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.

Big news!

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend. I had a great weekend! Thanks to the generosity of my parents (thank you mom and dad!!!), I have a new laptop much sooner than I was expecting. Also my new laptop is a lot nicer than I was expecting too :) So I'm back on track for quality blogging. Here's a preview of what's coming over the next few days.

Flashback

Recently while I was at my parents' house, I browsed some old photo albums we had. It was so great to look back on the last 25 or so years. So much happens, and you can't possibly remember it all without photos. Looking at those albums inspired me to revisit those lost memories. So I think every so often, I'd like to post an old picture that for some reason or another I particularly love if that is ok with you guys. First up is a picture of my little brother. He's now 20, about to turn 21. But in this picture he must be 3? Maybe 4? What kills me about this picture is that the ripe old age of 4, my little bro has already perfected the blue steel! I had no idea the camera loved him so much. I think he missed his calling as a really really ridiculously good looking male model!

Schuylkill River + Outfit Post

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone! I started mine off by taking some time after work to snap photos around town, and I even got a few of my outfit. Today was jeans day at work, but I don't have a pair of jeans that I really love. So instead I wore my gap ankle pants (love them, own 3 pairs!), my brogues, and the vintage blazer that I inherited from my mom. There are a lot of bloggers out there who have been inspiring me lately to layer my jewelry, so as you can see I'm slowly working into that trend. I should do a jewelry-layering-before-and-after post around the end of the summer because I have big plans for my jewelry collection this summer.

The beautiful stuff in the background in the Schuylkill River (which I just learned how to spell this week even though I've known this river my whole life), 30th Street Station (Philly's main train station), and my office building.