TWTW - the one where august came courting

Friday night on the boards after a self-imposed 3 pm early dismissal. Trash person dinner at 6th Street Grill, Surf Art Show with a band on the Music Pier, saw a proposal, and washed it all down with some Kohr Bros.

Saturday coffee wearing my friend making shirt followed by hanging with the dogs. Turnover work included new pillow shams and trash cans, cleaning fans and air conditioners, and meeting with a contractor/handyman. Isn't this exciting?

Saturday on the beach was windy which means I had umbrella anxiety. Lunch was Ike's, eaten while marveling at a high maintenance family of 10 that sat right up on us. We also tested our new We Are 40 beach cart (A+).

Saturday night was lazy as fuck. I finished a book and started another and did my Amazon order for the week. 

Sunday's sunrise was hands down one of the best I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. It was like watching the universe painting a water color in real time.

A quick stop for coffee, cleaning up the dump, and a rendezvous with my girl Marla of Luck Fupus and her boyfriend who are hanging in our place to celebrate her birthday today. Happy birthday my friend!!

Leaving at 10 am on a Sunday equals a drive time that is reminiscent of the off-season. I started some laundry, dropped off tired dogs, then had a nice, long, big lunch with Carol's family at the William Penn Inn. Thanks Ruth & Pete! I was so hungry I didn't take pics of the food and so busy talking I didn't take pics of the people. Carol sent me some but alas this was already written by then. I drug my tired ass to Target after. 

Weekly food prep was super complicated, you guys. Breakfast: Dave's powerseed toast with PB and a side of a banana. Lunch: baked chicken thighs with fresh Jersey tomatoes. Snacks: sugar snap peas and Noosa cherry vanilla yogurt. Dinners are pasta salad and pork tenderloin. I only need it for Monday and Tuesday.

Sunday ground itself to a halt with reading, painting my nails, and three episodes of Ozark.

Favorite day tomorrow.

How was yours?

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

Yo Adrian! Let's go to the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Festival

I know, I'm mixing my Philly things in the title. Yo! This weekend was the first annual Philadelphia Cheesesteak Festival at the Linc. My friend Marla of Luck Fupus ordered us $40 Wiz Wit tickets, which entitled us to 10 samples of cheesesteaks and a free t-shirt.

I'm glad they finally did something like this, and judging by the shit ton of other people there, everyone else is too. We arrived right at 11 and stood in line for almost a half hour before getting in, even though it was supposed to start at 11.

The theme of the day was lines, which is to be expected at food festival type things. The different cheesesteak places were set up in tents or food trucks in K lot outside the Linc. There was a map of where everything was. What there was not was clear lines - by 1 p.m. we had no idea where lines started or ended. Marla and I ended up only using five of our 10 tickets for samples, and we weren't alone in that - others were trying to give away or sell their unused tickets.

Here's what we did try:

1. I don't give a fork - Mac & Cheesesteak - Tiniest portion of the day, barely any actual mac on there.

2. Rockin' Road Grill apparently boasts a celebrity chef (Eddie Berner, and I see looking at my own photo that he's a former guitarist for Flock of Seagulls). I didn't see him cook, I just saw him come out of the tour bus. They were doing steak with broccoli rabe (that belongs on pork)and wiz. It was the worst steak of the day and had so much garlic that I could have murdered a league of vampires on an exhale.

3. Jay's Steak and Hoagie Joint held two draws for us: it's owned by Marla's cousin, and their location is my home town of Penndel. This was my favorite out of the box steak of the day. The meat was good and served on a pretzel roll with just the right amount of salt, this was awesome. Their t-shirts were my favorite too. I will surely be visiting them soon.

4. Next up:  Oregon Steaks. Delicious flavor on the meat, good roll from Aversa's.

5. Dalesandro's was our final sample. The line was long and snakey and it was worth it. I was scooping this meat up and eating it with my fingers in public. It was my favorite traditional and that is absolutely due to their use of my favorite roll - Amoroso's.

Speaking of, there was a freaking Amoroso's windsock thing there. I was more excited about this than I should've been.

