Philly Love-List · 10.04.25, 7:42pm
Just because there have been so many unfortunate things happening to me in the past month—I feel it is time to insert more positivity about my life in Philadelphia. I’m not going into the gritty details here; that would be counterproductive & enough of my friends know about it! I think I handled the bumps pretty well and I tried to keep myself upbeat as much as possible during the ordeal. :)
It is good to think about the quiet small things that make life sweeter. Since I love lists; a list of things I love! Since I love food, a lot of this is food-related. What a surprise! =P
1. My house. Despite all the critters and creaks. :) & my lovely housemates too!
2. Clark Park farmer’s market. It’s even lovelier now that spring has arrived. The Amish florist stand is GORGEOUS.
3. The nice neighbor across the street who let me use her cell phone when I got locked out of my house (wow, the ordeal was so much more painful than it sounds…LONG story). After I got into my house, I bought her a small bouquet of flowers from the Amish florist and left it with a card in thanks.
4. Walking through my neighborhood after spring rain. The air is so crisp, fresh and fragrant, the green so lush and dewy, and the gardens I pass are every changing. As different flowers and trees come into bloom, I can pass the same yard in one week and have it look totally different. <3
5. Apple Cider from the farmer’s market. They’re only offering it for one more week!
6. Milk & Honey Market. A very cute shop just a few blocks from where I live. Local produce, and quality imports too. I had the BEST MILK SHAKE EVER THERE! & they let me try an absolutely wonderful sheep’s milk cheese that was very milky and salty. Called Oro de Sardegna <3 I bought a small bit of it. I didn’t know how bad my food snobbery has gotten until I went through my fridge and realized how much cheese I have: bougie Parmigiano-Reggiano, brie, Oro de Sargegna, provolone slices, fresh mozzarella, and shredded smoked gouda. How do I spoil myself? With cheese. Hey, I mostly drink soy milk now, gimme a break!
7. Fresh Prince Milkshake from Milk&Honey, as mentioned above. Yes, it deserves a line of it’s own. It was a REVELATION, I tell you! Chocolate ice cream, milk (probably local), banana, and best of all…NUTELLA. I had a whole verbal exchange with the guy who made it for me, about how much I love nutella. He gave me a lil extra ;) I wanted to lick the cup when I was done. NOM NOM NOM. I am such a fatty!
8. The hills. Yeah, my muscles don’t love them—but the hills around West Philly PWN my butt when I go running, figuratively & literally. I didn’t make/find the time to go for three weeks because of all the stress I was under (plus I was sick for half that time) but after going again on Saturday morning, I feel delightfully sore. It’s the hills!!!
9. The seniors. Interacting with them is usually the best part of my work day, even if sometimes they are super cranky/demanding. The majority of the time, it is a positive experience.
10. Stairs @ work. Sometimes they’re a pain, but I run around the center so often that I feel like a few days of stairs at work may be the equivalent of going up all 11.5 flights of Century Tower!
11. Tuesday night Glee. While this is not Philadelphia exclusive, this is what I look forward to all day on Tuesdays now. It’s not as awesome as gorging on peanutbutter-chocolate-reeses cookies with Brandon on Wednesdays like before, but it comes pretty close. :)
12. Strawberry Basil Mojito from Devon during Happy Hour. $6.50 cocktails aren’t easy on a VISTA budget, but when it comes with free biscuits fresh from the oven & a delectable fresh sweet better, somehow it feels more worth it. Plus it was a dang good cocktail!
13. I know this makes me sound like an alcoholic, but the discovery of Lindeman’s Framboise lambic = YUM. I dislike beer usually, but this raspberry shiz is AWESOME. Plus I think I am slowly coming around to beer…VERY slowly.
No but seriously ya’ll, I don’t drink that often. Empty calories. :)
14. When the wind causes flower petals to fall around me on the street. The former anime-lover inside me comes out when this happens, especially when the sakura were still in bloom!
15. Smoothies from Reading Terminal Market. I make my own smoothies at home…but somehow it is never the same! It’s hard to describe the smooth fruitalicious essence that are the smoothies Stella & I get from there!
16. Baby bok choy from Dim Sum Garden. I dunno why, but it is so good.
17. Passing by the Jazz shop to and from work on Broad Street. Every time I pass by this one store, they’re always playing the BEST music. So soulful, it almost makes me want to sing and dance—you know, if I were actually good at dancing. =/ It does give me a bounce in my step though!
18. The Random Tea Room – I only went once but dude, it was the BEST. It was like a cute little tea heaven.
19. Food stamps/EBT/ACCESS Card. Whatever you want to call it, they gave me the full amount a single person can get and I eat SO WELL. I don’t like eating out very often because I can get so much good food without using any of my own money, and it is healthier too. I don’t even really budget much when I go grocery shopping because it isn’t necessary. I still look for deals though; it would be bad to break that habit! But every once in a while, I’ll treat myself to stuff I don’t need. Like fancy cheese. :)
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