Birthday Celebrations

Well, today is the 199th birthday of Charles Dickens, and probably more relevant to my life, exactly one week since my 26th!  It's been a fun week of celebrating, for both me and Charlie (Evan and I went to a dramatic reading of some of his works yesterday near his statue at Clark Park, complete with a birthday cake and singing.  It was quite the experience).  My birthday festivities were aptly surrounded with food -my friends obviously know me well- and I thought I'd share some pictures!  It started out with a trip to Terrain and lunch at Styers! The food was ah-may-zing and I could have easily spent my year's salary in the shop. 

Short rib sandy with fingerlings

Scallops with raisin sauce and bulger wheat

lamb sliders

blt

The next night, my roommates made me dinner, and this decadent chocolate ganache layered cake.  Which I then ate multiple times a day for the rest of the week.

And to top off the birthday celebrations, I got to cheer on the 76ers with my family.  The computers shut down before the start of the game, and so they actually hand wrote our tickets.  Stay classy, Philly.

6 things I love right now

I tend to get mildly obsessed with things...here are my latest obsessions

1.  Pequea Yogurt, strawberry or raspberry

I think it is pronounced "peck-wah" but honestly I don't really care how it is said because all I want to do is keep shoveling it into my mouth.  We all know that I am an ice cream fiend (example: "Dr. Hilary's Ice Cream Diet"- my 1 week, post wisdom tooth removal diet which consisted of literally 99% ice cream AND a 5 pound weight loss... book coming soon) and I sometimes SKIP ice cream after dinner to have a heaping bowl of this stuff.  I could go on about all the other reasons to love it- small local farm that produces it, happy grass fed Jersey cows- but most importantly, it is just delish.

2.  "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

When school picks up, I don't get to read much for fun.  So when I find a book that I can't put down (or books: Hello Harry Potter ENTIRE series this Summer) I get really excited.  I checked out "The Help" last week at the Free Library since there seems to be a lot of buzz about it.  On the planes to Orlando, I couldn't put it down, and actually got SAD when the pilot said we were about to land! I raced through it, and finished it on the flight back to Philadelphia.  It reminded me a bit of the "Poisonwood Bible" with multiple female narrators all telling the same story.  Trust me, it is worth reading.

3. Design Sponge

This site has sucked up many hours of my life lately- and inspired me to tap into my creative side.  It has also caused me to spend (way too much) time perusing craigslist for furniture to be refurbished.  It's a good thing I have roommates or else my house would be filled floor to ceiling with fixer uppers... The before and after photos are my favorite.

4. Demeter Fragrances- Gin & Tonic

I am not much of a scent person- I hate almost all candles, I don't like soaps, shampoos or lotions that smell. Just walking by a Yankee Candle store makes me want to run away. Or vomit.  Needless to say, I do not typically wear perfume.  But Demeter's Gin & Tonic is amazing! I can't find it in retail shops anymore (it used to be sold in Anthropologie) so I have to use it very sparingly.  However,  I recently fell back in love with it and have been wearing it every day.  When the air starts getting colder, a spritz of this stuff brings on a wave of crisp refreshing summer! Demeter has so many different fragrances, some are really strange (Celery? Dirt? FUNERAL HOME?) but some are spot on and absolutely perfectly fresh. 

5. Flipper Toothbrush Holder

I realize this is a bit ridiculous and childish, but I 'needed' a holder for my toothbrush, and this one has made me so incredibly happy!  What is better than having a little hippo stuck to your mirror hugging your toothbrush and keeping it safe?

6.  Terrain

OK, so I haven't actually been here yet, but that doesn't mean I don't love it.  I have spent a lot of time looking at the site (let's call it online window shopping) and I know I could easily spend a ton of money there.