One couple's adventures in a new city

Pub and Kitchen

2010-10-29T14:44:00.000-04:00

Pub and Kitchen is a very interesting restaurant. I've walked by it a few times and you can tell it's a restaurant because there are tables outside and often the windows are wide open so you can see the bar inside, but there is no sign with a name or information about the restaurant.

J ran a 10 mile race that day and I had just returned from NYC and we were both very hungry. We both just wanted to sit outside and enjoy the weather and some comfort food. We decided to just walk around the city and stumpled upon Pub and Kitchen.

Their menu is simple, but includes items like potted duck mouse, welsh rarebit and mussels. They also pride themselves on having local and organic ingredients whenever possible, which I always like to see.

Pub and Kitchen is located at 20th and Lombard Street. It's in a somewhat residential area of the city, but only a few blocks from Rittenhouse Square and all the shopping action on Walnut and Chestnut Streets. It's definitely not off the beaten path and worth a visit. They seem to be pretty busy when I walk by and have an extensive bar.

So we just had a simple lunch while sitting outside.

J ordered a simple hamburger with house cured bacon. The bun was nicely toasted and he said the meat was cooked to perfection. I did enjoy the french fries, which were nice, warm and crisp.

I ordered the roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes, sauteed broccolini and chicken jus. I'm not a huge fan of chicken or meat in general. I can go weeks without eating chicken. However, this was probably some of the best chicken I've ever had. The chicken was so moist and the jus was absolutely perfect. I've never wanted more chicken in my life. I was happy to actually have some to take home, but it didn't even last until the next day as I ate it a couple of hours later.

The only type of signage on the outside of the restaurant. I have yet to find the history of why there is no sign or where the name came from.

Tequilas

2010-10-03T17:14:00.000-04:00

J had a very long day at work and I didn't feel like cooking, so we were spontaneous and decided to check out Tequilas Restaurant. A few months ago we were eating at Misconduct Tavern and looked over and saw a man serving flights of tequila on his head. We knew we had to check it out sometime. It is located right in Center City at 15th and Locust St., near the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood.

Although Tequilas has an extensive drink menu, we decided we both just wanted a classic, well made margarita.

We were contemplating ordering an appetizer, but house made tortilla chips with salsa verde, mild salsa and a variety of peppers arrived, so we quickly settled for those. The salsa was flavorful and fresh. The tortilla chips were a little thicker than I like them, but they were warm and crispy so that didn't stop me from piling the salsa on them.

As a seafood lover I couldn't pass up the Enchiladas Playa. They were freshly made flour tortillas filled with shrimp and crabmeat. It was served with a sauce made of creamy poblano and chiptole peppers. On the side was rice and strips of vegetables. I would definitely order this meal again as it was filling, but not too heavy and was plentiful with the shrimp and crabmeat.

J ordered the Molcajete de Pollo. The server suggested this meal when J mentioned that he was very hungry because he hadn't eaten lunch. The meal was chicken breast served in a lava rock bowl that is heated in the oven. The chicken is topped with a spicy salsa that has chile de arbol. It is served with warm flour tortillas so J was able to make tortillas. It also was accompanied by guacomole, beans and rice. I'm a wimp and not a fan or spicy food, so I didn't try the main dish, but J said it was very good and he ate the entire thing. I did eat most of his guacomole though and it very creamy and fresh. I wish I could've had more of that guacomole.

I wish I could've gotten more pictures of the decor, but it was dark and my camera was dying. It was a very interesting mix between rustic, quirky and festive. Not quite like any other Mexican restaurants I've visited.

Welcome...back!

2010-10-03T16:25:00.000-04:00

Hopefully there are some people out there still reading :) J and I had great summer experiences and I have been overwhelming busy. I spent 9 days in Port Au Prince, Haiti in June and J spent 2 months in Capetown, South Africa from June until August. We both enjoyed our experiences so much that I'm going to back to Haiti in March and J is going back to South Africa in June. Life is good!

School has started back up for both of us and we're trying to balance it all. We're still loving Philly and finding new activities and restaurants to try all the time.

Clearly I have some catching up to do with the blogging...both reading others' blogs and updating my own. Stay tuned!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Haiti. The children brought me so much joy and I can't wait to see them again. Every time I was outside (which was 90% of the time) they would be for me to take their photo, over and over again. They loved seeing themselves on my digital camera.

Bobby's Burger Palace

2010-05-02T14:08:00.000-04:00

J and I headed to an area of the city called University City. It's west of center city and is home to Drexel University and University of Penn. J was craving a good burger and we remembered that Bobby Flay recently opened up a new burger joint called Bobby's Burger Palace in University City so we decided to head there.

Once we got there we saw the loooong line. But we were actually going to see a movie and had time to kill, so we jumped in line. The line wasn't too bad and we made it to the front in about 35 minutes. I don't think I've ever waited in line that long for a burger.

I don't eat red meat or pork and I was a vegetarian for about 8 years, so I was happy to see that they had the option of a turkey burger or grilled chicken instead of traditional ground beef. They also had salads, but I thought it would be a sin to order a salad at a burger place.

I was quite impressed with the menu. Not only do they have a wide selection of burgers, they have onion rings, sweet potato fries, milkshakes and inexpensive drinks. $4.50 for a frozen pear margarita! I resisted temptation though and just stuck with food.

I had a hard time deciding between the LA Burger and Napa Valley Burger. The LA burger had avocado and the Napa Valley Burger had fresh goat cheese, so it was a hard decision. I love cheese so the Napa Valley Burger won me over. J was excited to see that they have a crunch burger which is a traditional burger, with potato chips on it. He ordered that right away.

You place your order at the cash register, then you get a number and pick a table. The prices were reasonable and the service was great. The decor was funky and bright, which made me happy.

After we placed our order we only had to wait about 10 minutes for our food to arrive. I was very happy with my Napa Valley burger, which I ordered with chicken instead of a turkey burger. I think it had a little too much goat cheese, but I just wiped some off and proceeded to eat the whole thing. The onion rings were huge and delicious. I would definitely get them again. J liked his burger a lot. I don't think it was the best burger he's ever had, but he said he would definitely come back.

I would definitely return to try a different "burger." I'm not sure if I'd wait over 30 minutes for it again, but the food was good and the prices were right. I definitely want to try one of their milk shakes and the sweet potatoe fries if we go back in the future.

Update on Us - Summer plans!

2010-04-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

I've once again let too many weeks go by without blogging! However, I think I have a good excuse. Like always, we've been busy, but we've also cut back on our eating out around Philly. The reason: J and I both will be traveling internationally this summer! J will be teaching in South Africa and I will be providing medical care in Haiti. We are very excited and thankful for these opportunities. So we now have our summer plans finalized, which means we have been trying to save our pennies until then; hence not much eating out. However, we've found some inexpensive things to do around the city, so I'll blog about them in the near future.

Until then, since J has been much better about blogging and has created his own blog to document his journey to South Africa, you can check his out :)

So I've almost completed my 1st year of medical school...time really flies. We have just started our renal/pulmonary block and after 3 more tests, I will be done for the entire summer! It has been a difficult year, but I have truly been happy and am loving Philly more than ever. Some days I still don't think it's hit me that in a little over 3 years I will be a doctor. Until then I'm just taking it day by day and taking in as much knowledge as I can.

Misconduct Tavern

2010-03-21T00:03:00.000-04:00

Spring is here! Although I've loved Philly since we've moved here, the warm weather makes me love the city even more. J and I decided to throw on some warm weather clothes (shorts and a skirt) and just walk around to enjoy the weather.

We eventually ventured down 15th Street and spotted a restaurant called Misconduct Tavern. It's located at 1511 Locust Street in the Center City area. Since it was so nice outside we waited about 10 minutes to have a table outside. The tavern isn't anything fancy, but a great place to grab a drink and some delicious bar food.

March madness is in full effect and they have plenty of specials during any of the games. They also had a nice tv set up outside that J made sure he was in full view of while we ate. Luckily he wasn't too engrossed in the game and we enjoyed good conversation in the wonderful weather.

