What do you think of when you think of Philadelphia? Ben Franklin? The Liberty Bell? Rocky? Cheesesteak? A witch shooting milk out of her tits?

Philthadelphia got a little dirtier last weekend when Dana, Steve and Jerry came to visit. I can't believe how much we managed to squeeze into three days -- Pat's and Geno's, the Liberty Bell, the Mutter Museum, Reading Terminal Market, Olde City, Va La Winery, the NBA finals at Stadium Grille, tromping around nature and a mini True Blood season one marathon.

All in all, a great visit (despite the fact that their plane was ridiculously delayed and they ended up getting to my place at 3:00 a.m. -- dub, Southwest? Dub?) and I can't wait to see them again.



We started with The Great Philly Cheesesteak Taste-Off -- Pat's vs. Geno's. Our first stop was Geno's where the food was mediocre, the decor was touristy and garish and a framed photo of Sarah Palin made our collective stomachs turn. No bueno.



Then, we hit Pat's -- it's a little less flashy than Geno's, but the meat's better, the bread's better, the fries are better and there's no framed photos of halfwit politicians, so it was the obvious winner.



After checking out the Liberty Bell and learning that Ben Franklin was essentially a frat boy (all about beer, broads and farting, that dude...), we hit up the Mutter Museum. The museum is essentially a medical library founded by the Philadelphia College of Physicians and while small, is stocked with all sorts of crazy stuff -- paraphernalia on conjoined twins, creepy fetal skeletons, a nine-foot color containing 40lbs of fecal matter (too many cheesesteaks?) and books bound in human leather. Totally bizarre and totally awesome.



Looking at skulls and malignant tumors left us feeling peckish, so we hit the best lunch spot in the city -- Reading Terminal Market. I love this place. You can get crepes, dolmas, samosas, fresh produce, Amish goodies and BBQ ribs all under the same roof. What's not to like?!

In regards to the above picture, this is basically how it went down:

*CLICK*
Jerry: You know that's a garbage can, right?
Jaime: What? Oh, gross! You couldn't have told me before I licked it?
Jerry: It's funnier this way.

My friends are assholes.

I needed something to get the garbage can taste out of my mouth, so we went in search of a bar. A near impossible feat in Philly, right?



We ended up at Brownie's -- an Irish pub where the bartender was surly, the Tom Collins' were refreshing and the upstairs room was ours for the taking. We spent our time rocking out to The Faces, Better Than Ezra, Guns 'N Roses, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and The Dropkick Murphys, playing darts, pool and basically acting like idiots. It was awesome.



Then, Dana and I got into a bar brawl with some dude named Bruce Banner. You wouldn't like us when we're angry....

After a day of Irish pubs and comic book stores, we decided to do something a little more sophisticated, so we headed to Avondale to the Va La Winery.



It was pretty sweet. Especially when Dana and I heard the magic words -- "Let me get you some more cheese."



Yeah, wine is pretty magical.

As I said before, it was a fantastic trip and it really made me miss living near my best friends. Everything from big stuff like wandering museums to little things like listening to truly awful music on the radio. Even though I live 1000 miles away from them, I am so incredibly lucky to have people like this in my life. So damn lucky and so damn loved.

Hell, I Still Love You New York

Living in South Florida, you learn to dislike New York very quickly. Every winter, New Yorkers descend on your life like locusts who can't drive and make everything miserable. There's more traffic, more lines everywhere and worst of all, more Jets/Yankees fans -- I swear, they're like sperm. Only one in 30,000 has a chance of being a human being.

So, the idea of a South Floridian hitting NYC for the weekend is, in theory, a pretty terrible idea. But I've had a crush on big cities ever since I can remember and a weekend in one of the biggest seemed like a pretty great way for Dan and I to celebrate our anniversary.

My crush quickly bloomed into a full-blown love affair.

The noise, the crush of people, even the smell -- a heady mix of bus fumes, perfume, street food (particularly roasted nuts and hot dogs) and that X-factor makes you grimace momentarily. It's amazing and I can't wait until we go back.



Because we're all about riding in style, we took the Bolt Bus to NYC. It's efficient, it's clean and it only cost us $20 each for a round trip. Highly recommended.



We're here! The first thing we did was head over to see our friend Bryan at work. He was sweet enough to play host/tour guide all weekend and he was amazing. Bryan works at HBO and because of this, we actually got to eat at the HBO eatery, cleverly titled tHe BistrO. Get it? Yeah.



