Philly's Pour the Core: Hard Cider Festival

On Saturday, we ventured over to The Navy Yard for Philadelphia's first Pour the Core Hard Cider Festival. We sampled at least 50 different ciders, and spent the day in the gorgeous sunshine! I would tell you which ones I liked best but I actually can't really remember the names of the them...

What I can tell you is that that highlight of the day was hanging out in the Strongbow Lounge. They had quite the setup with some really nice bench seating and quick access to some cool cider-based mixed drinks that they were serving up. I'm definitely going to make the one with cider, cinnamon whiskey, and pomegranate juice at home. 

Ten happy moments of the week

In this new series, I'm going to make a point of highlighting ten happy moments of each week. I think it's the perfect way to kick off the weekend with some positive thinking and reflect on the good stuff that's happened in the midst of work and the day-to-day hustle and bustle. Yay for happy moments! 

Image credit: Found on Pinterest, original source unknown. If you know the original source of this image or own rights to it, please let me know and I’ll credit/remove as appropriate.

In the interest of full disclosure, I totally stole this idea from the blog, Cider with Rosie. 

1. Hello fall, I love you so much. Thanks for allowing me to sleep comfortably without air conditioning or heat. Also, thank you for letting me bust out a few fun scarves and some tall boots. You really made my week. 

2. The discovery that if you have vanilla ice cream and you put in a drop or two of coffee extract, you make coffee ice cream! Yums. I bet this would work with any extract flavor... I'm trying mint next. 

3. Pre-planned dinners like chicken and pineapple fried rice and sweet potato soup equal leftovers for lunch and very little money spent on food during the week. 

4. Meeting a really cool guy at a work event that started the company Jim's Jarhead Jerky 

5. Front row parking at the train station when you're running late for the train.

6. Sunday football and Breaking Bad viewing parties with great friends. 

7. Figuring out how to make my own gifs! Check out my first one... there will definitely be more to come!

8. Finishing the book, When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde - I was tearing up on the train it was so good! 

9. My first Pumpkin Spice Latte (or PSL as they're calling it these days) of the season - what is it with chicks and pumpkin stuff?!?

10. New shoes. I purchased a couple of items that were on my fall fashion wish list! 

Happy Friday lovers! 

What happy moments did you have this week? What are you looking forward to this weekend? 

Chicken and pineapple fried rice

Don't ask me what possessed me to make fried rice, because I really have no idea. But I had some chicken and other veggies lying around and instead of stir fry I felt like fried rice was the answer -- it's the perfect one dish meal. Except I was making a boat load of it to have enough for leftovers so I ended up using two giant frying pans. 

I was really impressed with how it turned out. It tasted similar to what you'd get for takeout but with little to no grease or guilt. 

CrossFit Manayunk wins... at life

I've said it before and I'll say it again, my gym rocks. It's not just because the programming is good and the coaches are awesome (although both of those things are true.) It's because the people are welcoming and fun and they don't take themselves too seriously. A bunch of folks from the gym are part of a competition league called the Liberty Box League with other CrossFit gyms from around Philadelphia. Competitions are held every Saturday for five weeks and then there is a championship competition the first weekend in November. Since Saturday was our first week hosting at CrossFit Manyunk, we wanted to make it memorable. In addition to having a stellar cheering section, we hosted a post-event barbecue and potluck. Also, because both our advanced and novice teams kicked butt, we celebrated our victory with a lot of alcoholic beverages and an epic game of Catch Phrase. 

Fall fashion wish list

I have been itching to spend some cash on some new pieces for the fall. It's my most very favorite time of the year. The perfect fall day means waking up to a 55 degree crisp morning that warms up to the low 70s by the afternoon. Doesn't that sounds wonderful? It makes me want to grab a cider donut and some hot cider (spiked with rum of course) and go watch a football game.

Fall Fashion Must Haves by marissasays featuring a city bag

A rough week

It's been a rough one. As you can see I've taken almost a full week's vacation from this here blog. Not because I planned it that way. I'd appear much more put-together had I actually planned it, but instead I find myself feeling guilty that I haven't posted anything, but lacking the creativity to develop original content. So, I decided to come here and ramble on to you about how I haven't anything good to write, and therefore haven't written anything. 

I'm sorry. 

Actually, I shouldn't apologize because you probably didn't notice anyway so that's just self-indulgent. 

Moving on to why it's been a rough week:

Maria and Anthony tie the knot

Last weekend we headed up to Boston to spend the week with friends and celebrate the union of two wonderful people. We had a blast! Somehow, I managed to stay in my shoes all night long, which is a miracle. BryGuy and I celebrated our anniversary at midnight by dancing to our wedding song.

Miss Manners - Part II

A while back, I did a post on the modern day rules for chivalry and manners and by George, I think it's time for a refresher course. If you don't recall, this is written from the perspective of "If Marissa ruled the world..." Clearly, it would be a far happier and much more orderly world if that was the case. 

Read on to see the rules for exiting a plane, walking on a sidewalk, and asking your friend for a favor. 

Happy Anniversary BryGuy!

I try not to get too sappy here, but ya know what?! This is my blog. So I'm going to do what I want.

Happy One Year Anniversary Bry! One year isn't that long, but we outlasted Kimmy K and Kris, so that's something right?! To the man who can always make me smile and laugh and who frequently turns my bad days into good ones -- I love you. Here's to one year down and 60+ to go.

Shipping up to Boston

This canvas print could be yours, available for purchase on Etsy by GoingUnderground

What's errbody up to this weekend?

BryGuy and I are heading up to The Bean to celebrate the marriage of two wonderful friends. Maria and Anthony, we love you tons and can't wait to see you! 

We are truly so happy for them and so excited to party with our nearest and dearest 'til our feet hurt. Mine sure will...I'm wearing heels that really aren't fit for a full night of dancing. But hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone, this weather makes me soooo giddy. Cool nights and 70 degree days. Hells yeah September! 

Baked and broiled crab cakes

I'm such a sucker for a good crab cake. I had never really tried to make them myself, but my mother in law bought us some jumbo lump crab meat so I decided to put it to good use. BryGuy and I prefer a crab cake with not much filler (breadcrumbs) and a nice crispy outside and a nice soft and flavorful inside. However, I was trying to be a little bit healthier with this recipe so I decided to bake the crab cakes and then crank up the broiler for a few minutes at the end to really get the outside nice and golden. They were so delicious and I served them with a horseradish remoulade and a lemon wedge.  

Made in America Festival recap

As seen through my phone's camera, because I'm still anxious about taking the nice camera out and about sometimes.