weekend, so far

Friday:

• left work early
• headed downtown, late lunch at Caribou (Elderflower champagne martini, gravlax/endive salad, mussels, frites, Etienne DuPont cider)
• hat shopping @ I. Goldberg
• home for Phillies game, a good win

Saturday:

• lunch @ Manayunk Brewing Co, walk along the canal
• got paid for my 24 vacation days at Penn- insane windfall
• cats dangling
• home-made margaritas, tuna steaks seared on the grill, CSA salad
• creme brulee for dessert
• another great Phillies win

Today:

• gardening
• a little bit of work (writing presentations, fun)
• reading Orlando and loving it
• cats stretching
• Phillies at 1pm
• BBQ at the in-law's

pchhshhschchhhchhtttt

OH LAWDY, I WILL DIE OF LAUGHTER FOREVER.

Though I'm not a fan of the use of the word "vaginally" there.  Bad syntax, nonsensical, poor choice of wording AND misogynistic!  I guess that goes well with the whole Jayson Werth scene though.  Ugh.

chasing skylines

My office looks out of the 7th floor of a building facing east, meaning my view is of Center City, Philadelphia. It is a stunning view:

But I'm a little biased, because I love city skylines. The fact that my view for the last eight years was of a bike rack makes this even more exciting.  A couple things I've noticed in particular, with this new birds-eye view of the world:

• There are a lot of people who spend time on roofs.  Nearly every time I look out the window, there is someone somewhere on a roof.  Sometimes there are large groups of people.  Most of these people are construction workers, HVAC folks, or window-washers, and almost none of them have safety equipment (well, the window washers do.)  Without having had this experience, I would never know that there were so many people on rooftops all the time.
• The skyline is almost always in flux. This morning there is a new crane near the apartment building at 24th and Locust - a looming orange and black thing that looks and moves like a praying mantis.  Cranes are actually being erected and dismantled with shocking frequency - I guess there's a lot of development going on in the city that I didn't know about.
• The International House is a monstrosity.  It blocks my view of almost all of U City South and the stadiums, which I really do not appreciate.
• Bees can fly very high - upwards of ten stories and more!
• There are falcons in U City. They are gorgeous, and very fun to watch.

memorial day coupon clearinghouse

From salebite.com - everything from ASOS to Forever 21.

30-50% off at my aforementioned new favorite, Talbot's

Elie Tahari at the Philadelphia Outlets (the swankiest outlet store ever - gorgeous, unusual prints and classic dresses and tops)

Need Supply, sale items and free shipping

mother may i

I have officially turned into my mother: I am shopping almost exclusively at TALBOT'S, whatttttttt?

I don't like many of their prints, and I'm not sure why EVERY shirt or cardigan has to have ruffles or some fluttery flower on it.  But their skirts, dresses and pants are TO DIE FOR, and their hosiery is the best I've ever bought - $9 a pair (but usually on sale) in a huge selection of colors to match every skin tone, plus black (and soft black, the best hose color ever), ash gray, navy, etc. etc. They also have outstanding neutral tees and tanks (I bought 2 soft cotton v-necks yesterday for $18 each) in a trillion awesome colors that don't fade in the wash or get pilly.

Yesterday, after three trips to the store hoping it would go on sale to no avail, I purchased this green raw silk skirt (with pockets), which is the single best skirt I have ever put on.  The wide elastic waistband is so comfy, and it is the perfect length - to the knee but not below. The older I get, the less I like short skirts (I have decent-looking legs and don't mind showing them, but for some reason, despite me not being a mom, I am starting to think like mine - short skirts on anyone over a certain age starts to look weird.)

I ended up getting a size smaller than I'm wearing there, just so the waist would be a bit more cinched-looking.  It is the BEST, BEST I say!! And they have it in navy too, which I will probably also end up getting.

I also bought this plaid sundress, which looks odd on me here (I also ended up getting this a size smaller than is shown in the picture to cut down on excess fabric at the waist) but is very cute and well-made.

And I plan on wearing a different belt with it (wide cream-colored canvas).

We are going to a Memorial Day party at a lovely 1700s farm house (complete with barn and meadows), so I think this will have to be the dress for that occasion.

o solo mio

I think I am the only person in my department who is working in the office today!  Time to catch up on what's happening in the world - this job has sounded the knell to my e-death.  I can't keep up with anything online anymore!  I actually have a lot of work to do (not one but two huge committee meetings coming up, and I'm starting to work on my first pilot project - wheee!) so it won't be too much slacking.  But being able to look at facebook between the hours of 8:30am and 6:00pm will be novel indeed!

Expect multiple blog entries today :)

love and marriage

There are times when relationships are tough. Being with someone for 12 years can be simultaneously boring, excruciating, and scary. Sometimes you pick fights, sometimes the mere sight of their face can make you fume. Sometimes there's no patience, no understanding, no empathy. Sometimes they're a stranger.

But when things are overall good and right, it's also a great deal of fun, interest, and challenge.  You can make each other laugh or you can sit in a perfect, comfortable silence. And there's a simple, loving acceptance of every one of their flaws and shortcomings. To the point where you no longer see them as flaws or shortcomings.

And even after a couple bad, stony-quiet days or petulant weeks, there are nights that you crawl into bed, get under the heavy, clean covers and align your body with theirs, feel their warm heat and familiar smell, and know that this companionship, this love and total comprehension of another person is so utterly worth it, that you'll never feel boredom or irritation again.  And you believe it, and it might even be true.

good tidings.