I'm typically not a beer drinker and prefer liquor, but I thought I'd try something different. We were eating at a tavern, so why not? I guess I kind of cheated though because I ordered a cider beer. However, it was 22 ounces and it wasn't too sweet. It had a distinct beer flavor. J didn't think I would be able to drink it all, but I proved him wrong and finished the entire thing alone. I would definitely order Doc's Draft again.

J and I had a late lunch so we decided to order 2 items off of the small bites portion of the menu instead of 2 entrees. The menu had a lot of choices and J and I sometimes have a hard time finding 2 items we both agree on. We ended up deciding on chicken tenders (how can you go wrong with chicken?) and macaroni and cheese. The macaroni and cheese had 2 types of cheese and we added lump crab meat. Once again how can you go wrong with crab meat and mac and cheese?

We were very happy with all of the food. The chicken was crunchy and juicy. Yeah it was just chicken strips, but they really were superb and I would go back for them. The mac and cheese was also a pleasant surprise, although J said it wasn't as good as my homemade baked mac and cheese. We decided that next time I make my mac and cheese I'm going to add crab meat, which was inspired by this meal.

So if you want a good selection of beer, delicious bar food and a place to enjoy the weather, Misconduct Tavern is definitely high on the list.

Flying Trapeze Lessons

2010-03-19T12:21:00.001-04:00

Yes, you read that right - I took flying trapeze lessons this week. I think I might quit med school and join the circus because I had so much fun! My friend from Baltimore invited me join her as she took a class before and had fun. I took her up on the opportunity and drove down to Baltimore and then she drove us to DC to the Trapeze School.

As a side note, this is another thing I love about Philly...its location! It's so close to so many other great East Coast cities. I am frequently able to take day and weekend trips to NYC, Baltimore, and DC. It's also close to the beach (Jersey) and mountains (Poconos) although I haven't traveled there yet. I couldn't ask for a better city in such a central location.

Ok back to the trapeze lessons. The lesson was 2 hours long and there were 3 other people in our class. The 3 other people were basically regulars and have been taking lessons for a few months. Everything is personalized and they give you safety tips and then basically send you to fly. Since we were in a small class my friend and I got to fly over and over and over and over again. It was so exhilarating! It was definitely a workout as my body was pretty tired at the end of 2 hours and I woke up this morning sore all over, but it was definitely worth it.

The 1st trick they help you learn is the knee hang. My 1st time I couldn't quite get it, but that's because I have short arms. They showed me an alternate way to hang and after that I got the hang of it. I was flying through the air, hanging from my knees and then dismounting by doing a back flip. Did I mention I had so much fun!

So if you're advanced enough, at the end they give you a chance to be caught by one of the staff members. There is a lot to think about and you have to have perfect timing but I went for it. Unfortunately, due to my height she was unable to catch me. We were literally about 2 inches from making the catch, but oh well maybe next time. They have a school in New York that I want to also visit.

Thank you to my friend for taking so many great pictures of me flying through the air!

Shameless Advertisement

2010-03-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

I started a new blog!

My best friend and I have decided to document our travels, lives and journey of friendship. I also hope to get some recommendations for places to go for the locations we visit. It might not be much now, but hopefully it will slowly pick up. We are both trying to get into photography and documenting more things, so I'm sure photography will be an element.

I know everyone and their mama has a blog these days, but I think this blog is more for us to follow our friendship and travels, but hopefully other people will be interested and/or inspired.

I need to dig out old photographs to add and talk about our memories, but until then feel free to check it out!

Thinking Outside Our Box

Italian Market

2010-03-15T23:34:00.010-04:00

As the weather has begun to get warmer I'm reminded of the fun I had this summer spending time walking around for hours to different Philadelphia neighborhoods to explore. That's one thing that I love about Philadelphia, the diversity and various neighborhoods throughout the city and out into the suburbs.

I heard about the Italian Market, but one afternoon I just so happened to find it. It's located at S. 9th Street in the city. It has a rich history and I enjoyed just walking around and taking in all the sites. You can get everything under the sun throughout the Italian market. There are several stores that sell fresh cut pasta and fresh sauces that I want to pick up for dinner one day. I loved looking at all of the Italian products and listening to the Italian accents.

I ran across these pictures in the window of a store front. I'm not sure when they were taken, but they definitely caught my eye. While I was standing there a man probably in his 40s came up with his daughter. He pointed at this picture and said this is your grandmother and she used to live right around the corner. He didn't go into much detail other than that, but I thought what a special moment. I wanted to go into interviewer mode and ask him some questions, but I refrained.

Grocery shopping carts are a must in the city. Unfortunately ours has been in hibernation during the winter as we have driven to the grocery store, but I think it's about time for it to make it's reappearance.

So if you have time, along with Reading Terminal Market, you should check out the Italian Market. It's a unique area in the city that I can't wait to get back to soon.

Twenty Manning

2010-03-14T10:25:00.002-04:00

J and I are still eating our way through Philadelphia. We can't get enough of all the wonderful food options. From inexpensive to very pricey there are so many options. This sometimes poses a problem for us because the amount of choices is overwhelming. I can literally eat anything at any time, but J is a little more picky. He likes to figure out what he's in the mood for and then go from there. He always has to look up the restaurant's menu before we go so he doesn't take forever deciding what he wants to order once we get there. Like I mentioned in a previous post, Yelp is a great resource to search for restaurants in your city or on vacation.

So after about 30 minutes of searching on Yelp and looking up restaurant menus we decided to head to Twenty Manning. It's located on S. 20th street at the intersection of 20th and Manning street. All of the reviews were great and it has been described as a "lively neighborhood bistro that serves up New American food with Asian influences that appeals to all palates." Another plus is that their food is local and organic wherever possible.

The decor was simple, bright and fresh. It's a small restaurant and it was crowded on a Friday night, but we luckily didn't have to wait to be seated.

J and I really enjoyed the restaurant because it was very flavorful. Even from the 1st taste of bread and butter. The butter had a little darker tint to it and was spiced up with the flavors of jalapenos. Although I generally don't like food that's too hot, the flavor was just right and complimented the bread well.

I'm still trying decide if my favorite part of the meal were the cocktails or my entree. They were both so delicious and full of flavor. I ordered a mango margarita that included fresh mango puree. I probably could have ordered 3 more, but I wanted to leave room for the rest of the food. I definitely want to go back for their cocktails. J also enjoyed his flavorful cocktail.

I wanted to order the vegetable spring rolls, but we couldn't pass up the calamari. It's our favorite and we are still trying to find which place serves it the best. Just like the bread and butter, the calamari was kicked up a notch with jalapenos. It was very light, crisp, and flavorful. It's definitely in the running for one of my favorite calamari spots.

J ordered the Grilled Bison Burger, which came with gorgonzola cheese, grilled vegetables and french fries. He said it was very good and he would definitely come back for it.

I ordered the Green Curry Vegetable Stir Fry. This is probably one of my favorite entrees I've ordered since we've been living here. It was a flavorful medley of silken tofu, baby bok choy, snow peas, guy lan, baby carrots, Japanese eggplant with a side of white rice. I wanted to order another one to take home for lunch the next day. It was really filling, but not too heavy. I would definitely come back for this meal.

Since all the other food was so good we couldn't pass up dessert. We ordered the chocolate flourless mini cake with mocha ice cream and fresh strawberries. Like the rest of the food it was flavorful and light.

Since J and I are trying to visit new restaurants we probably won't be back to Twenty Manning for awhile, but I definitely want to return sometime in the future. I would definitely recommend checking it out, even only if just for the cocktails.

Buddakan

2010-02-12T19:41:00.018-05:00

During January Philadelphia had Restaurant Week. During Restaurant Week participating restaurants offer a 3 course dinner for $35 per person. It's truly a great deal to try some pretty pricey restaurants for a good price. They usually have it 2 times per year, so I'm definitely looking to the next Restaurant Week in 2010. I have also seen variations of Restaurant Week in different cities around the country, so definitely check to see when restaurants might have the same sort of deal in your area.

