Tag: travel

Friday Favorites 1.3

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I have been asking myself a dozen times “What day is it?” because the concept of time the last two weeks is a blur. It’s Flursday. I have alarms set on my phone to make sure I am aware of my commitments but other than that, it’s been a lot of lounging around in pajamas and giving my body permission to REST. I’m using this time to make lists, reflect on the last year, and deep clean the house. I’ve been seeing the trend Pan Project 2025 a lot and I thought I was bad with having a lot of clutter but after watching these videos, I’m realizing I have a normal amount of backstock products. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving myself permission to not clear the shelves so to speak. This being my first Favorites post of the new year, I thought it would be fun to summarize my favorite things of 2024. So let’s do it!


This year, I’ve been grabbing my makeup that brings me joy and that has been a lot of pink. I took that Barbie trend and kept it going into my makeup routine. I created a go-to easy, natural makeup look….Glowy skin, pops of pink with pink lipstick and gloss in my pocket to reapply often. Each season I committed to an eyeshadow palette and only used that one (or two) to use up what I already have. Swapping them out every few weeks reminded me what I already have and it felt like I was getting something new even though I already had it.

Lipstick lasts longer, but gloss is more fun.
– Serena van der Woodsen

This year has been about less stuff and more joy in experiences. Going to one of my favorite restaurants in Philly, Parc, just because we want to, and no longer waiting for a special occasion. Getting tickets to see the Philadelphia Orchestra perform, taking advantage of the amazing restaurants in walking distance from us like the amazing Italian restaurant, Giuseppe & Sons. Walking to The Dandelion for tea and scones on a Sunday morning because we missed London. Walking through Rittenhouse Square on a Saturday morning to shop the farmers market is always a must for me in the summer because it reminds me to slow down and appreciate where I am in life right now. I worked so hard to be able to live in a city and be able to do these amazing things, that I need to slow down and appreciate the things around me.

Now or Never

This year I really committed to always have a book I was reading. During the warm summer months, I would get home from work, pour myself a glass of wine or an Aperol Spritz, and head out to the backyard to read a little before making dinner. During the “ber” months, I’ve been finding time to read before work or have a cup of hot tea and get into bed to read a few pages before I fell asleep. I didn’t read as many books as I wanted to this year, but it’s been nice getting lost in a fantasy world of the Ton or 200 years ago in Scotland.

  • Monday Mourning, Kathy Reichs
  • The Woman in Me, Britney Spears
  • A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon
  • The Christie Affair, Nina de Gramont
  • The Duke and I, Julia Quinn
  • The Viscount Who Loved Me, Julia Quinn
  • An Offer From a Gentleman, Julia Quinn

Another highlight of this year…..

One of my goals this year is to write on this little corner of the internet more in 2025. It used to bring me so much joy to recap my weeks and share things that brought me joy. Then life got busy and the internet told me videos were more trendy to do so I found finding time to write long updates about my life difficult to do.

Thank you for supporting Blonde Rosie. Your support helps keep this little page on the internet running.

Lunch at Royal Boucherie in Old City

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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!

London Trip Day 8: Tower of London

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By day eight, we were exhausted from the time change and all the walking we had been doing. So we stayed in bed and ordered room service to the room. We had such an amazing hotel suite so I wanted to enjoy a slow morning enjoying it! When in London, you must have an English Breakfast at least once!

With a slow morning, we enjoyed our brekkie and some coffee before getting dressed for a full day of sightseeing. Be sure to pack layers because the weather is constantly changing! One thing that made this trip so eventful is we had our full itinerary planned in advance so we could fit so much into our days without feeling rushed to do everything. We tried to do one big thing a day and made time to walk around the area before heading to dinner. It also helped that Jake had been to London in the past and he knew what to do in a day to make sure we do a lot but not too overwhelming.

We walked to the Tower of London, a famous London monument, that was on our list of places to visit. In our heads, we had planned to be there for two hours max for some sightseeing before going to our next stop. We had no idea the property was so large with so much to see that we didn’t even see everything. The Tower of London has a lot of historical significance which is why I originally wanted to go but there were a lot of other exhibits; torture, weapons, jewels, etc. to see.

We left the Tower of London with plans to visit again because we could spend hours walking around the large property. Next on our itinerary was dinner at the Sherlock Holmes pub that everyone includes on lists of things to do in London. I hate to be that person to pop that bubble, but it’s fun to walk past and walk in to see the decor, but I found it not worth the hype. The wait was too long for a table to sit and eat and I was secretly relieved. We grabbed a beer at the bar and decided to walk around to find another pub to eat dinner at. One thing I LOVE about London is there are so many pubs with amazing decor and themes to choose from. It seems like everyone after work goes to a pub to grab a pint with their friends and I wish we had that in America.

Since we were hungry but not starving, we decided to walk through the neighborhood, Covent Garden. The neighborhood is appropriately named because just like other parts of London, there are parks every few blocks. Whenever we found a park, I would insist we walk through it to enjoy the greenery because I love how neighborhoods are developed around green spaces. It’s something I also wish we had more of back at home because it was so lovely to walk through. Jake had been to a restaurant in this area on his last trip so we took the long way to do some sightseeing and see The Royal Opera House. Next trip I hope we can find a reason to go inside!

There are plenty of amazing restaurants the challenge is which one to pick. After a week of pubs, we got dinner at an Italian restaurant, Cafe Concerto, and it was such a fun vibe! I love the pubs but it was nice to get some pasta and a cocktail. They had my new go-to, Pornstar Martini on the menu so I was a very happy girl! Some days we had dinner reservations but my favorite dinners were ones we just walked around to sightsee and picked a place when we were hungry.

With a full belly, we made our way to Trafalgar Square, another must-see when in London. The city was alive at night it was hard to walk back to our hotel even though we were both exhausted. There’s so much to do and by now I was starting to be able to walk around and still find our hotel. Luckily, to find our hotel you just needed to find Big Ben since our hotel was next door. A part of me wanted to stay out and grab another drink, but I was happy to get comfy in our hotel room because we had a busy day planned for the next day too!

Friday Favorites 1.19

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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!

the essentials to pack for a trip

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I am in the process of planning a little weekend getaway, and before I start to make outfits I already know what essentials I need. Every trip is different depending on the weather, location and the agenda, but wherever you go, you can rely on these essentials to keep you prepared for any trip! Continue reading “the essentials to pack for a trip” →

places to go, people to see

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One of my biggest New Years Resolutions is to travel and every year I budget for vacations big and small. One of the most difficult parts about life after college is that my friends are now all over the country. From Boston to Atlanta, there are a lot of miles that separate us. However, I am happy to report that with Snapchat and texting, we are able to remain in each others lives. One of the reasons I started my blog was to document what I was up to to easily share with friends. So far in 2017, I have been to Atlanta, Georgia and multiple towns in Florida but I am craving a new adventure….  Continue reading “places to go, people to see” →