If you're going to send an angry email to someone, make sure the last line is "You people suck and I wish you nothing but the worst."


I think that's going on my tombstone.

CSA goodness.

Used up a bunch of CSA yums for dinner tonight: spring mix, red leaf romaine, radishes (white, red and purple), purple scallions, mushrooms, broccoli, roma tomatoes.

There was enough for lunch tomorrow too!

Charlie gets an ipod.

Just....This.

Oh my God.  Funniest shit ever.  Philly sports blogs, I mean bolgs, make me die sometimes.  Sports fans in this city need a good sense of humor, I suppose.

i'm a terrible blogger.

Read this interesting article this week and now I want to show it to my mom as proof that I wasn't a lazy teenager, I just really needed 9+ hours of sleep a night.  I still do.  Similar to the folks in the studies discussed, I start to go downhill after only one or two nights of 6 hours of sleep.

The reason this is really relevant right now is that I'm not getting much sleep recently.  Been up/out late many nights over the last week or so and I think I'm averaging 7 hours.  It's really getting to me!  I actually took a nap yesterday before heading out to see Lykke Li - I NEVER take naps (I normally wake up sleepier and way cranky) but that 20-30 minutes I got yesterday after work was a lifesaver.

Well, it's 9pm and the Phillies game is only in the 4th inning, so I guess I'm screwed again.

time enough at last

Or not!

I used to have so much time to read interesting or lovely or inspiring blogs.  I just got home from the conference I was attending and my google reader was at 505 blog postings. I'm so distressed! I'm going to miss something great! But I really don't have time to keep up anymore!

Woe!

Balmer

Great day today.

• Went to the office from 8am-12pm, then got a ride to 30th Street Station
• Took Amtrak from Philly to Baltimore
• Checked into the hotel, rested and started a new book (Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan)
• Walked all over the inner harbor for about an hour, enjoyed the weather thoroughly
• Sat on the waterfront at Phillips and had Coronas and crabcakes
• Walked around a bunch more, watched a really awesome street performer
• Shopped with gift cards at Body Shop and Victoria's Secret
• Window-shopped at a 5-story (!!) mall and saw lots of clothes I liked but didn't buy
• Bought a gorgeous painting of a bird from the TAG kiosk
• Walked around for another 45 minutes or so
• Stopped to eat Haagen-Dazs by a fountain as the sun set

Now I'm back in my hotel room, getting ready for tomorrow, watching Golden Girls and more resting/reading. Nice!

in the Saturday sun

Mani/Pedi party!  Essie's "allure" on my fingers, Opi's "midnight in moscow" on my toes.

Late lunch at the Chestnut Grill, with wine and the Derby.

The sexiest selection of stockings at Talbot's.

Now back home for Phillies and reisling.

Tomorrow - mothers, flowers and kirs.

Saturday sits

By 1pm today, I had:

• cleaned out/organized my dresser and closet
• put away winter clothes, brought out summer (!)
• mopped the hardwoods on the first floor
• cleaned the kitchen
• exercised
• planted sunflowers in the front yard

This afternoon and evening I will:

• get a manicure
• shop for stockings
• drink champagne and bourbon because I will...
• watch the Kentucky Derby
• watch the Phillies bounce back from last night
• finish my book club reading
• make a delicious dinner

And of course... thoroughly enjoy this gorgeous weather!!

futureworld

Back at the end of April, I existed (seriously!) for nearly two weeks with no cell phone. And life was pretty OK, actually.  It was certainly nice to not be tethered to constant communication at a very busy and stressful time in my life (transitioning to a new job.)  [I did miss listening to all of the music I had on my Blackberry, though!]
On April 23, I got an HTC Thunderbolt, and the thing has changed my life.  In some good ways, some bad (the syncing of home and work email and calendars has made me feel a little too tied to my job, but there is no expectation for me to work when I'm not in the office, so that is something I just have to get over.)  But it has a lovely camera (and video camera!), good earphones/sound, 34 gigs of space, and tons of other bells and whistles that make me feel utterly futuristic (even though other people have been doing this stuff for years.)

The app that has blown my mind today is the barcode scanner, because I was able to scan my amazon cloud code and download all of my cloud music to my phone in about 26 seconds.  Happiness.

Also, it's Friday!

bowl cut!

Growing my hair out from practically a crew-cut... decided to get heavy bangs cut yesterday. Loving it!

When I really comb them down, they have a very Chrissy Hynde-ish look. :)

OH JA DIE HOLLE!

Outdoor biergarten opening in two weeks!

"We've got word that Tuesday, May 17 will mark the unveiling of Frankford Hall (1210 Frankford Ave.), the Fishtown bierhall from Stephen Starr. Accommodating 400 inside and out (160 within, 240 in the outdoor gravel courtyard), the Hall's nine-tap system will be mostly Teutonic, with choices like Bitburger Pils, Radeberger, Hacker-Pschorr Munich Gold. (Three bars total here, one inside and two out.) Food will be distributed via a walk-up counter — expect satisfying, beer-drinker-friendly fare like Bavarian bread dumplings, pretzels, schnitzels, rotisserie chicken and a selection of German sausages. Frankford Hall will be open weekdays from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. and on weekends from noon to 2 a.m."

autism's first child

Another fantastic link from The Atlantic - Donald, the first person ever diagnosed with autism.

Been reading a lot about autism and Asperger's this week.  Soaking it all in.

you go girl

I really like the last paragraph of this book review from yesterday's Atlantic.