Beautiful Weekend to Live in Philadelphia

This weekend, I spent every last minute enjoying the abundance of cultural, and even some non-cultural sights and sounds my newly official city of residence has to offer (yes, it's official, I have the driver's license to prove it - ahh).

Friday evening went downtown heading for Rittenhouse square, stopped at Alfa, and ended up in Old City at Brasil's a bit later for some dancing and bottle-service-for-no-real-reason with good friends.

Saturday afternoon wandered down to the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) with one of my former and one of my current roommates - Brittany and Ashley. We walked around enjoying the cool but sunny weather, and eventually ended up on a lawn transplanted to the middle of Broad Street, which had been partially closed off from Chestnut Street (City Hall) to Lombard Street.

As we found it increasingly difficult to navigate the crowds, we took a 2-hour break for sushi at Makiman. By the time we finished that, people were beginning to gather along Broad Street in preparation for whatever the night's event, the finale of the 25-day-long festival, was going to be. At this point we had no clue what that was, and neither did most of the people around us. For this spectacle, I will provide you with some visual and auditory descriptions because word just won't do!

The evening was topped off by a visit from a friend from New Jersey who I of course had to take to Cavanaugh's, and then my favorite secret swanky spot, hidden on a small side street and lacking a sign to announce its presence to the rest of the world. I'll only give one hint because I am selfish and want it all to myself: RR.

On Sunday, I stopped at my favorite cafe in Mount Airy, called High Point Cafe, for my typical Sunday morning fix of cappuccino and crepes before heading to the Chestnut Hill Home & Garden Festival.

This street fair also featured a length of pedestrian-only traffic along Germantown Avenue, another popular street. There were plenty of vendors and right when I walked up, I spotted an awesome coffee table that I immediately snagged. Well, I put the cash-only deposit down as fast as I could, and returned later to take it home with me. It matches perfectly with our Victorian-style couches in our living room. I also picked up an old Chinese lamp, a glass doorknob, some business cards, and some delicious Sangria. When I got home, I grabbed my beach towel and laid in the backyard for a bit, something I've been wanting to do for a while now. The weather was even better than the day before, and I actually noticed that I got a bit of color while wearing my sundress... time to break out the sunscreen for the season!

So happy that Spring is finally here. Till the next time ;-)

Turning Man's Trash into My Treasure

Found this little gem on the side of the curb by the AEPi House on North Broad Street. They just renovated their mini-mansion so I assume this is an artifact from that process. But it was just too charming for me to pass up.

I was walking back from class with a friend who happened to be on crutches, so I carried it halfway home and then solicited a neighbor's help the rest of the way.

My plans for this treasure go a little something like this:

1. Rescue abandoned side cabinet from the garbage collectors.
2. Clean and sandpaper the whole thing. Elbow grease!
3. Purchase the perfect shade of cranberry paint, and clear a space on backyard patio where it's okay to make a mess.
4. On a sunny afternoon, do a few coats of this lovely cranberry color.
5. Purchase knobs for the front. I'm thinking either "Celebration" in antique brass or "Native Romance Nonva" in patine.
6. Do some calligraphy on the sides i.e. Chinese or Japanese characters.
7. Fill with bottles, books, or some other useful items.
8. Love.