Because I am a nerd, I dragged Dan to Nintendo World where I spent a good ten minutes searching frantically for a Link plush toy. My search came up empty. Sadface.



Ladies and gentlemen, my fiance is a member of the Dharma initiative.



Dan and Bryan at the Brooklyn Promenade. God, I'd kill for this view. It's gorgeous.



We had breakfast at the Nectar Coffee Shop on Madison Avenue. I had a bialy -- which is like a bagel crossed with an English muffin (a buffin?) and the best iced coffee I've ever had in my life. Seriously, after drinking this -- I wanted to start a petition to change the name of Dunkin Donuts to Dunkin Garbage.



My breakfast was so good, I became a little gangsta. Just a little. Polish Ashkenazi cuisine will do that to a girl.



Then, we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They have the coolest exhibition going on right now called Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy which not only features actual superhero costumes (Christian Bale's from The Dark Knight, Michelle Pfeiffer's from Batman Returns, Rebecca Romijn's from X-Men, Tobey Maguire's from Spiderman....) but also interpretations on each costume by designers like Marc Jacobs and Versace. It's amazing and I highly recommend it.



There was another pretty fantastic exhibit on the roof of the Met. Jeff Koons' exhibit runs through October 26 and if you get a chance, you should check it out.



My favorite of Koons' pieces.



All the pretty artwork got to me. As Bryan put it, I look like, "the overaggressive girl in second grade who just had to kiss you."

After the Met, we headed to Broadway where I saw my first show titled [Title of Show]. The plot's very clever and very meta -- it's about two guys playing themselves writing a play about two guys playing themselves. It's hysterically funny, the music is great (Heidi Blickenstaff has an incredible voice) and there's a shirtless guy and a lesbian kiss. A perfect musical.



55 Central Park West. Also known as "the Ghostbusters building." Dan was so excited to see this in real life. Cutest. Movie Nerd. Ever.



"Nobody steps on a church in my town!" -- Peter Venkman.



Red Mango frozen yogurt is effing delicious. As witnessed by my bare-empty cup here.



Keeping with the dessert theme, even the cookie cake knew what was up.



So, in closing -- yeah, the place is filled with Jets fans (i.e.: scum of the earth douchebags) and schmucks who are stupid enough to roll joints right there in the middle of the street (you know what's funny? When a gust of wind picks up and blows all their weed away. Hilarious), but in the words of Ryan Adams -- Hell, I still love you, New York.

Put me on a plane/Fly me to anywhere

I got really excited last night because I thought I found cheap tickets to Florida over Thanksgiving.

Round trip airfare for $260.

A steal, right? Couple that with the fact that I haven't seen my parents or sister in a year and this is the bargain of the century.

However, as with math and Kim Kardashian's fame -- my understanding of the Gregorian calendar is tenous at best.

I was looking up airfare for the week before Thanksgiving. The tickets I want cost upwards of $500.

Balls.

The world won't wait, so I better shake

To celebrate our anniversary, Dan and I are planning on spending the weekend in New York City.

Having never been to NYC, I'm ridiculously excited and can't wait. Only, I've got no idea what to do when we get there.

I'd like to have one of those great Nora Ephron-y nights where Dan and I just wander around the city until sunrise.


(Photo courtesy of Urban75.com)

But I get the feeling that:

A) Knowing my brilliant sense of direction, I'd probably end up in some shady neighborhood being chased by the C.H.U.D.s.
B) This idea would work until about 4:00 a.m. when I would get incredibly sleepy and end up passing out in the street and being hauled off by one of New York's finest.

So, this is where you come in. I need suggestions -- places to eat and places to see.

I hear The Met's pretty cool, I definitely want to check out 55 Central Park West (we're nerds. Do I really need to keep reiterating this?) and I'm a big advocate of eating really well (Ray's Pizza -- delicious or overrated? Oh and if anyone could recommend good Indian, Middle Eastern and Tapas places, that would be awesome!

So -- suggestions, recommendations?

Thanks guys!

I've walked a thousand miles to slip into this skin...

I got back from Pennsylvania a little less than a week ago and I've been in two minds whether to blog my experiences or not. On one hand, I blog everything, so it only made sense, but on the other? I wanted to have something that was mine (ours, really). Something that no-one else was privy to.

In the end, my desire for self-publication overwhelmed all. It's the journalist in me. I dig free food and publication. So here's an abridged version of my trip to Pennsylvania. Enjoy!

