The Official Birthday Dress - Shop Your Closet 1st!

Blazer: Not Sure :-/ | Dress: D&G (Fall 2010 Collection)

I cannot even begin to explain how crazy the past few weeks have been. I told you before 2013 started with a bang and things clearly have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. But, I thought it important to show my blog a little love particularly having just celebrated my quarter century birthday ;)! How does 25 look on the girl??

Now I used to be one of those girls that would go shopping every time I had an event to go, or a special day, because those are reasons to buy and wear something new, right? Wrong...just wrong. For the sake of your pockets and for the sake of all the beautiful clothes you've acquired on the "just-because" shopping days, we've got to learn to shop the closet first! And I really did realize this when I looked through my closet, and I realized just how many beautiful dresses I had (ok, so I have a thing for dresses, for some people the addiction is shoes, for me it's fabulous dresses), like this D&G number, that I would only wear for very specific or special occasions. I bought this dress in late 2010 for my 23rd birthday dinner party. I took tons of pictures in it, felt beautiful and like the life of the party, as I should have.

Clearly I've learned a thing or two about makeup since then. But honestly, I have not worn this dress since that dinner in January of 2011, and not without trying. I'll go to grab it for an event, and either don't want to stand out too much if it's a wedding or other demure affair, or feel like it's too awesome for just dinner and drinks. Seriously what is more fun and festive than brightly colored polka dots? And when can and should I be a bright ball of fun and be the center of attention? Why my birthday of course! Since it was a little cold and rainy this time, I paired it with a pair of black tights and suede booties. And I've decided to make this the official birthday dress, for every January 28th thereafter, whether it's a Monday night dinner or a Saturday afternoon for tea, I will put this dress on and feel as fabulous as it makes me feel and celebrate my birth. As long as I can fit it, of course lol. And when I put it on, I'll remember all the memories of celebrating all that is me. Maybe I'll even bust it out on my half birthday in July lol.

What about you? Got a favorite dress in your closet that only gets worn for very special occasions? Let's figure out how to get it into a better rotation!

My Favorite BYOBs in Philadelphia

(Google image)

At a JL meeting this week, I was jokingly told that I should quit my job and write about all the BYOBs and fun things to do in Philly, to which I said, funny that you should say that, I kind of have a blog to do that, haven't quit my day job though. But it did remind me that one of the things this blog was supposed to do was tell you about some of the awesome gems Philly has to offer.

And one of my favorite parts about living here is dining on delicious food without breaking the bank because there are just so many wonderful restaurants here, but equally importantly, enjoying a nice bottle of wine with dinner without paying $50-100 for them to pour it for me. So here are my top 10(ish) favorite BYOBs, broken into categories for a bit more guidance to your foodie adventures:

Fun, Loud, Celebratory:
1) La Viola (Ovest) (Italian)
252 S. 16th Street, Rittenhouse 
La Viola will always have a place in my heart, mostly because the fondest of memories have been created here. It is THE go-to dinner spot to fill up on yummy, but affordable home cooked tasting Italian food, while drinking wine and other libations (they do not judge what type of bottle you put on the table, as some other establishments have...) to your heart's content before hitting the town for a long night of dancing and other shenanigans, especially if you're a Penn student of any kind. It's the only place I know of in the city that will seat a party of 20 at 10pm and won't kick you out even when you're laughing hysterically with friends well after midnight. Nestled comfortably at 16th & Locust, it's just a hop skip and a jump from all the nightlife Rittenhouse Square has to offer. Oh and they have two locations across the street from one another, I prefer Ovest simply because it's the bigger of the two, which to me means higher chance of faster seating, especially on the weekends, beware...
Favorite menu items: Funghi Trentino, Penne All'Oriolo

2) La Locanda del Ghittone (Italian)
130 N. 3rd Street, Olde City
We actually stumbled upon this place when our other neighborhood gem, Il Cantuccio, was booked, and apparently there's a bit of a family rivalry. Nonetheless, Ghittone has become another go-to for a heart-warming, open kitchen serving up piping hot delicious Italian meals, always tempting you with some fabulous special of the evening. It's shaped in an L, and larger parties are normally seated along the longer side of the dining room, making the short side seem like a smaller more intimate restaurant, without the pressure of being quiet. Joe, the maitre'd/server/entertainment for the evening, is a fun-loving guy that does the best he can to seat you, even when it's packed to capacity or their shutting the burners down. Great place to kick off a night on the town in Olde City, and parking is almost always a cinch.
Favorite menu items: Crepine con Funghi, Gnocchi del Giorno

