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Tag: Philadelphia


philadelphia flower show 2022

24
June

philly flower show fave

I have been to the Philadelphia Flower Show in years past.  Hailed as the world’s longest-running and largest indoor show in the country, it is hard for any flower lover not to visit at least once in their life!

The gazebo at fdr

But I have never been to the Philadelphia Flower Show since COVID.  And since COVID, there has been one huge change to the show – it moved outdoors from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

pavillion orchids

Because of the change, I was especially excited to visit the show this year – my first with the outdoor venue.

orange at the pavillion

sky at fdr

The site for the show since COVID has been FDR Park – a 348-acre park located in South Philadelphia along the Delaware River.

orchids for days

The venue turned out to be really great – even though the day my daughter and I chose to attend was a 94-degree day!  Yes, it certainly was hot, but we found some nice breezes and some shady spots to rest.

orchids over water

The food and drink options were fabulous with many great seating areas available.  We chose to have a snack in the boat house which provided a shady spot with a picturesque view of the river.

pavillion at fdr

orchids philly flower show

Though I prefer white flowers over multi-colored and I am not particularly an orchid fan, the flower installation in the gazebo overlooking the river was my favorite!  A profusion of multi-colored flowers, predominately orchids, dazzled in the space.  The photos I share here are all from this installation.

roses at fdr

My daughter and I hadn’t been to Philadelphia in quite a few years and we had many stops on our list!  I am glad we included the flower show as one of our stops because it really was enjoyable – particularly because it was held outdoors.

pavillion orchid display

urn at FDR park

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous weekend!

philly flower orchids

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | garden, style, travel

visiting anthro home office

21
March

Urban Outfitters Headquarters

I checked one off the list!  The ‘places I need to visit in Philly’ list…I visited the Anthropologie Headquarters!

Sign for Urban Outfitter Headquarters

Actually –  the Urban Outfitters home office.  Urban Outfitters is the parent company for Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN.  So, for today’s Friday field trip, I am sharing a few photos of the public areas I visited at the headquarters located at Philadelphia’s Naval Shipyard.  The Navy Yard is a collection of historic buildings (and battleships!) on the waterfront and open daily for public visitation.  It is easily accessible by shuttle just a few miles from the center of the city.  Though it is now closed for any naval activities, the 1,200 acre business campus sits on what was once the country’s very first naval shipyard!

Urban Outfitters offices

The creative and inspiring atmosphere (with great food) inside the Urban home office makes every visitor wish they were an employee!  You can see in this photo, just like in the stores – dogs are welcome!  In the Anthro building, I actually saw a dog watching a TV as he sat in his little dog bed next to his owner’s desk!  (True story!  And, he was watching a show about dogs!)

Dogs allowed at Urban Outfitters corporate

Some of the historic Navy Yard artifacts are clearly embraced in the decor:

Naval decor at Urban Outfitters Corporate
There are two wonderful places to have lunch – both are open to the public.

lunch menu at Urban Outfitters corporate

lunch table at Urban Outfitters corporate

Yup, it is called The Navy Yard for a reason…I don’t know of any other lunch spots with a battleship view!

View from Urban Outfitters corporate

One wall makes for an impromptu museum:

Hallway Urban Outfitters corporate

Like the stores, unique and inspiring surroundings are everywhere:

Urban Outfitters Corporate

Urban Outfitters Corporate

If you look closely at this photo, you may spot the employee exercise area on the upper floor.

Urban Outfitters Headquarters in Philadelphia, PA

And here is my prime destination…Building No. 10…

Anthropologie headquarters in Philadelphia, PA
The building containing the Anthropologie headquarters…I won’t show you the inside since it is not open to the public, but I will say that I was NOT disappointed!  Oh, and here is an example of one of the many daily happenings while walking by one of the company buildings…the beginnings of a photo shoot:

photo session at Urban Outfitters

I hope you enjoyed sharing some photos of the areas open to the public at the Urban Outfitters home office…and, if you should find yourself in Philly sometime – check it out!  Because, like the stores, the home office is unique, fun, and inspiring!

Have a fabulous spring weekend!  Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on visiting anthro home office | field trips, inspiration, style

the nation’s first hospital

9
August

Pennsylvania Hospital - the nation's first

One place I have been meaning to go when visiting Philadelphia is the Pennsylvania Hospital…it is the nation’s first hospital and I have been really curious to see the operating room…especially since it existed before electricity!

For today’s Friday field trip, I am taking you to the nation’s first hospital and sharing some of the interesting facts I learned during my visit.

Even today, considered one of the finest examples of Colonial and Federal architecture in the city, the hospital was founded in 1751 by Dr. Thomas Bond and Benjamin Franklin “to care for the sick-poor and insane who were wandering the streets of Philadelphia.”  At the time, Philadelphia was the fastest growing city in the 13 colonies.