My flight to Philadelphia was delayed by about two hours and while waiting at the airport, I met quite possibly the world's nicest people. A family from Bryn Mawr, PA and a very sweet lady who used to work for Disney. We started talking and of course, I told them the story of how Dan and I met. I told them about how I had pterodactyls swooping in my stomach at the thought of meeting Dan's mom and sister. I talked about how more than anything, I was just looking forward to linking his fingers in mine and knowing he was that close to me. I talked about how he can make me laugh harder with one raised eyebrow than most people can with a half-hour comedy special.

By the time we landed at Philadelphia International Airport, I was accompanied to the baggage claim by five people very anxious to meet Dan. I guess I talked him up pretty good.

People never cease to amaze me. I had known these people for less than six hours and yet, they were rooting for me to see Dan again and genuinely interested in seeing us reunite. Making connections like that is rare, but it shouldn't be. I'm sure, at point in their lives, they were all as excited as I was about seeing someone they loved. The details might be different, but the emotional experience is essentially the same. It's nice to make that connection with someone. It helps reiterate that at the end of the day, regardless of skin color or sexual orientation or age -- we're all the same.

Having had a couple of airport reunions under my belt, one would assume that I'm a pro. Not the case at all. I saw Dan, I think I gasped and I flung myself into his arms.

We hugged, we kissed, I breathed him in and then, we realized that a gaggle of people were staring at us and smiling. I didn't care, though. I was just thrilled to be talking to Dan without holding a phone up to my ear.

In the car on the way home, I kept glancing to the left, staring at my ridiculously cute boyfriend and repeating, "I'm here. I'm really here." It didn't seem real at all.

Before we got home, though -- we had to make a stop at the infamous Wawa. Now, for those of you who don't reside in the mid-Atlantic states, you probably have no idea what the hell a Wawa is. I certainly didn't and I had been hearing about their glory since I was sixteen. A Wawa is the world's greatest convenience store. They have made-to-order sandwiches, great coffee, amazing iced tea and something called a Sizzli which I think is a breakfast sandwich...but I could be mistaken. In fact, it was at the Wawa that I encountered West Chester's most infamous resident -- Bam Margera. No, I didn't talk to him. No, I didn't take a picture. No, I didn't kick him in the balls. I just looked up, saw he was there and continued paying for my iced tea.

We got home and I met Dan's mom for the first time. Within five minutes of being in her company, all those Mothra-sized butterflies in stomach disappeared. His family is incredible and I am so lucky to have met them.
In addition to being the first time I was seeing Dan in six months, it was also the first time I was seeing snow in 22 years.




















Living in Florida, you get used to three types of meteorological conditions -- hot, not so hot and plywood (as in, hit the Depot and stock up on it because y'all about to get peckerslapped by a hurricane). Snow is a big deal and I was obviously excited by its presence.




















It wasn't snowing on my first full day there, so I improvised and made it snow.



























In addition to snowball fights, snow angels and sledding, the biggest benefit of snow is looking like one of the ice climbers. Seriously. Looking like a video game character is never a bad thing.



























As well as playing in the snow at Oakbourne Manor, we also hit up Baldwin's Book Barn - a five-story barn built into a bookstore.




















































I've got a thing for bookstores and can spend hours poring over texts and tomes. Living in Orlando, you don't really get to see many bookstores that don't have a Starbucks built into them, so this was a pretty cool experience.




















We also hit up the DK Diner -- allegedly a West Chester institution. I loved it -- the service was great, the people were friendly and best of all, the food was delicious.




















I love diner food. Eggs, hash browns, cherry pie, coffee, short stacks of pancakes covered in syrup? Love 'em all...but then again, I'm the girl who would eat a couch if they deep-fried it. Seriously -- I'm a fat girl in a little girl's body just screaming to escape. Look at the mess on my plate. I actually ate that and if I wasn't completely stuffed, I would have gone back for seconds.



























Reason #16549846531316354 I love Dan: He shares his food. Actually he shares everything and since I follow the 'Sharing is Caring' mentality to a severe degree -- this makes me blissfully happy.



























When we weren't eating, we actually did stuff. We drove into Philly one afternoon and checked out Temple University (where my ridiculously cute boyfriend happens to be an esteemed alumnus) and a classic rock art show. Being us, we picked the coldest/stormiest day of my trip to drive into Philly. See how red my nose is? Luckily, we found a killer parking spot right outside of Temple Towers and didn't have to trek too far to see the school.




















