Feminine Fun in Philadelphia

My weekend in Philly was so much fun... and I have to say, it was even more outrageously feminine than I could have anticipated.

Joey and I drove to Kelly's house, getting only slightly lost about four times on the way. I convinced him to stop for lunch at IKEA and he was very impressed with the quality and price of the food. And he loved the Swedish meatballs. Hurray, another Ikea convert!

After he dropped me off at Kelly's, she and I got ready for going out that night. She had planned a formal dress-up dinner at a cute BYOB in Philly. 

The whole time we were getting ready, her little sister Mary Grace peppered us with hilarious advice. It seems that Kelly's 15-year-old brother has started advising his six sisters on how to act around girls. Mary Grace has been the #1 beneficiary of his "wisdom." She told us, for example, that apparently guys like "dangling jewelry" and that we shouldn't wear strapless dresses. We laughed, but also took most of the advice.

Kelly and I rode the Septa train into downtown Philly. Kelly rides Septa for an hour and a half every morning, and then an hour and a half home every night, so she can live at home with her family while she's in med school. Can you imagine? She declared herself "the goddess of Septa" and clung firmly to the title all weekend. I laughed at her, but really, I think she's earned it!

Me and Kelly being goofballs on the Septa

We stopped to buy wine and then walked to Christine's house, a charming three-story townhouse in Center City. It took a while to get a reservation, but we eventually went to dinner at this amazing restaurant, where I had the most divine lamb pizza of my life. I'd never even heard of lamb pizza before. Life-changing is the only word to describe it.

Frank grew up near Philly, and he's promised to travel there with me some time. I texted him at dinner, "We are at an awesome restaurant called audrey claire. You should come here sometime." He wrote back in shock, "What the heck? That was where I wanted to take you..." Whoops! What a funny coincidence. I felt a little bad at first but now I'm secretly quite pleased about it... this means I will get to go back to my new favorite restaurant!

We all stayed up late on Saturday night, which led to a lazy Sunday morning. Christine and I rolled out of bed and down the street to buy (the world's most amazing) bagel sandwiches and a little box of fresh cupcakes for Kelly. Then we went back to Christine's and piled into her vast, squashy, fluffy, sunshine-y dream of a bed, where we feasted on bagel sandwiches to our heart's content. After a decent interval, we went to noon Mass at St. Patrick's, and then climbed back into bed for cupcakes.

Kelly, me, and Christine, post-cupcakes, and still in our Mass clothes

Yes, there were crumbs everywhere. But it was the breakfast in bed of my dreams. I don't think there could be a girlier post-Mass treat.

Kelly and I walked through Rittenhouse Square and stopped at a cute little coffee shop called La Colombe for a latte. Then we hopped on the Septa and back to Kelly's house.

Her house was filled with activity as everyone prepared to host a family party that evening. I felt a little out of place with so many cousins, aunts, and uncles running around, but I soon joined in a raucous family singalong and fit in just fine. I don't think there's any entertainment I love more than live music, especially if I can quietly sing along in my happy little tone-deaf way, and Kelly's family sure delivered on that.

On Monday morning, Kelly and I got up at the unearthly hour of 6 am (I know, the horror!) so she could make it to class on time. We rode the train to the med school together, and I hung out in the sunny lobby while she was in class from 10 to noon. I started reading a book she lent me that is absolutely fantastic - The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson - and the main character is a princess named Theresa Maria (my full name) who goes by Tessa for short! I was thrilled, and declared to Kelly that I would like to be known as Tessa henceforth (although I don't think I'm going to actually stick to it).

Joey picked me up from the med school and we drove back to DC. The car ride was most notable for a conversation about the role of grace vs. free will in conversion stories, and a lengthy discussion about the effect that a person's name has on their personality. My name means "Reaper" and his means "Increasing faithfulness." We also talked about what we're giving up for Lent (I think I'm going to give up cheese.) After a while I drifted asleep and woke up with surprise. "Joey!" I gasped. "Did you notice I was sleeping?" "Tess, you've been asleep for half an hour," he said, laughing at me. He told me I was lucky I slept, because I missed the traffic!

At home, I took another nap, unpacked, showered, and settled down to continue my new book. Frank showed up around 8 with Chinese take-out for the two of us. We feasted happily and then watched Toy Story 3. I cried a little bit. It was awesome. Tonight we are going out for cupcakes in honor of Mardi Gras, and perhaps also going to a restaurant with our friends.

Hurray for long weekends, and have a happy Mardi Gras!