The Great Court at the Nation's First Hospital in Philadelphia

The Great Court was restored in 1976 for the nation’s bicentennial and was completed using traditional colonial colors.

The Great Court at the Nation's First Hospital in Philadelphia

In 1847 the American Medical Association designated the Pennsylvania Hospital library as the country’s most important medical library.  The collection now contains over 13,000 volumes dating back to the 15th century – including medical and scientific volumes as well as books on natural history.  The library includes the nation’s most complete collection of medical books published between 1750 and 1850.  The collection also contains several incunabula, books written before 1501, when the printing press was invented.

The Historic Library at The Nation's First Hospital in Philadelphia.

Some old plaster casts were displayed along the front wall.  They were the only method of teaching anatomy during the 18th century since using human cadavers for the study of medicine was illegal at the time.

The top floor of the Pine Building is the home of The Nation’s First Surgical Amphitheater, the “dreaded circular room.”  The Amphitheatre served as the operating room from 1804 through 1868.  Surgeries were performed on sunny days between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm since there was no electricity at the time.  Candles also were used to help illuminate the room.  The light in the center is a reproduction of a gaslight and was probably not used until the 1830’s.

entrance to first surgical amphitheatre

The Nation's First Surgical Amphitheatre

The surgeons who first used this room were considered skilled craftsmen.  In this Surgical Amphitheatre surgery became the nation’s first medical specialty.  Medical students and locals paid to observe the surgical procedures.  Posters were placed around town to notify the public of the procedures being performed and the surgeons in attendance.  The Surgical Amphitheatre seats 180 and with those standing up to 300 people might be present during any given surgical operation.

The Nation's First Surgical Amphitheatre

The Nation's First Hospital

The most common surgical procedures of the day included amputation; removal of internal and external tumors, bladder stones and cataracts; repair of hernias; and the setting of fractures.  Patients were carried up the three flights of steps strapped to chairs or on stretchers before their operation.

The Nation's First Surgical Amphitheatre

The Nation's First Surgical Amphitheatre

Anesthesia was not used until the 1840’s.  Even then, anesthesia was used only on women because it was believed that they were less resistant to pain.  Prior to the use of anesthesia, the surgeons got the patients “blind drunk, gave them opium or administered a sharp tap on the head with a mallet enough to render the patient unconscious and hopefully not dead.”

The Nation's First Surgical Amphitheatre

Sterile technique was not used in this country until the 1890s.  Before that the surgeons washed their hands after the procedure.  They wore coats to protect their clothing and hung these coats outside the Amphitheatre on hooks on the walls – unwashed for years at a time.The Front Lawn of the Nation's First Hospital in Philadelphia.

The dry moat surrounding the hospital was used to exercise the mentally ill.  Out of morbid curiosity, townspeople gathered on Sundays to watch the patients.

A Physic Garden was proposed in 1774 to provide physicians with ingredients for medicines.  But, because of financial circumstances,  it was not until 1976 as a bicentennial project of the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America and the Friends of Pennsylvania Hospital that the garden was planted, containing the plants and herbs that were used for medicines in the 18th century. 

The Physic Garden at the Nation's First Hospital

More than 250 years later, Pennsylvania Hospital continues to thrive.  Pennsylvania Hospital has been designated National Historic Landmark since 1965.

If you find yourself with some free time in Philadelphia, I recommend you take the Pennsylvania Hospital Walking Tour and visit some of the oldest parts of the hospital…particularly the Nation’s First Surgical Amphitheatre!  I hope you enjoyed today’s Friday field trip.

Thank you so much for visiting!  Have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

1 comment » | field trips, travel

revisiting a butterfly garden

2
August

photo of black and blue butterfly

Although I am not a big butterfly fan, I couldn’t help but visit the butterfly garden when I was recently at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.  You may remember my last trip to the Butterfly Garden.

Today’s Friday field trip is a revisit to the butterfly garden at the museum.

butterfly at ANS butterfly garden in Philly

I think the intriguing thing about the butterflies is their short life span…it does seem sad that they don’t live beyond a couple of weeks.  For me, the intriguing part is that every time I am in Philadelphia, I can stop by the butterfly garden and every single butterfly will be different from my previous trip!

butterfly in ANS butterfly garden in Philly

So, even though my intention was to just visit the “Glow” exhibit, I found myself stopping by the butterfly garden before I left the museum.  And, this time I got to thinking about butterflies in literature…wondering how others documented their feelings about butterflies.  I have included my favorite findings with the photos.  Enjoy!

butterfly at ANS in Philly

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:

And now from having ridden out desire

They lie closed over in the wind and cling

Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.

