It's official...The Foos will be in Philly on Thursday, February 21, 2008!

Labels: concerts, Foo Fighters, good news, local news, music, Philadelphia

Taken from Towpath Park, East Coventry Twp.


From Black Rock Sanctuary, Upper Providence Twp.


River birch at Black Rock boat launch


From Towpath Park


From Black Rock boat launch

Pennsylvania really is a gorgeous state.

Labels: nature, Philly burbs, weekends

Mom and I went over to the new Philadelphia Premium Outlets this morning. Here are the highlights of our visit, in photos:




Not so crowded at 9:30 a.m.


Having this store only a four-minute drive from my house spells "trouble" for me.


The Huz is fearing for our checkbook...


I'm doomed. Doomed, I tell you!




People in line waiting to get a VIP Shoppers card.


First-ever sighting for me of a "manbag!" Sidenote: Mom yelled at me afterwards for taking his picture.


We left just before noon and this is what the entrance to the outlets looked like...

All in all, a very good day. The outlets are beautiful and I will definitely be spending time there, once the initial hubbub dies down.

Labels: local news, Philadelphia, Philly burbs, shopping, weekends

Just a few things I want to point out to the very sweet German girls who've been following this blog and emailing me about The Lovely Bones filming schedule:

1. I don't know Mark Wahlberg or any of his handlers.

2. From what I understand, the movie is shooting on-and-off in Hatfield, PA, not in downtown Philadelphia, for the next few weeks.

3. Hatfield, PA is not really close to downtown Philadelphia at all.

4. The movie set is closed, meaning you won't be able to watch any filming and that you may very well be chased away by security and/or local police.

Viel Glück, Maedchen!

Labels: local news, Mark Wahlberg, movies, Philadelphia, Philly burbs, technology, The Lovely Bones, writing

Tomorrow is the grand opening of the Philadelphia Premium Outlets, located about a five-minute drive from my house in Limerick.

(OK, technically it's in Sanatoga, PA).

Of course, being the completely insane person that I am, I'll be checking it out on Saturday morning. And I'm bringing my camera!

I'm a bit befuddled by the Chelsea Group's naming of this place, though. Limerick is thirty-five miles northwest of Philadelphia, so I think that identifying it as the Philadelphia Premium Outlets is a little misleading. But I suppose that Sanatoga Premium Outlets just doesn't have the same sort of cachet.

Labels: local news, Philadelphia, Philly burbs, shopping, weekends

In the past couple of days, I've started planning our annual holiday open house. I love entertaining but it's so hard to get everyone together in one place at the same time. This year, instead of trying to do it in the crazy few weeks before Christmas, I've decided to wait until the Saturday between Christmas and New Year's, when the big holiday rush has died down a bit.

Last year's party was a big success, although I had been miserably sick, recovering from strep throat with a fever that I just couldn't shake. We had about forty relatives, some neighbors and very close friends at the house. I made mini bacon-and-cheese quiches, hot crab dip, and shrimp cocktail, some baked ziti, and bought some catered food too...hot roast beef, green beans Amandine, roasted red bliss potatoes, and--undoubtedly the MOST popular item on the buffet line--Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets! Man, those things just about disappeared right before my eyes.

For dessert, I made a few trays of brownies and dozens of different kinds of Christmas cookies. The other big hit of the party was the electric, multi-tiered chocolate fountain that I won from my office's holiday gift exchange. I cranked that sucker up and put out long wooden skewers and yellow cake cubes, pretzels, and marshmallows for dipping.

This year the invite list has gotten bigger...I'm a little afraid that everyone is actually going to RSVP "yes!" Oh well, the more, the merrier, right?

Next steps: print the invites, mail them, and test some new recipes.

Any good recipe suggestions for a buffet?

Labels: decisions, family, friends, holidays

It seems the Foos have rediscovered their sense of humor with this video for the next single Long Road to Ruin.

Dave plays an overly-sensitive actor on a 70s' hospital soap opera. Love the hair!

Labels: Foo Fighters, funny stuff, music, TV

So this is what's going to take the place of the now-defunct Valley Forge Country Club that is bordered by 422, North Gulph Road, and 202.

Just one more reason I'd never venture down to KoP.

Ugh.

Aerial view of the site plans

Labels: bad news, bitching, local news, Philly burbs

I just found the most (unintentionally) hilarious website. If you enter any zipcode in the box on the upper right side of the homepage, you can look at all the entries in various towns by clicking on any of the little red houses that pop up on the map.

I guess that not many people in the metro Philly area know about this site, because there aren't a whole lot of postings yet. But most of the ones that are there are pretty damn amusing.

Enjoy!

Labels: funny stuff, FYI, neighborhood stuff, technology

Some women collect shoes.

Others covet designer handbags.

My passion is perfume. I adore scent! I wear a different fragrance every day, depending on my mood.

Here are the perfumes that are currently in heavy rotation at my dressing table, in no particular order:

-Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Divine
-Ralph Lauren Blue
-Ralph Lauren Glamorous
-Perry Ellis f
-Armani Mania
-Liz Claiborne Realities (the new version, not the one from the 80s)
-Christian Dior J’Adore
-Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue
-Glow by J. Lo (I know! I can’t help it, though…it smells fresh and clean, and I get SOOOO many compliments when I wear it!)

On my Christmas list:
-Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Desire
-Marc Jacobs Daisy

The one scent I hate? That's gotta be patchouli. Yuck. Reminds me of the kid whose locker was a few down from mine in high school. He was a hippie-wannabe who never washed his hair and was perpetually stoned.

What are your favorite fragrances?

Labels: fashion, holidays, memories, school