Schuylkill River Bike Ride

The Schuylkill River has a trail that starts in Philly and goes all the way up to Valley Forge. I biked up to East Falls on the trail the other weekend. I passed all these gorgeous bridges and quite a few geese. I love that all the bridges have signs telling you about them, when they were built, and what they used to be used for (mostly trolleys). I can't wait to go farther down the trail, but it will have to wait. It seems like there's a huge bike race on the trail every weekend. When I do get farther down, I'll be sure to post more pictures.

Flashback

Another post in my flashback series. You're looking at me wearing my most favorite Halloween costume ever. And you will not believe it, but my mom made this whole thing herself! I still have it. My mom was going to give it away, but I made her save it. I'm going to make my brother's kids wear it one day :)

Home Sweet Home

I've spent a few weekends at my parents house since I've been back, and I am so impressed with the improvements they've made. Now that they don't have kids to cart around to friends' houses and sports practices every waking moment, they've had time to cultivate a little haven. Every time I come home I love seeing what new things they've done. Also I love seeing our kitties! (That's Rocky below. He's generally the family favorite because he loves people so much.)

Keep on Climbing

My dad pointed this out to my mom and me when we were walking to Talula's for dinner. It really made us chuckle. Someone with a sense of humor saw the cracking brick wall and turned it into a little man climbing some stairs.

Roberto Capucci at the Philadelphia Art Museum

Last weekend my mom went with me to the Philadelphia Art Museum to see the Roberto Capucci exhibit before it closed. Let me sum up Capucci's work by saying that I have a new life goal: own a piece designed by this genius, preferably one of his pleated master pieces! I couldn't take any pictures of the clothes because the docents were super protective, but my mom got me the exhibition catalog! So if you really like the pictures, I can scan some more. I did get to snap a few shots of the museum and grounds though. The museum itself is just as beautiful as the clothes!

PS: The red dress (3rd picture, on the left) was inspired by the rings formed in still water after throwing a pebble into it. I thought that was a cool idea. And the gold dress on the right in the fourth picture down was my favorite. It was called Angel, and it would definitely make the wearer feel like an angel.

Filter Square

Ah the weekend! It is much needed. What are you up to this weekend? I went to a Naval Academy Parents Assoc. event with my mom today. It was at Boathouse Row. More on that later though! These pictures are from Filter Square, which is an adorable little park with all these great statutes and a beautiful fountain in the middle. I wandered around it the other day and just enjoyed watching people play with their kids or read books. There's a farmers market here on Saturday mornings, which I am excited to check out. I can make a whole morning of it since the Rittenhouse Square farmers market is right around the corner!

Talulah's Garden

Talula's Garden is a new restaurant in Philly creatively led by the woman who created Talula's Table. The Table is virtually impossible to get a reservation at. (Seriously, it's supposed to be the hardest reservation to get in the country.) But fortunately the Garden, while popular, has ample seating, and they accommodated my parents and me on Memorial Day.

The whole experience was fantastic. The service was like having dinner at the house of your hippie-esque professor who always keeps your glass full and has pleasant and intelligent things to say. As good as the service was, the food was really the stand out. There was not a single thing that wasn't fantastic. You start off with fresh baked brioche. Then, we had the master cheese plate (great and varied flavors and accompaniments). I followed that with the chicken encrusted in hazelnuts -- most tender chicken I've ever eaten. Dad got the caramelized scallops which were lovely, and Mom got a rich lamb dish which comes with polenta made of corn indigenous to America. Who knew heirloom American corn existed? Also, as a side, Dad got radishes in anchovy butter. That may sound odd, but you've got to trust Talula on this one. I didn't even know I liked radishes until that moment. Now I'm a true believer in them.

Prices are not cheap, but this is one place where I feel the food is worth every cent. Later in the summer, though, if I don't feel like shelling out $30 for an entree, I would definitely come sit at the bar just for a cocktail or 2 and another piece of the banana/toffee/chocolate millefeuille. They're all under $10, and there is outdoor and indoor bar seating to choose from. Plus, if the other cocktails are anything like the spring sangria I got (white wine sangria elevated above the norm by an infusion of fresh herbs), they are sure to worth coming back for.