I left J to all the planning since there are so many restaurants to choose from and he picked Buddakan. It's located in the city in an area called Old City at 3rd and Chestnut. It's a part of the Starr restaurant group, which is owned by Stephen Starr. He has some really good restaurants in Philly, NYC, Atlantic City and Ft. Lauderdale. The other Star restaurant we've been to is Continental and we hope to make it to some of the others.

I loved the decor throughout the entire restaurant. The colors were vibrant, yet it had a very romantic and chill vibe.

I started the night with a White Peach Zen Gria which had jummai sake, pinot grigio, white peach and ginger brandy. I would definitely order it again as it wasn't too strong or sweet.

After my drink our appetizers arrived at the table. They were delicious and gone quickly. We ordered grilled octopus with sweet and chiptole miso. Along with crispy shrimp and scallop spring rolls. The spring rolls were very light with large pieces of seafood.

For our entrees we stuck with our love for seafood. We ordered two separate dishes, but split them evenly so we could have a taste of both.

We ordered sweet and crispy shrimp with citrus radish salad and candied walnuts. After the first bite I was in love! Our other entree was pan seared scallops that were also really flavorful and went really well with the shrimp.

Just when I didn't think the meal couldn't get any better dessert came out! I admit I have a sweet tooth, but this dessert was probably my favorite part of the meal. J ordered the crying chocolate cake, which was a warm chocolate cake with a soft center and chocolate inside. It came with Vietanamese coffee ice cream. He did share a few bites with me and I probably could've eaten the whole thing.

However my favorite part was probably my dessert. I ordered the dip sum doughnuts. They were heaven in a dessert. They were five-spice mini doughnuts served nice and warm with blackberry jam, chocolate sauce and ginger cream cheese for dipping. I think I might go back just for dessert one of these days.

So if you're ever in Philly I highly recommend Buddakan in Old City, especially if you're in the mood for dessert.

Southbeach Food and Fun

2010-02-11T13:00:00.006-05:00

Philly has some great dining options, but we were very excited to try all the wonderful food that Miami has to offer. Since seafood is our favorite, we couldn't help but get a recommendation for a seafood restaurant. After getting a recommendation and looking online we decided to head to Joe's Stone Crab. We were warned that the wait time would be long, which it was about an hour and 15 minutes, but we both thought it was worth it. We got a drink while we were waiting and the time went by pretty quickly.

The restaurant set up and decor was very unique. There were several open areas with fountains and plants where you could relax while waiting to be seated.

Even the bread was unique with different types and nice and soft. I'm a huge bread person, so it was hard not to eat the entire platter myself.

J started off with lobster bisque. I tried some and regretted that I didn't order any.

J and I decided to get 2 entrees and split them because we couldn't decide what we wanted. Although the restaurant is known for its crabs, we opted to order something different. We went with the crab cakes and the lobster macaroni and cheese. Of course I'm always wary of ordering crab cakes anywhere than Maryland, but these were good! They were essentially all crab meat and were cooked perfectly.

I tried to pass up dessert because I was so full, but I couldn't help but order key lime pie. I hadn't had authentic key lime pie since I lived in Key West when I was little. I ordered it to go, but had to have a bite before I packed it up. I did wait a few hours after we got back to the hotel to eat the entire thing and I'm glad I ordered it.

I was also pleasantly surprised with our bill. I can't remember the exact total, but with tax and tip we left paying under $100 for the entire meal and drinks at the bar. I definitely wasn't expecting that to happen, so it added to why I really like this restaurant.

For one of our lunches we decided to try some Cuban food. I'm so glad we found this place! It was a hole in the wall type place, located not too far from our hotel. If you've never used Yelp before, I highly recommend it when looking for any type of restaurant or service in your city or a city you're visiting. It allows you to search for anything under the sun and then has recommendations and ratings for all of it. It's definitely been a help for our vacations and in Philly.

J ordered the fried pork chunks with black beans and rice. I don't eat pork, but he said they were really juicy and tender.

My meal was also great! I can't remember the exact name, but it was shrimp with peppers and onions in a light, flavorful sauce. I had black beans, rice and plantains with it. It was just the right amount of food and filling.

On Saturday we went out to experience some Southbeach night life. We walked down Ocean Drive, which has a lot of night life going on. Like I mentioned in the last post we stayed out until 4 am! We had a lot of fun and glad we found a fun place to go. We found a recommendation to go to Mango's Tropical Cafe. It was definitely different than any other place we'd been to before!

They have live dancers and performers on the main floor. As you can see J made some friends below :) There was dancing on the bars and latin music. On the 2nd floor there were rooms with different types of music. There was a room with hip hop and pop music and a room with latin and house type music.

The cover was only $10 to get in for the night so we thought we got our money's worth. The drinks were a little pricey than usual, but we expected that.

Also on Ocean Drive we found a good Italian place for dinner. I can't remember the name of it, but we were able to sit outside, enjoy the view and eat some good food. They also have HUGE drinks. I don't know how I did it, but I finished 1 margarita, which was almost as big as my head. They also give you to go cups. This is our 2nd vacation with to go cups for our alcohol, so we will definitely remember that for next time!

Unfortunately we headed back to Philly on Monday, but our short vacation turned out exactly how we planned. We got to relax, have fun and eat some good food. J was happy to be back in an area that sold Krispy Kreme donuts so we picked up some at the airport before we hopped back on the plane to head north to Philly.

Southbeach Vacation

2010-02-10T15:49:00.007-05:00

Like the rest of the mid-atlantic we're getting pounded by snow storm/blizzard #2 within 4 days. So I thought I'd reminisce about warm weather again. I surprised J with a mini vacation to Southbeach because he loves the beach. Since we are so busy these days I thought it would be a perfect get away to help us relax for a few days. We were able to get a great deal on a non stop flight to Miami and we used some Marriott points and a free night to stay at the Courtyard Miami Beach Oceanfront. It was a great location and nice hotel right on the water.

We went over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. J and I were both able to leave school and work a little bit early to catch a 4 pm flight on Friday to Miami. When searching for airefare I was happy to learn that there are a lot of non stop flights to Miami from Philly, so our flight was nice and quick. The plane was completely packed and we took off a few minutes late, but we made it to Miami in time to go out and enjoy a late dinner.

We spent the next day on the beach and enjoying the warm weather. Unfortunately I had to study because I had a test the day after we got back, but it was much more relaxing to study on the beach than stuck inside at the library. That night we decided to order food to the room and then found a place to get drinks and go dancing. We were very impressed with ourselves because we stayed out until 4 am and had a great night!

The next 1.5 days, it was more of the same. Relaxing by the beach, eating, drinking and walking around Southbeach. We returned home on Monday afternoon to get ready for work and school again. It was a quick trip, but definitely worth it. Life is too short to not take advantage of these oppurtunities!

We ate so much delicious food while we were in Miami, so I'll blog about that next. I definitely want to go back to experience some more of their great restaurants.

Update on Us

2010-01-27T20:26:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! I know I'm a little late, but better late than never, right?

2009 was a great and eventful year for us and it looks like 2010 might bring some of the same. We're still loving Philly and exploring new areas, restaurants and events...when we have time!

J is still enjoying teaching even on his challenging days :) I think he has a love-hate relationship with his students. He works long hours, but has made great relationships with his students and comes home to tell me funny stories about them.

I'm still enjoying med school....most days. I literally study all day, everyday, but I can't complain too much. Our classes are starting to take more of a clinical focus and we're learning about pathology, disease and medications, which is very interesting. However, I guess I have a love-hate relationship with med school, like J has with his students.

We were able to take a mini vacation to Miami a couple of weeks ago. It was just the relaxation that we both needed. The rest of 2010's travel plans are somewhat up the air. J and I both have possible travel opportunities for work and school during the summer, so once those pan out we can plan the rest of year.

We hope that 2010 is just as adventurous as 2009.

For now, J and I are off to indulge in another delicious meal at a great Philly restaurant. Restaurant week here we come!