Marla & I had a good time sampling some cheesesteaks, having a beer, wandering around, and meeting up with some of her family and friends and Dani from Faster Than Forever and her friend. The people watching was outstanding. And Philly is serious as hell about its cheesesteaks. My favorite steak is Jim's on South Street. Jim's was not in attendance, because they know they're awesome. MFD did get me one on Sunday night though.

There was also entertainment, much of which sounded off and not good. At one point they were singing a made up Philly cheesesteak song and it was hilarious.

Dunkin Donuts was representing with free shots of coffee, and there were some t-shirt vendors too. I had to get in on that.

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Haikuesday

Good try but sorry... 

They are not Philly cheesesteaks

outside of Philly

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The crowd in general was pretty happy, which I wasn't expecting. I hope they do this every year, and that they figure out the line fuckery before next year.

What food is your town known for? Do they festival it up?

TWTW-Last one of the birthday month

Last week was a busy one and I slacked off on my hausfrauing. I typically do a few tasks each weeknight so I don't have to clean on weekends, but this was a special case. Friday night I set the house to rights - two loads of laundry put away, two more done, fridge emptied and cleaned, dishwasher run and put away, kitchen cleaned and mopped, two bathrooms cleaned, house picked up, scarves/winter gear/pajamas purged, and car loaded up with crap to be donated. I didn't sit down all night and I was okay with that. I hate going into a weekend with the house in disarray.

Gus says, "We'll keep these scarves, mother. The rest of the shit can go."

Saturday morning I was out like a shout - filled the car up with gas, dropped books at the library, hit the gym for my 40, back home to shower and then back out to drop stuff off at Goodwill and get a treat yo'self pedicure (OPI Cha-Ching Cherry). I picked up veggies while my toes were drying. I know there are others of you out there who parade around with your feet like that after a pedicure. Raise your hands and show yourselves.

The afternoon found me at All Fired Up in Collingswood, NJ, to meet up with my friends Marla of Luck Fupus and Brie of A Breezy Life for some ceramics painting and dinner. I painted a coffee mug (are you surprised?) and required assistance from Brie after I fucked it up. Marla also needed her artsy influence so out of the three of us Brie is the painting queen. They treated me to Tortilla Press and got me a cute bag of gifts to boot. I'm lucky to call The Sisters Wexler friends. See you next month ladies!

Comcast got Das Boot Saturday night. More on that tomorrow.

Sunday morning I figured out how to stream YouTube and did my weights workout through the TV...behind the times, I know. After that french press coffee was on the agenda, as was lounging with the dogs.

Weekly food prep: scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms and spinach, green onions, and Havarti dill cheese for breakfasts; baby carrots and Granny Smith apples for snacks; and salads for lunch - I make them the night before so only one made Sunday. Dinners: baked burgers with spinach and goat cheese over a bed of lettuce, mashed sweet potatoes, mashed cauliflower, steamed veggies, and oven baked ribs (this pic is pre-baking, click here to see them out of the oven). 

Other weekend things:

-I finished the second season of The Fall. Jamie Dornan and Gillian Flynn are excellent. If you haven't watched this show, check it out!
-MFD is super busy work-wise, which is awesome for many reasons. I don't see him much, and when I do he's on the phone. LOL. No complaints though because I love my alone time. If you're looking to buy or sell in PA or NJ, get in touch with him!

Today is going to be a good day - when I left work on Friday everything got filed and I dealt with everything in my email inbox so I'm starting fresh this morning, Comcast cable boxes are being returned (more on that tomorrow), and tonight I have a 50 minute massage and a peppermint scalp massage. Monday, you'll do. You'll do.

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

When We Were in Chicago... a down & dirty recap

A few things you should know about how I vacation & how I recap vacations:

1. When I come to your town, I want to see all the tourist things. Because I am a tourist. 

2. Vacation is not a place where we cheap out. We save up so we can do all the things, eat where we want, and have the luxury of convenience. I cheap out on hotel rooms though and always choose a mid-range place because when we do a quick trip, we're barely in there. 

