This past weekend I ventured home to see my family in Philly – woohoo! I work a lot. Like a lot. We’re talking at least 50 hour weeks, sometimes more if there is a lot going on, so it’s SO nice when I get a chance to get away and relax. I finished work Friday, drove an hour back to my place to change/throw some junk in a bag, then drove almost three hours to my parents – and promptly fell asleep. Crazy Friday, right? Haha.
Saturday was my fun day! I begged my mom, aunt, and grandma to take me to the annual Lilly Pulitzer sale because Saturday was the very last day. They actually agreed, so my Saturday started bright and early. I don’t think my family understood my desire to own something Lilly until we got to the expo center. My aunt pulled up and was cruising slowly past the entrance – ain’t nobody got time fo’ that! I jumped out of the car and went running inside like a maniac. I stopped briefly to check out this amazing Lilly jeep –
Hello beautiful! The company changes the designs on their Jeeps every year and I am extremely envious. Anyways, what I really wanted was a Delta Zeta tote bag. I ran to the tote section and started flinging totes through the air in my search, but…they were all gone 😦 I was so sad. Another DZ and I pouted and grumbled together and then a gay man made me feel better by asking every girl that touched a tote which sorority they belonged to. If they looked confused he was like, “OH NO honey, you can’t wear these letters. Or even carry them. Maybe they’ll come out with college prints. OHHHH, isn’t that a great idea, girls??”
I eventually tore myself away from the tote boxes and then realized there were other things in the center. Racks and racks of beautiful things! I spotted a boucle cropped blazer with a scalloped close and was like “OH YES…no, I can’t. But OH MAN. Holy sh*t, it’s on sale for $100. But OH MAN.” I told myself I would just carry it around petting it while I looked at the eye candy. Before I knew it, my aunt had filled up a huge shopping bag and my mom was holding a place in the dressing room line. How’d that happen? Once in the dressing room, I realized my mother and aunt were quite possibly the worst people to shop with. They were delighted that everything fit me like it was made for me, that the colors popped, that everything was classic and fun and, most importantly, that it was my tab they were running up. I was delighted that everything fit perfectly and that I am somehow a size 0 in Lilly. I finally made my aunt stop putting dresses in my bag and went to try on. The dressing room was actually one huge room filled with mirrors and you just picked one and got buck-nekkid to change in front of everyone. My aunt and mom worked out a system where one would block my rumpus and the other would handle the garments. Great plan, right? In theory, yes. But they kept getting distracted by all the gorgeous dresses in the room, so the girls around me saw a lot of T&A. Sorry ladies around Mirror 102…my bad. As I’m sure you guessed, I did not leave empty handed. I bought three dresses and that blazer (whoops), and my mom bought me a Murfee DZ Scarf for Christmas. Then I felt sick over my Final Sale bill and my mom rubbed my back while telling me I should have bought another dress she really liked because those clothes are investment pieces. Gahhh.
My aunt really wanted this sweater, haha.
After I got over my nausea
After we dragged ourselves away from Lilly, we headed to Reading Terminal Market in Philly. If you’ve never been and you’re nearby – go! This is such an amazingggg marketplace. It’s a crowded, crammed building full of food stalls and some craft/odds-and-ends stalls. Every food you can imagine is there. A sandwich shop next to a sushi shop; a dessert shop next to an Amish shop; a cheesesteak shop next to a beef jerky shop. You get the picture. As a semi-foodie, I never know where to turn first when I go and just want to run around shoving all the deliciousness into my mouth.
I couldn’t decide what to get but finally settled on a cheesesteak because I love them and hadn’t had a great one in awhile. When you go to Philly and get a cheesesteak, order it the right way – with Whiz (Cheese Whiz, that is) and at least a little onion, even if you’re not a huge fan. Mmmmm. I loved my little shop that I ordered from. The line was an eclectic mix of people. The cashier was a sweet and sassy little old lady. The cook was bickering with his help over how much a Tiffany’s necklace cost before finally just asking me. You don’t just stand in line, you interact with the people around you and I think that’s part of what I love.
As I said, I’m not a full-out foodie but have a touch of it. I love to try new things and am drawn to fun food and flavor combinations. I usually hate donuts, but stopped dead in my tracks when we passed the donut stand.
Don’t be fooled by these innocent looking donuts! They were special flavors. Well not so much the powdered one, that was sugar-lemon tart, I got that for my Dad. My mom bought herself a blueberry fritter and a banana cream. Mine were much more exciting in my book!
I got Caramel Apple,
Maple Nut Cream,
and Chocolate-covered Strawberry. That’s right – that’s a donut flavor.
We stuffed our faces and headed over to the Camden waterfront for Cirque du Soleil Totem – WOOOHOOOO! I’ve been begging to see one of these shows for years. I felt a little sick, but thought it was a mix of Lilly-spending and cheesesteak duking it out with pretzels and donuts. Then my aunt wanted a bunch of pictures by the waterfront and my eyes were so sensitive to the light that it looked like I was winking in every picture. I’m not kidding. See? –
I wasn’t trying to wink though. For those of you prone to headaches, you may have already realized what I did not – I was getting a migraine. Womp, womp. What a buzzkill! Luckily it didn’t hit full force until after Cirque du Soleil and I got to take in the full amazingness of Cirque.
Totem focuses on the journey of the evolution of mankind. It doesn’t have any real timeline and instead jumps around throughout time, style, and evolution in general. As noted, the show was fabulous. While you wait under the big top for the show to start, entertainers roam around interacting with the audience. I had a big old lady in front of me and the Totem fisherman clown came around. He took someones popcorn, tossed a handful of it down someones shirt, and then handed the container to someone else. Then a performer in a top hat came over and when he tipped his hat, a beam of light shot out from under it. I guess this was all too much for the lady in front of me because she cried out, “OH LAWDY!” and I about lost it laughing. The show shut me up real fast though. Sparkling costumes, acrobatic stunts that convinced me I would witness a death, chiseled abs and backs, leaping, soaring, singing – this show had it all.
Image courtesy of Cirque du Soleil
Image courtesy of Cirque du Soleil
Image courtesy of Cirque du Soleil
The things those Cirque perfomers can do is crazy. We were in the second row from the stage and sometimes the acrobats soared out over us. So cool! Tickets are pricey but definitely worth it. Seriously, look up “Cirque du Soleil Totem” on YouTube – you can see some of the acts and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Go see it!
The rest of the weekend was not nearly as exciting as Saturday. I got a new Kindle, spent time with family, played with my puppies, and caught up on sleep. Then I drove back Monday to get back to the grind on Tuesday. I hate the grind! I spent too much last weekend though, so the grind is necessary. Boooo.
What’d you do last weekend? Any fun plans for this weekend? Are you a Lilly Lover like myself? What about a Cirque du Soleil lover? Dish!
Wayfaring Beauty 