Given the state of the world (ie: hi, there’s still a pandemic), it goes without saying that Scott and I haven’t partaken in much travel over the past 1.5 years, which is terrible because traveling is one of our favorite things to do together. Even worse, it’s been just as long since we last visited Philly. In fact, the last time we drove down for the day was to check out Wonderspaces, drink beer, and buy yarn a week before covid really took a turn for the worse in March 2020.
So yeah, now that we got vaccinated like anyone with a brain and a sliver of scientific literacy should, we’ve decided we’ve done all we can to protect ourselves and are trying to get back to some semblance of normalcy.
Cue my 38th birthday where all I wanted to do was head back to our city and continue my never-ending search for an authentic Full English (mission accomplished at The Dandelion, by the way). I may or may not have picked up some yarn along the way, so here’s what’s good:
Yarnphoria Haul
I hit up Yarnphoria for a couple reasons: 1) I needed (wanted) yarn to start a Rosy Blooms by Stephen West and 2) the owner just happens to have the cutest yarn shop dog ever - little Miss Mabel - and after two days away from our dogs, Scott and I were missing our little monsters and needed a hot minute with a pup. Here’s what I ended up picking out:
Misti Alpaca Tonos Carnaval, Surf Blue (2 hanks)
Malabrigo Mechita, Carnival (1 hank)
Both yarns are accessible (ie: at a decent price point), so this visit didn’t hurt the bank and I’m grateful for that!
Loop Haul
And then, of course, we trekked a few blocks and passed a bunch of garden wine bars we’d visit later to buy even more yarn at my Philly go-to, Loop. It’s rare that I head into the city and don’t drop in to see what the latest stash is (mostly so I can add it to my own stash), and this latest trip didn’t disappoint. Here’s what I came home with to make a Baubles by Andrea Mowry:
Hedgehog Fibres Sock, Coral (1 hank)
Emma’s Yarn Splendid Singles, Mint to Be (1 hank)
Fiberstory Fave Sock, Cake (2 hanks)
Based on my new yarn collection alone, it should come as no surprise that I can’t complain about my birthday weekend in the city. We stopped at all our favorites (like Monk’s Cafe) and discovered new favorites (like Tattooed Mom and 1 Tippling Place), finally got to the Philadelphia Magic Gardens, and walked something like 20 miles in two days in between enjoying cocktails at top notch establishments. Scott made my birthday one to remember and I think he even had fun, too. Super grateful to be with someone like me who can have fun anywhere and likes to fly by the seat of his pants so we can try new things and discover new places. If this was any indication of what our honeymoon in Asheville will be like, we’re in for a good time.
PS: Speaking of our honeymoon, we’ve started a wedding website for anyone who’s interested in following my adventures in being stressed. I can’t believe we’ve only got four months left and I feel like there’s so much to do (although we’ve got all the major things done). Make sure to check out the sneak peeks for all the fun things I’m ordering off etsy because I want all the unique handcrafts I can find; basically, there will be elephants and unicorns everywhere!