True dat!

Weekend highlights

I mentioned on Fri that on Sat we were taking a day trip to Philadelphia with Steven & Thad. Wow, what a day!!

We left at 9am and got to Philly about 11am. We started with a driving tour that allowed us to see much of the beautiful downtown architecture.
Thad lived in several neighborhoods of Philly so he had a tremendous knowledge of many of the original and current uses for the lovely buildings we saw. We also drove by several historic landmarks such as the Liberty Bell, Joan of Arc statue, William Penn, and many museums and "free" libraries. I thought it odd that the signs all referred to the libraries as free, since I was not aware that any libraries charged admission.

Much of our time was spent in Center City, but we also drove through other places such as the Italian Market in South Philly, Antique Row on Pine St, Fairmount Park, Manayunk, and several beautiful residential neighborhoods like Washington Square, Rittenhouse Square, and East Falls. We passed by the house where Grace Kelly lived.

Then we were ready for lunch. Steven & Thad picked the lovely French creperie Beau Monde where we got a table on the patio. The weather was perfect for outdoor dining.
I had a delicious crepe filled with grilled chicken breast, leeks, olives, goat cheese & lemon butter. It was amazing. View their menus here.

Next we headed to Termini Brothers Italian bakery for dessert, a favorite of mine & Spouse.

For almost 90 years Termini Brothers have been making incredible Italian baked goods such as canoli, cakes, biscotti, and cookies. When you walk in the door you feel as though you've been transported back in time. Notice the black and white tile floor, the pressed tin ceiling, and the bakery cases made of wood and glass.

When you're ready, a woman dressed all in white places your selections on a stainless steel cookie sheet, then ties up your box full of goodies with twine. Spouse & I each got a canoli to eat right away, a box of assorted Italian cookies, some assorted biscotti, a package of pizzelles, a caramel pecan bar, and a dark chocolate macadamia wheel to take home. OMG - I can not even BEGIN to describe how delicious this stuff is!!! But why take my word for it? They will ship to you!

We went inside several antique, vintage, and one-of-a-kind art stores along Antique Row, then continued our driving tour.

Our next stop was a surprise: Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Prior to moving to DE, Thad was a project manager for the company hired to furnish and decorate the Phillies stadium. I once referred to this part of his career as "sports decorating" and it stuck. So Thad arranged for us to have a private tour so we could see his "sports decorating". Our mutual friend Joe (who lives outside Philly) met us there.

Not just the stands, but we also got to tour many other private/VIP areas the general public never sees, such as the Diamond Club, players club, hall of fame, and more. Although I know little-to-nothing about baseball, it was exciting to get a 'back stage', 'behind the scenes' tour. We looked all over for the plaque acknowledging Thad's contribution to the beauty and function of the stadium, but couldn't find it.

Next the 5 of us went back into the Gayborhood again to Giovanni's Room, one of the few remaining GLBT bookstores. It was colorful and cramped, just as you'd expect. There was a reading going on upstairs so we kept our visit brief and quiet. But while there, Steven opened up a magazine and saw a guy with whom I played beach volley ball last summer!

We walked next door to Mixto for dinner. It was an attractive brick and wood restaurant that felt cozy despite its large size. I started with a Mojito, then had Bandeja Tipico for dinner. Its description puzzled me: seared steak, crispy pork rind, arepa, avocado, rice, fried eggs, beans, and maduros, so I had to try it. I thought the ingredients would be all mixed together sort of like paella, but they weren't. Each ingredient was placed on the plate individually. It was quite unusual and tasted fantastic!

Our last stop was to have dessert at Max Brenner Chocolate from the Bald Man. The name alone was intriguing, but once we looked at the dessert menu, I knew I was in heaven. I was way too full from dinner to eat a full dessert myself, plus I knew I'd have a terrible time trying to decide on just one, so I told Spouse to pick whatever he wanted and we would split it. He chose the Munchies Waffles (page 2) which were perfect, and coffee to wash it all down. There is nothing quite like good quality (high cocoa %) dark chocolate. Its like truth serum to me.

