philly bucket list: marathon grill

We've been doing pretty good at crossing things off on our Philly bucket list. Whenever we have a free Saturday morning or afternoon, we try to cross at least one thing off.

A couple of weeks ago, I got home from babysitting and/or nannying later than usual, and didn't have much time to get dinner together. So we walked up the street to our neighborhood Marathon Grill. It was really nice outside and they have al-fresco seating there, so we got to eat outside and enjoying the lovely spring weather. [Okay, so maybe it was more than a couple of weeks ago. Haha.]

I'm actually not sure why we put this on our bucket list, or rather why we both wanted to go there. We were kind of expecting to menu to be a little boring, plain ol'traditional american garb. But then we looked at the menu, and it was like, "Dagron, this food sounds awesome!" It was all locally-grown this, organic that, interesting combinations and fancy-schmany stuff like that. So our expectations went from 0 to 100 in like 15 seconds.

Oooo, symmetry

Then we got our food, and we were slightly disappointed after we shot our hopes through the roof. I'm sure we would have been thrilled if we hadn't got our expectations so high after scanning the menu. We got cheesesteak wontons for appetizer, I got a burger and Ryan got meatloaf or pot roast...or something. Actually the cheesesteak wontons were thebombdotcom.

Cheesesteak Wontons. Get in my belly.

Marathon Grill: Check!

Also, I've changed my mind on that VW Bus. DON'T YOU WORRY, WE STILL WANT ONE LIKE NONE OTHER. But after looking at the ones that are available in Southern California, we've decided to just wait until we move there to get our dream car...er, van thing. Oh, didn't I tell you? We've decided the Navy will place us in San Diego, mostly because they are taking forever to tell us where Ryan will be placed post graduation, so I'm taking matters into my own hands and telling them where he will be placed. That's how that stuff works, right?

Currently playing on the record player: John Denver, "Poems, Prayers, & Promises"
I think I might always end my posts with "currently playing on the record player." Maybe. Not sure yet. I kind of just do what I want here...so...yeah.

our new-to-us favoritest thing ever

My parents are putting their house up for sale this fall, so they are getting rid of everything. Ryan and I mostly just wanted their record player. And all we had to do was ask, and it was ours!! No bribing or anything. Guess the ol' record player isn't as hot of a commodity to everyone else as it is to me :)

So we brought home our new addition this past weekend, and it was love at first sound. Well, at least for me. Ryan said, "Uh, it's a little crackle-y." Apparently he'd never heard a record before, so I had to explain that that was kind of the whole point of having it. He loves it too though, don't let that fool you.

Hello love.

We've been pretty much listening to records non-stop since we brought it home. And I dance around with a huge smile on my face. Except for when I played a Johnny Cash 45 at the speed for a 33, and we were all, "AHHHH!!! What's wrong with it?!"

We took lots of my parents' (er, my dad's) records too! Oh yeah!

We bought this Beatles album collection at a flea market a few weekends ago, and it's definitely one of my favorites, even if the album cover is not in the best shape. It's all their hits from 1967-1970...so it's perfection to say the least.

Speaking of me being born in the wrong era, will someone please buy me this?

It's a little rough on the outside, but it's running and has a sun roof and is red and beautiful and my dream come true. I would get it myself, but it's slightly outside of our current budget for a VW bus, which is...$0.00.
Shoot.
Come to think of it, any VW bus you want to buy me will be great. Like, literally the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. So great that it might even convince me to move back to Michigan after Ryan is done with the Navy, since I get to pick where we live after that (wink wink.)

cute stuff, part 2

Ryan and I drove home to Michigan last weekend for a wedding. [Where the get-away car was A STELLA SCOOTER AND SIDECAR! Ohmygoodness, I had a heart attack. Beautiful wedding, Em! We had so much fun! Also, next time I'm in GR can you give me a ride on your scooter?]

So on our long drive home, I had plenty of time to think. And think. And think.
Side note: I'm a terrible road trip partner. Few things in life are more boring to me.
With all my thinking, I realized I left out two of my all time favorite cute-animal videos! I can't believe myself. Also, I realize every video is my favorite.

So, without further ado, here are the additional videos. Prepare your heart.
Seriously.

First. This husky puppy that gets sad when heading to the dog-sitter's for the day, so he needs his owner to hold his paw. PRECIOUS.

Second. Oh my goodness...THESE BABY RACCOONS. I'm not going to spoil it for you, so seriously watch the video. Don't watch the whole thing, start at 2:40. And really, all you need to see is like 3:30-3:50.

AHHHHHHH, 3:37!!! It's the best. I melt into a puddle.

cute stuff i've been looking at

Ryan and I always laugh when one of us is wasting time on the computer and the other asks, "What areya doin'?"
Cause the answer always sounds ridiculous.

