Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Spring Color, And Blooming Where You're Planted.

Today, here on my blog, it's all about COLOR. And specifically, SPRING color.

As bipolar as the weather has been over the past two months, I'm surprised we had any spring color this year because it went from warm to cold and cold to warm every other day. It was challenging to figure out what season we were in, because the seasons couldn't make up their minds.

Luckily, I captured some colors, but it wasn't easy.

Each season brings with it certain visuals and feelings. Each season is significant because, I believe, they symbolize and reflect the different stages of life.

*Spring: associated with hope, rebirth, and the beginning of new cycles.

*Summer: represents abundance, prosperity, and joy, as well as the peak of growth and energy.

*Autumn: signifies change, reflection, harvest, and the transition from growth to rest.

*Winter: symbolizes rest, reflection, introspection, and new beginnings after a period of dormancy.

You'll notice in the above photograph that I included a quote from the fabulous Dolly Parton. It's a quote that rings true for me. I can't always change things in my life just because I don't like them. There are some things that, as much as I wish they were different, are there because I need to learn from them. Therefore, I gotta bloom where I'm planted. Life is not always about waiting for the perfect soil. And looking back, that was when I learned the most.

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Below, you will discover what spring looks like in Philadelphia this year...

Last weekend, my dear friend Kelly and I got together for food, coffee, and conversation. I truly have the best time with Kelly because she and I are similar in that we like to allow the day to unfold organically. Other than planning a time and place to meet, the rest is spontaneous.

Our meet-ups wonderfully combine deep conversations and hysterical laughter.

My friendship with Kelly is something I cherish because we can be ourselves and have no expectations.

After spending the day with her, I always come away feeling recharged.

Thank you, Kelly...

That day, we stopped by Cherry Street Pier. We sat in an open-air garden under the Pier’s historic steel trusses...

I love this sign I spotted in Old City, positioned outside the store before entering. And that's because of all the shoplifting in Philadelphia. Trust me, I'm in retail. I see it all day long. It's gotten so bad that some stores require you to show your paid receipt to a security guard before exiting the store.

"Hi. If you steal from us, we will post your pics + vids on all our social media accounts" 💗...

🌸🌷🌺Hope you're enjoying spring, everyone!🌻🌼🌹

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

A Walk Through Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

In 2015, I shared a few photographs of this cathedral in one of my photography posts. However, I would like to share a more in-depth pictorial spread of the most exquisite cathedral in Philadelphia - the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

I haven't been inside the cathedral in over 10 years, yet it never ceases to amaze me that whenever I visit, I have the same reaction upon opening the door and looking upwards. It takes my breath away. I feel both awed and humbled.

Part of that is because of feeling the reverence contained within the cathedral, and another part is because of its sheer physical beauty. The architecture (inside and out) is exquisite, magnificent, and absolutely glorious!

"The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia was built in the Roman-Corinthian architectural style. This style is a Neo-Classical variation of the Italian Renaissance."

Walking through the cathedral always feels as though I'm traveling back in time to another place.

In February, I posted the following photo of the cathedral's exterior. I was hoping to go inside and capture some photographs, but alas, it wasn't open. Lucky for me, when I went back two weeks ago, it was open.

So, please enjoy the exterior AND interior of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul...

The Great Dome (made of copper) atop the cathedral...

As you scroll through these photographs, look around and notice the incredible detail within the architecture. *Note: I took these pictures with my cell phone. The only editing I used was to crop them and sharpen a few...

Organ and choir loft...

To anyone who is not Catholic, this next photo is a confessional booth or confessional box, which is a designated area within a church where a priest privately hears the confessions of penitents. The priest sits inside the door, while the penitent kneels on either side behind a closed curtain...

Hope you enjoyed this pictorial walk, folks!

And for those who celebrate, Happy Easter! 💟

Tuesday, April 01, 2025

Let's Talk Some "Dirty Laundry" And Laundry Room Etiquette

The one thing I now require when living in an apartment building is on-site laundry facilities.

When I lived in NYC, the apartment in the building my partner and I shared did not have laundry facilities. So we had to drag our laundry to a laundromat, which was a royal pain in the ass, especially during the summer months when the city felt like a pizza oven. I dreaded it.

Even when I lived in Orlando and rented various apartments for the 15 years that I was there, not one of them had on-site laundry facilities. However, back then, I used to take my laundry to a wash-and-fold service once a week that charged $1.25 per pound. I would pay anywhere from $10.00 to $12.00 per service.

Since moving back east, the two apartment buildings I've lived in had on-site laundry facilities.

The one where I currently live has a nice-sized laundry room with 20 washers and dryers. They also have three washers and dryers for heavier items, such as comforters and rugs.

What I love about the washers and dryers in our building is that they don't require COINS to operate. Tenants now use a debit card that we can reload to activate the washer and dryer. It's so much easier than using coins.

Here's a picture of my card...

When I Do My Laundry -

I know this sounds crazy, but I like to do my laundry very early (4:30-5:00 AM) on Tuesdays. No one else is in the laundry room that early, so I can wash, dry, and fold two loads of laundry in a little over an hour. I don't dilly-dally; I get it done fast.

