cozy philadelphia - shops

A couple of cozy shops right next door to each other carry some of my favorite things in the world: paper products and yummy smelling soaps! Located at 115 and 117 S. 13th Street, Paper on Pine and duross & langel are great places to find special treats for yourself or a loved one. I love perusing all the gift wrap and stationery options at Paper on Pine. I used to study fabric design, so I enjoy checking out all the decorative patterns on display.

I love going into a bath and body product store without sneezing. I'm so sensitive to perfumes and fragrances that I can't really go near perfume counters in department stores or some other bath and body product stores without my allergies being triggered. Not a problem at duross & langel. The have great products and also offer workshops to create your own!

Stop by if you're ever in the neighborhood!

I've been given a lifeline!

So every spring that I've been in Philadelphia, I've attended the Philadelphia Film Festival. As it occurs around my birthday, I like to pretend that they do it just for me. I spend weeks pouring over the movie guide, highlighter in hand, making my selections. I get to the theater at least an hour in advance - a book in hand - to make sure that I'm close to the front of the line to get a good seat.

When I heard that this year's festival was canceled, I was heartbroken for a couple of reasons: 1) a couple of friends and I had submitted our quizzo documentary, The Legend of Sofa Kingdom, for entry and 2) it was like canceling Christmas!

Thankfully the Philadelphia Film Society is having a Spring Preview April 9-11. All shows are FREE, with advanced tickets available to members. They will be offering their full festival October 14-24.

Hooray!

a couple of snow pics

The bike and mini-snowmen pics were taken by my friend Keri:

I came across this snow sculpture on 4th Street between Lombard and South. It's about 2.5/3 car lengths long:

another great weekend with friends

On Saturday night a couple of great friends hosted a cocktail event with special guest Paul Deegan. Paul is an Everest mountaineer, speaker, and author. It was so amazing listening to him share his life and expedition stories. He also had a slideshow with beautiful images of Everest, his world travels, and last Monday night's shuttle launch. So inspiring!

Sunday, a few of my friends and I went to Walnut Street Theatre's production of The Eclectic Society. This was my first time seeing a show on the mainstage. I was unsure of what to expect. The mainstage productions are generally pretty conservative, classic shows and I prefer more contemporary, experimental works. However, I was not disappointed. The production fully embraced the excitement and tension of the early 60's with bravado and honesty. The cast deftly expressing the nuances of characters that were drawing and re-drawing lines of loyalty, love, and duty. Afterwards, we went out to Marathon Grill and hung out with other friends and members of the cast...for karaoke.

Sunday was also the first day of the Year of the Tiger. As a Tiger, I'm hoping 2010 will be an auspicious year for me.

I had such a great holiday weekend thanks to my friends and family (I caught up with my mom on Sunday via phone)!

cozy philadelphia

Inspired by Monocle magazine's recent Cobble It Up - Global article, I've decided to seek out the cozy places and spaces in Philadelphia. I'll start with my recent trip to The Library Company of Philadelphia:

Image: D.C. Collins & Company, Portrait of

Margaret Griscom McCord Smith, half-plate

daguerreotype, Philadelphia, ca. 1854.

The Library Company of Philadelphia, located at 1314 Locust Street, is one of my latest finds in Philadelphia. Founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, it "is America's first successful lending library and oldest cultural institution." It is also free and open to the public - can't get much cozier than that!

I have walked by The Library Company many times, but their latest exhibition Catching A Shadow: Daguerreotypes in Philadelphia, 1839-1860 caught my attention and drew me in. It explores the art and science of pre-paper photography and Philadelphia's role "as a leading center for daguerreotyping."

As I've mentioned before, photography has long been a passion of mine, so it's no surprise that I was drawn to this exhibition. I've always been fascinated by the people in photos of bygone days. Who were they? What were there passions, dreams, loves, challenges? What were they thinking as they posed for possibly the only picture that would ever be taken of them in their lifetimes? Pretty hard to imagine these days. I also loved how much attention to detail was paid to the packaging of these images. The metal plate was set inside a case that was decorated like a book. Opposite the image was a velvet interior that was usually stamped with the daguerreotypist's label. They're really beautiful!

The exhibition runs through February 26th. Hours are M-F, 9:00AM-4:45PM. FREE.

For those not in the area, The Library Company's Web site has many online exhibitions as well.

Enjoy!

Know of a cozy place in Philly? Drop me a line - and some pics - at thehappyamateur@gmail.com.

blizzards and friends

This past weekend was so awesome!!! I love snow!! I grew up in Ohio where snowstorms were fairly frequent during the winter months and I have such fond memories. As an adult, I've enjoyed snowshoeing and even snowcamping! Fun, fun, fun!

However, snow is not as common here in Philly...this winter being the exception. This past weekend's storm left a think blanket of beautiful white snow...I love the otherworldly sense of it. Most of the stores in the downtown area were closed and people came out in droves to play in the snow - a group of people even started a game of touch football in Rittenhouse Square Park! I wish I had pics to share - I'll put them up as soon as I'm able to get them off the camera.

In addition to all the white wonderfulness I had a fantastic time trekking through the snow to meet up with my friends for dinner, drinks, gelato, yoga, tea, and laughs! Another friend shared his snow pictures for me to post when I couldn't share mine. I also caught up with a cousin via phone - she's in Boston and didn't get any of this snow! It was the perfect balm to the continued unemployment challenges and recent loss of a college friend. I do cherish my friends, even more so in times like these!

There's more snow coming to Philly starting tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it!! For those of you on the roads, take care. If staying in, I hope we all take the time to be thankful for the friends and family in our lives!

snow snow snow

My digital camera is having technical difficulties, so here are a couple of blizzard pics my friend Dave took:

books and magazines and movies oh my!

With the impending snowstorm this weekend, I plan on cozy-ing up to my stack of books, magazines, and movies. These are the usual eggs in my creativity and inspiration nest, but now I'll have hours of guilt-free time with them!!...I think I really just need to kick the guilt part altogether.

It was a great mail day yesterday. I got one of my favorite magazines, AFAR. If you love travel that takes you beyond the tourist spots and into the realm of experiential travel check it out. (See the creators of AFAR share their vision in this video.) For you Pretty in Pink fans, Andrew McCarthy is a contributor in this issue (March/April 2010)...read about his adventures in Ethiopia.

Well, it's time to get to the grocery store to stock up on a few things before the snow hits...

photography

Photography has long been a passion of mine. I remember saving allowance and birthday money to buy film and get it developed. When I was living in Santa Fe, about 11 or so years ago, a musician friend of mine, Simon Widdowson, introduced me to the photography of artist Nigel Conway. The photos I saw were taken with a Holga camera. They were so beautiful and inspiring.

Well, I ended up buying my own Holga, and I love it. Holgas are great, affordable plastic cameras (I think I paid about $20 for mine, long before they became a fad at Urban Outfitters). They are unpredictable in that they have a reputation for light leaks, so they're perfect for those who like surprises. They're film (120) cameras, the kind that you have to manually forward to the next frame - just try it, you'll like it. It really is the perfect camera for the adventurous, experimental types.

Here are a few of mine that I've taken recently. Enjoy!

the inaugural post

Welcome to The Happy Amateur!

Dave McKean, one of my favorite artists, sums up my artistic, and life, process in a quote from "ART revolution" by Lisa L. Cyr:

"I prefer to make my own mistakes in a state of happy amateurism than learn the correct way to do things. This means it takes me a long time to feel confident with a medium, but the lessons go in very deep."

So, I guess this blog is about my journey through "mistakes" and the inspirational places they take me. I hope that you, gentle reader, will find some inspiration and amusement as well.