Shall I serenade you all? You’re right. It may be best to leave that to Sinead O’Connor.

You know what I think? Nothing compares to old 80s and 90s music. I never get sick of listening to it. Give the video a play. I dare you to try not to sing along.

Today’s lunch held a few treasures which, in my mind, nothing (or at least very little) can compare to. I met a friend for lunch at a cute little cafe in one of those quaint “downtown” areas.

I would rather wander the streets and find myself in a kitschy place like this, than go through the hassle of reservations months in advance and valet parking for a high-end, well-known eatery any day. Nothing compares to the food or the atmosphere. Or tea with mint in it. What a perfect summer beverage!

I had such a hard time deciding what to order. Stuffed portabella caps, spinach quiches, wraps and salads galore all leaped off the page and proceeded to do a little arm-waving dance while shouting “pick me! pick me! pick me!”. Yes, that really happened. 😉

I finally opted for the Cherry Bleu Chicken Wrap with their “famous” lobster bisque on the side.

Let’s just say…nothing compares. I will allow the pictures to do the talking.

Speaking of which, nothing compares to natural sunlight for food pictures either. I want to eat that lunch all over again. Although not the way cows do it. That’s gross. So I guess I’ll play Patient Patty until I can get myself back there.

I savored this meal alongside a heavy course of catching up with a good friend. We haven’t seen each other in MONTHS, and don’t talk nearly enough, but easily slid back into our conversation like into an old pair of favorite jeans. Nothing compares to friendship like that. We lived together a few years at the end of college and just after, then took somewhat different paths. Even though we have grown into different people, our friendship still has a luster to it. It was nice give it a little spit shine today.

Something else with no comparison – a leftover piece of cake for a snack. Sometimes you just gotta!

• Finish the sentence – nothing compares to _____?
• What style or era of music always makes you smile?
• Be sure to enter the THERMOS GIVEAWAY!

Hey, hey, hey! I’m back from our travels. How was everyone’s weekend? I hope fabulous. I look forward to being back to normal blogging and being able to visit you all. I also look forward to being back home with my darling girl and my kitchen. I have no problem eating a few heavier meals over a vacation, but it never fails to leave me craving the best stuff afterwards. Onto the rest of my recap, shall we?

I left you with the wedding rehearsal, but no recap of the wedding. Let me remedy that. The ceremony filled the room with love. The emotion expressed on the bride’s and groom’s faces spoke volumes. And the worship included within the ceremony displayed the firm foundation of their relationship. I love watching weddings and feeling like my own becomes reaffirmed.

Here are a few of my favorite shots of the wedding. Aren’t my friends just glowing with love? 🙂

Look at those smiles!!!! I’m incredibly happy for them. Seeing my close friend marry a woman perfectly suited for him brings me so much joy. I had tears in my eyes when I saw his face as she walked down the aisle. They will no doubt enjoy a long life of love together. Love them both!

After the beautiful ceremony, we had a brief break back in the hotel room before heading to the reception. The reception venue overlooked a small lake and boasted amazing decor. It somewhat reminded me of our rehearsal venue, except at a lake instead of the mountains.

After the cocktail hour, we moved to the main hall for a seated dinner, toasts, and then dancing. The meal started with a Caesar salad and a roll with an asparagus garlic spread.

Then, the main course came out. Filet with potatoes and veggies. They simply brought out the meal without asking how people wanted their meat cooked. Pink does NOT suit me.

I tried to force it down, but around 2/3 of the way through I made a mad dash for the restroom instead. From there the night was downhill. Shortly afterwards, the cutting of the cake came.

I needed food because I had nothing in my stomach at this point and had a slice as soon as possible. I ended up feeling worse and getting a headache from having just sugar in my stomach. It tasted fabulous, but not so sure it was worth it.

I had to leave not too long after that. I felt so terrible! I wanted to be there to celebrate with them as long as possible. We headed back to the hotel by 10 and I immediately crashed. I’m happy I got to see the first dance, cutting of the cake, visit with them, and enjoy some other good company though.

Fortunately I woke up feeling better on Sunday. I took my time getting out of bed and getting ready to be sure. Then, knowing I still felt up to it, we headed out towards downtown Philly after another complimentary hotel breakfast. The trip started off a little rocky thanks to some bad directions, but we found our way. We started off in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Of course, we had to complete the obligatory Rocky climb. I didn’t pose like all the other people though. Haha!

After checking out the views from the steps for a bit, we went around back of the museum to visit the Azalea Gardens and Boathouse Row. What a nice area!

Then we decided to head down Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards 18th street to visit Rittenhouse Square and have lunch. It wasn’t too long of a walk, but it worked up my appetite. We had to search for a place to eat because apparently 1:00 on a Sunday equates to brunch around that area. Everywhere was serving eggs, eggs, and more eggs, I wasn’t in the mood for breakfast so the only decent looking option in the area was a pizza place.

A very good pizza place at that. We decided to share a medium spinach, mushroom, and onion on whole wheat. I liked that the the veggies stole the show. There was very little cheese and sauce, which tasted perfect with such flavorful toppings.

Lunch took longer than expected, so once we finished we had to take a quick walk through Rittenhouse Square and start heading back to the car to leave in time to get to visit Peter’s friends for the night. That didn’t stop us from taking a pit stop for some fro-yo. I have eyed all your fro-yo visits for some time and knew I needed a taste of my own. I picked up a mix of vanilla and watermelon flavors with some strawberries, blueberries, and a few M&Ms on top. Soooooo good!

It topped off our quick Philly day trip perfectly. Then we headed into West Chester to finish out the night visiting some friends we haven’t seen since our wedding. I don’t know them as well since it is a friend Peter used to work with, but I really enjoyed the company. I wish we had had more time to visit them. The few hours we did have to share a dinner with them in their home, play with their daughter, and sit and chat were wonderful though. And that about wraps it up. I really missed Makenzie, but this vacation felt more special without her. I joked that we could almost call it our “babymoon” vacation to get away and have fun before having the next baby. We had a great time…

• What was the best part of your weekend?
• What is the longest road trip you’ve taken? Was it worth it?