herphilly | Her Philly

January 19, 2013

{Nom Alert} Good Dog Bar

A few weeks ago I finally got a chance to try Good Dog Bar (224 South 15th Street) with some of my girlfriends from college. We arrived around noon on a Saturday and the place was packed. Fortunately, we were able to order some drinks from the bar and go sit upstairs and chat while we waited.

When we were seated, we got a fabulous table right by the window. The menu looked amazing – but I had spoiled my lunch appetite with breakfast at Little Pete’s, so I opted for the salad. My friend Carling (who has a deep affection for burgers) ordered the Good Dog burger and did say the cheese was a little bit overpowering. But overall, it was a nice visit with good service & yummy food.

The Good Dog Salad, $9: romaine, arugula, goat cheese, sun-dried cranberries & sliced almonds, served with spiced vanilla vinaigrette

Grilled Cheese, $12: fresh mozzarella & lomo (house cured pork loin) baked with tomato marmalade & topped with watercress on rustic french bread grilled with basil butterThe Good Dog Burger, $12.50: 1/2 lb. of house ground sirloin stuffed with roquefort cheese & topped with caramelized onions, served on a toasted brioche bun

Have you ever been to Good Dog Bar? What did you think? xx

January 17, 2013

{Winter Date Idea} Pottery at The Expressive Hand

If you’ve been outside in Philadelphia lately, you know the same thing as I do: it’s cold. If you’re scrambling to find an indoor activity to cure your boredom, I’ve got just the thing. Enter: The Expressive Han d (622 South 9th Street), a paint-your-own pottery and American Sign Language studio in Bella Vista. I visited the studio on an iffy-weather day in the summer with my sister & mom, and we had a fabulous time!

When you walk into the quaint pottery shop, you are greeted with a kind staff and two walls of pottery options. The Expressive Hand is called an “All Inclusive studio,” in that the price you see on the piece includes all “sitting fees” (a foreign term to a non-artist like me), paint, stencils & the firing of the piece.

They have all types of things for you to paint – mugs, picture frames, jewelry holders, etc. I will warn you, the prices are a bit more expensive than your average date. The bowl my mom made (below left) was ~$60 and the two letters my sister made (below right) were ~$15 each. My serving dish was ~$42. But, there are unique pieces you’ll have for a lifetime, so just put it into perspective.

Once you pick your piece, you are off to paint & stencil whatever way you chose. The studio has an amazing selection of paints, and they are all swatched for you to get the complete picture of what it will look like once it has been fired. If you’re out of touch with your inner artist like I was, the staff at The Expressive Hand are more than happy to offer some advice.

he expressive hand pottery studios in philadelphia

My sister being a pro artist!

It took about a week to get our items back, and I was really happy with my finished piece. When I came to pick up the goodies at the studio, they came perfectly packaged and wrapped super well in thick bubble wrap – a very nice touch if you’re walking your pieces home in the city.

Another perk we didn’t take advantage of: the studio is BYOB! How fun, right?

Check out The Expressive Hand on Facebook too for fun updates & photos. Have you ever been to The Expressive Hand? What are some of your best indoor date ideas? xx

January 13, 2013

Small City Living Spaces {Pinspiration}

Living in Philadelphia, or any city for that matter, requires a lot of creativity (or money) when it comes to decorating your space. Since I don’t have much of the latter, I frequently consult Pinterest for some creative ways to manipulate my small city apartment. Here are some of my latest inspirational finds …

Her Philly Small Apartment Space Decorating Ideas via Pinterest

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A great way to use a small wall space and to build an “office space” upward.

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A fabulous idea to display your jewelry while covering some unused wall space.

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Stacks of items on the floor don’t look as misplaced when it is purposeful and not out of laziness 😉

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I have the space under my sink pretty close (but not as pretty) as this compartmentalized setup, and it is so helpful.

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Awesome set-up if you want to display things that are important to you while using them as organized-chaos storage.

What are your best organizing tips for a small space? xx

January 10, 2013

Philly Style Bloggers Presents: Sip Shop Swap!

Working in the “fashion” industry, I see photos for shop & swaps across the country all the time. I have never been in the right place to attend one, so I was thrilled when I saw the newest flyer from Philly Style Bloggers come out!

The event has some fabulous bloggers hosting & attending, and I can’t wait to meet all of the ladies I have been following for awhile! You can RSVP for Sip Shop Swap here.

Will you be attending the event? If you are, what time slot {12-2pm or 2:30-4:30pm} do you think you’ll pick? I want to make sure I meet as many of you as possible! xx

January 9, 2013

That time I was in Philadelphia Magazine {sort of…}

One of the first things I did when I moved to Philly was obviously subscribe to Philadelphia Magazine. My parents subscribed to the magazine while I was growing up & I would always page through, daydreaming of my future life in the big city!