~Robert Frost, “Blue-Butterfly Day”

 

butterfly at ANS in Philly

butterfly at ANS in Philly

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your
grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

~Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

butterfly at ANS in Philly

butterfly in the butterfly garden at Philly's ANS

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes

it has gone through to achieve that beauty. 

~Maya Angelou

 

butterfly in Philly's butterfly garden

“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have

sunshine, freedom and a little flower.” 

~Hans Christian Anderson

butterfly in butterfly garden

I only ask to be free.  The butterflies are free. 

~Charles Dickens

 

butterfly in Philadelphia butterfly garden

She liked being reminded of butterflies. She remembered being six or seven and crying over the fates of the butterflies in her yard after learning that they lived for only a few days. Her mother had comforted her and told her not to be sad for the butterflies, that just because their lives were short didn’t mean they were tragic. Watching them flying in the warm sun among the daisies in their garden, her mother had said to her, see, they have a beautiful life. Alice liked remembering that.
~Lisa Genova, “Still Alice”

Philadelphia butterfly garden at ANS

I hope you enjoyed our Friday field trip to the butterfly garden at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.  Thank you so much for stopping by.

Remember to take pleasure in simple things and have a wonderful weekend, Jackie

Sharing at The Tablescaper and Mona’s Picturesque.

1 comment » | field trips, garden

the magic gardens

2
November

“Art should not be segregated in museums; it needs to live free among us.”  

 – Isaiah Zagar (creator of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens)

The Magic Gardens

This Friday field trip is a glimpse into a really unique mosiac environment.  The Magic Gardens in Philadelphia’s South Street neighborhood includes a fully tiled indoor space and a massive outdoor mosiac sculpture garden that spans half a block.  I would like to share my first trip to The Magic Gardens with you.

The Magic Gardens

 

The Magic Gardens

A photo from The Magic Gardens in Philadelphia.

The artist, Isaiah Zagar, spent fourteen years excavating tunnels and grottos, sculpting multi-layered walls, and mosaicking the 3,000-square-foot space.

The Magic Gardens

The Magic Gardens

The gardens are really one of those things that need to be experienced to be fully enjoyed.  So, I urge you to check it out if you find yourself visiting Philadelphia.  I hope some of the phtos here will give you a sense of what a unique spot Isaiah Zagar has provided for the South Street community as well as all who visit.

The Secret Gardens

The Secret Gardens

I plan on making repeated visits to the gardens – it is not even possible for one’s senses to absorb everything in one visit!

The Secret Gardens

The Magic Gardens

A photo from Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.

The Magic Gardens

Hope you enjoyed sharing some of my trip to Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens.

The Magic Garden

Thank you for visiting my blog.  My prayers to those that suffered loss during the storm, Jackie

Comments Off on the magic gardens | field trips

10 arts in philly

14
September

friday field trip

On one of the really hot weekends this summer, I had some time to kill wandering around Center City, Philadelphia waiting for my daughter to finish classes (yes, she attends class all through the summer)…I thought I would visit the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton so I could AGAIN check out 10 Arts (…how many visits would qualify as an obsession?). I always hope, somewhere in the back of my mind, that I will run into Chef Ripert on what, I assume, is his occasional visit to Philly.

My daughter attends school in Philly and one of my ‘Philly goals’ has always been to dine at 10 Arts Bistro & Lounge. This is Eric Ripert’s restaurant. You probably know of four star Chef Ripert because of his fame with Le Bernardin in New York City…how could you not? That, and the fact that he is, um…how should I say it…gorgeous! (Honestly, there is no way around it!)

10 Arts is in a magnificient location – in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Center City. Because the building was a bank at one time, it

has some really cool features. The interior is mostly marble…I have heard the kitchen is too, although I haven’t seen it for myself.

Anytime I am in Center City, I stop in, look around (aka gawk) and talk to some of the staff.

Photo of lunch, 10 Arts style

 

A photo of dessert at 10 Arts Bistro & Lounge in Philadelphia…frozen snickers.

If you follow Food Network or the cooking shows (like you know I do if you have been reading my blog), you may know that my favorite former Top Chef competitor, Jennifer Carroll was selected by Chef Ripert to lead his kitchen at 10 Arts after she served as sous chef at Le Bernardin. It has been reported that Jen, a Philadelphia native is soon to open a restaurant of her own at 33 Greenwich Avenue in New York City…I bet the Philly fans are disappointed she didn’t stay local! I would be! But now I will be closer to where she will be creating her food and I plan to visit her restaurant, especially since I haven’t yet gotten the chance to meet her.

So enjoy the photos of 10 Arts and, if you are ever in the area, be sure to stop in. I plan on spending my daughter’s graduation dinner in those beautiful surroundings! And, I hope to visit Jen’s restaurant in NYC soon and I will share that with you when I do.

