Purse Twin

Debie and I met up halfway this weekend in Philadelphia. It was a day trip totally on a whim. We each thought the other was planning the itinerary. Whoops! But it turned out to be just right. We both took Megabus from our respective cities, then went and stood in line for cheesesteak and peeked in the window at the Liberty Bell (the line was way too long, ok?). Thus concluded the cultural aspect of our tour, and we marched onwards, partaking in gelato-eating, shopping in Rittenhouse Square and a fun, leisurely dinner at Tria, a fancy but not at all snooty wine bar.

Debie had tweeted about the Philly day trip, and the Philadelphia tourism office dutifully tweeted her back on Monday, asking "How was your trip?"

I said she should write that we spent money and contributed to their economy. Ha.

This is the new purse I bought at South Moon Under in Philadelphia. I love everything at South Moon Under. They do a great job of stocking cute, affordable items. Back to the purse - look at those black and white stripes, and poppy colors. It was the only one like it in the store. How could I not take it home with me? My problem is that I am always drawn to crazy things like this, and then everything I own is crazy and I have no white t-shirts.

So I got the purse on Saturday and wore it for the first time on Tuesday. Guess what I saw in the Metro today?

I know this purse was mass-produced in China, but still, small world. This girl actually exited at the same stop as me. Maybe she is my doppelganger. Or evil twin. Sorry for taking photos of you on the Metro, evil twin. But I think I'm going to win the "Who Wore It Better" contest. Though I might wear it with jhorts too.

Tunes Tuesday: "Call Your Boyfriend," Robyn

Hey, Lady Gaga? While you've been wedging yourself into a giant egg, parading around in a hamburger dress and singing about being as free as your hair, little ol' Robyn is stealing your claim to today's best top-40 synth pop. Example: this single-take video for "Call Your Girlfriend," a breakup dance track with lyrics from the point of view of both the woman scorned and the other woman.

I know this I'm late to the party here since this song was released in 2010, but it should be a radio hit today. C'mon America, let's make it happen! Robyn is more than talented enough to take some of Gaga/Rihanna/Katy Perry's cash.

At first I thought the best Robyn song was "Cry When You Get Older." Then I switched my allegiance to "Dancing On My Own." Thirty listens to "Call Your Girlfriend," and I'm sure that this is the one. All of these songs combine the perfect ratio of earworm melody, thoughtfully heartbroken lyrics and beats with just the right amount of sing-along pop cheese.

And going along with last week's Lollapalooza post, here's a shuffling take on the song by a band I was lucky enough to see at the festival, Noah and The Whale. Although they've changed it to "Call Your Boyfriend." I think it's cooler when musicians covering songs play the gender pronouns as they lay. Don't you think?

Makeshift Jewelry Storage - DIY

In my old apartment, my room was obviously slapped on the back of the house, at an angle at that. A pencil rolled right off my desk, and I had to put risers on only one half of the bed to avoid hideous back problems. There was a window into the kitchen and another window that had been painted over.

Two years in, I figured out a use for this useless window.

Just added a couple spring-loaded curtain rods, so my jewelry could be on display.

Not bad, eh?

I don't like the effect as much here in the new place, but it's still useful. The curtain rods fit nicely in a small corner of my bedroom. I'm scared to nail holes in the pristine walls here, but one or two won't hurt, right? It might be cool to wrap the curtain rods in ribbon, maybe I will try that to make it look a little prettier.

Craigslist Microwave

A few years ago, I bought an iron from Craigslist. It was the easiest transaction ever. I walked a few blocks to the main street in my neighborhood, met a girl on the corner and gave her $15 in exchange for an iron wrapped in a brown paper bag, then we both went on our way. Must've looked like a drug deal, in retrospect. Now I was in need of a microwave. "Here's one on Craigslist in Mount Pleasant for $25. Done," I thought. "Easy as pie." What I didn't count on: it turned out to be a giant, unwieldy 1990s style microwave. The apartment turned out to be at the bottom of a giant hill. The temperature turned out to be 90 degrees, all humidity. I was half way up the hill before I had to put the microwave down on an electrical box and take a short breather. It was then I realized that of my many bad ideas, this was a particularly bad one. At first I took 15 steps and then took a break, resting the microwave on a stoop, bike rack or building window sill. Then it was 10 steps. Then it was 8 steps. Then it was 5 steps. The breaks kept getting longer. Sweat loosened my grip on the microwave and made my glasses slip off my nose. My arms are hurting just typing this out. It had to look like the definition of a fool's errand. I'm sure I looked quite silly, which is not a new look for me. Of the many people I passed, three offered to help and curiously enough, all of them were women. Two of them were AARP card holders. It was very sweet of all them to offer to help, but I didn't want them to throw their backs out. "I can do this," I thought when I was two blocks away, two blocks that seemed to stretch on for miles. But with shaky arms, I wondered, could I really do this? For some reason, the thought of abandoning the microwave never even crossed my mind. Then, deus ex machina, a man getting off the bus volunteered to carry the microwave the remaining two blocks. Probably instantly regretted it. But cheers to you, Good Samaritan! Cheers to Good Samaritans of both genders! And when I finally got the microwave settled in the kitchen and plugged it in, the dang thing worked. Cheers to Craigslist too, I guess.

Tunes Tuesday: Lollapalooza Edition

The third and final day of the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza - we were there, wallowing in the mud with 90,000 other music fans. Right before my personal favorite Arctic Monkeys took the stage, the sky opened up with a thunderstorm that was downright Biblical. We were more prepared than most. As soon as the drizzle started, I scrambled to poke a hole in the top of a Hefty garbage bag - the engineer's raincoat. You know what? Combined with an umbrella, it did the job. The girls who had on crop tops and rompers without fancy trashbag raincoats looked pretty miserable.

You gotta love the setlist Arctic Monkeys picked out when they finally took the stage after the rain: Brianstorm, She's Thunderstorms, and Crying Lightning. Who knew they had so many weather-related songs?

Joe's photo of the rainbow during Arctic Monkeys' set

But by then, our great spot in front of the stage had turned into an island in the muck. Flip flops and broken sandals were stuck in the mud, abandoned by their owners. What a mess. These pictures are an accurate depiction of conditions.

We thought the storm was behind us, but the clouds darkened, and just as Dangermau5 Deadmau5 took the stage it started pouring again. Instead of scrambling for an umbrella, the crowd started sprinting toward the stage and dancing in the rain. I thought poor Dangermau5 Deadmau5 might get electrocuted. Luckily not. Instead, it was a great Lollapalooza moment and that's why I've chosen this homemade video as this week's Tunes Tuesday. I was not as brave about iPhone video shooting in the rain.

PS - The Joy Formidable rocked really hard, go see them if you get the chance!

Urban Farming Fail

Remember my tomato plant experiment? All summer long, I watched as a tiny green bud on the non-cherry tomato plant grew a little larger, a little larger, than stopped growing altogether and just sat on the vine for weeks. Finally it started to turn red and ripe for the picking.

My yield thus far! One plum-sized tomato. Plum-size might be a generous description, it was a wee little tomato.

I was so proud and happy as i deposited it in the fruit/veggie basket on my counter. I then promptly went on vacation for the weekend. "I'll eat you when I return," I thought.

But it was not to be...

"N000000000000000000000000....[pause for breath] 00000000000oooo."

That's what I found when I got back. Just so you can get this straight - I watched that little tomato grow every day for 2 months give or take, and then when the moment was right, I bobbled!

Maybe I'll get another chance. You all were right, I needed a larger container. But I have managed to keep them alive thus far, knock on wood.