3. If we go to a city over a weekend, we pack as much in as possible and sacrifice sleep and lounging to do so. Beaches and cruises are for relaxing, these trips are for seeing and doing. I love creating ridiculous itineraries and we enjoy being on the go. My itineraries always have some sway and the ability to move shit around on the fly because you always have to do that when you travel. The trick is to get a flow going so you get a lot in without feeling like you're on a mission. 

4. Apologies on the food shots - they're always taken with an iPhone and lots of these places were dim. MFD already has a fit about me taking pics of all food so I'm not going to prolong the process by getting the lighting right. If you don't give a shit about food or restaurants, skip over the paragraphs before the food collages.
5. If we're friends on FB, you know a lot of this because MFD checks in everywhere as it gives him great joy.
6. I don't split trip recaps because I like to keep all the information in one spot, so it's long. 

Time/travel parameters: we flew Frontier Airlines from Trenton to Midway on Saturday night, arriving in Chicago at 6:30 p.m. We flew out of Midway at 7:59 p.m. Tuesday night and arrived home at midnight. We stayed at Hyatt Place River North and did breakfast at the hotel daily. We basically arrived, dumped our bags, and hit the streets. 

Saturday

Strolling the Chicago Riverwalk - the skyline is magnificent at night

Chicago Jazz Festival in Millennium Park - specifically Kevin Eubanks from The Tonight Show

The Skyline -and us - reflected in the Bean

We took an 11:30 reservation at The Girl and the Goat in the West Loop, owned by Stephanie Izard from Top Chef. That time is all they had more than a month and a half out. I liked it a lot - the atmosphere was great, I enjoyed seeing the open kitchen, the food was mostly a hit, and the service was energetic and friendly despite the hour. MFD and I shared everything: goat cheese & sweet corn dumplings (excellent, not pictured), hamachi crudo (crisp pork belly, not pictured - just meh, should've gotten the pig face), wood fired scallops (surprisingly awesome, recommended by the waiter, first pic on the bottom left), egg salad oysters (top middle photo, totally amazing). For dessert MFD has some regrettable bittersweet chocolate thing that sucked. I had peaches and blueberry buckle with goat cheese gelato. GIRL, you don't even know. You don't even know!! The coffee was excellent. Yes, we drank it at midnight because we are fools. 

Sunday

Rise and shine bitches! Up and out by 7:30 to walk down to Milton Olive Park via the Ohio Beach entry. What a glorious view of the city. So quiet and really awesome. 

Gangster Tour, because who doesn't like a little cheese with their vacation? It was pretty interesting, and we did drive through most Chicago neighborhoods which gave us an idea of the places we weren't going to be visiting. 

We originally planned to go to the Art Institute or Field Museum in the afternoon, but it was MFD's birthday weekend and he wanted to swim. So weird to have this big ocean-looking lake in the middle of a large city. I did not want to swim so I dipped my toes in, read and people watched. p.s. - post swimming is the only time you'll see MFD's hair not perfect. 

Dinner at Shaw's Crab House. We both loved the 1940s-ish atmosphere and the seafood was excellent. The service was top notch. This key lime pie is the best key lime pie I've ever had, including numerous pies in Key West itself. 

Jazz at Andy's Jazz

Monday - MFD's Birthday and Labor Day

Since it was Labor Day, we got to walk really slowly on the sidewalks looking up at the buildings in the central business district and take pics in the middle of the street without locals getting pissed off at us for slowing their roll. The city felt deserted and it was awesome.

Sears Tower Skydeck. What a trip! I did much better than I thought I'd do out on the ledges and MFD did worse. We went on an overcast day with some fog. It rained while we were up there and even with all that, the views and experience were really impressive. I bought fast pass tickets prior to arrival which took our wait time from an hour and a half to 20 minutes to get to the 103rd floor.

Lunch at Lou Malnati's. I thought I was not a fan of deep dish pizza. I was wrong. We got the Malnati Chicago Classic and it was delicious. I also loved the Green Line beer brewed by Goose Island in Chicago.

