The Food in Philadelphia

...Deserved it's own post. Zack and I ate so well, it's easily the one thing we both miss about Philadelphia. We became avid yelpers on this trip; writing reviews, checking in, and looking up ratings before we decide. Although it was annoying at times, it was definitely worth it.

Philly cheesesteaks at Geno's

Of course, when in Philly we had to try the cheesesteaks. We wanted to try Pat's too but time escaped us. I'm convinced there's better cheesesteaks than theirs, though. I'd have to say of all the food we ate, this was the most underwhelming. They were so quick to get out orders it wasn't very welcoming.

Rybread

This little cafe really packs a punch! it's about a block away from the Eastern State Penitentiary. We had breakfast AND lunch here it was so good. Everything on their menu is super creative. They're all named after places and the flavors follow suite. I ordered an Austin salad, my first time having avocado and tortilla chips in my salad. Needless to say I had no idea what I was missing.

Alma de Cuba

This was a beautiful find. Alma de Cuba is a bit more upscale than Zack and I are used to, but it was suggested by one of his relatives and we had to give it a try. The ambiance is, for lack of a better word seductive. I ordered the chicken imperial on top of a bed of rice and fiancé got the honey mustard glazed salmon. Both of us can agree that when we visit Philadelphia again we will absolutely be returning. The food was mind blowing--everything was fresh, the chicken was juicy and tender, the rice was soft and pillowy, and although it doesn't look like much food when first presented, it was just enough. For dessert we split a peanut butter bombe, which is a chocolate and peanut butter mousse covered in dark chocolate ganache, with marshmallow ice cream and caramelized bananas. Pure. Bliss. This restaurant really made us want to find food this good in our area.

Reading Terminal Market

Excuse our partially eaten pieces of heaven I mean doughnuts. This place is an absolute MUST when in philly. My cousin along with several others were pretty adamant about that. The best way to describe it is a huge indoor farmer's market with every food imaginable. The Amish have a very strong presence here and everything they made was glorious. I could assume it would be because everything they made truly is "farm to table." It's easy to spend the whole day here just to eat everything. My suggestions would be to definitely try Beiler's Donuts and Famous 4th Street Cookies (which you can order online whaaaaat).

Marrakesh

This place is definitely for the adventurous foodies. You should know that the front door doesn't have a knob and you have to knock and wait for the owner to let you in. The idea behind this whole experience is this is how you would be served if you were to have dinner at a Moroccan home. This includes seven courses of delectable traditional Moroccan food. You get to choose the meat for two of the courses, but otherwise everything is already decided. Make sure you're starving, and you go with at least one or two other people since you will be served tons of food to be shared amongst everyone. After the owner seats you he goes over all of this with you as you wash your hands under the elaborate kettle he provides. Why you may ask? because you eat everything with your hands. The decor is also elaborate and inviting, surrounding you with vibrant colors and patterns. Everything I ate was like nothing I've ever eaten before. It was so tasty we were disappointed that we couldn't finish.

So not only was our time in Philadelphia fun, but it was quite delicious. Zack and I are definitely interested in finding more local foodie experiences after this venture. I never realized just how good food can be! 

OOTD // Date night: Rosy Tomorrow's

A couple of weeks ago Zack and I wanted to see a free jazz concert followed by a yummy dinner. The concert was just under an hour away, but unfortunately a truck turned over blocking both lanes....so we spent about an hour and a half like sitting ducks. On top of all that, the weather was getting increasingly worse; heavy rain, thunder, lightning--the whole bit. We missed the concert, but we were so close to the venue that we decided to still make it to Rosy Tomorrow's for dinner. 

The inside, like many restaurants, has all sorts of knick knacks scattered about the walls. What makes Rosy Tomorrow's that much more interesting though are the life size figurines (they have a man on a trapeze and a fortune teller :O) and the train they have going about the perimeters of the place. It's two stories and in the middle is the live entertainment, which sort of hovers over the bar area. On this particular day it was a man, his guitar, and some 90's covers. Nice cozy atmosphere for a stormy night.

Zack got an avocado shrimp wrap while I got a chicken bacon panini. He got sweet potato fries (which I stole) and I got just the plain ones. All was devoured. All was delicious. The portions are perfect and so are the fries *nom nom*

I came straight from work and wanted to be comfy all day, so I wore this dress I got from Target. Chartreuse has become one of my favorite colors lately! This dress fits just right. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of this one :3

D E T A I L S

• Dress - Target
• Lace tank - NY&Co.
• Leggings - NY&Co.
• Earrings - Forever 21

Although things didn't go as planned, Fiancé and I had fun. Also, we took triple layer suicide cake to go and it was uhhhhhmaaazinggggggggggggg. (5 types of chocolatey bliss)

TTFN <3

insta-roundup: double date, moose, and unicorn poop!

A new thing I'll be doing from time to time, showing ya'll bit of my instagrams! I'll have to admit I originally avoided the app thinking it's a cop out compared to photoshop....But then I thought, who has photoshop on their phone :P? Either way, It has quickly become my favorite way to share some happenings in my life. On to the photos!

Danisha and I planned a double date with our boos to Plan B (odd name for a restaurant I know. Seriously, who named this place? Did they not take health class in 7th grade?) Although the name of the place irks me, one of there specialties is burgers. Their beef is certified organic and humane which is  something I truly respect and support. Very delicious, although I played with my leftovers....

My pride and joy of the weekend was undoubtedly the unicorn poops I made for a BBQ. Zack helped and between the both of us it took about three hours to make one batch. BUT OMGZ SO WORTH IT! I was so incredibly proud and they tasted scrumptious! I couldn't find the edible glitter but the silver gel had a little bit of sparkles so I wasn't too worried. These cookies went to a well deserving crowd; the BBQ was filled with friends, family, laughs, and good times.

Today Moose got a bath. Not one of his favorite activities, if you couldn't tell by the expression on his face in the first photo. The best part about giving him a bath is as soon as we're done toweling him off, he runs 'round and 'round the house for a good half hour. I should really record it next time.

TTFN<3