While at Temple, we grabbed a slice of Fame's Pizza. See, Dan has this theory that pizza and bagels and stuff suck in Los Angeles because the water's no good. Now, I don't know how much credence this theory holds, but I do know pizza and Fame's was pretty effing delicious....and now, I'm jonesing for pizza. Great.



























After touring Temple, we headed to the classic rock art show put on by 102.9 WMGK. We saw some pretty cool stuff including artwork by Ronnie Wood of the The Rolling Stones and Tico Torres of Bon Jovi, signed photographs, handwritten lyric sheets and best of all -- a gorgeous picture of Stevie Ray Vaughan and First Wife. Beautiful. I loved it.





















The weather was starting to turn ugly, so we decided to head back home. Normally, this would be a 40 minute drive. Instead, it turned into a 2 1/2 hour expedition in which we did not exceed a speed of 30 mph on I-95. Plus side to that? I got to snap this picture of Lincoln Financial Field -- home of the Philadelphia Eagles. I like the Eagles for two reasons:

A) Donovan McNabb. He's a good guy.
B) They hate the Cowboys with an unparalleled passion and take a real pleasure in pummeling them every season. I've got nothing but respect for that.





















When we got back home, Dan had to deal with the highly unpleasant task of shoveling the driveway. The poor guy was chilled to the bone when he got back in, but silver lining? I got a great picture out of it for my photography class. Yes, my boyfriend resembled Frostillicus, but I got a gold star from my professor. You can't tell me that's not a worthy sacrifice.





















As well as spending quality time in Philadelphia, we also decided to take a road trip to the wilds of New Jersey to visit Dan's college roomie, Adam and his girlfriend, Kristen. We stocked up on roadtrip essentials...even though it's only a 2 1/2 hour drive. For a successful roadtrip, one must procure some sort of snacky food (Tasty Kakes are delicious and beat the everloving crap out of Lil' Debby any day), cold beverages, directions and a fully loaded iPod filled with all sorts of eclectic music -- Marvin Gaye, Aerosmith, The Faces, Madonna and so much more.





















Dan's a great guy to road trip with. Not only because he shares his Swedish Fish and Tasty Kakes, but also because he indulges my spectacularly crap taste in music. Not many men would put up with their girlfriend belting out off-key versions of old-school Mariah Carey at ear-splitting volumes. In addition to this, he serenades me. I'm not talking about wobbly renditions of pablum like I Swear. I'm talking an anthemic, fist-pumping, passionate version of Motown Philly by Boyz II Men. Never has a song with a lyric about cheese steak sounded so good.





















Ah, New Jersey. Despite what I've heard, I didn't smell anything funny and no-one called me a 'douchebag' on arrival. I think this place gets an unfairly bad rap. Besides, how can a place that gave birth to both Frank Sinatra and Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle possibly be bad?





















While in Jersey, we hit up Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. All they need is a couple of couches, a few flat-screen TVs, some XBoxes and pizza and this place would be a 14-year-old's wet dream....and by 14-year-old, I mean me. Dear God, I am such a nerd. In addition to seeing a replica of the Bluntmobile, we also saw Banky's famous sketch of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the male-affectionate, easy to get along with, non-political agenda lesbian and the man-hating, angry as fuck, agenda of rage, bitter dyke. We stood in front of it for about ten seconds before reciting the line, "Because the other three are figments of your fucking imagination!" at the same exact time. Yeah -- Dan and I are definitely made for each other.





















My boyfriend looks kinda like Brodie Bruce. So much so that he dressed up as him for Halloween one year. I'm not going to post those pictures, but here's a shot of Brodie at the Secret Stash.





















Since it was St. Patrick's Day, we decided to hit up an Irish pub for dinner and then we realized something -- it was St.Patrick's Day and it would probably be easier to get Paris Hilton to stop flashing her chocha than it would be to get a table at any Irish pub. So instead, we settled on a classic -- Applebee's. Burgers and beer -- what's not to love? Thanks again to Adam and Kristen for the hospitality. I had a great time hanging out with you guys and hope I get to see you again soon!





















All in all -- it was a great trip and one filled with firsts. First time traveling on a plane by myself, first time meeting my boyfriend's parents, first time spending a birthday with Dan (best. birthday. ever.) and first time visiting three states in a thirteen day period (Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey). It was perfect and I can't wait until we see each other again (38 days!).