I had an UBER credit (sign up and use promo code ubersmd to get a $30 credit towards your first ride) so we jumped in one to get to Wrigley Field since we were already running late. We were initially supposed to take the Red Line, but we were short on time and it was a nice quick ride up the Gold Coast into Wrigleyville. What a cool experience - you walk in off the street and there you are! We also walked around the stadium when we left, which was pretty cool as well seeing all the stuff on the outside walls, checking out the places for roof top viewing, and getting a load of people tailgating outside and on the sidewalk.

MFD had a Chicago style hotdog at Wrigley. I had mine at the airport. This is my kind of hotdog.

People we saw at both the Skydeck and Wrigley...these three, dressed as Cameron, Sloane, and Ferris. How fucking amazing is this? MFD got their photo at the Skydeck and I spied Cameron & Ferris with the zoom at Wrigley. MFD actually went down to where they were sitting to say hello to them again because of course...Mayor.

MFD's birthday dinner at David Burke's Primehouse in The James Hotel. Prices were ridiculous but YOLO, birthday. The steaks were unbelievable. MFD had the 55 day aged and it melted in your mouth. I thought the atmosphere was just okay. My steak, wine, and coffee gelato were excellent though. I was unable to get reservations at Gibsons, which was our first choice.

MFD used LYFT to get a car to take us to The Second City. You guys, this was awesome. We saw The Best of The Second City on the mainstage. It was hilarious and for $30 each we saw over 2.5 hours of comedy. I loved every second of it. Also hilarious: when MFD had a mouth full of water and it shot out in an actual spit take because he could not hold back the laughter.

Tuesday
We packed up and had the hotel hold our bags while we took off for the Wendella Lake & River Boat Tour. Totally fucking awesome. We went out onto Lake Michigan (the photo you see below with the water coming through is the lock opening up from the Chicago River to let the boat out - the lake is about two feet higher than the river), learned about all the buildings, then back onto the river to do the same. We loved this. I could fill a blog post just with photos taken on this tour, and they don't fit well into collages which sucks.

In a Philly takes Chicago move, we met your friend and mine Marla from Luck Fupus and her husband Steve for lunch at The Purple Pig. We sat outside and had a nice long lunch.

We ordered a bunch of plates to share, and I would go back every day until I could try everything on the menu. Really a phenomenal experience. Some dishes we sampled include calamari with fregula, radishes, cucumbers & pistachios; the best Greek salad I've ever had; chorizo stuffed olives; some type of foie grass; chocolate goat cheese and a few other cheeses; milk braised pork shoulder with mashed potatoes; stuffed squid; soft serve ice cream with espresso poured over it. I can't remember the rest. The food was my favorite on the trip. Everything was excellent and it was a bonus to share the meal with friends from home!

We checked out the rocks in the face of the Tribune Tower, which was awesome. We glimpsed Bill Rancic and while Marla, Steve & I were sitting in the shade MFD got his photo taken with him. Of course we missed that. Why not. We strolled down to see The Bean in the sunlight and also to check out the Crowd Fountains.

MFD and I hopped into a cab and Marla & Steve went on to enjoy their first day in Chicago as we wrapped up our last. MFD got an Italian beef sandwich and we split a freaking donut ice cream sandwich from Firecakes Donuts. You guys, is this real life? How do my pants still fit? It was awesome.

We took the Orange Line to Midway during rush hour - not fun. MFD also tried to take an elevator up to the platform, which opened to reveal a big puddle of stinky hot pee. Silly MFD, always avoid elevators at public transportation stations.

What a phenomenal city - very clean, very friendly to tourists in that it's easy to get around and the people are pretty nice. It's also beautiful, walkable, has a wonderful food scene, and shows its face really well. We loved the feel of the city and if the winters weren't so ridiculous I think I'd be arguing with MFD to stay here instead of moving there. Thanks to Steph at Not Entirely Perfect for her Chicago smarts, especially this map/post, and help with hotel locations and which streets to avoid at night. We missed meeting up due to her move and both of our schedules but will do so next time!

Chicago, I think you're the favorite city of all the cities I've visited.

Linking up with  Meet @ the Barre