly working to better myself. I find that creating a short list of goals for each month is very motivating for me, and making my goals specific and measurable helps me to achieve them. I hope that you enjoy seeing what I hope to accomplish this December, and let me know if you would like me to do more "monthly goals" posts in the future.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I wanted to share with you all some of the things I am thankful for. I am of course so incredibly thankful for my loving and supportive family as well as my friends, home, education, and much more, but I thought instead I would share with you all some of the little things in life that I am grateful for and that I love. 

I know it might seem a bit early to create a holiday bucket list seeing that November has almost just began, but as they say, it is the most wonderful time of the year. I've also already created my Christmas playlist, so I am prepared for this holiday season! Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading my holiday bucket list, and I hope that it gives you a couple of ideas for
what you can do this time of year.

If you missed out on my previous blog post, you wouldn't know that back in October my mom and I returned to the city of Philadelphia after falling in love with it on our short trip in the summertime. Rather than creating one big blog post covering our trip, I decided to break it apart into smaller posts and dig a little bit deeper into our travels and talk more specifically about some of the highlights of our visit. My previous post was all about our experience touring Eastern State Penitentiary, the world's first true penitentiary that is famous all around the world, but today's post is going to cover something very different from the ominous and awe-inspiring prison- Reading Terminal Market.

Reading Terminal Market is one of the countries biggest and oldest public markets. There are over eighty vendors offering a wide assortment of authentic cuisines, and many small shops selling baked goods, sandwiches, and chocolate, as well as ingredients and kitchen appliances. The colorful florescent signs, various smells that drift through the air, and hustle and bustle of people inside this market are only a part of what makes it so enjoyable. If crowds are really not your thing, this place may be a little stressful for you to navigate through, but the delicious foods and simply the atmosphere of this market makes up for it.

After falling in love with Philadelphia when my family visited during the summer to tour colleges with my older sister, my mom and I returned over my fall break back in October to get another chance to explore this city. There are so many things to do and places to see in this beautiful city. The first adventure my mom and I embarked on was touring Eastern State Penitentiary.

Operating from 1829-1971, it was the world's first penitentiary and is one of the most famous prisons, having housed several of America's most infamous criminals such as Al Capone and Willie Sutton.  It is amazing to be able to walk the halls of this historic prison and enter the cells that some of the most notorious crooks lived in. The self-guided audio tours including interviews with former guards and prisoners that the museum offers free of charge are very informative and educational but also provide the listener with insight as to what is was like for those who worked and lived here.