A dedication to warm weather - Bridget Foy's

2009-12-23T21:40:00.014-05:00

It was 60 degrees here in Philly today! What a tease. However, there was basically a monsoon with 40 mile per hour winds, so I didn't really get to enjoy the warm weather to its potential.

J and I are counting down to the days that we can enjoy good Philly food outside again once it warms up. I didn't have a chance to blog about Bridget Foy's restaurant, so I thought today would be a good day as I countdown to the return of the warmth.

Bridget Foy is located at 2nd and South Street. We were just venturing down South Street this summer (when we had endless amounts of time!) and happened upon it. They have classic American food that's a little more upscale and with a twist.

Duck tacos, hummus, hand cut fries, burgers with chipotle aioli and so much.

We've been back 1 other time since our first visit and the food is always fresh and flavorful. It's also reasonably priced with most entrees under $20. Since it's been awhile since the summer I don't remember specifically what we ordered, but you can see the pics below and I do remember it being delicious :)

The Famous Cheesesteak

2009-12-23T21:40:00.009-05:00

If you come to Philly of course you have to try a cheese steak. I will begin with a disclaimer though - I don't eat red meat; therefore everything I share about the wonderful Philly cheese steak is only what I've heard, seen or read :)

First, there "rules" to ordering. The main thing I've learned is you need to say "with" or "without" which refers to whether or not you want the fried onions on your cheese steak. Then, you can pick your cheese. To get an authentic cheese steak you must order it with cheez whiz. Yep that's right, not provolone, not swiss, but cheez whiz! After that, depending on where you are they might have other things like peppers and mushrooms that you can add.

So where can you get a cheese steak?

So if you haven't heard, there's a huge debate between Pat's and Geno's Cheese steaks. They are rivals located in south Philly, at 9th and Passyunk Ave, that literally face each other. They are both open 24 hours a day and you can't really miss them with their bright lights and usual long lines.

However, I've heard they're basically tourist traps and you can find much better tasting cheese steaks elsewhere in the city. You'll see carts on the corner that often sell cheese steaks, among other things.

Another place to check out is Jim's Steaks. It's located at 4th and South street. This has become J's favorite place to get a cheese steak. We went here several times throughout the summer and J will go there ever so often when he's craving a cheese steak. Sometimes the line is wrapped around the corner, but J says it's worth it. Their cheese steaks seem to be more on the greasy side, instead of the dry side. That's one of the differences you'll experience when trying Philly cheese steaks.

Steaks on South isn't too far down the streak from Jim's steaks at 3rd and South Street. I took my mom here when she visited and she had a chicken cheese steak that she loved. Jim's, Pat's and Geno's don't have chicken as an option, but some places do.

If you're not really into meat, like I am, there are a few options. I have gotten a delicious cheese "steak" at Reading Terminal Market. It had onions, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli rabe and cheese. I'm tempted to get one every week when I go to the market for groceries. There are so many food choices around, but a Philly cheese steak is something that everyone needs to try!

Culinary adventure - Seafood and Sangria!

2009-12-21T13:12:00.004-05:00

Instead of blogging about a wonderful meal that we had at a restaurant, I'll blog about a wonderful meal that I actually cooked :) J and I are seafood lovers, so I love finding new ways to prepare seafood. I usually cook fish once or twice a week, but scallops are saved for special occasions.

I receive the Martha Stewart magazine for free and was excited when there was a recipe for Creamy Rice with Roasted Shrimp. It was actually in a section of the magazine for quick weekday meals, which made me even more ready to try it. I'm not a fan of spending hours in the kitchen! So here is the recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup Arborio rice (I found plain Arborio rice at Whole Foods)
1 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper
1 pound frozen, peeled, deveined shrimp
2 pints grape tomatoes
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 gloves garlic

Heat oven to 400. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan of medium heat. Cook the onion until soft for about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the rice and wine and cook. Stir until the wine is absorbed. Add 2 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, over low heat until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the shrimp, tomatoes (I omitted the tomatoes because we aren't a fan of them), thyme, garlic, the remaining tablespoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Roast until the shrimp are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

The recipe is really simple and a lot less expensive than ordering the same thing at a restaurant.

For the scallops I just seasoned them with some salt and pepper and pan seared them about 2 minutes on each side.

I found a recipe for a reduction that I also made. It is also simple and uses most of the same ingredients that I already had on hand.

Here are the final results:

My other culinary adventure included making Sangria.

1 bottle dry white wine (I use a sauvignon blanc with fruity notes)
1 bottle red wine (preferably a beaujolais)
1 orange
1 lemon
1 cup of sugar
assorted fruits (I always use red grapes and strawberries)
1-2 ounces of brandy (optional)

In a large non-metal bowl, mix the wines together, along with the cup of sugar. Stir for a few minutes.
Slice the orange and lemon into thin slices (1/8 - 1/4 of an inch). Add to the wine and stir.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, add in your other fruits and the brandy. Stir again, pour into a pitcher and chill until it's time to party!

I used apples, pears and oranges for my fruit. Instead of brandy, I used triple sec because that's what we had on hand. It turned out so delicious!

The final product:
And yes it's being served in a Brita pitcher :)

Where does the time go???

2009-12-21T12:53:00.002-05:00

Clearly I've been slacking on keeping the blog updated. I think it will be my New Years Resolution to make updating the blog a habit :) I actually enjoy writing and photography so it shouldn't be that hard, right? :)

So what has happened in the past 2 months?

I finished my 1st trimester of med school...and passed! We celebrated Josh's birthday...he's now closer to 30 than 20 :) We had a great Thanksgiving with family. We decorated for Christmas and got a real mini Christmas tree. And we continued to explore wonderful Philadelphia!

Mural Arts Program

2009-10-18T21:09:00.007-04:00

The Mural Arts Program is amazing! If you're ever in Philly I would highly recommend going on a tour. So I guess I should explain what it is -

I would see murals around our neighborhood every few blocks and when we would go different places in the city. I soon noticed that in the corner of the murals it said 'Mural Arts Program'. So I did a quick google search and found out about the program. There are almost 3000 murals that have been painted in the city of Philadelphia.

My mom came to visit this summer, so it was a perfect chance to take her on the tour. Obviously I'm a little late on posting about this adventure, but it works out because October is mural arts month as it's the programs 25th anniversary.

We learned a lot on the tour and I can't wait to go on another one. Since there are so many murals, they break up the tours by neighborhood throughout the month. We toured North Philadelphia. The murals are in the heart of the neighborhoods and the neighborhood we toured was predominately Hispanic, which can be seen through some of the murals. I didn't know that it was such an involved process to complete the murals. I learned that they interview people in the neighborhoods to get a feel for what is going on in the community and often ask for influential people in the neighborhood to include in the murals. After the interviews and information gathering, they plan the murals. Most murals are done by 1 artist, but some of them get help to actually paint the murals. I don't remember all the details, but there are a few techniques that the artist can employ to complete the murals. Once the mural is completed there is usually a revealing in the neighborhood in which they have gathering and dedication.

I was really impressed with all the murals. Some of them are even 3D with stones and sculptures in them. I had a hard time picking the murals for this post, but they were all beautiful. I found out a lot of information during the tour, but I can't wait to go on another tour in a different Philly neighborhood.

Finale of wedding season

2009-10-18T20:03:00.005-04:00

I survived my first maid of honor experience! :) It actually wasn't bad at all as my best friend is far from a bridezilla and everything went very well. J and I headed to Charlottesville, VA to celebrate Rachel's marriage. I think I was actually more nervous for her wedding than I was for my own. She was cool as a cucumber, which is how I was on my wedding day. I officially feel old now as we're both married and "settled." When we met 11 years ago getting married seemed like something only old, boring people do, but I guess now we're both one of those old boring people.

The wedding and reception were simple and classy. The wedding was held at a traditional church right outside of Charlottesville. The reception was held at L'etoile restaurant. I had delicious goat cheese gnocchi with squash, onions, mushrooms and red peppers. I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would have liked since I was busy throughout the day. Thankfully J got some good shots for me.