Note: I NEVER do my laundry on the weekends because EVERY tenant in the building is in the laundry room on those days. That's another reason I prefer having off during the week and working weekends. I like that I'm on an opposite schedule than the rest of the world, who traditionally works Mon-Fri, 9 to 5, and then have to do all the things on their weekends that I do during the week.

Here is a similar photo of what our laundry room looks like...

The building I live in has 25 floors and 250 apartment units. Because Philadelphia is a heavily populated college town, I would say that more than half the tenants in my building are college students. And college students, mostly, are interested in one thing - PARTYING. And they pretty much occupy all the apartment buildings in this city, regardless of how luxurious and costly because Mommy and Daddy are paying for them. And when you're in college, laundry room etiquette is the last thing on your mind.

And speaking of laundry room etiquette, here is a sign in most laundry rooms, which might as well be invisible because no one seems to READ it...

My Two Pet Peeves -

I've gone down to the laundry room countless times, only to find laundry in both the washers and dryers that have been sitting there since the day before. And I know that to be true because the clothes in the dryers are ice cold, and the clothes in the washers are still wet and smell like MILDEW from the depths of HELL.

Here, look...

My other peeve is people who don't clean out the lint trays after using the dryer. No lie, this is what some trays look like when I open the dryers. They look like someone sheared a herd of SHEEP...

In conclusion, I would like to show you my favorite laundry detergent. I love using a coupon from CVS and getting a discount because laundry detergent is so expensive, it's cheaper to buy new clothes.

Persil...

But I have a wasteful confession to make. Do you know how the lids on laundry detergents give diagrams of how much to use for medium, large, and extra-large loads?

Well, I NEVER follow those diagrams because I'm always worried there won't be enough detergent to clean my laundry.

Therefore, I do this...

I know, I'm OCD.

Wishing you a clean and lint-free week, everyone!

💖

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Flashback To The 80s

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of 80s music on Spotify and having flashbacks to a decade that I never fully appreciated because I never fully realized what an incredible decade it was. And I suppose that's because when you're experiencing a decade, you're not watching it, you're living it. It's only in retrospect that you appreciate all the wonderful gemstones within each decade.

Today, I would like to share bits and pieces from the 80s that I recall as being an integral part of its threadwork.

In the 80s, I was in my mid-20s and 30s. I remember it as a powerful time of personal growth for me. I learned so much about myself in the 80s through investigation and experience. I also had a lot of fun.

Please enjoy a flashback to the 80s...

I got my cosmetology license in the 80s and was working as a hairstylist. Trust me when I tell you that back then, hair was big. And when I say big, I mean BIG. So big, in fact, that people looked like they had been electrocuted with 765 volts of electricity. Also, LOTS of hairspray was used to make sure that big hair STAYED big. If you ever touched someone's hair back in the 80s, it was as hard as a rock. I used to refer to it as HARD-ON hair...

I miss Blockbuster. Yes, we can now stream movies through our computers, tablets, and phones. But for me, I miss the joy of walking into a Blockbuster and hand-selecting the films I wanted to watch. I was so sad when the last Blockbuster closed here in Philly...

Who didn't have a Sony Walkman? I certainly did. Back in the 80s, I used to jog. Therefore, having a Walkman was the ideal way to listen to music, which made jogging more enjoyable. At home, I had a big box of cassette tapes with all my favorite music...

Here are 10 vocal artists I enjoyed listening to in the 80s. However, there were many more...

And speaking of vocal artists, I remember seeing my first music video, a-ha: Take on Me on MTV. Back then, music videos were a new thing and everyone was SO in awe of them...

Aerobics and Jazzercise were very popular in the 80s. I took a few aerobic classes, but it didn't last long because I discovered that I did not like exercising with other people. I prefer to do it alone...

Do you remember when answering machines first hit the market for home use? OMG, I was obsessed with getting one and changing my outgoing message every other day. I would also call myself from work during the day and leave messages so that when I got home, I could listen to them LOL! I used to get so excited when I saw the little red light blinking on the machine because I knew it meant I had messages...

Popular TV shows in the 80s...

Clothing in the 80s was bright and colorful...

When cell phones were first introduced in the 80s, they were the size of a brick. Which is why they were called Brick Cell Phones. My boss at the time had one that he kept in his car. But few people had cell phones...

And speaking of cars, back in the 80s DeLorean's were the BOMB. My boss had one of those too. I remember him taking me for a ride and watching the doors lift to get inside. It was so cool! The DeLorean became widely known after it was featured as the time machine in the Back to the Future films...

Swatch watches were so popular in the 80s. Lee Majors (from the TV show, The Fall Guy) did a few ads for the company. I remember going to Burdines (a Florida department store) and purchasing my first Swatch...

Does anyone remember Glamour Shots? I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I worked at one in our local mall. Back in the 80s, Glamour Shots were the rage - big hair, seductive shoulder exposure, and a soft-focus lens.

Glamour Shots was a popular portrait studio chain, known for offering a complete makeover and photoshoot experience, often in malls and department stores, and emphasizing a glamorous Hollywood-inspired style.

But OMG, the photographs were so HOKEY...

Hope you enjoyed my 80s flashback, folks!

🕐🕑🕓🕕🕗🕘🕙

*If any of you experienced the 80s, please feel free to share some of your memories.

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