Yum, Yum, Yum

Vintage was great! For wine I enjoyed a great Louis Latour Chardonnay that was on special, and also, from their list, a glass of Houghton Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 from NWestern Australia. This is their description- and I loved it!

Very intense and lifted nose. Powerful gooseberry and fresh grassy aromas. fresh, citrusy, and tangy, but with an elegant depth and length of flavor.

While the wine was great, the atmosphere, the food & the exceptional service were really the big surprises of the night. While their regular menu wasn't all that exciting- duck salad, cheese plate, burger, steak, calamari etc... their specials were right on. I ended up going with Grilled Waloo! I had never heard of it either- but it is a really light, flakey white fish with a buttery undertone. It was served with garlicky greens & jasmine rice- only $17! The other thing that caught my eye was the Petite Filet & mashed for $19! My partner in crime had a Pan Seared Tuna dish over a great seaweed salad. The atmosphere was lively, with very interesting music selections in the background- re-mixes of hip-hop done slightly swanky! They are head to toe decked out with wine decor including an insanely large chandelier made of wine bottles & a dividing wall made from wine corks. The bath rooms were quite refined in their decor with a man's shaving mirror affixed to the side of the mirror over the sink. (Yes, co-ed bathrooms, I did not take a wrong turn.) All in all- excellent. And request Heather- she was great!

Instead of "You Are What You Eat" How about "You Are How You Decorate"

I'm exploring the ideas behind how the decor in your home correlates to your personality/personal life. And I was just wondering- do we, as artists/designers, make things that we, personally like? I know I do. I consciously choose to surround myself with images that I enjoy, that I would want in my home- and they are almost always so perfectly beautiful in form & color; acting as a cover-up for the yucky, messy, reality I sometimes find myself in. Comment away- and of course, send me images of your work that may relate to this subject.

For some inspiration- and a much needed break from my computer.... I hit Urban Outfitters only to stumble upon their extra 50% off sale. I picked up the below plates- 4 for $15. (and a pair of jeans...) Now- you can't tell me that the home decor world is not full of art and vice versa.

It's 7:19am and I'm already thinking about dinner

This evening I am checking out Vintage. So, I will let you know what I think later this week. But, I've been meaning to say something about food & drink- since it's my most favorite thing to spend my money on! Last week I went to BYBLOS (www.byblosphilly.com). It was my second time there- and I have to say that the food is really quite good- and if you stick to the left side of the menu (also known as tapas) and go with someone that will share with you... then you're also in for a treat on a budget! There tapas are about $5 -$7 bucks and the fattush salad is $5 and it's amazing! Now- you have to be into things like hommus, babba, feta & olives. Oh- and amazingly large and really yummy martinis. (Though our waitress mentioned that the bartender was new- as our drinks took a little while to appear. Maybe she hadn't been trained on portions yet!) The downsides- because there always are is that this place gets CROWDED and they start the DJ thing about 10pm- which in my opinion is still dinner time! So, it can get a little loud- you might not want to go there on a first date- unless you call it a night by 9:30pm. They also offers hookah and late night food until 2am on Fri & Sat. There site will tell you everything. Enjoy.

Check Her Out

Candice Smith-Corby
I have always admired Candice's work. I like to say "I knew her when..." as she was a graduate student at Mass Art when I was in undergrad. I use to go into Candice's studio & be amazed at the paintings- 5 years since graduation & I am still floored by what she does! I hope all of you in the Boston Area check this show out- and the rest of you check out www.millerblockgallery.com and look up Candice.

6:48 am

It's early. But I hear the guys working outside of my room & now I am awake. It's still dark out- so it seems wrong that I am up. But it got me thinking, perfect time to get going on your blog. This is the result of spending endless hours on joy's blog (check it out for yourself- www.ohjoy.blogs.com) She's great, and I figure- if she has time to post then I have time to post. So this here is a screenprint that I gave to Joy for all the help she gave me with a design lesson! It is with this inaugural post that I say thanks to Joy & carry on my way!