Details of the bride's dress.

My beautiful bouquet of roses.

I survived giving my toast and then I drank lots of wine for the rest of the evening :)

There was a small hiccup with the cake. It wasn't at the restaurant, as expected, when we arrived. After a few frantic phone calls, the problem was solved and the cake showed up just in time for the cake cutting. Dessert is my favorite meal of the day and the cake was really good.

Yep, we went out in our dresses and everything after the wedding. The wedding and reception were over by 5 pm so we all relaxed for a few and headed to a local bar. It was UVA's homecoming so there were plenty of people out to have fun with.

The newlyweds headed to Spain for their honeymoon. Wishing them all the best!

9,125 days

2009-10-08T19:13:00.006-04:00

9,125 days...that's how long I've been alive, as I celebrated my birthday this week :) I must say it was probably one of my most memorable birthdays. It was simple, yet so special. J woke me up and asked if I wanted him to make me breakfast. I said no, that's ok, go back to sleep since you had a long day (mind you it was 5 am). He said, well too bad, I already made it. I was so surprised! I go downstairs and find the whole apartment has been decorated...he has never done that before! It was so nice.

My presents were nicely displayed. My parents had secretly left their gifts at the house over the weekend when they were here celebrating my white coat ceremony. It was nice to have some pretty presents to open that morning.

So surprise #2 - my friends from school baked me brownies and took me out for lunch! I didn't have my camera at school, so this is just what remains of the brownies after we attacked them :) Although we're only in our 8th week of school, I've already made some great friends....who know I love chocolate. The brownies were much needed after spending a few hours in the cadaver lab.

Surprise # 3 - When I got home J had more surprises in store. He made cosmos that were delicious and there were cupcakes waiting for me. I had heard about the Brown Betty Dessert Boutique, but hadn't had the chance to make it there. The wait was definitely worth it as the cupcakes were yummy. J picked out 2 chocolate ones (of course!), vanilla and red velvet.

Surprise #4 - We went out to dinner! J had done some research and since we love seafood he made reservations at Sotto Varalli. They had a good selection of food on their menu and I definitely want to go back to try something different.

I wasn't planning on getting a drink, but once the waiter mentioned a drink special with peach infused vodka with a splash of champagne I couldn't resist. I'm glad I splurged.

We started out with calamari as an appetizer. We should probably branch out and get something new as this is usually what we ordered, but I'm glad we got it here because it was nice and light.

J ordered seafood Risotto. It included lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels. I couldn't resist having a bite and was in love!

I kind of went the same route as J and ordered Cioppino. It was full of seafood as well, in a tomato, herb and garlic broth, over linguine. Although we like to try new restaurants I definitely want to come back here and try something new.

And last but not least, my birthday was even more wonderful because I didn't do 1 minute of studying :) I'm thankful for another year and now I'm planning for J's birthday next month...I'm not sure if it can top my day though!

White Coat Ceremony

2009-10-06T15:50:00.004-04:00

Well now I actually look like I know what I'm doing. We got our white coats this weekend! Throw my stethoscope around my neck and I could fool some people :) There was a nice ceremony at my school in which we received our coats and that was followed by an open house.

For those that don't know, students get short white coats and once you actually become a physician you'll get a long white coat. So next time you're in the hospital or at the doctor's office, you can tell the two apart and hopefully you won't give the student physician such a hard time :)

I won't have a lot of direct patient contact until my 3rd year. I'll mostly wear my white coat during my standardized patient assignments and a few shadowing opportunities. Until then my coat will mostly hang in my closet, but the symbol of receiving my white coat makes this whole experience sink in a little more.

And J was so sweet to have a beautiful bouquet of roses waiting for me at home for my accomplishments.

Run Forrest, Run!

2009-10-06T09:36:00.009-04:00

At the end of the summer I made a wonderful discovery! There is a great running,walking, biking trail that is gorgeous. It's definitely a gem in the city. It runs all along the Schuykill (pronounced schoo-kill) river. J and I had been running in the city, which was somewhat of an annoyance because we would constantly be stopped by lights, traffic or uneven sidewalks.

The trail runs 23 miles from the heart of the city to Montgomery County. J and I haven't made it all the down the trail, but we usually do about 4-5 miles. Hopefully through our busy schedules we'll be able to keep up our running "dates" a few times throughout the month.

There is a great view of the Philadelphia Museum of Art along the trail.

This is the view of boathouse row. It is a beautiful area that houses several rowing teams. At night the buildings are lit up and look great lining the highway and river. I'm hoping that they'll look even more festive for the upcoming holiday season. I love holiday lights!

It's wedding season!

2009-09-21T17:32:00.006-04:00

Well the past 3 weeks have been as busy as ever. The usual craziness of school, work and life were going on, but I was out of town for the past 2 weekends. Luckily I don't have a major test for another 11 days, so I can catch up on my studying!

Getting out of town was nice though and I had a lot of fun. Last weekend I headed south to D.C. for Rachel's bachelorette party and then this past weekend I headed even farther south to my friend's wedding in central Virginia. The ceremony was beautiful and emotional and the reception was elegant and fun. J and I had a great time and were able to reminisce about wedding over a year ago.

We were invited to another wedding last month, but unfortunately unable to attend because of school and work. However, my best friend gets married next month, so I'll get my wedding fix in for the year.

The reception took place near the water and the sunset was breath taking. The weather turned out to be perfect and was in the mid 70s.

They had a signature drink with delicious champagne.

Ever since we've moved to Philly J has discovered his new favorite beer is Yuengling. He was excited to see that it was offered at the wedding. I stuck with Pinot Grigio and champagne for the night :)

We danced the night away and J even got on the dance floor with me.

For Rachel's bachelorette party we headed to D.C. for the weekend. We had a great time going out in the Dupont Circle area. We did the "typical" bachelorette thing and went out to dinner, got drinks and danced the night away. Last year Rachel was my maid of honor and we had a great time, so I had to return the favor. I didn't make her wear anything too extreme, but she did have a list of tasks to complete throughout the night :) It was fun and everyone made it home safely!

The wedding is in 3 weeks, so I'll be headed back to central Virginia for the weekend to see my best friend get married. I'm so happy for her!

The bridal party and a few other friends were able to join us in D.C. I can't believe I've known both of them for over 10 years. How time flies!

We won't be going anywhere this weekend as I will probably be in the library all weekend, but I hope we can find a couple of hours to do something around the city....

I keep telling myself "Work hard. Play hard"

The first 3 weeks of med school

2009-09-06T09:07:00.002-04:00

Well I survived! J survived and things are going well. But wow life has changed! I think J and I are adjusting because he has a pretty busy schedule too (he didn't get home from a meeting until 11 pm one night) and making the most of things.

I typically have class and anatomy lab from 8-4 every day. I take the bus to school which allows me to nap or study and not stress about traffic. It takes about 20 minutes to get to school. I find myself taking every opportunity I can to review flash cards or review my notes. I'll be standing at the bus stop or waiting in line at the post office reviewing information.

Once I get home from class around 5 I begin studying for about an hour until J gets home. We eat dinner together (I've been cooking and freezing meals during the weekend) and then I get back to studying by 8 or so. I try and go to bed before midnight, but a couple of nights I was up until 1, which isn't always ideal when J gets up at 5 and I get up at 6 the next morning. I got sick after the first week with a slight fever and typical cold symptoms, that are just now going away. This reminded me how important it is to take care of my body. I typically don't study on Friday nights as J and I go out to dinner or watch tv together at home. But it's back to studying all day Saturday and Sunday.

I really enjoy anatomy lab. There are 5 of us to a body and I really like my partners. In the 1st 3 weeks we've dissected the entire back, down to the spinal cord, the shoulder, neck, chest, arm, forearm and hand regions. At the end of the trimester we have to present any abnormal findings about our body and a possible cause of death. So far we haven't found too many abnormalities, except what we assume to be poor circulation, which lead to some decay in her arm muscles. Other groups have found breast implants, colonoscopy bags, stitches from heart surgery and various scars.

