Friends and Family

Catching up with friends and family is one of my favorite past times....of which I've been doing a lot this week! It started with my many activities this past weekend and then continued as the week began. Lunch with Eva and Mike at the Famous 4th Street Deli on Tuesday was yum, yum! And Mike, I agree, those sandwiches are NOT small....instead huge. They are def. good for two meals and I haven't even eaten the second half yet.

Then I met Maria at Il Fiore in Collingswood for some dinner and catch up conversation. I must say, it was my first time, and it was stupendous. The pasta and salmon was delish. I would def. recommend this place to anyone. And for a Tuesday night, they were crazy busy, which lacked some attentiveness, but still good.

And my dinner dates ended tonight at Scannicchio's at Broad and Porter with Jenn and John. I guess when Eva, John and I first had dinner there several years ago, it must have made a significant impact. Those two always suggest this place whenever we head to dinner - together or separately - which I think speaks volumes about it's tastiness.

Let's see what next week brings! All of these places receive high recommedations from me...so go ahead, eat up! Mangia, mangia!

Bridal Bonanza

Now that it came and went, I can blog about it…Eva’s Surprise Bridal Shower!

I was uber excited several months ago when Eva asked me to be her maid-of-honor in her wedding this upcoming June. Woohoo! I’ll first start by writing how she asked. We were at the Penrose Diner, where we often meet for breakfast especially near holidays and birthdays to exchange gifts and sometimes just to catch up. I think she was giving me my birthday present – a little belated – and we were celebrating Easter, but maybe my memory should be refreshed. Nonetheless, my final present was an album of pictures from when we first met – ten years ago while pledging ATA at La Salle – spanning until now. A letter was attached to the album detailing our relationship and ending with, “Will you be my maid of honor?”

Oh so sweet! And as September approached, I started the planning process with her five other bridesmaids - each from a special part of her life (college, high school, the school she teaches at, her sis-in-law and fiance's sister). After choosing a month – March, of course – we were set on a timeline. Invitations were finalized in February after two drafts I designed – so much fun! The bridesmaids agreed Adirondack chairs with flops and drinks were perfect for Eva and Mike, especially for how much time they spend at Eva’s parent’s beach house not only during the summer, but throughout the year! Beach with the colors of the chairs – hot pink and lime green – became the shower’s theme! A variation of the image with part of the poem was printed on the cake with “Showers of Happiness” penned alongside. Some beachy things created were the sun, fish and flip-flop cookies I made and sand, made with pudding, cool whip and crushed vanilla wafers topped with bright candy shells and sand dollars. Katie made sand and shell centerpieces with green and blue tealight candles. Flip flop luggage tags were given out as favors and bridal shower bingo was played with some great little prizes for the winners!

I had fun hand making Eva’s Bridal Shower Sign so it was personal and matched our colors! We framed a copy of her invitation and placed it alongside an umbrella, one of her engagement pictures and a plate signed by all of her bridesmaids – we even signed Erica’s name since she couldn’t be there. Mrs. Tierney provided some personal touches by pulling some beach items from their house in OC! Eva’s chair was covered in sheer pink fabric, green and pink lanterns hung from the ceiling, and balloons spiced up the hall – all matching our theme colors! I must apologize for the list reiteration above, but it's late and I couldn't think of another way right now.

I should also mention that our food was tropical themed as well featuring some tasty treats such as tropical fruit salad, jerk chicken kebobs, cranberry wild rice and more!

Everything turned out lovely the day of and I must say even the weather cooperated! But, the EXTRA-SPECIAL gift Eva received was the best part – the reason why I saved it for last! The birth of her first nephew - born a few weeks early at 4:30 a.m. on the morning of her shower – was the icing on the cake! Mom and fellow bridesmaid, Erica, which is why she wasn’t at the shower, and baby Peyton are doing wonderful according to today's reports!

Check out a few images of the fun surprise events and gift opening below! Whew...now onto the bachelorette party...

The final touches of a true Bridal Shower - all of the bows have to be compiled into a hat! Eva just loved it! Congrats and I'm just thankful we pulled off the surprise with all that was going on Friday and Saturday!

Scrapbooking Memories!

A handful of years ago, I was an avid scrapbooker....but then somehow time passed and I could never find any time to pick it up again. Recently, I've been scrapbooking and thought of the last book I completed - "Senior Year at La Salle." I finished it the first year I was out of college and wanted to commemorate my final memories there or at least a snippet of them. Here's a peak at just a few of the pages...whew...the memories came flowing back!

