Sending out our Christmas cards every year was one of my favorite traditions growing up. It was always a process though… get dressed up in coordinating outfits with my brother, find the perfect location, take photos, get cards ordered, write a personalized message on each card, address cards, seal ’em, and put a stamp on it before dropping them off at the Post Office. Did I mention, that my mom did all of this while working a full-time job and she got them out in early December??? Now as I sit down to order our Christmas cards, write a personalized message on each card, and go to the Post Office to buy stamps because who has them these days to then address them and bring them back to the Post Office to mail out — I have a lot more appreciation for what my mom did for decades to get these cards out on time!
A lot of hard work went on behind the scenes to get these cards delivered, but the looks on people’s faces when they got one, were worth every minute I stayed up past midnight to write on each card. Let this be a reminder to bring Christmas cards back because they are a part of the Christmas magic that makes the holiday season so special.
PS – Ordering cards from Minted was the easiest part of this process. Finding time to write on them and get them out was because I needed to plan better LOL
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It was July 4th weekend and our original plan was to walk around Old City but the heat wave made that difficult. We still wanted to spend some time in Old City, walk past Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, and get in the holiday spirit. So what better way to celebrate the 4th than go to Royal Boucherie? It’s been on my list to try for a long time and I’m glad we could make it happen.
A dimly lit restaurant and bar is around the corner of Chestnut Street on 2nd Street. The floors and walls look like they have their original panel walls and hardwood floors. We sat at a table in the corner by the window to enjoy the pub aesthetic of the restaurant. How could we pick just one thing? The menu has a classic French menu but enough selections for patrons new to French food. We joked that Royal Boucherie is the delicious peasant food compared to the fancy and formal French restaurants we have visited before. Could it be that Royal Boucherie has better food than another well-known French restaurant in Philly?
We started with cocktails and chuckled at the creative drink names like Franklin’s Mistress and Wham Bam Thank You Cran. If you don’t have time to sit down for a meal, I highly suggest you order a drink at the bar to enjoy the custom-made bar and mingle with fellow patrons.
Since we are foodies, we wanted the full food experience and started with a Fromage Tasting Board and escargot a lail noir, black garlic braised escargot, ratatouille, panisse, crispy garlic escargot to share. The cheeses were perfectly selected to pair with a baguette and jams that we were making notes to make this board at home. I should note that the portions are more similar to what I’ve experienced in Europe, smaller portions with high-quality selections. At first glance, I thought there wouldn’t be enough of the Fromage board for both of us to share, but I was left satisfied without being too full for the main course.
For the main course, Jacob went with a boucherie burger, foie gras, brie, onion confiture, frites. He said it was probably the best burger he has ever had with the perfectly melted brie on the burger. I wanted to try something new than my usual order of modules and went with the crab cakes, blistered cherry tomatoes, roasted broccolini, saffron rouille. The crab cakes were not your traditional style like you expect in beach towns but instead had a French twist with unexpected flavors. Every bite was delicious!
We split a chocolate mousse tart as a special treat before heading back out into the heat. Restaurants like Royal Boucherie are hard to come by with their dark moody interior, friendly staff, and perfectly curated menu. The next time you are looking for a good meal out with an experience, I highly recommend stopping by here. We’ll be back again soon because it’s been a week and we are still talking about the fromage board!
Spring is the time of plans and projects. – Leo Tolstoy
A lot is going on at the moment. Spring is inching its way in the Northeast, some days more warm and sunny than others, and I am ready for the change. With the new season, I have a lot of projects going on at the same time and I’m excited. Last weekend, we went to Home Depot to get some supplies for the yard. I thank my past self for raking the leaves and getting the yard in good shape a few weeks ago so last weekend. We added some grass seed to bare spots in the lawn and planted ferns in our big planters. It’s still a little early to plant flowers but the yard looks lush and green as last year’s hostas and hydrangea bush are growing day by day.
Inside the house, I’m doing a deep clean so I can swap out winter decor for my spring decor to liven it up around the house. I’m going through every corner of the house to take everything out to organize it so for the next few months I can feel relaxed coming home from work. Right now I have a pile of winter boots and sweaters in my bedroom ready to be brought to the basement for storage to make room for spring clothes. It’s a project that takes forever but I love the weekend-long project of swapping out my wardrobes.
