The Royal Wedding!

I've been up for a few hours now in order to watch live coverage of the royal wedding. I had every intention of recording events the day before and the day of with our DVR. However, we had a severe storm earlier this week and our cable menu has been kaput. So, my pre-recorded schedule is gone and I couldn't record during the event either. I watched all I could for about an hour and a half before I had to leave for work.
This is Google's search page image. Very fun.
I saw everyone leaving and arriving at Westminster Abbey and that long awaited moment of seeing Kate Middleton in her wedding dress. Kate looked beautiful in her dress but she would look beautiful in a garbage bag.
It really was a special experience. I know I wasn't there in person but I've heard so many people talk about what it was like getting up early to watch the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. I wasn't even 2 years old so there's no way I remember that. I didn't get to participate in a royal wedding tea party but I'll enjoy some tea and scones sometime this weekend.
There will be coverage all day today and I think TLC is showing the whole thing again tonight starting at 8pm. I can't wait to see what the cake looks like. I'm sure a book will be published within the week with every detail of the wedding and their courtship.
While shopping this past weekend I browsed through jewelry departments at several stores. Replicas of Kate's engagement ring were spotted in a few cases and you can purchase one on QVC if you so desired. This is all so much fun and such a magical day!

Fun Weekend

Friday night Jeff and I tried a new restaurant in town. Well, actually it's an old restaurant that just changed owner's and names. The food was not great and same for the service. We did however have a nice table outside to enjoy the view of the lake and the cool weather. On Saturday I traveled to Atlanta to hang out with my friend Barbara. We walked around the Mall of Georgia for 2 hours and didn't buy a thing. Then we had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Mimi's Cafe. We tried some beignets, my first beignets ever, that were interesting but not great so I don't think we'll order those again.
Then it was off to Homegoods. I've never been to one but the commercials have really peaked my interest. It was a TJ Maxx Homegoods and I almost bought a new comforter set for next to nothing, almost. I wish we had one closer (I wish we had lots of things closer) because I could see myself stopping by on a weekly basis and making a killing on clothing and decor. We also went to World Market. This place is awesome and I can't wait to go back around Christmas time to buy oodles of stocking stuffers, which I mistakenly called "stuffing stockers" while at the store. They had so many miniature food items that my family would love.
It's like a Pier 1 but with food items as well. It was a fantastic day filled with good food and great company. On Sunday Jeff and I went to see Water for Elephants.
I read the book years ago and loved it. It's always a mix of excitement and apprehension when seeing a movie based on a beloved book. On one hand you can't wait to see the characters come to life on the big screen and on the other hand you know there's no way a movie can capture everything about a book. I don't want to say too much but I did enjoy it and it's true what the critics have been saying, the elephant steals the show.

Philadelphia: First Impressions

Mom and I went to Philadelphia a couple weeks ago. As soon as we landed in Philadelphia and got off the plane my first impression was, "uh, oh". The terminal was a mess and the women's restroom was filthy. This perfectly describes the city of Philadelphia. It's dirty and a little scary. There are a lot of homeless people, which is to be expected in a large city, and they are constantly approaching you for money and a ride and trash is just everywhere. Once we got to our very nice hotel (one of the top three in the city) we checked in, dropped off our bags, and went in search of the Liberty Bell. We walked forever (about 10 blocks) and went inside a cheesy museum. The personnel told us the Liberty Bell was just across the street but the building was about to close. We ran to the building, had our purses checked and rushed to see the bell. Several people were standing around taking pictures. I got in a few shots and then we backtracked to read about all the history and look at the exhibits. We were told, rather forcefully, that we needed to hurry up because the building was closing. Oh, well, at least we got to see the bell.
I believe this pretty building is Town Hall but I can't remember.

This is the world's largest organ. It's inside Macy's. Everyday at noon and 5pm an organist gives a short concert. We happened to drop by around 5pm. It was so loud but the shear size of this thing, and the fact that it's inside a department store, is just incredible.
They were also having a Spring Flower Show inside Macy's. You can see the trees and hundreds of flowers in the shoe and cosmetic department.

I took a picture of this sign because of the "fur vault". My grandmother used to work at Belks and she handled ladies fine clothing and fur coats. There were so many cute spring dresses there but they were each at least $100. I wanted to buy about 4 of them but I resisted, plus there's no way I could afford them or fit them in my suitcase.
This is the main entrance to China Town. The walk there was a little scary so we walked a block in China Town and then went back to the safety of the hotel.