Ryan answers stuff like, "Reading this blog about a guy who has 400 bikes."
And I think, "That's dumb."

I answer something like, "Looking at this picture of a little baby bun-bun [bunnie] sitting on a giant dog's head on 'Cute Overload'."
And he thinks, "That's dumb."

But we all know that Ryan's choice activity for wasting time on the internet is dumb, and mine is awesome. So, I've decided to share with you the recent cuteness I've found on the interwebs, so that you can share in my "squeeeeee"-ing and have your heart melted by the adorableness that exists in this world.

First. "Hamlet the mini-pig goes down the stairs."
This is my most favorite. He just loves his oatmeal so much!!
I want a micro-pig and I want him now. I will name him fiddlesticks and he and Drake will be best friends. And then I can upload movies and pictures of them and everyone else in the world will wish they were me.

Second. This dreaming hamster.
HIS LITTLE TWITCHING NOSE!!

Third. This picture of a fluffy little baby bun-bun.

Fourth. Everything you see here.

Fifth (although I doubt anyone is still here because that last one probably killed you. I die of the cuteness) this dog that loves to jam.

Sixth. I lied. This is my most favorite.
This video of this little pup's day. How much more stinkin' cute can it get?! He reminds me of Drake, and this makes me want a video of him so bad!  Honestly, video like this of Drake? Best present ever. (Don't worry, Ryan already knows.)

all for love.

A few months after I returned from Uganda, I got connected to Love's blog. She adopted a little boy who I had watched at Baby Watoto before he was transferred to a different orphanage. I started reading it because it was nice to see him growing, but I kept reading it because of Love's heart. She is an incredible woman of God and He shines through in everything she does. She always advocates for orphans around the world. Trying to find their families, raising money for families who can't afford adoption but have a child waiting for them...etc.

She has been advocating for Esther for a while, and her family has found her! And the process is moving very quickly now! Very exciting, but also means that they need to raise money much faster than anticipated.

Love is hosting an awesome (I mean awesome) giveaway for those who donate to Esther's adoption fund. Or you can just share on facebook/twitter...that'll get you an entry too!!

Please go check it out and think about how much of a difference $20 could make to this little girl.

sneaky peeky

I picked up some crap from the street the other day.

I like to call it "crap from the street" because it reminds me of Friends. The episode where they find out that Phoebe was the one who mugged Ross when he was younger. And Ross is mostly upset because she took his backpack, and inside of it was Ross' comic book he was making, "Science Boy." So, Phoebe goes looking through her stuff and she finds the comic book in a box labeled, you guessed it, "Crap from the Streets." She brings it to Ross and says something like, "You'll never guess what I found!" and he looks at the box and gasps, "CRAP FROM THE STREET!"
It's the best.
I couldn't find a video clip of it, so hopefully my awesome description painted a beautiful picture of the scene in your mind.

 Anyways...back to my story...I always see junk sitting out on the curb, and want to take it home. Transform it into something beautiful. I don't see it as junk, I see "a little paint here, some tweaking there...and voila!"
Ryan sees junk. And he never lets me take anything. (Which is surprising, because Ryan actually loves junky stuff.)

That is, until he found out my creativity was being stifled. And now he's super supportive of me making a total mess of our tiny apartment. Whoops.
 (It came up when I mentioned how I can't wait to have my own space to create. I wasn't a total whiny brat and randomly one day shouted, "You're stifling me!!!")

Yeah, so the other day, someone down the street from us was moving out. They put all their broken or unwanted pieces of junk out on the curb. Next to their trash cans. And I...I found some treasures. Oooo, baby. I'm so excited about my crap from the street!

I've been crafting for the past two days. Making someone else's trash into our treasures. I'm almost done with my projects, but I thought I'd give you all a little sneak peek.

Ooooooo!! I love it so much already.

Hey this totally matches my blog.
Miiiight be my favorite color scheme.

Stay tuned for the finished products!

no worries

Stick with me guys. I'll be back soon! We were traveling last week, and then had some friends here for a couple days.
Plus also, I have an awesome post lined up BUT I can't get photoshop to not crash while trying to save stuff...any tips? It only happens when I do "save for web and devices" but I'm trying to save a gif, so I have to save it that way, right? Any photoshop pros out there who can lend a helping hand?

Enjoy some tunes from The [lovely] Mamas and The Papas while you wait. I'm prepping for the arrival of our record player, so I've been listening to some awesome old school music :)

This song makes me want our VW vanagon RIGHT NOW. And then we could drive to San Fran, and I would wear daisies in my hair. And be a total hippie. And do this to everyone we see.

And then errbody would be like, "Whoa. A real-life hippie." And I'd be like, "Teehee, gotcha. Cause I'm not a real-life hippie."
Except, it might be kind of fun to be a real-life hippie.
That is all.
Sorry for all the sentences starting with "and."