junk drawer

#1

One of the perks of living in an international neighborhood is well, international food. From Mexican, Italian, and Asian, south Philly pretty much can't be beat as far as authenticity goes..

Lately I have cruising on down to my local Asian Superstore, 1st Oriental Supermarket.

50cent bunches of cilantro? no problem. 15 types of mint? thank you very much. cheap cheap shrimp? yes please.

With good authentic products comes good authentic cooking with good authentic flavor. After Otis and I tried out a new Chinese restaurant in search of quality pork dumplings and were HORRIBLY disappointed, I took upon myself to make my own dumplings the next day. Scary enough, mine had WAY better flavor than the ones made at the restaurant.

I still get a lot of stares perusing the aisles...I'm sure 6'2'' blondes aren't their usual regulars.

and the green grass grew all around...

WARNING...I am in a rambling mood.

On my drive home from work last week I was abruptly stopped by a construction worker so that a backhoe could manuver it's shovel full of dirt into a dumpster perched on the side of the road.  Me, being the curious human that I am, peered to the left to see what the heck they were working on.

What I saw my made my jaw drop and my hand lurch for my heart.  They were digging up the sweet garden that I pass on my way to work.  Nestled between two buildings, it's my favorite eye candy in what can sometimes be a smelly, dirty and concrete filled walk to work.

Granted, I knew something was up with the space due to the sign that has long been draped on the chain link fence.

But the hole left in the ground was jarring.

 

But, I think I can blow out a big sigh of relief....I checked out the website posted on the sign: savethegarden.com.  Post-near heart attack, I realize the garden has changed hands to the Neighborhood Garden Association and I'm hoping that the construction is for improvements, not destruction.  That was a lot of heartache, for...well, nothing.

But it did make me think about the importance of green space in a city setting.  When a person is surrounded only by houses and concrete and sparse amounts of trees, what little green you have becomes VERY important. 

To fully disclose, I come from a farming family in Iowa.  My grandfather was a farmer, my dad was raised on the farm, my aunt and uncle still live on their farm, and my cousin Sarah who is my age (26) lives on her own dairy farm.  That lifestyle is the antithesis of mine, yet I wonder if that live off the earth genetic code still lives within me.  I certainly love to camp ( the backwoods, no cell service, shit in a hole, gone for a week, kind...thankyouverymuch) and I certainly get a twinge of satisfaction from making pesto from my little basil plants that have grown so well on my back deck.

I need to see green.  I love to get produce from the farmers market or the italian market or the farm stands on LI or along the backroads of south jersey.  Does that mean that there is part farmgirl living inside of me?  Even as I live in the heart of the city?  Lord knows I would never want to actually live on the farm (manure mountains in my backyard, chores at 5am.  um...no thanks.)

Yesteday I stumbled upon foodie farm girl, a blog about a gal from california who left her comfy lifestyle and moved to a missouri farm to live off the land.  For whatever reason, it made me think about my roots, my family, my basil, and my small oasis' of green on my walk to work.  It's amazing how important a little bit of earth can be.

There is no spot of ground, however arid, bare or ugly,
that cannot be tamed into such a state as may give an
impression of beauty and delight.
-  Gertrude Jekyll

week of color: brown

Here is a gorgeous federal style house around the corner from my office. Gosh, I can't even count  the number of shades of brown in this shot.

I've had quite the 24 hours.  Lots of folk from my JCOC trip are in town for the Wharton Leadership Conference today.  It is great to see everyone and catch up.  It certainly has been interesting to swap stories of our reentry back into civilian life. 

I was able to go to the conference for the morning.  It was beyond interesting and about as close to an Ivy League education as I'll get.

Speaking of brown....here is the progress of my new brown couch so far:

Otis' friend is staying over tommorrow night, so I better get back to it.

a little less conversation

I've had quite a bit of action in my life the past couple days.  TS is shooting in Philly, which always makes for strained living.  It's very difficult to live both "lives" at once.  Road is road, home is home and when home and road mix, well...I am one tired chica.

This past weekend was GREAT.  I made my way down to the Art Star Craft Bazaar.  It was very very very very rainy and gross.  I said to myself, "Self, if there was ever a time to go down it would be on a day like today."  So even though I had a meer hour and 15 minutes to spend browsing wares I braved the weather and went. 

I am so glad I did and made out like a bandit.

Check out what I got!

The shirt was screenprinted by Rhiannon Punzo, whose hubby works with me.  She was actually selling photos, but when I saw her wiping down her damp framed prints with this mullet T I just knew I had to get it for the O-man.