On Friday we had our first test. I think it went ok. I don't feel doomed, but I wouldn't say I'm confident that I got an amazing grade. The test was 2 parts....one practical part in which we had to identify nerves, arteries, body parts, etc on the bodies, as well as look at xrays. The other part was written with about 80 questions.

Thankfully we don't have class the day before tests, so on Thursday I woke up at 8 am and studied until 12:30 am. I typically set a timer for 60 minutes and study that entire time and then take a 15 minute break.

This is my binder for the 1st 3 weeks filled with notes and powerpoints. Most of the pages are printed double sided too! It's a 2 inch binder and yep it's already full. I'll be buying a new one tomorrow.

I got creative with my studying by the end of the night. In order to remember which nerves innervate which muscles in the hand I drew it out on my hand. I'm a very visual learner and I think it was effective as it helped me not get confused to which nerves run on which side of the arm.

A few people asked me to take pictures in my scrubs :) I was home alone and didn't know how to make the self timer setting work, so this is as good as it gets.

I'm enjoying Labor Day weekend, as I didn't study at all yesterday :) I'll do some studying today, but tomorrow J and I are going to head to the mall, so that will be a nice treat on our day off.

More Adventures with Rachel

2009-09-06T08:31:00.009-04:00

Although I'm a little behind I want to finish blogging about the rest of Rachel's visit since we had so much fun and packed a lot into 3 days. The same day that we visited Eastern State Penitentiary we also visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I must admit I haven't been to an art museum in a few years, so it was a nice treat. I loved the variety they have in the museum. Sculptures, stained glass, paintings from various eras, furniture, clothes, etc. One of my favorite rooms contained modern art, however you are not allowed to take pictures in that room. I also really enjoyed the stained glass and they had a display of uniforms from knights, which was very interesting.

This is the view of the city as we're leaving the museum. Of course I had to take pictures of the infamous Rocky steps. There were kids running up and down them pretending they were Rocky :)

Rittenhouse Square is always a good people watching spot. We grabbed coffee and croissants one morning and enjoyed the sights. This guy was a serious acrobat. He was collecting a decent amount of money from on lookers.

This band was probably my favorite! I'm assuming they are a family and they were really entertaining. As you can see there are young kids all the way up to adults. They were playing upbeat jazz music that made me want to dance. It kind of reminded me of the music hear at parades in New Orleans.

They were also offering free Tango lessons in the square. A lot of people gathered and were having a good time.

City Hall has wonderful architecture. I walk by and through it frequently, but hadn't taken the time to really appreciate all the details until then. I definitely want to take a tour of City Hall to learn more about it because there is so much history there.

We went on a food tour. It was great! We ate cheesesteaks (I had a veggie one), pizza, pretzels, hoagies, and chocolate chip cookies. It was nice to learn a little more about the city and eat along the way. The tour culminated in Reading Terminal Market (which I blogged about previously) and we were so full at the end. Rachel and I also won a Tasty Kake for answering the most trivia questions at the end of the tour. I didn't know that Tasty Kakes were made in Philly and they have sooo many different flavors.

Lastly, we had to go to Love Park to see the Love sign. This was my first visit and I didn't know they had other statures there. They were all game pieces, which I thought was really fun.

Eastern State Penitentiary

2009-08-24T18:16:00.007-04:00

As I mentioned below, while my best friend was visiting we headed to Eastern State Penitentiary. It was amazing! It was probably one of the highlights of the long weekend. If you're ever in the area you should definitely check it out.

We took an audio self guided tour throughout the penitentiary. They also have tour guides that give specific tours about various topics throughout the day. The penitentiary was operational from 1829 until 1971. It was the first penitentiary to use the system of solitary confinement. The cells were set up in a way, so that the prisoners entered from the outside and never had contact with other prisoners. It was very interesting and haunting to imagine how the prisoners lived. Al Capone was imprisoned here at some point and was actually given special privileges. There is a picture below of his cell, which was immaculately decorated with items that he wanted there. Prisoners didn't usually get this type of special treatment.

The other fun fact about Eastern State is each fall they set up a haunted house inside the walls of the penitentiary. I love scary movies and haunted houses, but I get scared pretty easily. I guess that's part of the fun! I hear that people come from miles and miles away to visit the haunted house. It actually starts next month so that'll be on my to-do list for September or October.

1st day of School

2009-08-18T13:07:00.004-04:00

Well we survived! Yesterday was a pretty momentous day for J and I. We both had our first day of school. I headed to med school and J headed to teach middle schoolers. I'm not sure which one is considered worse because I don't think I could handle being a middle school teacher.

We definitely jumped right into things and I'm actually at the library right now, but thought I'd take a short study break. We had about 3 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab. We didn't do any dissections in lab, but we prepared the cadaver. Most people said they were nervous about that part, but once we got into the lab and started talking about anatomy it wasn't bad at all. I guess you kind of detach yourself and focus on the task of anatomical learning. So for the rest of the trimester I'll be spending hours upon hours in lab dissecting and learning basically every bone, muscle and nerve in the body. Sounds fun, huh? Oh yeah and that's just until November....I can't believe I'll know all of that by then.

J had good reports about his school day. He didn't actually meet the students he'll be teaching because yesterday was just a day for new students (5th grade students) and he'll be teaching 7th and 8th grade. He mentioned to me that he couldn't handle teaching the little ones and much prefers the older students, but still had a good day.

Since yesterday was such a big day for both of us, we decided to celebrate by going out to dinner. We couldn't help ourselves and had to return to Devon Seafood, which we discovered on our first night in Philly. Although we are trying not to eat at the same place twice, we just couldn't help it and the food was just as great as we remembered. J and I talked about our days and our goals for ourselves over the next 10 or so years. It was a good night. Then, we returned home and both retreated to our laptops to study/do work for 2 more hours. Welcome to our new life! :)

So that's a little mini update. I better get back to the books before my next class in 45 minutes.

I'll post pictures from the rest of our summer next time. How time flies!

Our first visitor!

2009-08-11T20:24:00.006-04:00

So my best friend came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Yeah I'm a little behind on the blogging! :) We always have a great time together and share a love for travel. We've known each other for 11 years now and have been to New Orleans, DC, NYC, Germany, Amsterdam and Brussels together. Although we went to separate colleges, all of these trips were during college. Since graduating and "real life" getting in the way we haven't been able to dedicate as much time to our love of travel together. We were roommates for a year before J and I got married so we did get to live a little on the wild side then.

She was only here for 3 nights, but we got a lot done in a short amount of time. It was fun playing tourist in my own city. We visited the following places:

Philadelphia Museum of Art
Eastern State Penitentary
City Food Tour
Love Park
Rittenhouse Square
Bleu Martini for drinks and dancing

J let us have our girl time and didn't join us on the city seeing, but he came out to dinner with us each night. We ate a brewery in Old City called Triump. I didn't find a beer that I like (I'm not a huge beer fan), but I had a great martini.

Below are just some random pictures from the time that she was here. I'm going to have a couple of separate posts about the specifics of a few of the places we visited. Until then, here's a sneak preview.

Art Museum

Eastern State Penitentary

Rittenhouse Square

City Hall

????
:)

Rittenhouse Square tango dancing

Love Park

Philadelphia Phillies!

2009-08-06T15:43:00.010-04:00

We went to a Phillies game and had a great time! For those that don't know, they were the 2008 World Series champs, so they seem to have a huge following around here. I hadn't been to a baseball game since I lived in Baltimore a few years ago and glad we were able to find tickets online.

Highlights - They won 10-1! Jack Nicholson was in attendance at the game (see picture of him on the jumbotron below)

Lowlights - We went to happy hour before the game. It was our first negative Philly experience. I don't even remember the name of the place, as I've just blocked it out of my mind. First, they didn't have cranberry juice to make me a Cosmo. The bartender couldn't think of another drink to make me, so I settled for a glass of wine. Then, they advertise with a sign by the bar that they give out free subway tokens if you're going to a Phillies game on game day. Nope, they didn't have any tokens and haven't for awhile according to the owner. Well then why don't you take your sign down?? Lastly, the men's bathroom was out of order so J had to go to the adjacent hotel to use the restroom. Needless to say we wont' be going back there.

