See You In September...

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Hello hello, my Dear Readers!

How is September treating you so far?

Did you have an enjoyable long holiday weekend?

I certainly did.

No, I didn't go see Jay-Z or Bruce Springsteen.

And we certainly didn't have a repeat of last year's drama!

But we did have Pork Fest.

It's become like a national holiday for those involved. But more on that later.

Like, next week.

I am taking the rest of the week off from the blog, not because I want to stretch this into the longest Labor Day Weekend ever,

but because fall market season is rapidly approaching.

Armed with the knowledge of what went well (and what tanked) in the spring,

I'm gearing up an arsenal of pretty that will have the entire Philadelphia area going "ooh!" and "aah!" over the coming months.

It's all finishing touches and the minor details left at this point. But I'm pretty good at neglecting those minor details and putting off those finishing touches until the last possible minute.

Then it's all way too late nights and too much hustle and not enough bustle and I'm left wearing my cranky pants.

I'd like to try to avoid that.

So a-tagging, pricing, and chain-attaching I shall go.

See you in a few.

xo

Happy Weekend

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I think it's fair to say that most of us view this first weekend in September as the end of the summer. The kids

are going back to school. Boots and scarves are making their way onto shop shelves. Vacations are now memories, and old routines are once again being fallen into.

Indeed, we here in the States bid adieu to the long summer days with a long weekend. A long weekend that is eagerly anticipated amongst my friends and family, for that final long summer weekend is Pork Fest Weekend. And what is Pork Fest, you ask? Why, it's just that: a celebration of all things pork. It is the brainchild of my brother-in-law and his neighbor, who started this humble ode to the pig a few years ago, with three grills and a deep-fryer. The rules are pretty basic, in that to gain entry to this most revered of festivals, you must bring food. And that food must contain, in some form, pork (I'm bringing these, and something along the lines of this, but with panchetta added. And, of course, a bottle of bacon vodka, for bloody marys.). You might also slide by with a case or so of good beer ;)

Preparations start months in advance, when my brother in law starts brewing a batch of beer especially for the occasion. As Pork Fest Sunday draws near, bacon begins piling up in freezers. Pork is priced and pounced upon when a good sale is found. The day before, the smell of bacon fills the air for miles around. Early, ever so very early on the actual day, the smoker is started. Pulled pork starts, well, pulling. The deep fryer is turned on, hot oil ready and waiting. And all in anticipation of an entire day, and well into the night , spent enjoying pork.

It is eaten in rice and beans, in empenadas and collard greens. It is candied, and tucked delightfully into an apple tart. It is devoured as bacon, wrapped around a chunk of mac and cheese and deep fried. It is a pleasant surprise in cookies and cupcakes and whoopie pies. It is smoky in cocktails, and wrapped around melon. It is consumed in such varied and abundant forms, that it needs to be held on a long weekend. You simply cannot begin the week in a pork coma! Monday is spent lazily, weighed down, blissfully, with a pork hangover. Preferably with Vogue's September issue and the new Anthology magazine. It is the perfect see-off to summer.

How about you, Dear Readers? Do you have any special plans or traditions for the weekend?

Enjoy it, and make it last, whatever you do.

xo

Little Piggies

Dear Readers! How are you all finding yourselves, here at the end of summer? I have been greatly enjoying my bonding time with Nephews 1 and 2. We've got ourselves into quite a nice little groove, and things will be back to normal next week. Which means an abundance of fabulous and amazing posts are soon to be coming your way :)

But before that avalanche of awesome starts a-flowin', I've got a two-parter to close out this final week of summer (unofficially). And I feel the need, here at the beginning of part one, to let you in on a little something: I am a vegetarian. Have been for nearly twenty years. And I eat bacon (it's a gateway meat!). And, on the Sunday of the three-day Labor Day weekend, I eat not only bacon, but pork in all of its yummy forms. For this Most Special of Sundays is Pork Fest Sunday. What is Pork Fest, you ask? Well, you'll just have to tune in here tomorrow to find out.

To whet your appetites (pun intended), I thought we'd take a gander at all of the parts that make piggies so delicious. Feast your eyes, Dear Readers (pun, again, intended), on a few fun porcine finds.



1. Girls Can Tell  2.&3. Drywell  4.Cynthia Treen Studio

See you tomorrow.

xo