The earrings are by jewler Jenna Wainwright.  They are perfectly elegant yet raw.  I heart them.

And the rest was from Leya's lovely Curiousbird. I snatched that cute little birdie coin purse, a great card (which I've already sent out) and a fabulous owl magnet thrown in by her boy Dustin (how did they know I collected magnets!!!)  It was great to meet her and Dustin, and if I dare say, I believe I was able to look her dead in the eye.  She's a tall one that chic.

Needless to say, I could have gotten more but what I really should do is set up a tent of my own.  My goodness!

Take a look at this relic of a road.

This is one of my favorite street in Philly.  It out by Graduate Hospital.  It's the only street where I have seen stairs like that.  Aren't they fun.  Little alley's like this one are the reason why I love walking around so much.  You can't peer down them from the car!

woopsy daisy

I love short weeks as much as the next person.  The only drawback is that I get my days confused.  I meant to put my Tuesday's about Town post yesterday but totally forgot!!  woops. I must have been a very busy lady. (isn't that a cool poster, I saw it in a store window!)

As I have mentioned, one of my favorite parts of my day is when I walk to work.  Along my route is my very favorite notions joint, Fleishman's. 

 

This place is a throw back!  Unlike your usual strip mall joint, this place has been there for eons. (and if it hasn't it sure acts and looks like it has).  instead of little blue hairs shuffling around the gals who work here have spunk.  You walk in and you are an immediate friend. 

My first adventure in there was for zippers (dirt cheap FYI) and I got the usual comments:

"Girrrrllll - you are tall!!! How tall are you?! Oh my gawd! You must play ball." 

What is usually a redundant and sometimes annoying question (no I don't, but I did) seemed genuine asked within their four walls.   It was like they cared, wanted to get to know me, and were making immediate conversation.  And they certainly weren't polite about it.  Instead they were shamelessly curious and inquisitive.  Ah, people after my own heart.

The other great thing about this place is that you don't just wander aimless through the aisles by yourself.  In fact they really don't have aisles, instead you are lead behind the counter with a sales person to peruse boxes of buttons and zippers together. Again, what in most places would kind of seem annoying here feels kind of fun, like you are exploring the store together.  Walking through Fleishman's doors often feels as if you have just stepped into a bygone era. They just don't have service like that in most places!!!!

I always walk out feeling happy and quite proud for living in such a cool city where places like this not only survive, but thrive. If you are ever in philly a stop in here is a must.  I know you will have new friends on fifth street.

A couple of notes:

Tonight my gal Paige Davis will be on CBS' new show "Gameshow Marathon" where celeb types play old school game show games.  Sounds like fun.  check your local listin's.  It is on here in Philly at 8pm.

Also check out the New York Times, the JCOC coordinator got herself some real nice coverage for her pet project, America Supports You.  It's a great piece about making cookies for the troops.  yum yum.

And finally, check out Fabric Horse.  My friend Trisha is a pattern cutter for 'em and I checked out her new fanny/ utility/ biker bad ass pack this weekend.  pretty cool.

three ducks

so.  this place isn't around my town, but it was around Santa Cruz, which was my adoptive town last week.

Look at this cute little house!!!

It was a block over from where we were shooting by the beach.  All research I have tried to do on the place has come up short.  But oh how fun it would be to live there!  The name of the cottage is "At the Signe of three ducks."  ADORABLE. It's a craftsman Vacation Cottage, circa 1926.

Look at the cute door glass...

Here is the historical landmark sign.

Any one know of this place?  the internet is coming up dry.  all I could find was this. curious.

happy tuesday.

Tuesday's about town....

I love walking to and from work whenever I am in Philly.  The route I take is filled with interesting homes, vastly different neighborhoods, and cool shops.

I live in South Philadelphia, and there is nothing cookie cutter about this place. As you stroll northward you are surrounded by different cultures, different smells, different senses of community.

This is one of my favorite houses along the walk. <<<click on photo to see whole house>>>

I love the rooftop garden and the little balcony filled with plants and funky pots.  I've seen the owner only once.  She has a mop of frizzy blonde hair and an air of strength and confidence.  I wonder what she does for a living, why she chose this little loft space, what she thinks of her surroundings.

Perhaps my favorite part about the house though is the front door.

I'm jealous of the garage but also struck by the modern simplicity and her nod to Euro funk with her tow away sign.

from now on I hope to post a little somethin' on Tuesday's about where I live.  I think that neighborhoods (and I'm partial to mine) are so intriguing.

What do you notice when you stroll about town?