Ok back to the game - It was sold out and we had a great time. The fans weren't too rowdy, but there weren't many Cubs' fans near us, so I'm sure that helped. I've heard horror stores about Philadelphia Eagles fans. I indulged in some typical baseball food and had a pretzel.

I'm not sure if we'll make it to anymore baseball games this season, but we plan to try and find some Eagles and 76ers tickets during the winter/fall.

Reading Terminal Market

2009-07-30T18:01:00.006-04:00

I love love love Reading Terminal Market! It's located at 12th and Arch streets in Center City. If you like food, come here. If you like people watching, come here. If you like music, come here. There is always something going on and it's different everyday. I'd highly recommend coming if you're ever in the city.

There is every type of cuisine you could imagine - Thai, Chinese, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Italian, American and the list goes on. Oh and did I mention it's not all food? Yep they have little clothing and jewelry boutiques, cook books, crafts, flowers and more. The Pennsylvania Dutch also have a big presence at the Market. There are over 80 merchants here.

There's a piano player near one of the seating areas that I think adds a nice touch. Every Wednesday they also have a live local musical act to entertain you during lunch time.

J and I have been shopping here for all of our produce and seafood as we've compared prices and most things are less expensive than the grocery store that we go to for other items. The produce merchant we've been using even has a 10% discount for students that I will be taking advantage of as soon as I get my student ID!

Lastly, the Market offers tours and cooking classes. We haven't taken advantage of either of these things yet, but it's another thing that I'm adding to my Philly to do list!

Road Trip...Part Two!

2009-07-29T14:34:00.012-04:00

So after we left Hilton Head Island, we drove about 45 minutes to Savannah, GA. After we decided to go to Hilton Head I wanted to extend our vacation a few more days and always heard great things about Savannah. I was pleasantly surprised that Savannah was only a short drive from Hilton Head, so it worked out perfectly.

I used Priceline for the first time and we won our hotel room with a bid of $60 per night. We ended up staying at the 4 Points by Sheraton and it was really nice. I will definitely be using Priceline in the future.

We didn't really have a plan when we got to Savannah, but it's a perfect city to just walk around and discover things. Our first afternoon we took a trolley tour with Oglethorpe tours. It was a good tour and we got a general layout of the city.

I would probably say the highlight of our trip was our meal on our first night. We ate at Jazz'd, which is a tapas restaurant. The restaurant had great ambiance and delicious food. Every night they have live jazz music and the night we were there, there was an entertaining piano player. He played some great music and got even more entertaining as the bartender brought him more drinks.

We decided to do the tapas for 2, which included soup or salad, 4 tapas and 2 desserts.

J ordered the She Crab soup and I ordered the Spring Mix salad with walnuts and golden raisins.

Our 4 tapas were Jerk Chicken Wings, Crab Cakes, Calamari and Citrus Shrimp and Scallop Skewers.

I ordered a Cosmo, which was just as good as the food.

This was my favorite course, although everything else came in a close 2nd.

The artwork around the restuarant was absolutely stunning. There were some pieces for sale near the entrance, and I would've loved to take one home with us. Maybe oneday!

The next day we spent more time walking around and exploring.

We spent some time at the City Market and looked in some shops. J was hungry so we got some lunch and I got some gelato.

The Candy Kitchen was another one of my favorite spots. I actually resisted temptation and didn't buy anything, but it was fun to walk around and watch the candy being made.

Taffy being made. I did get a free sample to somewhat satisfy my sweet tooth.

Later that night we headed to River Street. Since it was our first visit we couldn't pass it up.

We were worried about the weather throughout the week, but it worked out wonderfully as the rain usually held off until the evening or night time. Here's the view from under the umbrella.

I don't know what J was thinking, but he decided to drive the ENTIRE way home. I offered to drive some, but I guess he was on a roll so we just kept going. We stopped for lunch and 2 bathroom breaks, but that was about it. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this person driving with their foot out of the window (I think we were somewhere in Virginia at this point). How can that be comfortable?

We played some road trip games to pass the time and we got home around 11 pm. It was nice to be back sleeping in our own beds!

Road Trip...Part One!

2009-07-18T18:15:00.006-04:00

As I left off on the last post, J and I took a road trip to South Carolina and Georgia. We got on the road at 12:30 am right after the fireworks and drove straight through to Hilton Head Island, SC. I stocked up on Mountain Dew and J stocked up on energy shots. I took the first leg and then J took over. I finished up the 11 hour drive and we made it to the Westin Resort around 12 pm.

We spent 3 nights at the resort and did a lot of relaxing, which included eating, laying on the beach and sitting by the pool. Although I usually enjoy the more action filled vacations, it was perfect. J could sit on a beach for days upon days, so he definitely enjoyed Hilton Head.

When we arrived they had an all you can eat barbecue set up with chicken, shrimp, burgers, veggies, chips and dessert.

The view from our beach towel

One lunch we decided to get full on junk food and drinks. This included chips and dip, onion rings and margaritas.

We enjoyed watching the birds dive into the ocean to catch fish.

J and I had a shell collecting contest. I have a sharp eye and collected all of them, except for 1.

Recently I've been teaching J to play soccer. He's been really into it and decided to bring the soccer ball to the beach.

After dinner on 2 nights we decided to walk on the beach at night. It was high tide and very peaceful.

On the flip side, J has been teaching me how to play tennis. There was a racquet club near the resort, so we rented a court for an hour and played.

On the 4th day we re-packed the car and headed 45 minutes south to Savannah, Georgia....

Party on the Parkway

2009-07-14T17:11:00.007-04:00

Happy Birthday America! Well we got to celebrate the 4th of July in America's birthplace. We had plans to attend a parade and a few other events, but sleep felt so good and we slept in that morning. Luckily we managed to make it to the big celebration. The day included a concert by The Roots and Sheryl Crow, followed by fireworks. We arrived around 3 and the fireworks ended around 11. It was a long day, but fun.

The stage was set up near the Art Musuem, in front of the infamous Rocky steps.

One of the highlights of the day - I auditioned for Deal or No Deal! I never really watch the show, but we had several hours to pass the time, so I thought why not? Although I doubt I'll ever get a call back, something good did come out of the audition. I happened to be standing next to a female plastic and reconstructive surgeon that graduated from the medical school 'll be attending. She happily gave me her card and said if I was ever interested in a rotation in plastic surgery to give her a call.

J and I can rarely pass up a funnel cake. So warm, greasy and good.

I couldn't help but take a picture of this man...he was covered everywhere in coins. From a distance I thought it was all pennies, but upon closer inspection I realized they were coins from anywhere and everywhere.

J and I opted to try and have a better view of the fireworks, which meant we were farther from the stage. We got there so early we could've been right up front, but that would've meant we would have a lovely view of the trees for the fireworks. Our plan didn't work as wonderfully as we would've thought because as you can see in the picture below, there was a huge tree in our way for fireworks. Oh well, you live and learn.

The Roots

Sheryl Crow

Immediately after fireworks J and I packed up the car and headed on vacation. We got on the road at 12:30 am and took our adventures to South Carolina....

June 28, 2008

2009-07-13T19:46:00.007-04:00

J and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary this year. We originally didn't think we would be able to spend the day together, but things worked out and we got to spend the entire day together. J surprised me and made reservations at the Chart House Restaurant. Seafood is one of our favorite cuisines, so this place was perfect. It's located in Penn's Landing, right on the Delaware River.

The views from our table

J ordered the pan seared jumbo lump crab cakes, served with broccoli. He was pleased with them.

I ordered the mixed grill which included a jumbo lump crab cake, salmon and grilled shrimp. The shrimp was slightly overcooked, but nothing too major and I enjoyed the meal.