Work is busy with planning the end of the year ends, because the last day of school will be here before I know it and I have a lot of fun events planned for May and June. I also am busy planning summer camp, working on camp logistics, and a long list of admin tasks to make camp possible and most importantly, fun.
When I get home from work, I’m using my limited free time to work on wedding planning. Even though we are five months away from the big day, this is when big decisions need to be made and big items on our to-do list need to get checked off. I now understand why people prefer a two-year engagement because there is so much to do in planning a wedding.
With all of this happening simultaneously, I’m trying to slow down and enjoy each project. Instead of thinking of everything that needs to get done constantly, I’m slowing down to enjoy each project that comes my way this Spring. On Saturday morning, I made an iced coffee and grabbed a magazine to spend some time enjoying the sunshine in our backyard to enjoy our hard work last weekend. I ended up going through a few magazines because I wanted to stay outside longer and instead of jumping to the next task, I let myself sit in a chair and read.
This spring, take the time to enjoy the changing of the seasons. Make plans to spend outdoors and get your home a place you want to come home to.
Hey, there Spring! It’s been a very chilly week leaving me wondering, is Spring on its way or if I am going to continue to pay a high PECO bill keeping the heat on blast to stay warm? Next week is my Spring Break and it’s hard to get excited when it’s this cold outside and I have no plans to go somewhere warm. The one perk I’ve been enjoying the last few weeks is that sunset is later in the day. Those extra few hours have been helping me stay motivated to be productive when I get home from work. It’s hard to see but I know summer is around the corner!
Speaking of summer, on a recent call with my mom we both had the realization at the same time that my wedding is coming up. We are on track to get vendors booked and the rest of the items on our longgg wedding to-do list checked off. My goal is to get a blog post dedicated to our wedding planning on the blog soon because so far, it’s been very smooth and I’d love to share some details!
I have been using these exfoliating peel pads on my face like every other day because I’ve become obsessed with how soft my skin has felt after using them consistently. I’ve used a lot of face masks and creams and nothing compares to how amazing my face feels after using them!
At this point, if Elemis sells a product I need to have it because I LOVE LOVE LOVE their stuff. It’s pricey but they are a staple in my skincare routine. I’ve been using the Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream in the morning under my makeup and my face stays hydrated and glowing all day.
Bought myself an iced coffee maker a few months ago and in honor of Spring, I finally took it out of the box and have been enjoying an iced coffee on the weekends. It’s easy to use and makes delicious iced coffee – I miss my trips to Stabucks, but it’s nice to make an iced coffee for pennies!
I have been on the HUNT for these amazing macaron pillows and I found a blue one in stores! I’m still hoping I can find the other colors to add to my collection.
Quiet on Set Any 90s kid who grew up with Nickolodeon will have a hard time watching this and learning what happened behind the scenes of the shows we grew up with.
Vanderpump Rules It’s become my gym show that I watch while I’m on the bike. Life is so crazy right now we all need something frivolous to watch.
For All Mankind I’m kind of embarrassed to admit how fast we binged this show but it was so good! Each season is a time jump and keeps the story going in a direction we were not expecting.
If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy tales and I like them best of all.
Audrey Hepburn
I am bundled up and enjoying the first snow day in years! With all of the snow and ice this week it’s nice to be able to stay home during this snowstorm and be able to enjoy it from home. It took me a few days to get ready for the new year, but I have finally settled into a routine.
Saltburn
Buccaneers
Real Housewives of Miami
I got a Blendjet for Christmas and it makes my mornings so much easier! I like to prep my smoothie at night and put it in the fridge so I can just grab and go in the morning. My one issue is that it doesn’t blend frozen fruit but I don’t mind prepping a smoothie with frozen fruit at night because by morning it’s melted enough to blend together.
One excited purchase I’m excited about is I signed up for the gym last weekend and I’ve been really committed to it. Picked up these black leggings with gold buttons from Zara and I’m so excited to style these! One great thing about January is the after Christmas sales! We picked up a few ornaments for our tree next year.