I read the magazine religiously every month, sometimes not all in one sitting, but I always genuinely enjoy its content. Being the social media gal I am, I usually tweet along with @PhillyMag on twitter, commenting on my favorite articles & photos. In November, the magazine (I have since thrown out the issue & can’t remember the author) wrote a great story about Philadelphia 76ers CEO Adam Aron. In true “Philadelphian” fashion, I was eating a cheesesteak while reading … so I decided to tweet about it.

After a tweet back from Philly Mag about including my tweet in their “letters to the editor” page and one month later, imagine my happiness when I opened the December issue…

And this happened:

O.M.G! Talk about prime real estate! And so, my first (of hopefully many) 5 minutes of Philadelphia fame had arrived.

What was the first thing you did in the city that made you feel like a true Philadelphian? xx

January 7, 2013

The Perfect Sock Bun

I recently mustered up the patience and determination to spend quite a bit of time on a project I was dead-set on accomplishing: perfecting the sock bun. 😉

I have extremely thin hair, so I could never get my hair to cover all of the area around the sock. After I had watched what seemed like countless YouTube tutorials, I found this one by MakeupByTiffanyD, and decided to cut up an old (clean) sock, and give it a try.

And after many, many, many tries… this was my result!

I was literally so excited about it, when my younger sister came to visit that weekend I obviously had to try it on her hair. She has thick hair, and it took us a few attempts, but we eventually got it perfect!

This hairstyle has become my go-to, especially for my second day hair. It pulls together my outfits and gives my enormous earring collection their time to shine 🙂 Plus, with a little spritz of hairspray, it’s perfect for walking around the city.

Have you tried the sock bun? I’d love to see pictures! xx

January 2, 2013

Insta-Month: A Look Back {December}

I always love Philadelphia during the winter. Something about bundling up to get some fresh air and still being able to walk everywhere you need to go has always appealed to me. This month, despite some minor sickness(es), has been a good one – filled with friends, family & celebrating. Here is a peek at my December:

get well soon flowers from boyfriend in philly the prettiest street in philadelphia

Gorgeous fresh “get well soon flowers” from the BF // My favorite Philadelphia street ever (do you recognize it?)

philadelphia macy's christmas holiday light show in philly apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream at little pete's in philadelphia

Macy’s Christmas Light Show // The yummiest apple pie & vanilla bean ice cream at Little Pete’s

my family on christmas eve chopsticks & champagne on new year's eve at sampan in philadelphia

Looking festive with my family on Christmas Eve // Chopsticks & champagne at Sampan on New Year’s Eve

How was your December? Hope everyone had a lovely New Year’s Eve, and cheers to 2013!

December 31, 2012

My New Year’s Resolutions

2013 new year's resolutions philadelphia

1. Create a Realistic Budget (and stick to it!): Being a relatively new “real person,” I am still getting this whole “budget” thing down 🙂 I will definitely be looking to the advice of LearnVest and some excel spreadsheets in 2013.

2. Establish a Workout Routine: I have a very sporadic way of staying active. I need to create a routine that I am accountable for. Lately, I have even been thinking that I should include something like the best CBD oil in my workout aftercare rituals as I think it will definitely quicken my recovery time for my muscles.

3. Devote 3+ Hours a Week to Reading for Fun! I really love to read, and have always made time for it when I was growing up. But lately, my laptop & cell phone seem to be the things I reach for when I have free time, and that needs to stop!

4. Catch Up with Old Friends More Often: I am so guilty of neglecting chats with my BFFs. I recently read about the concept of the Five Minute Phone Call, and I think I need to start instituting that into my week.

5. Purge that Closet of Mine: This is a continuing “resolution” of mine. While I have no problem adding new items to my closet (see #1!), whenever I go to throw something out, I suddenly have an urge to wear it. Not this year! Bye bye old clothes.

6. Stick to an Eating Plan: While some people may not like the whole low-carb diet craze, it worked for me as a lifestyle change. I lost some weight, and then I let my “cheat days” creep up way too often. I need to get back on track in 2013.

7. Volunteer: I’ve wanted to participate in Big Brothers Big Sisters program since my Dad did. While I think I still have a lot of figuring out about my own life to do (see: this entire list), this year I’d like to take the first steps to become a Big Sis!

8. Meet New People: The awkwardness of meeting new people when you’re out of college is tough, and not even seeing (let alone knowing!) the people who live in your apartment building also adds weirdness to the whole situation. This year, I vow to get out more & meet new people! I think I might like to try using platforms like Clubhouse too because after looking at a Clubhouse Review I was impressed by how many different people were able to meet and make friends through their interests and over social media, which might be a better start for me!

9. Cook at Least One New Recipe a Week: I have so many cook books. I’ve learned to sort of kind of like to cook. This is a must.

10. Thrift More, Spend Less: I don’t know why, but I am very intimidated by the Philadelphia thrifting scene. I love thrift shopping, but haven’t gotten into it as much as I’d like in the city. If anyone has any tips, send them my way!

11. Send More Cards: When Jordan & I first started dating, we lived an hour away from eachother. I loved surprising him with a card in the mail a few times a month, and he loved getting them! I need to jot down more REAL addresses & send more cards!

12. Grow My Blog! I can not even tell you how excited I am about Her Philly, and about all of the other awesome bloggers in Philly. I am looking forward to meeting my fellow bloggers and getting involved in all of the awesome events.

13. End Each Day with a Little Prayer of Thanks: I always feel better about my day when I give myself a little time to reflect each evening before I fall asleep. Simply saying “thank you” truly puts things in perspective for me, and I think doing this daily will be good for me.

What are some of your resolutions for the new year? I hope everyone has a fun & safe evening tonight … and wishing you a happy & healthy 2013!

December 29, 2012

A Holiday Recap

I was really trying to hold myself to a blog every other day, but it seems the holidays let that get away from me. Here are some of my favorite moments during the time I spent in South Jersey during the my favorite season!

Christmas Eve is becoming one of the best days of the year for me. My sister & I get to exchange our gifts, we go to a great party with good friends, and finish it off with the 10pm candlelight church service. This year, Lindsay got me a massage at AVA Wellness, and I can’t wait to use it! Nonetheless, I planned on giving her a gift that would be meaningful to her. I started with many ideas like giving her a dress, or maybe a hairstyling accessory, or an antique silver Victorian mug that would make her morning coffee more enjoyable. However, by the time I had to finalize the gift, I was still struggling with what I should get her.

Anyway, my dress that you can see in the picture (which looks gorgeous) is the Harlow Faux Wrap Dress by Kiyonna from a fabulous new rental service I am trying out, Gwynnie Bee. If anyone would like a review of their service, let me know!

Let us move forward with the topic of Christmas. On Christmas morning, my family & I opened gifts, made a yummy breakfast, laughed, and spent some wonderful quality time with each other. Don’t let this photo of the sleeping Ellie fool you, she was a maniac with all of the wrapping paper and boxes on the floor. One of my favorite gifts was presented like this (a stunning photo of the Trunchbull courtesy of my mom) … tickets to see Matilda on Broadway!

Christmas dinner was delicious and fun as usual. My Aunt Edie is a Pinterest pro and she makes the most amazing apps & drinks from recipes she finds there. This is her second time whipping up some sangria, and it was awesome. We finished dinner with a celebratory Christmas shot of Three Olives Chocolate, and let’s just say, I’ve found a new Three Olives vodka to add to my existing stash of Cherry.

During the rest of my time at home, we had more lovely get-togethers with friends. One night, our family friend Stephanie brought over her 3 boys. We got them K’nex Lego toys for Christmas, and it took me approx 1.5 hours to finish the above beauty. #icanthaveaboy

We also enjoyed our time with our neighbors during our annual get together. Our “Chinese Auction” is always the most fun, and to my surprise, the hottest gift this year was Chuey, a stuffed Chihuahua that sings La Bamba (which Jordan got me as a gift once… and I might have put him in the donation pile last month… and my mom might have taken him out for this game… and Jordan was the one to open him. Oops.).

Here is Chuey, if you were wondering:

product picture Chuey Bamba the Singing Chihuahua

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How were your holidays? To everyone in the city of Philly, hope you’re enjoying this rainy snow-ish day! 🙂

December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve Blessings

I love being home for the holidays. The longer I am living away from home, the more and more I appreciate the house I grew up in. So, as we spend the week eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company, I had a little time to reflect on the things I feel very blessed to have this season. Christmas Tree!

An amazing family who I love spending time with.
My wonderful boyfriend who can always make me laugh and put a smile on my face.
My awesome career, in a fabulous industry. It doesn’t hurt that I also have literally the best co-workers on the planet.
A bunch of friendships I have continued from high school & college with a great group of caring, intelligent & hilarious women.
A cute little apartment in the city I love, and an opportunity to share all of my explorations with you!

I found this video during one of my usual YouTube marathons, and it made me smile.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! XOXO