Thanks so much for visiting. Have a great weekend, Jackie

Comments Off on 10 arts in philly | food & festivities

butterfly habitat

3
August

friday field trip

Do you like butterflies?  I’m not a big fan.  I could never understand the attraction.  I never ‘got’ the ‘releasing them at the wedding thing’ or why someone would tattoo a drawing of one on their butt!   Of course,  if it were a shell or a starfish, I might understand ;)

Raising butterflies as a kid was solely an accident.  I would capture a caterpillar in a jar…taking it out periodically to let it crawl up my arm.  I would soon loose interest.  Coming across the jar in the garage much later, I would find the caterpillar had transformed.  Sometimes I would end up with a butterfly – most times, with a scary looking moth.

Even though the idea of visiting the Butterflies! exhibit at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia was met by me with lukewarm enthusiasm, I actually enjoyed it.  Probably because the coolest butterfly in the habitat landed on me!  The tropical garden that houses the Butterflies! exhibit is filled with colorful plants and a multitude of live butterflies from Central and South America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia.  There are an estimated 60 to 150 butterflies and 20 to 40 different species on any given day.  Adult butterflies usually live one to two weeks (this I didn’t know) and the museum receives new butterflies from around the world each week.  I honestly didn’t think any of my photos would come out since a misting of water was constant in the environment, creating a hazy look.

At first, I was really more interested in the plants than the butterflies.  Instructions were given upon entering the (very hot and humid) habitat to ensure all the specimens were treated gently.  All that enter are instructed to ask for assistance if a butterfly should land on your person, because a museum worker is required to remove it.  I had to seek someone out to remove the one that planted itself on my hand.

It wasn’t until that one butterfly landed on me that I became interested in really looking at them…aren’t they attracted to sweet things? ;)

 If you are ever in Philadelphia, check out The Academy of Natural Sciences.  It is located at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway  www.ansp.org

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

1 comment » | garden

just coffee, donuts & chicken in philly

27
July

friday field trip

They only sell coffee, donuts, and fried chicken.  My interest was in the donuts.  I heard there were some imaginative flavors offered and I wanted to check it out.  I looked up the address of Federal Donuts…1219 South Second Street.  Great.  I usually go everywhere in Philly by walking or by public transportation, but we would save time by driving…I heard these donuts sell out early!  My sister, daughter, and I headed out early morning.

The store turned out to be a very unassuming, tiny little shop, with six counter stools and no parking in a Pennsport neighborhood.  I guess we lucked out that there was only one person in the shop when we arrived, so we were able to sit at the counter.  Lucky because we could take our time analyzing our treats…each of us eager to decide our favorite variety.

Not wanting to miss tasting any of the unique flavors, we ordered one of each from the menu of nine flavors offered…just to sample, mind you.  That included three ‘hot’ donut flavors made to order:  indian cinnamon, appolonia spice, and vanilla lavender.  These donuts were coated while hot in a sugar/spice mixture.  The other nine flavors, called ‘fancy’ donuts,  were the same great, very light cake-type donut, coated with a flavorful glaze.

A photo of Federal Donuts’ current ‘fancy’ donut flavor offerings.

The flavors offered – definitely imaginative.  The taste – awesome!  I talked to the woman working in the store and the one regular customer seated at the counter.  I wanted to know about other donut flavor offerings…could I just be happy with the nine I was trying?  No.  I had to know what flavors I may have missed.  Torture!  Flavors are changed regularly.  Some past flavors included chocolate covered banana, pina colada, mandarin-coffee, s’mores, and root beer float.  So, even after deciding my favorite flavor, it could change on my next visit when different varieties may be offered.

At first I thought donuts and chicken were a wierd combination of food items to sell, but after thinking about it, both are fried.  Plus, Federal  covers both with unique seasonings and glazes.  Chicken seasonings include harissa and za’atar (no idea what these taste like!) and the glazes are chili-garlic and honey-ginger.  Although I am not crazy about fried chicken, after tasting the donuts, I DO want to try the chicken sometime!

My favorite this visit?  My favorite ‘fancy’ donut was the fig on fig.  My favorite overall was the vanilla lavender.  (My daughter chose strawberry rhubarb pie and vanilla lavender.) I asked at the shop for the current hot seller.  Can you guess?  Chocolate coconut.  I was surprised.  The shop thought the reason was because it was the most familiar flavor to customers.

As you can see by my ‘after’ photo of the leftovers, we basically only took ‘a little bite’ of each flavor as research!

I realized after I got home that I didn’t even get a photo of my favorite flavor…I guess it just wasn’t around long enough!

Thanks for visiting!  Don’t forget to ‘like’ my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/insimplethings  or leave a comment for a chance to win this month’s giveaway book!  Only a few days left for July’s selection…a beautiful ‘coffeetable’ garden photography book.  August 1st starts the giveaway for Yes, Chef.

4 comments » | food & festivities

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