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun!" This quote is so true. Granted I'm not for obeying ALL the rules, but am a HUGE fan of having FUN! Many of these photos were taken at A15, B7's (our townhouse) home away from home.

Three out of four of my roomies make cameos in these pics...Sheena, Gina and Erin...I can almost guarantee it was a beer pong night!

Senior Week (to the right) was one of the best weeks we had...it def. commemorated the year and so many wonderful additional memories were made.  

Frederick's

In high school, my friends and I began an annual Christmas dinner tradition - one we still adhere to each holiday season (organized by GiGi). Although we don't go to Frederick's anymore, the annual email still holds the title in memory of our first year. In the picture above, I ordered what my friends liked to call "the ocean," thus the huge crab legs I'm trying to get through.

Joseph Mark

Another love of mine are my nieces and nephews. In my senior year book, I made a page for both Joseph (pictured above) and Olivia. Born in September 2002, Joseph was a little over a year old in these photos and oh so cute. He loved playing with mulch out back and those big eyes are still the best! This little boy, who is also one of my godchildren, still makes me smile everytime I see him (which is quite often)! =)

AW...The Phillies and Citizens Bank Park

This was the first year the new ballpark opened in Philadelphia for our beloved home team. As part of our Senior Week extravaganza, we attended a Phillies game! Since then, I've been back probably a couple hundred of times especially as a partial season ticket holder! Spring, summer and part of fall lead me down to South Broad Street to catch a glimpse of our Fightin' Phils and my fave players!

Strolling down memory lane made my night!

After writing this blog and getting back into scrapbooking, I realized I have a lot to catch up on and am kind of sad that I didn't keep up with it more. But so is life!

Hoover Dam/Grand Canyon (circa 2005)

So, I was going through some old cds of pictures for a project I'm working on and came across some of my Vegas photos from Dec. 2005. And since I planned on re-living my vacation jaunts over the past TEN years in this blog, I thought including these would be PERFECT!

I'll start with saying it was a family vacation. My cousin Jenn and I stayed at Treasure Island, which the travel agent told us was next door (not so next door) to the Bellagio where our parents stayed. We left the day after Christmas and came home the day before New Year's Eve! It was an absolutely wonderful trip - granted I'm relaying this information a little more than four years later. But, I do remember some details. I remember the guy in the seat next to me talking to me for a very long time on the five plus hour plane ride while my cousin acted like she couldn't hear a word as she gazed out the window (love you Jenn). I remember falling asleep on that same plane ride while watching the remake of the Dukes of Hazard starring Jessica Simpson (I guess it wasn't that enthralling)!

Anyway, that Christmas, I bought tickets to the Hoover Dam and Ethel M's Chocolate Factory for my parents and cousin while my brother bought tickets for my aunt and uncle. I knew before making this visit that I wanted to be in two places at once, which I completed at the Hoover Dam. It was also during this trip that we took a very LONG (eight hour) bus ride to see the Grand Canyon after a night out at Studio 54 in MGM. Let's just say I wasn't feeling too well that morning and during most of the bus ride. But, I wouldn't have missed seeing one of the natural wonders of the world for anything! It was magnificent and much larger than I could have ever imagined. Here are some photos from our post-holiday trip. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed seeing them in person.

This trip was my first visit to the West Coast, but not my last...Joe and I traveled back to Vegas (which included hanging out with some friends this time around) and headed to LA for a few days in 2008! I can honestly say I was ready for another trip the second I set foot back on the east coast...there's just something special about it!

Birthday Cheer!

When it came to celebrating my 28th birthday, I didn’t really have any plans in mind. I knew I wanted to do something low-key and enjoy some red velvet cake at some point – those were my only requests! The cake part goes back to the fact that each year, my mom asks me what kind of cake I want so I thought I would switch it up from my usual chocolate indulgence.

Well, my birthday weekend turned out to be so much more! It was not only packed with birthday cheer, but thoughtful gifts, family, friends and food galore while mixing in a little time at the shore.

It all began on the chilly Saturday morning with a scrumptious brunch alongside cousins at Haddonfield’s Corner Bistro, which we had to plan a month in advance. Apparently, our weekends are that full! French toast with a side of apple compote, chatting away and gift opening made the time fly!