Last weekend I did a big grocery trip to set myself up for success this week. I’m back to eating healthy and that means meal prepping! I’ve been eating a salad for lunch and packing pretzelcrips, peppers with hummus. Instead of counting calories, I’m focusing more on healthy meals and healthy snacks during the day so I don’t eat junk food when I’m starving at the end of the day. For dinner, I made taco salads and rice bowls with protein this week and we enjoyed a nice pork tenderloin in the crockpot on Monday. I love using the crockpot but I always forget about it!
Starting to swap out my Christmas decor for hearts and pink!
Finally sitting down and working on my posts about our London trip. It’s nice to go through photos and write about our trip, I’m already planning our next trip back!
I hope everyone had a good week and my friends in the Northeast stay safe in this air quality. I’ve had a terrible cough since Tuesday and trying to limit my outside time as much as possible. Schools went remote today so I’m enjoying my start to the day with a cup of tea at home. For the last month, we have been weeding, planting, and tending our backyard to make it a backyard oasis – a rare find in Philadelphia! My new favorite evening activity is coming home from work and changing into comfy clothes to head to the couch outside to read a little bit before making dinner. Unfortunately, this week that evening tradition has had to be put on pause since I am trying to limit my outside time as much as possible.
We are trying to make the best of the start of summer with this bad air quality. Next week is the last week of school (yippee!) so we will probably be spending our weekend at home getting a lot done on our to-do list. Why is adulting just one long to-do list that never ends?
Philly Things
Last weekend, we were up and moving early on Saturday and went to the Rittenhouse Art Show and Farmers Market. We added on a few more errands in the City because the weather was so nice and we wanted to enjoy it as much as we could. We went to the new Kura Revolving Sushi Bar on Chestnut Street for dinner and we both loved the experience! It had been on our list for a while and not only was the food delicious but it was a great experience. Robots delivered your drinks, food was delivered on a revolving bar and the vibe was really cool. Each plate is $3.50 making it easy to try new things you wouldn’t normally order. My big piece of advice is that this sushi is not your grocery store sushi, it is authentic sushi so go in with an open mind! I tried new dishes and liked all of them and fell in love with conch sushi – who knew I would!
Cork is my favorite store to pop in and “treat” myself. Not only do they have the cutest hostess gifts but they have an excellent wine selection.
Flourish is a store in our neighborhood that sells plants and locally made goods that just had its one-year anniversary. We finally stopped in recently and picked up a few gifts for family.
Shiny Happy People
Anna Nicole Smith – You Don’t Know Me
Selling Sunset
Real Housewives of Orange County
This toner is great and I’ve been using it sparingly because I’m close to running out. It does it all – cleanses, exfoliates, and makes your skin glow. Yes please!
On Sunday we went to Costco and I bought a giant bag of lemons so of course I had to make my lemon pasta recipe! It’s a recipe that I originally found online and it’s turned into throw things into a pan and see what happens.
In a pan, start with oil, garlic, and onions on low. Juice 3 lemons and add lemon juice to the pan while the pasta is cooking. Add the lemon carcasses to the pasta water. Add seasoning to the pan (basil, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, etc). Once the pasta is ready, slowly add pasta to the pan and stir. Add more oil and juice from the 4th lemon and add lemon carcasses to the pan for some extra zest. Let the pasta cook for a few more minutes and bam, lemon pasta!
Finally (finally!) purchased these sandals that were very popular last summer and it looks like they will be in style for a little longer.
With the plastic bag ban in Philly, I had to buy another one of these laundry tote bags to help transport groceries and stuff around.
I’ve been deep cleaning and swapping out decor to get ready for summer. I’ve been looking for a small lamp to put in the kitchen that doesn’t take up that much room and adds some lighting without the harsh kitchen lights. Found this lamp that is perfect and so so sooo cute!
I can’t resist anything gingham so these bowls and cups came home with me. They will be perfect for summer in the backyard and now I need the rest of the collection!
Working on getting through the next Outlander book to prep for the new season this month!
For a lighter read, I’ve been reading Kathy Reichs books that were turned into the series Bones.
Blonde Rosie Blog 