neighborhoods like this are perennial

We live in an area that doesn't really have a name, because it has so many names. It's sometimes referred to as the Loft District, or Callowhill, or Northern Chinatown, or Spring Garden. It's the old industrial heart of the city that collapsed in the 70s and 80s, and is only now resurfacing as a neighborhood of warehouse apartments. We live in what used to be a letterpress company on a broken down cobbled street. All around us there are signs of new life, as the graffiti is slowly painted over, and the windowless buildings are transformed into new lofts. 

It's exciting to be a part of such an old city, in an area that's being made young again. Neighborhoods like this are perennial, they may hibernate for awhile but they'll come back when the sun starts shining again. big kiss, bekuh

FOLLOW ALONG:

the first "philly flea"

I'm going to geek out on you for a minute guys. Yesterday marked the first time since moving to Philly that I've spent an afternoon exploring with friends! I've met so many cool people at work, but haven't had the opportunity to spend time with any of them outside of that environment, until now. It was pretty awesome. 

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest, let's talk about this Philly Flea thing. The geniuses behind the Brooklyn Flea in NYC have expanded territory, and opened up shop in the Northern Liberties area of Philadelphia. They want to call it the "Brooklyn Flea Philly," but let's get real Philly Flea sounds so much better. I'm hash tagging #phillyflea and that's that. Sunday was opening day, and based on the number of people there by 10:30AM, I think it's going to be a huge success. The premise behind this market is that it's a more curated collection of vendors than your typical flea market situation, and I have to say the vendors were really good. Imagine a flea market that's basically designed for people who don't like/have to for flea markets. All the nasty junk has been filtered away, and only really awesome finds remain. It was definitely more pricey than I anticipated, but deals were still to be found if you looked hard enough. I managed to snag an antique tapestry and a couple yards of fabric for about $20. Not too shabby.Besides finally finding fabric to make pillow covers out of, my favorite part of the market had to be the food stalls. They had pizza, lobster rolls, brats, ice cream, pickles, bbq, coffee...they had a lot. I decided on ice cream, because of the oppressive heat, and it was amazing! The Bent Spoon had some really interesting flavors to choice from, and I decided on the chocolate earl grey ice cream, and the ricotta ice cream as my treat du jour. I perfect way to end a fun afternoon with new friends. Excited to go back with Ryan soon. big kiss, bekuh

they closed down broad street

Wandering aimlessly seems to be our new norm on the weekends. We start out with a vague purpose, and then slowly make our way to different parts of the city as the day progresses. On Saturday we heard there was a street fair happening on Broad St. so we slowly made our way south from our apartment, and were amazed to see that they had (in fact) shut down a large section of Broad St. for the silliest, family friendly gathering we've seen yet. There were rides, street performers, and food vendors everywhere. We heard a string band playing, acrobats practicing, and got lost in the crowd a couple of times. To avoid the long lines we headed up South St. instead, and drank cold tea on the street. 

After enjoying the fair, and South street we made our way back north, and ended up in Washington Square for a long sit in the shade. We found ourselves talking about future picnics in the square, Nellie growing older, and I'm pretty sure there was a pinky promise to travel abroad in the spring. Whether it's real or not I'm going to hold Ryan to that promise.

Just another normal weekend for us Brownings. Perfectly pointless, and designedly so. What did you do this weekend? big kiss, bekuh

friends in philadelphia

Our friends Martin and Mollie came to town this weekend, and we gave them the whirlwind tour of Philadelphia. By whirlwind I mean the longest fun filled adventure walk ever known to man. Friday night we ventured into Chinatown for peking duck and drinks, and then again on Saturday morning to see the sites like the gate and shops bustling with color and produce. Of course we weren't going to stop there our next stop was the close-by Reading Terminal Market.

We braced ourselves for an overfilled bumble of people, but were pleasantly surprised by how laid back the market was so early on a Saturday. I actually got to take pictures inside, without being glared at or mulled over! Going there with friends made it even better, mostly because their eyes got really huge looking at all the amazing goodies to eat. 

After drooling over all of the food at Reading we decided to head out for an early lunch at Monk's Cafe. Ryan discovered Monk's while researching Philadelphia before the move, and we'd been anxiously awaiting Martin and Mollie's trip to try it out. Apparently Monk's is one of the best places in the world to get beer. Sadly it was so dark inside the dining room I couldn't get any pictures. If you like beer though it is seriously the best spot in Philly and a must visit for awesome bar food. We will be going back.