Our nights were spent in our hotel room watching TV. Walking around Philadelphia during the day was unpleasant enough so I can't imagine what it was like at night. You may ask why I was even in Philadelphia. I was attending a librarian conference for the week. I did learn a lot and would love to try some of the methods at my school but I'm not sure if they would work on our campus. I attended at least a dozen different "sessions" during the week. Some were short and some were very long. I saw a Sundance Film Festival film called Connected by Tiffany Shlain. It was interesting and she's kind of a pioneer in the web world. She was also one of the keynote speakers. More on the keynote speakers later. Would I visit Philadelphia again? No, but it was nice to get out of town (a two day trip would have been just fine though).

Reading Terminal Market

The restaurant choices were limited around the hotel. There was Maggiano's, which is delicious but a little pricey, and Hard Rock Cafe, which is terrible and pricey, and the in-hotel dining options, which were very pricey. Mom, in all her tourist glory, found the Reading Terminal Market which was less than a block from the main door of the hotel. I'm sure everyone remembers the Reading Railroad from the board game Monopoly. Well, it's pronounced like "redding". Correct those who must be corrected in the future. Back to the market. This place was incredible. It's certainly overwhelming because there is so much to look at and try but any thing you could possibly want to eat was available at a reasonable price. Like, you can buy the biggest freakin' shrimp you have ever seen.
Or, already eaten fruit.
And even frog legs.
This place has over a hundred foodie spots to choose from. Anything from candy, to soup, to pancakes, to pizza, to gumbo, to kimchi with a side of scones. It was just marvelous. We ate there at least 5 times.
Actual pickle barrels! They belonged to one of the several Amish food stands.

You'd think with all the food choices and raw meat and seafood that the place would be unbearably stinky but it wasn't at all. It was very clean and organized and packed with people any time after 9am.
You could buy a goose egg!
Pay attention to my hoodie. It will be mentioned later.
Mom and I split a ginormous Philly cheesesteak. This is my half after about 10 bites. The food portions in Philly were outrageous. The cheese looked good when they put it on the sandwich but I think once it hit the heat of the meat it kind of congealed and got gritty. I think some of my hair also got in the meat and cheese and stunk all night. It wasn't terrible but wasn't as good as everyone says.
However, I did have very yummy chocolate covered pretzels, strawberry ice cream, corn bread, cheeseburger and fries, clam chowder, and apple cinnamon bread. All in all, it's one of the city's best attractions.

Clinton Kelly

Oh, ladies and gentlemen this was the highlight of the trip for me. If you don't know who Clinton Kelly is (oh dear) he is co-host of TLC's fabulous What Not To Wear. I have been watching this show for years and years. It isn't always obvious that I do but I love the show. For most of the conference sessions and keynote speakers I sat in the back by the door in order to make a speedy exit. Not for this one folks! I got there 30 minutes early to get a seat in the front row. I wasn't the only one who had this idea but I did get a second row seat that was just as perfect. Everyone around me was talking about how much they stressed over their outfit choice for the day. I did not stress because I knew I wouldn't have time to buy his book and get it signed. Mom and I were planning on taking a trolley tour that afternoon (more to follow on that) so I wore jeans and a hoodie (more to follow on that too). He walked onto the stage to huge applause. Everyone was in attendance for this presentation. The attendance for the other keynote speakers was fairly good but Clinton won the prize.

He opened with a joke about Martha Stewart giving a speech at an architecture conference so him speaking at a librarian conference couldn't be a worse fit than that. However, we all know that librarians need tremendous amounts of help in the area of fashion. I don't think there is a profession that is more widely thought of as poor dressers than librarians.
First of all, Clinton is an excellent speaker. We were hanging on his every word. He had the audience laughing and clapping about every 30 seconds. He gave tips on style and confidence, age appropriate clothing and even a little financial advice.
He did comment that Crocs, pajama pants, and hoodies were inappropriate to wear outside the house. This was repeated about 3 times and with each mention of "hoodie" I sunk a little lower in my chair. I'm glad it was dark in the auditorium. When the presentation was over I dreaded getting out of my seat for fear that tomatoes would be thrown at me as I walked away.
He was dressed beautifully, as you could have guessed and can see. The line for his book signing was about 50 people deep so they obviously started lining up before his presentation was over. I would have loved to meet him and shake his hand and I know we would've become the best of friends but I didn't have time (okay, I chickened out a little because of my attire, but just a little).
It was a blast getting to see him in person and I wish I could fly to London and hang out with him for the Royal Wedding coverage. I discussed the experience and the genius of What Not To Wear with my Uncle and his girlfriend during their visit last week. I think my dad wanted to rip his ears off.

