Staycation!

My friend Lisa and her mom were in town for 2 days to shoot a commercial for an unnamed non-local gas/convenience store very similar to our beloved Wawa.  (They are food stylists!)  They invited me to tag along last night, so I was given the opportunity to be a tourist in my own city.  We ate like there was no tomorrow, wandered outside of City Hall, sought out unlocked ballrooms, and slept, among feathers, on the 15th floor of the Ritz Carlton.  Then the sun came up, and we went to work, like any other day, and the 13 hour vacation was gone.

Snippets

This weekend was very hot.  I spent most of Saturday inside, avoiding the sweaty world.  I snuggled with the cat, and we read Ted Hughes extensively, interrupted only by my having to access Wikipedia to check on questions I had re: Birthday Letters.  I'm about halfway through, and am thoroughly enjoying it.  It's beautifully written (composed?  I know you physically write poems, but how do you describe it, really?) and I think really helps to understand his point of view in the controversy and sadness of his and Sylvia Plath's lives together.
I ventured out later to get dinner with my sister, and discovered that Becky had sent me book in the mail, which I am very much looking forward to reading.  I love new books, and will be diving into this one when I'm done with Ted.  (I can tell they will be VERY different from each other, but I'm glad to switch it up.)  When I'm done there, I should probably read the other books I have that Becky's given me.  I forgot about them, and this reminded me that I should stop rereading Anne of Avonlea and read something new.
My sister and I also stopped at Urban Outfitters, where I bought shirts I don't need and, on a whim, some Polaroid film.  Unfortunately, I didn't read the box, and it's not the right film for my camera.  So it has to go back.  However, this inspired me to get the camera out, change the batteries, and discover that it had a few frames left in it.  The photo isn't very good, but at least I know the thing works!  (It's been sitting in the closet for 3+ years.)  And thanks to The Impossible Project, I can still get film that will fit in this camera, I just have to order it!
Sunday was baseball day, and Dad and I braved the heat to watch our Phils lose to the Braves.  But we still had fun, and got to talk about stuff that drives my mother crazy (e.g. Leave it to Beaver) and I got ice cream in a helmet, so the day could not have been better.  I'm preparing a post about baseball soon.
Hope everyone out there had a lovely weekend too!

Let Your Colors Burn

The 4th of July has always been kind of an in-between holiday for me.  When I was a little kid, it was a sign that summer was really starting.  It was like 2 weeks after school let out, and it meant that we were really in the thick of the hot, easy days.  When I got a little older, I dreaded the 4th, just a little, since it simply meant the summer was moving along.  It was the beginning of the end.
Now that I'm a "grown-up" it doesn't mean a whole besides a day off, and this one was just confusing, being in the middle of the week.  Now, the day after, my brain has no idea what day it is.  The fun is found less in where the day lies in relation to the rest of the summer, and more in just enjoying the day itself.  A day with my family, eating tons of barbeque, having the police stop by to warn about the dangers (and illegalities, in PA) of fireworks, is a welcome change.  Plus, I got to play with my camera!

justin & joey

bonfire prep

claire, instagramming

inside the fireworks

my brother, inside the fireworks 

the grand finale

we used all the sparklers

smoldering

brothers