We bid our friend Joe goodbye and headed back home. Steven and Spouse sat in the back since we knew they'd be asleep in no time. Thad and I chatted all the way back to DE. We got home at 11pm.

We had a terrific day and really enjoyed everything we saw and ate.

Sun we both slept in (surprise), had lunch and ran some errands. Later we went to a potluck at Deb & Greer's which was nice. We watched a little TV before turning in early at 10:00.

Crush du Jour: Marcello Baca

Friday fragments

Company
My cousin Inez (we call her Nez) and her husband Steve are coming to visit this weekend. I'm embarrassed I can't even remember when the last time was that we saw each other. Maybe 4-5 years ago? We've talked on the phone and IM'd since then though. Nez & I are less than a year apart in age and spent a lot of time together when we were kids and teenagers. I'm looking forward to their visit!

Commando
The other day I went 'commando' for a few hours. I had on flannel pajama pants (without underwear) and a t-shirt, but realized I needed to walk the dog. Rather than putting on underwear for a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood, I just slipped off the pjs and put on jeans, sans underwear. I felt a little 'naughty', knowing I was walking around town with no underwear. I kinda liked it.

Ted Haggard
Speaking of naughty, a friend sent me this (obviously doctored) photo of Ted Haggard, which I just had to share. As usual, click to enlarge.

Vintage vs. Retro

Vintage is when something is from a past decade. Retro is when something modern is made to look like its from a past decade. Your grandparents wedding photo is vintage. The photos you took yesterday using black and white film are retro. Just because they're black and white doesn't make them vintage.

Toolboxes

Have you ever noticed how toolboxes smell like vomit? Growing up, my dad had a metal toolbox that smelled like vomit. Many years ago our lesbian housemates had a big plastic toolbox that smelled like vomit. We have a small plastic toolbox that smells like vomit. What's up with that?

Not the same
You may have read earlier this week that Nevada is trying to implement a domestic partner registry that will grant most of the rights of marriage but without the term 'marriage'. Then on Wed I had yet another discussion with some gays who feel that 'as long as we get the rights, who cares what they call it'. I had to remind them, as I have many others, that separate is never equal. We will not have equal rights if we are granted separate rights from our hetero counterparts. I swear, sometimes I get weary from trying to help people understand this. Then I read the following on Facebook, written by a hetero woman, and had to share it:
"There are lots of differences between a 'committed relationship' and legal marriage. The ability to represent my spouse is very convenient… at the bank, in court, applying for a loan, discussions with creditors, medical professionals, even changing the cable package. These are mundane things that most take for granted. What about the stuff that really matters? Medical emergencies? Right of survivorship? Benefits earned as a part of your pay? To claim your spouse's dependent as your dependent? To co-parent adopted children? Marital privilege in a court of law? None of those issues have to do with sex or lifestyle; granting these benefits to all adults does not diminish the sanctity nor deplete the rights of hetero marriages. Those who oppose equal rights are guilty of tyranny." This momentarily restored my hope.

Obama

While conservatives may like this because it appears to be making fun of Obama by ridiculously comparing him to Jesus, I find this hilarious, and not that far off the mark! Then there's this Obama float...What is the blond girl holding onto???

Big Ella
It seems Spouse has become obsessed with protecting Big Ella. You'd think it would be me, since she's my girl. Whenever we go somewhere in her and I park, he always has to give me suggestions about where to park that will have the least potential for someone damaging her, as if I hadn't already thought of that. Then there's his latest: he now wants us to pay $120./month to store her at a public storage facility. I said that if we were approaching winter, I'd consider it, but since it is spring, I didn't see the need. Knowing we did not yet have a garage, we agreed we'd keep a car cover on Big Ella after she was repainted to protect her from dirt, sun damage, pollution, bird poop, etc. I believe that is sufficient.

Salad and chocolate
I have noticed that whenever I eat salad as a meal, I always crave chocolate afterward. I wonder what the connection is? Its as if my dark side is saying "You think you're being healthy by eating that salad, eh? Well now I'm gonna make you crave something fattening! Muah-ha-ha-ha!!!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Crush du Jour: Freddie Guerrero