America's First Zoo

On our last day in Philadelphia mom and I took a trolley tour. It was about an hour and a half journey if you didn't want to get off at any of the stops. We rode through China Town, saw where Ben Franklin is buried, went by Betsy Ross's house, saw the famous steps in the Rocky film and a Rocky statue, drove by a couple museums, and the final stop was at the Liberty Bell. We only got off on one stop which was the Philadelphia zoo. It's apparently America's first zoo. It was very nice considering that information. What I liked the most was the wandering peacocks. They were everywhere and they are just so beautiful. There will be several peacock pictures in this post.

Behold...my first peacock sighting of the day! This was just so strange to me. Most zoo's are all about keeping your distance from the animals but these guys (and girls) were wandering everywhere.
This handsome fella was in the reptile house. His head is gigantic and I was a little distressed because his habitat seemed extremely small compared to his size.

This future suitcase was pressed as close and he could get to the wall just below the glass. He was really big but seemed content.
There were about 8 huge tortoises in this space all munching away on lettuce. Can you spot the tiny mouse? He darted in and out from his hiding place at least 5 times before my camera could catch him. The bad part is the mouse was darting back and forth in the tortoise poop. That stuff was all over the floor.
Here's one of the peacock ladies. Not as majestic looking as the males but still pretty.
It was a chilly day so a lot of animals were hanging out in their indoor homes. These orangutans were just lazing around when the mother started playing games with her baby. It was so cute watching the baby orangutan try to climb to his mother while holding on to the beams and his toys--a piece of paper and a large leaf. The baby also walked around with the paper on his head. Mom and I watched the show for several minutes.
This lion is eating. I don't know if you can tell from this picture but it was kind of a gruesome sight. The bone still had bloody flesh on it.
Peacock again! With some swan paddle boats. Mom wasn't up for getting on the paddle boats (neither was I).
And yet again, in all his glory.
And from the rear. I know it's silly but I've never seen the back end of a peacock with his feathers out. He just walked around in a circle. There were several art students sketching throughout the zoo but they wouldn't have had time to get this display because it only lasted about a minute.
This adorable little thing walked up to me in the aviary house. It's a crowned pigeon.

We made our way through all the exhibits and ended at the gift shop. We only bought some bottled water and walked out just in time to see our trolley/bus drive away. Another one would be along in about 30 minutes so we waited and it only took about 20 minutes. It was a fun trip but I wish we'd had time to enjoy some of the other stops as well.

Copycat

The lovely and talented Frances did a post several weeks back displaying her plate wall. I immediately grew green with envy and knew I had to have a plate wall of my own. I then bombarded her with questions about where she purchased her plates, how she hung them, how many should I buy, and so forth. I think that very day I went online to Crate & Barrel and purchased about six plates. A trip to Pier 1 was made a couple days later. I had some...issues along the way. One of my C&B purchases was a clear plate (which I learned after Frances' warning). Clear would not work for the wall. I called C&B and canceled that part of the order before it was shipped. Well, two more C&B orders later and I got it right. The count is as follows: 2 plates from Pier 1, 6 from C&B, and 2 from eBay. I would not recommend going the eBay route. Try other shops like Ross, Tuesday Morning, Homegoods, etc (none of which are close to me). This one was originally my favorite (C&B) and I used the color pallet to determine what other plates to purchase.This one is now my favorite (C&B). I love how delicate it is. I was finally able to hang everything this weekend and I love the result. Now that I know about plate walls I see them everywhere in commercials, and on the set of Modern Family (in Claire and Phil's house, it's mixed with paintings as well). So, thank you Frances for your inspiration. I only wish I had a bigger wall to work with. I think it would be super easy to go overboard with a project like this. Just do a Google images search on "plate walls" and you'll see what I mean.

Over The Top

MSN had an interesting and appalling slide show posted today of posh playhouses for children. This pirate ship themed play house is available for a cool $25,000.

This is the inside of a Victorian themed playhouse. These playhouses can come with a working refrigerator and a mini-grand piano that actually plays.

They are nicer than any house I'll probably ever own. I didn't have a tree house or playhouse as a child because the entire house and yard was my play area. I don't have anything to mourn when it comes to my childhood but I'd love to have something like this now. And I'm not that tall so they might still work for me!

This one is my favorite. It looks like such a happy and inviting place to live. And very clean. My equivalent of a "man" cave would need to be something like this with a library and a large selection of cupcakes at all times.