Joe and I then went home and rested a bit before heading to dinner at Maggiano’s with the family (most of us anyway, we were missing a few) in Center City. It was there that we had an exorbitant amount of food – all of which Liva and I chose since we were the birthday girls! (Liva’s 11th Birthday is March 8th so my mom decided we would celebrate a little early for her too!) Liva and I completed our dinner by sharing Chocolate Zuccotto Cake (she remembered it from the last time she was there and told me about it before dinner even began =) and a piece of tiramisu topped with five candles, which we blew out simultaneously.

Before my mom decided we should do a combo dinner, she bought us (including Diane and Olivia) tickets to see Annie at the Merriam Theater. It has definitely become a birthday tradition – last year, we saw Mary Poppins and dined at Carmine’s in NY! Annie was absolutely adorable and we loved the happy ending!

We followed the play with heading out (this part only involved Joe and I) to meet some friends for a few drinks at Lucy’s Hat Shop in Olde City. All I can say was the day was long yet eventful and filled with fun - I also haven’t stayed out past 2 a.m. in a very long time! Maybe I am getting older.

Sunday was filled with visits to Joe’s parents and my mom’s cooking – my fave pasta – fusilli! And my second request of red velvet cake I mentioned above exceeded my expectations! It was yummy – Liva and I especially enjoyed it (It must be those March people as my mom says)! But since all of the desserts were way too much, we shared pieces of cake with Joe’s next door neighbor as well as his parents.

Some pictures from the first part of the weekend!
Joseph wanted to squeeze in between the birthday girls!

The girls!

The Chelsea

Since I wrote a press release in 2008 about Starlite Productions’ work on The Chelsea Hotel in Atlantic City, I’ve been wanting to visit. The last time we headed to AC, we drove by just so I could catch a glimpse of the interior even though we were staying at Harrah’s. With this in mind, Joe booked a room for my birthday and Sunday night led us south. I have to start off with saying that although everything at the hotel wasn’t opened because it was the middle of the winter; the décor was very chic and unique. I loved the lighting outside, but that could be a result of being with Joe for so long, who was once a lighting sales rep. And as a lover of antiques, I thought the old-fashioned feel of the entire façade was authentic. I loved the furniture and even took some pictures of the pieces adorning our room – my sister-in-law described me as a total tourist.

Some ROOM and HOTEL pics!

Soon after arriving, we dined on seafood appetizers and drinks at Steven Starr’s Chelsea Prime – a premier steakhouse – while gazing at the stars over the ocean. The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast at Starr’s Teplitsky’s Coffee Shop adjacent to the hotel. It was delish and as Joe would say, our waitress was “quirky,” yet extremely friendly. She event hinted at places to visit, which I thought was cute.

We had an extended stay and I was eager to hit the pool (table). =) No, I wouldn’t even think about taking a dip in the winter. I’m just not a cold weather kind of person. As I stared at the ocean, I thought about some friends of mine and people I’ve met who were brazen enough to withstand the polar bear plunge. I just have two words – God Bless! Anyway, I remember playing pool continuously as a kid in the game room of the Tolentine Center, 11th and McKean streets. So the Fifth Floor of the Chelsea was the perfect spot to relive those moments. Complete with “the living room,” “the game room,” Chelsea Prime, a deck, club and outside pool; this level was well equipped for a good time. When we finished our three games - only one of which I won I might add – I realized maybe playing every five years or so didn't keep me skilled. Unlike Joe, who apparently had skills of which I didn't realize at the time.

After my lack of expertise, we decided to head off to The Pier at Caesar’s in which I bought a birthday gift of my own – well, really more like a gift from my gifts I received from family. After much thought and some slight hesitation (I really wanted another designer purse, but decided against it), I purchased an iPod touch as I stared at the red iPod nano. I’m telling you the color and slenderness almost had me, but the technology of the touch was like a magnet. Anyway, I’m super excited to start playing with my new toy – as Joe’s mom called it. But, with my busy schedule, it may take me a couple of weeks. Maybe I’ll blog about it in the future...who knows?

And I CANNOT forget the wonderful chocolate cupcakes with marscapone icing Debra made me - my co-workers sang to my boss and I who are birthday “twins!” They were yummy and definitely made my morning!

I want to send a final THANKS to everyone who made my birthday extra special. Whether it was through a text (even my mom texted me on the day of), phone call, email, e-card or celebrated with me at some point, I appreciate it. To another year…centi’anni!