Showing posts with label Philadelphia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philadelphia. Show all posts

6.07.2013

I Heart Blogshop

In May, I attended a Blogshop class, taught by Bri Emery from Designlovefest and Angela Kohler of Angela and Ithyle.

I've had Photoshop/CS5 for about 2 years, and learned more in the 2 days of this class than I did teaching myself and using at-home tutorials the whole time I owned the program.  I took a class in high school that taught Photoshop, but let's be honest, I'm old, and that was a long time ago.  The program and the world have changed dramatically since then.  (And, really, so have I, but that's beside the point.)  What I'm trying to say is: it was really, very worth it.  Also, we got some awesome swag.

It was really quite an experience to be in this class, taught by people who are so obviously talented and successful.  All the classes I've attended in the years since college have been taught by corporate dummies spouting ridiculous, meaningless phrases like, "legendary customer service."  (Tell me, in which legend did this bank and its customer service originate?)  The girls, teachers and classmates, were enthusiastic, and it was so interesting and inspiring to be in a room with women who were all interested in learning the same thing.  Bri and Angela were incredibly informative and encouraging.


The second day of class was hard for me, because I am really uncomfortable with photos of myself.  I know this sounds silly, but I rarely appear, in a photo, the way I think I will.  I'm always disappointed with the way I look.  Angela took incredible photos of all of us on the first day, so that we could work with them the second day.  I was really embarrassed looking at a photo of myself, and even more embarrassed because I didn't want to look at it.  And then I was embarrassed for being embarrassed, and worried that I had offended the person who took the photo in the first place, because my issues are all in my head, and had nothing to do with her.  And Angela was gracious and lovely, and I was acting like a crazy person.  In the end, I am posting the photos here, as a lesson to myself.  I need to learn to be more comfortable with who I am and what I look like.  And I also need to learn to get past my insecurities.  This is the only way I will grow and become more like the person I want to be.

In the end, it was a success, and I only hope that Bri and Angela loved our city, though I can tell Bri was far more inspired by her visit to New York a few days later.  PLEASE come back again girls, I know you'll love it when there's sunshine and more time to explore.  We have great food, and we'd really like to learn video!

Wow, I bet you didn't expect this to be such a personal post, were you?  All ten of you reading this came to see the photos.  Don't worry, there are more flowers.  Here they are :)












The flowers were provided and styled by sullivan owen, the venue was a photo studio on Hancock St. in Kensington-ish.  You can see all the swag and some more photos here!


5.15.2013

Running and Bases

Just over a week ago was the annual Broad Street Run, a 10 mile run through Philadelphia with over 40,000 participants and at least that many spectators.  I went with my friends Lydia and Dan to cheer on his aunt (and hang out with her 3 beautiful children, Patrick, Tristan, and Anna), tailgate with the families, and then watch the Phillies lose a terrible game.
It was a beautiful day, and I had a great time, despite the fact that I got probably the worst sunburn of my life.  (I actually went to the doctor for sunburn.  My eyes were swollen.  I was so thankful to finally look like myself by the end of last week!)
I am in awe of the runners.  They work so hard, accomplish so much.  And this year was a little more than just personal achievement for a lot of people - it was a way to show solidarity, American pride, to show support for those runners and spectators in Boston who were terrorized just a month ago.  There was a clear police presence, in fact we were standing right next to a bike cop.  There were quite a few runners who paused to thank him, which was a really nice thing to witness over and over.
The most obvious sign of this American solidarity, the support for Boston, however, were the red socks.  So many hundreds of red socks (or, Red Sox, I suppose) flew past, it was a very obvious, visual way to show a lack of fear and a strength beyond muscle.


























4.07.2013

Reading Terminal Market (aka Flower Shower, Part 4)

After the Flower Show, Lydia, Dan, and I headed across the street to have lunch at the Reading Terminal Market.  It's one of the most famous destinations, I think, in Philly, a place where any kind of food you want can be found: Pennsylvania Dutch pretzels, pickles of all kinds, Philly specialities (cheesesteak, anyone?), Nick's Roast Pork, and my favorite local treat, Bassett's Ice Cream.  This is the place where the food tv shows always go when they come to our city, and with good reason - we are a foodie town, full of restaurants of every kind, but this one-stop-shop gets you whatever you could possibly be hankering for!













3.29.2013

Flower Show Three

Oh hey, I took a lot of pictures of flowers recently.  Here are some more: