Double Rainbow all the way across the Sky!

Unfortunately I didn't catch any double rainbows after the storm the other night. I hear it is supposed to rain again today so maybe there's still hope. Of course I don't think I could ever be as excited about a rainbow as this guy...



For some reason this amuses me to no end. It's definitely worth it to hold out at least until he starts openly weeping.


In other news, we went to XPN fest on Sunday afternoon. The bands we were interested in seeing weren't playing until later in the day, so we had a lazy morning and finally ventured into the heat around 3 o'clock. We (as in Joe) accidentally missed the correct stop on the PATCO train, so we spent a good twenty five minutes playing Scrabble and staring at this view. Which I thought was pretty cool. I like the thumb tack graffiti.


We finally got to Wiggins Park and squeezed in among this crowd. We had beer and watermelon peach gazpacho and people watched. We saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Dr. Dog perform. Robert Randolph and the Family Band were up next but we've seen them before and by then we were both feeling kind of meh about the heat and the proximity to hippies and the comfort of the hill we were sitting on. Last year we held out much longer. Maybe we are becoming more yuppie with each passing day. Or maybe Joe is starting to hate fun too!! AH HAH! I might be on to something here.

There's a storm a brewin'

At least there was when I started this post. Between then and now there was a hell of a storm. There is still some thunder in the distance, but the sky is bright. Brighter than it seems like it should be at 8pm.
I really really love rain. I love how green it makes everything, the smell right before and right after a storm and so many more things. It's just so beautiful and perfect. Another thing I love about rain is that I don't have to fill a bucket with water and trek up these stairs to water the plants on the roof deck. During this wonderful rain, I am watching Bones and drinking a glass of wine (maybe two). Joe hates Bones, so it works out pretty well that he plays basketball on Monday nights when Bones is usually on.

I had to take a food safety certification class today instead of going to work as usual. It was uneventful but surprisingly exhausting. Sitting in an uncomfortable chair and listening to someone read out of a textbook for 8 hours is TIRING! It's weird how I feel more worn out today than a typical workday of running around doing a million different things.

Have a good night darlings. Sweet dreams!

Ups and Downs

Today was a day of highs and lows. High of 105°. Low of incredibly frustrated and overwhelmed.

It was a rough day at work dealing with a menopausal coworker who, on her best day, is crazy and bipolar. That stress was exacerbated by another employee and several unpleasant customers. My faith in humanity began to wane when a customer called to complain about a topping that was accidentally left off of his ice cream. Certainly, it should have been included. Absolutely, he was a little miffed to find that his hot fudge sundae was absent of wet walnuts- THE HORROR!- but to insist upon having us return to his workplace to deliver said wet walnuts immediately seemed a little ridiculous to my heat stroked brain. To waste my time (and his) yelling at me about that 75¢ topping when I already agreed to send my poor, sweaty delivery person all the way back to him was really crossing the line.

My faith in humanity was restored when a group of about 8 adults came into the store, joking and being kind of loud. They took their time making up their minds about what to order, but they were very friendly. They ushered people behind them in line in front to order first. They joked around with us and seemed to be enjoying each others' company. While I was ringing them up one of the guys mentioned that they were having a memorial. Apparently their father passed away several years ago today and he really loved our ice cream, so every year on this date they come to the store together to remember him. Even though it was kind of a serious occasion, they were interacting pleasantly with strangers and putting a positive spin on the day.

I really could go into more detail about this and MANY more work stories, but when Joe nods off while I'm telling them in person it makes me realize they're really only interesting to me.

Stay cool tonight. Cross your fingers for rain and cooooooler weather!

Garces Trading Company

In case you're living under a rock (or not from Philly), Jose Garces is the most recent Food Network Iron Chef and my favorite chef/restaurateur. He recently won the Best Chef in the mid-Atlantic region award from the James Beard Foundation, and he is on fire these days. He owns six restaurants in Philadelphia, all of them incredible. One of his most recent restaurants is Garces Trading Company, which the food critic at the Inquirer recently
reviewed.

I went last week with my friend Marilys after running a rather surreal errand. Any excuse to eat an incredible meal is fine by me, and catching up with Lys was just the thing.
We bought a delicious champagne in the attached Wine and Spirits store. It's the first of its kind as far as I know, and very unusual for prudish Pennsylvania laws. It has recently attracted some legal trouble. Hopefully they pull out ahead and the concept becomes more popular around here.
We ordered the chef's tasting plate of cheese, which included a brie, a cheddar, and a fontina. The "sauces" were also amazing. white sangria honey, roasted garlic dulce de leche, pecan butter, and fig marmalade. I also got a jar of truffle lavender honey to take home. yum.
We also got the chef's tasting plate of smoked meats. I forget exactly what they were except delicious. We took almost an hour to eat the meats and cheeses, savoring each bite and sipping our champagne in between.
We split the Tuscon fusilli alla carbonara with guanciale, eggs, black pepper, and pecorino. Homemade pasta is about 74092547259 times better than the sad excuse for pasta everyone eats from a box. Bacon, egg, and cheese only makes it better.
This is the pizza we had with oven roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto, and olive oil. It was all too much to eat so I took some home and put a fried egg on top for breakfast the next morning. When a restaurant is still making me happy a day later, you know it's amazing.

I brought home a delicious salted caramel macaron for Joe (and one for me, of course). I can't wait to go back!

Happy 4th! What are you doing today/tonight?