Scenes from the weekend.

Anthony finished his second semester 

of Grad School last Sunday.

Yay! 

I couldn't be more proud of him 

and how hard he's worked this past year. 

With him being home more, 

it means he's back creating masterpieces in the kitchen. 

Being off for summer break 

also means his weekends are free 

for the first time since we've moved to Philly. 

I couldn't be more excited to hang out with him :-) 

Because of this, 

get ready for a photo bomb 

of pics from the wkd.  

Sorry but not sorry. 

Seriously, you can click out now. 

~~~~~~

No? Okay, here goes. 

Friday was First Fridays, 

so we checked out some art. 

In the art world, 

it basically just means the galleries 

show new stuffs on a Friday, 

stay open late and give away booze.

No surprise this weirdo print was my fav. 

We also happened upon

the Paddy's Pub while waiting 

to meet up with some friends.

It was pretty great. 

Saturday morning Anth decided 

to make a clam pasta from Lidia's Cookbook for lunch.

I swear, every recipe of hers is a winner. 

And shucks, 

it was awesoooome. 

Also, to those of you who don't think 

clams in pasta sound good? 

You're.Wrong.The.End.

We spent the rest of the afternoon 

down at the Schuylkill reading and napping. 

(Skooo-kill for those not in the know with Philly speak)

And then trekked to a great fancy Mexi dinner.

A HUGE thanks to Jamey and Kate 

for the generous Christmas gift card to Lolita. 

For starters, any BYO that has 

bring your own tequila 

is a step ahead in my book. 

(Blood orange margaritas are really freakin' delicious btw)

Anth's reaction to our appetizers arriving. 

Definitely one of the best meals we've had in the city. 

Sunday I was lucky enough 

to snag a spot in the Broad Street 10 miler; 

a great Philly tradition. 

Jax however, didn't get so lucky. 

The odds just weren't in his favor. 

He was obviously pissed. 

He followed me for 10 minutes before I left; 

staring at his leash and sitting 

in the most perfect attentive sit ever. 

There were also a lot of heavy dog sighs. 

Poor guy. 

#Redforboston

I have to admit, 

I was hoping the post-race treat 

would be cheesesteaks. 

Can't win 'em all :-) 

At least I got a high-five from the mayor! 

(thanks Neah for the pic!)

When I got back, 

We took the pup on a long walk

to Rita's and a local dog pet store. 

He was super pumped.

(obviously)

And finally, because we live 
in an over-crowded part the city,
we don't have an outdoor space. 

But we've got a fire escape! 

Some nights are just too nice to eat inside. 

Jax, again, was pissed he was left out. 

Hope you too had a great weekend 
and weren't left out of any fun!  

Lessons in Speed Work...

Nothing improves your 5k time

like running a rainy 3 miler

with a pup who hates water. 

But...

All gloat-filled PRs aside, 

this method is also the best way to find yourself 

giving aforementioned 60 lb water-hating Pitt Bull 

a bath before 7am on a Monday morning... 

...in the sparkly clean bathtub 

you just scrubbed not 12 hours ago. 

Blerg. 

Happy (rainy) Monday kids! 

Put a little Spring in your step!

Unlike chilly Chicago, 

Spring actually comes in April in Philly...

which is super awesome. 

Everyone (myself included) is noticeably happier. 

Here are some springtime pics of our hood. 

~~~~~

There are cherry blossoms around every corner.

Having never spent a spring 

in a city where these bloom,

I have to admit, 

I'm super enchanted.  

This giant beer has nothing to do with Spring...

I'm just happy I found a Happy Hour

with $5 Dos Equis Amber...

and friends to enjoy it with on Friday nights :-)  

Spring also means garden parties. 

Zack is a grill master. 

So good. 

We've also had one of those super hot days.

(86 degrees to be exact)

Which lead to strawberry DQ soft serve. 

Springtime selfie with the pup. 

Not having a porch means 

repotting plants in the living room...

very very carefully, 

I might add. 

Nice addition of JDog doing stretches on the sidelines too. 

New fav diner! 

 I mean really?!

How kickass is that sign...

and the dessert case? 

Anywhere with a case of desserts

gets my vote. 

Rewatching the Hunger Games

lead to rereading Catching Fire this weekend.  

Jax was not a happy camper,

as he too knew Spring meant more outside time.

And last but not least, 

Anthony has final crits soon...

So stuffing nutella inside chocolate chip cookies

seemed like the best medicine

to help him make it through the upcoming week. 

Now he'd better hurry up & come home

before I eat 2 dozen cookies. 

:-) 

How about you? 

How's spring shaping up? 

For my friends in Chicago 

with snow on the ground...

come visit! 

I'll save you some cookies!

(maybe)

Indddddddddddddy

Last weekend, my good friend
Renee got married.

Even better?
Many of my favorite people also live there.