We couldn't pass up dessert and had to order their famous Hot Chocolate Lava Cake. J, who isn't a big chocolate person, even enjoyed it. It had warm Godiva Chocolate and vanilla ice cream coated in a Heath Bar Crunch. We ate every last bite.

I would recommend Chart House to anyone looking for good seafood and relaxing views. The service was also good and you can't go wrong with the Lava Cake for dessert.

We ended the night by reminiscing over our wedding night. We absolutely loved our photographer Jen Lowe and decided to view our online wedding slideshow. Here's to many more years together!

First Celebrity Sighting

2009-07-11T16:31:00.005-04:00

J and I decided to pick up some produce and seafood at the Market today. I'll write more about Reading Terminal in another post, but today's post is dedicated to our first celebrity sighting in our neighborhood! He's not an A list celebrity, more like D list, but it was still pretty cool.

While walking around we ran into an episode of Man vs. Food being taped. I've only seen a couple of episodes (my parents turned me on to the show), but who doesn't love a show dedicated to food. Basically Adam Richman travels around the country and tries to eat incredible amounts of food. He attempts to eats pounds and pounds and pounds of food. Sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he doesn't.
The episode was being filmed at one of the Amish merchants, Miller's Twist, which specializes in soft pretzels. We watched Adam attempt to roll his own pretzel. I wonder what challenge he will be working on next?

Unfortunately, as I began to take out my camera (which I now take with me everywhere), a man standing next to Adam jumped out and put his hand over my camera. At least I tried!

Apparently someone was able to take a picture of an episode being filmed, as I found this picture on someone else's blog.

In West Philadelphia born and raised, On a playground where I spent most of my days...

2009-07-03T20:02:00.013-04:00

Well we don't exactly live in West Philadelphia, but who doesn't love Fresh Prince? So we made it to our apartment in the city. I was brave enough to drive the 24 foot Uhaul from Richmond to Philadelphia, while J drove our car. It was definitely an adventure. The Uhaul and our belongings arrived in 1 piece.

We woke up at 5 am in Richmond and left an hour or so later. We made a stop at Ikea in Philly to pick up a kitchen table, chairs, bookshelf, desk and filing cabinet. After several incidents of stop and go traffic on 95 North, we made it to the apartment around 2 to begin unloading the truck.

My parents met us to help, along with my 93 year old grandmother, who was there for moral support. Although the weather didn't exactly cooperate and it rained on and off, unloading wasn't too bad.

We cleaned ourselves up and met my parents for dinner at Devon Seafood Grill. Our first dinner in Philly was definitely memorable - the food was delicious.

We started the meal off with Point Judith Calamari. My parents love to try the calamari at any new restaurants. The calamari was unique as it included bits of fried jalapenos and carrots. As none of us had eaten for most of the day we finished the calamari so quickly I didn't even have a chance to take a picture.

I ordered the Maryland Jumbo Lump Crabcakes. It came with a creole remoulade mango tarter sauce, whipped potatoes and fresh asparagus. I lived in Maryland for several years and I would say these crabcakes were up to par.

My Dad and J both ordered the Seafood Mixed Grill. It came with shrimp, scallops, a jumbo lump crab cake, salmon, whipped potatoes and sauteed spinach. I would say the scallops were my favorite off of this dish.

My mom ordered the Lobster Cobb Salad. It included field greens, lobster meat, avocado, red onion, corn, hard boiled egg and applewood bacon.

So this officially commences our Philadelphia adventures....

Goodbye Richmond, Hello Philadelphia!

2009-07-02T18:03:00.007-04:00

We decided to have a going away party for our last weekend in Richmond. It was definitely a success! A lot of coworkers and friends showed up and we danced the night away.

It was held at BlackFinn Restaurant and Saloon. We provided some hours d'oeuvres that were tasty and all gone by the end of the night.

J's best friends

My best friend

My coworkers -

J's coworkers -

We already miss everyone, but glad we had a chance to spend one last night together.

Philly here we come....

Final week in Richmond

2009-06-15T11:24:00.002-04:00

Well I guess it is my turn to try my hand at this blogging. It is 6/15, which means we have five days until the big move to Philly. A is already in Philly, so that means I am left here to get everything done before we leave. Luckily, A was amazing and got just about everything packed for me. Can't wait until Saturday when we are arriving in Philly. Of course that means unpacking... :-( Pictures of the new place will be coming soon.

Pleasantly Surprised

2009-05-31T19:36:00.000-04:00

I head to Philadelphia in 2 weeks to train for a short term summer job I'm taking on. J will follow a week later. So we decided to make the most of our time left in Richmond to go to some restaurants that we enjoy. First on the list was Bottoms Up Pizza. It's located in Shockoe Bottom, which has a lot of restaurants and bars that we have enjoyed over the past few years.
Who would've thought that a pizza place would have such great salads, but each time I go I can't pass up their fresh veggies. J and I both got one...both minus the tomatoes.

On to their signature pizzas. J ordered the Barbeque Chicken Pizza with homemade BBQ sauce, sweet onions and chicken.
How can you go wrong with a pizza with fresh crab meat on it? I ordered the Remocaldo Renegade with broccoli, spinach, artichoke hearts and crab meat.
After lunch we couldn't pass up enjoying the wonderful weather and decided to be spontaneous. After living in Richmond for 2 years (me)and 4 years (J), neither of us had been down to the river that we hear so many Richmonders talk about. We didn't know exactly where we were going, but we parked and eventually made our way to Belle Isle. We were pleasantly surprised with what we discovered.
The pedestrian bridge that we walked over to make it to Belle Isle/the river.

I don't think this picture does this dog justice...he was HUGE. Friendly, yet huge. The owners said he was a 2 year old English Mastiff.
We were once again pleasantly surprised when we saw the ice cream man near the parking lot on our way back to our car. We relived one of our first dates over 5 years ago, when we went to the dining hall on campus and then walked around campus with ice cream cones.

We vow that we won't wait several years to experience some of the great things that Philly has to offer. June 20th is only 20 days away!

Happy "Anniversary"

2009-05-28T21:33:00.000-04:00

So tonight J and I celebrated our "anniversary." Why is it our "anniversary?" Well because it's only officially 11 months and it'll be our real wedding anniversary next month. However, we're not going to be able to celebrate together because I'll be away working to make some money for our Philly adventures on June 28th.

So J surprised me and made reservations at Bookbinders. Coincidentally, the only other location happens to be in Philly! We loved our meal and definitely plan to go to the other location once we move, especially since we'll be able to walk there from our new apartment.

We were pleasantly surprised when we left the restaurant and had a nice view of the Richmond sky line. Clearly I need a better camera, but if you squint and use your imagination you can see the nice view we had.

I'm still getting the hang of this blogging thing. I was so excited to take pictures of our meal because everything on the menu looked wonderful. However, I got so excited when our food arrived that I forgot to take pictures of our entrees. We ordered Fried Calamari with a Roasted Red Pepper Mayonnaise for our appetizer. J ordered the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake and I ordered Pan Seared Sea Scallops with Braised Bok Choy in a Sweet and Sour Sauce. We couldn't pass up dessert and ordered the New York Blackout Cake. Everything was fabulous. If you're ever in Richmond or Philly, definitely check out Bookbinders.

Countdown

2009-05-26T12:48:00.000-04:00

J and I met in college in Virginia in 2002. We started dating in 2004. We got married in 2008. 2009 will be the beginning of another chapter in our lives. We will be moving to Philadelphia on June 20th, so that countdown begins. 25 more days!

Excited, anxious, nervous, ready, impatient....are all the feelings that we have been feeling lately. It's such a mix of emotions.

J has been in Richmond for 4 years and I have been here for 2 years. We've made some great friends, J began his teaching career and completed his masters degree. I began my first "real" job here in Richmond and have some great memories living with my best friend.

I'll always remember our first married apartment. So tiny (yep you can see straight through the entire apartment from the front door if you look closely at the picture above), yet so welcoming. We often talk about how we're going to describe our first apartment to our kids and the cheap rent that we paid.

So this blog has been created to document all the memories and adventures we plan to have in Philly!