What trip to Philadelphia would be complete with the obligatory stops around Independence Hall? We read history plaques, took goofy pictures, and enjoyed the most spectacular spring weather we'd had yet. Everything looked so pretty with the blooming trees, and clear blue sky. Gorgeous. We walked all the way down to Penn's Landing looking out towards New Jersey, and enjoying the breeze by the water before heading home.

It meant so much to Ryan and I to have friends visit us in our new home. We're settling in well, but homesickness for your loved ones creeps in just the same. We've missed our weekends with Martin and Mollie, and hanging out with them for two days was kind of amazing. They're the best people ever. Really truly. big kiss, bekuh

FOLLOW ALONG:

Spring at the Navy Yard

The Navy Yard sits at the very bottom of Philadelphia and is the home of URBN's main offices. Every morning I hop a train to the southern most station and head towards the yard on a shuttle, that is until this week. With the spring weather finally showing its face I'm walking the mile and a half from the station to and from work. Well on my way to the station last night the trees were really starting to show their bloom and I couldn't help but take a million pictures.

Most of the blossoms are pale pinks, and fluffy white, but every so often you get a flash of red or a pop of yellow. It's in those colors I feel most alive, like the earth is sending me a sign to be creative and express myself. So I took pictures; pictures close to blossom heads, and pictures of ships, and pictures of pretty old buildings. 

My favorite blossoms by far are the dogwoods, they're draped open like a present from God to all of us. A present so full of blush it brings colors to my cheeks. Sunshine on my shoulders, and a smile on my face. big kiss, bekuh

Milk Boy Coffee

We decided to head out of the city for a little suburbs adventuring this weekend and visited parts of Wayne, and Ardmore, PA. I'll be honest and say it was mostly for shopping purposes, but it did feel good to hop in the car for a little drive. We started in Wayne at the first ever Anthropologie store, and I was surprised how precious the whole town was. I didn't really know what to expect, but perfect, ritzy suburb wasn't it.

Our next stop was Ardmore, where we popped into Milk Boy Coffee for a late brunch and delicious coffee. I got the breakfast slider meal with chipotle sour cream, and Ryan decided on the breakfast chili rellenos. A long abandoned tradition is coming back to the blog, BRUNCH! But more importantly, a long abandoned tradition is bringing our weekends closer together, because nothing bonds Ryan and I more than our mutual love of food. Just kidding, sort of... How was your weekend? big kiss, bekuh

Getting Some Fresh Air

a cloudy billboard against a glorious sky

I've been thinking a lot lately (never a good thing), and I just wanted to share a little bit about where I'm at with you now that I've had time to settle into Philadelphia a little. My life has taken some drastic turns in the last couple of months, and one of the things that is becoming ever more apparent to me is that Secondhand Sundays is no longer my focus, but an outlet for my free time. I love this space and have no plans of giving it up, but it will feel dramatically different from now on. Here's what you can expect moving forward:

+ We are super excited to start sharing more personal posts focused on our life in Philadelphia. It's already been an adventure filled couple of weeks! I want to be a part of this new community, not a passerby, and as such I want to share more local things with you than ever before. Sharing these personal bits of life are increasingly important to us as we now live away from all our family. They read this stuff too!

+ I am doing away with paid advertising on SHS indefinitely. Secondhand Sundays has always been a personal blog, and I believe ending this program will be a better representation of that sentiment. I have loved swapping with people, and writing highlight posts, but that's just not where my heart is. If I'm being totally honest I don't feel like I was expanding my audience for the right reasons, and monetizing was not a good choice for me. I am however, going to continue working with affiliates I feel reflect my personal taste, because what girl doesn't want a discount on brands she loves?

+ Gone are the days where I post six times a week. My new job and commute are demanding enough that I just don't have the time to do it. I don't, in any way, think this is a bad thing. I am actually loving my new schedule, and the commute will allow me more time to read. Reading more has been on my to-do list for some time now, and it's important to me to see it through. What does this mean for you? In my opinion it means you're going to be getting better content, with a more cohesive voice. I'm going to be hopping around a lot less.

I don't think any of this will come as a surprise to you. I'm sure those of you who have been reading for awhile feel like I change things up every two weeks, but it will settle down soon enough. I am consistently amazed by the love I have found through blogger friends and readers, and what they're willing to put up with from me. You guys are amazing. Thank you. big kiss, bekuh