Here are some pix from the craziness.

~~~~~

Steph, Molly and I after the ceremony

It's crazy that I've known these girls for more than 25 years! 

From Vegas trips to being teaching partners, 

Renee and I have definitely had some crazy times together. 

I was so happy to be able to be there for her wedding! 

Things I'm not good at: 

Making a decision about what to drink. 

So my usual choice is ALL drinks. 

Oops. :-) 

A good example of that? 

The photo below. 

About 10 years ago, 

(wow, I feel old)

Molly and I spent a Spring Break 

visiting Rosarae in Savannah....

and this pic was taken. 

While at the wedding, 

we got the bright idea to reenact it. 

(pretty close, right?)

Soon after, I received this gem

of Anthony and our friend Claire: 

Which gave us an idea that lead 

to lots of laughs over the weekend. 

If you want to try your luck at the pose, 

please don't hesitate and then send it my way! 

The view from the reception was great! 

Once the reception was over, 

a large portion of the crew weren't ready for bed...

so we headed to good 'ole Ike-n-Joney's.

Even Renee and Sam joined us! 

Congrats! 

On Saturday,

I took Molly's dog, Zoey out for a run. 

We also headed out to our friend Heather and Kevin's house 

to try his homemade beer and wine. 

On the way there, I realized I lost my ID 

in the cab the night before. 

Awesome. 

Good thing I didn't have to catch a flight the next day. 

Oh, yes, yes I did actually. 

But even better? 

My mom sent me this to see if it would work: 

Yep, that's my Indiana ID card from 1997. 

hahahaha.

Later that night, 

we went to watch the Final Four. 

At 31 years old, 

I had to beg the door guy to let me in. 

I definitely used the photo above 

as evidence of my age. 

Lucky for me, it worked....

and I got to introduce Molly and Corey to Fireball Whiskey. 

Lots of it :-) 

Good times. 

The next morning mom and dad joined us for brunch! 

And then, before I knew it, 

it was time to head back to Philly. 

(Again) Lucky for me, 

TSA was awesome and let me 

on the plane without ID. 

Long layovers mean lots of gelato. 

 Adios Indy!
Hope to see you again soon!

A snowy Spring Break

With all of my teacher friends 

posting photos of sunshine and sand, 

it seems like a perfect time to (finally)

put up some pictures from our trip back home. 

Get ready. 

There's a billion pictures coming your way :-) 

J-bird on the way to the kennel. 

He knew something was up...

and he wasn't a happy camper. 

hahaha

Because of a super delayed flight, 

Anthony and I found ourselves stranded 

in Chicago the first night. 

I admit, I pouted for about 10 min. 

Then realized, of all cities for us to be stuck, 

Chicago was the best one. 

Our good friends Isaac and Catherine 

met us out for drinks. 

Anthony and Cat are both Leap Year Babies. 

The past couple of years, we've celebrated together. 

And it just happened were stranded on their birthdays. 

(well, the 28th, so close enough) 

We were all pretty stoked to spend the evening together. 

The next morning we headed out of Chicago and to Evansville. 

But not without grabbing a bag of Garrett's popcorn. 

How we found my grandpa... 

On an 8 foot ladder, 

installing a heating unit. 

Love it. 

No trip home is complete without a trip to Donut Bank! 

While there, we ran into my grandma Carole's High School buddies. 

I was jealous of the 5 boxes of donuts they bought. 

My dad was a bit possessive of the popcorn bag. 

In his defense, 

we did technically bring it home for him. 

Usually when we're home, 

we spend an afternoon with 

my Aunt Dori drinking champagne.

It's a pretty great tradition. 

Added this time? 

Her 38 Special. 

Love it. 

My niece Peyton in her IU gear. 

She knows the cheers too. 

Miss her and her baby sis so much!

The fireplace in my grandparents 

house is so great. 

Home is one of my favorite places to run. 

Before long, it was time to head back north. 

Anth and I hopped on the Amtrak...

and decided since we were on vacation, 

9am was not too early for drinks. 

Our hotel was connected to Ditkas. 

Score. 

First things first? 

Drinks at Cleos with my pal Val. 

Maybe one too many drinks. Oops. 

Being in Philly for the winter meant not much snow

(at all really). 

The day we got to Chicago? 

Dumped 10 inches in 10 hours. 

Figures. 

I didn't really mind though :-) 

Good thing someone thought to warm up the Acala's Horse. 

Our fav Sushi spot has a roll called

Sorry I am Drunk. 

hahahaha. 

My other fav running spot besides home 

is the Chicago Lakefront. 

Even though it was snowy 

and I was the only one there, 

I had to do it. 

So nice. 

 We also had a great Thai/Hoosiers night 

with our friends Mike and Lora. 

I swore to myself I wouldn't relive the previous night

(remember the Fireball Whiskey shot pic?)

but....

when a friend hands you an AMF,

as a Hoosier, you don't turn it down. 

And for the record, it was delicious. 

Also delicious? 

Spaghetti at Four Moon at 2am. 

hahahaha

Best brunch of the trip. 

Oh, and I wouldn't be doing the blog justice

if I didn't sneak in a trip to a great Chicago hot dog joint. 

So good. 

We also jammed in a trip up to Northwestern 

to see one of Anthony's professor's shows. 

Probably my fav Contemporary show I've seen. 

And finally, I met 5 of my favorite ladies for drinks at Cleos. 

I have yet to find somewhere in Philly to get a french fry salad. 

hahaha. 

 All in all, it was such a great (and super fast!) trip. 

Chicago, I miss you already.