3) Lolita (Mexican)
106 S. 13th Street, Midtown Village
So I'm not sure you can ever go wrong when you're told to BYOT - T is for tequila! With the most delicious carafes of margarita mix flavors like blood orange and strawberry basil, I'm not even sure the food has to be that great. But it is. Pretty sure the short rib was the first thing I'd ever seen the beau eat and not even offer for me to try because it was too good to share. I personally am a big fan of the Carne Asada with plantain crema and fried yucca, delish! Conveniently located near lots of fun places on 13th, another great place to celebrate an event or kick off the festivities of the evening.
Favorite menu items: Guacamole, Carne Asada a La Lolita

Intimate & Romantic:

Friend Categorizing

The decision to stay in Philadelphia after college wasn't particularly hard at the time, because despite droves of people heading to NYC and other similar metropolitan areas, I still had a handful of friends opting to stay or still in school here. But as each year passed, one more friend would relocate, and I found myself lacking a core group of girlfriends. Marathons of Sex and the City and Girls reminded me what it was like to have a crew, you know? Where everyone knew each others business, and you didn't have to give the entire back story when you had a new juicy story to tell. Granted, I think I haven't really had a "crew" for a while, even in college, I had very close one-on-one friendships with people, who almost always had their own "crew" that I wasn't necessarily apart of, but they valued our friendship enough to call me one of their "best friends". We'd always have our dinner dates and girls nights full of wine and laughter, but the girl group outings definitely declined after college.

The coupling up certainly had something to do with it. I look back at my 23rd birthday dinner and while 20 people were at the table, it was comprised of at least 8 couples, but mind you only two of them married. And God forbid anything happen that might make having only couples as friends awkward and/or social life suicide, I remembered the importance of having good girlfriends. So again, I started to make the effort of rekindling girls nights and outings, which were always warmly received and excitedly attended, but the invitations weren't being extended at the same rate. But yet, I'd see these same people on social networks seeming to have the time of their lives with other girlfriends who lived in the city.

Do they not really like me? Am I lame or boring? Psh couldn't be that, I'm the life of the party lol. I would think to myself. Confused by the fact that I was apparently tolerable in some settings (couples dinners, select group outings, etc.), but not others. "Looked like fun, guess I missed the invite...", I'd jokingly say sometimes, only to get the "Oh I thought you'd be hanging out with your man" or "It was a real last minute thing." And I probably was curled up watching some awesome movie on Netflix with him, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have liked the opportunity to join or decline the invitation for a raincheck. 

But then I started to realize that some people have different friends for different things. Like Google+ Circles. Some are party friends, some are couple friends, some are shopping friends. I personally am not one of those people. If you're my friend, you're my friend in all situations, and I'll invite you to anything I host and pretty much anywhere I'm going. I'll give you the choice whether or not you'd like to join from your own comfort level. But apparently, that's not how everyone operates. 

I've read lots of articles about how hard it is to make new friends in your 30s, but apparently the mid 20s in a big city aren't a cakewalk either. I've met lots of cool people in the past few years, but taking it from first introduction to the next friend date without seeming like a total creeper is somehow escaping me. Joining the Junior League has helped, having created a core group of like-minded women, seeking to build a social network that all live or work in a 10 block radius. But it's still a category of "Junior League" friends.

Is the time period where you made non-circumstantial true friends really over? From conversations with friends in living in other major cities, I'm starting to think it might be. How's it been making new good friends for you post-college?

Happy New Year!! Resolution Time...

While one would think having a week off from work would bode all the time in the world for R&R and blog posts, it did no such thing. The holidays hit me like a tornado, between thinking I was Santa and shopping up a storm to spending loads of tech-free time with the fam in NJ, the end of 2012 hit hard and went out with a bang with a NYE Extravaganza including a party bus to AC to see the amazing Tiesto spin for literally 3 hours. It was cray. In the best of ways.

Nonetheless, I can finally come up for air and set a few resolutions. In my humble opinion, the key to setting resolutions is setting some that you can keep track of and that you know you can actually keep. No lofty things you'll throw the towel in on a week later. I also allow myself to wait until my birthday (Jan. 28th) because it gives me a month to reflect on the previous year and set goals really specific to my personal growth, after celebrating another year of life. And this year's a big one...twenty five...o_O... and for that I will be celebrating on the shores of Me-Xi-Co!!

So when I return from Mexico, here are a few things I've thought of so far that I will ensure to kick off 2013 and the year of 25 (gulp lol) correctly by:

1.) Making LV time at least once a week. 
Whether it's a bubble bath, writing in a journal, a dance class, or reading a cheesy novel with a big glass of red, at least one night a week, I will do something that is for my enjoyment and mine alone. Too often, do we spread ourselves too thin and ignore our own needs. Between work and social lives or taking care of family, significant others, etc., how often do you really say to yourself today is a me day? If you do, I commend you. I will start this year.

2.) If it's less than 5 flights, taking the stairs. 
I currently live on the 2nd floor. And at first the rule was to always take the stairs. Then it was if I'm wearing heels, I'll take the elevator. Then it was always down, but only sometimes up. This is ridiculous. I should always take the stairs. It's the easiest mini-workout ever.