After living in Pennsylvania for two and a half years during the time I attended Villanova for my Masters, I haven't once returned back to visit. When I moved home to Long Island in October of 2011, I was very frustrated with Pennsylvania. I hadn't been able to find a job there that I could support myself on, I was far away from my family, and it was perplexing to me to live somewhere that's so hot over the summer without any beaches to go to. It sort of seemed like a lonely, landlocked hell. A year and a half later, I find myself waxing poetic about my time in PA. I miss living down the block from Milkboy Coffee and being able to walk up the street, get a cup of coffee and some food, and sit, people watching in an artsy Laptopistan. I was lucky enough at the time that my other half was willing to move his life down to Pennsylvania and have that adventure with me. He too, had become disenchanted with Pennsylvania and the struggles of starting over somewhere new, without the comfort of family and old friends. We made new friends, though, and we've only realized how important they are to us after so much time being away from them. Last week, we decided it was time to take a mini-vacation and revisit our old haunts along the Main Line and spend some quality time with good friends further south, in Oxford.
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| yours truly, in heaven. |
Our first stop was Villanova, where I fulfilled my Alumni duty of spending money I didn't have in the bookstore. The campus looks wonderful with the many changes they've made to further "beautify" it since I graduated. Check that off the list. Next up we headed to our former home of Ardmore and had lunch at Milkboy Coffee. I was disappointed to not see any of the baristas I remember from when I was a regular there... but alas, times do change.
PHASE TWO after the jump....
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| an auspicious greeting |
The ride from Oxford to Paoli really wasn't bad. It took about an hour, but that's an hour of smooth sailing on highway with no traffic (aka, not New York). We lucked out and got to see Foster, Charlotte AND the lovely Molly Bonner over at Trove. The store looks great, as usual, with Foster's expert eye for visuals and display and his sneaky approach to planting burning incense throughout the shop... so you suddenly find yourself smelling something wonderful without knowing from whence it comes. Steven (other half) showed off in a Trove cap for awhile, then took the plunge with a sharp new Pendleton plaid buttondown tee for spring. I fell in love with a Pendleton skirt (above), and a pair of Imogene+Willie high waisted skinny jeans. I'm sorry I tried them on, frankly, because now I'm sorry that I couldn't buy them and my life is ruined (exaggeration... almost). I had been skeptical about the jeans that Foster referred to as "magic," because I have such a tough time finding things that fit, as we've discussed. Lanky, athletic, equestrian girls with small derriéres aren't exactly the fit model most designers use to craft their denim. It was therefore to my shock and awe that the jeans fit like a dream and were for all intensive purposes, magical indeed. Though I didn't leave with any garments possessing otherworldly powers, I did score some awesome beef jerky by Side Project Jerky. Handcrafted in Philadelphia from Pennsylvania beef, one bite and I knew it was crafted with the kind of love most people will never understand.
Another happy event -- Wawa! Iced coffee and a hoagie (not in NY anymore, ergo "hero" is a moot term) powered us up for the ride back home. Sad though we were, I was glad to get home to my pup, and I now have a renewed sense of purpose and focus for where I want my life to take me. Maybe it was the fresh air... maybe it was the magic jeans... who's to say? But Pennsylvania, you certainly have a piece of my heart.
P.S. You can always follow my adventures more closely on Instagram at @aezeum.
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