“We’re going to brunch.” And that was that. Georgina and Victoria woke me from my saving-money-for-NYC-rent-by-being-a-hermit-so-that-I-don’t-get-tempted-to-spend-money-induced stupor and dragged me out of the apartment and into the city for a summer day of food, art, human interaction, and most importantly, more food.
To fuel ourselves up for the day ahead, we popped by One Shot Coffee for brunch. The last time I visited (blog post here) was spring break 2016, and I remember wanting to visit again and again because there were so many fun flavours of coffee I wanted to try (last time I tried the maple pecan latte and chai latte, yes, I had two coffees), but it wasn’t easy to get to from campus via public transportation, so I didn’t make it over again. But now that we’re living in the city where public transportation is more convenient, we gotta make the most out of it!
Basic bitches that we are, Georgina and I couldn’t resist trying their burrata avocado toast when we saw it on their special menu. My thinking is that avocado toast is so simple to make that it’s not worth ordering when out, but it’s okay to order it once per place so that you can compare how different places make their avocado toasts. From what I’ve tried in Philly so far, Green Engine makes the best! Victoria made a mature decision with her brussels sprout hash. To go with our food, I got a salted butter pecan hot chocolate, Georgina got a Nutella Mexican mocha, and Victoria got a lemon San Pellegrino. I really wanted to try their vanilla rose latte too. I guess that means I’ll have to visit again?
Full to bursting, we worked it off with a stroll through the Art Star Craft Bazaar at the North Front Street Festival. I didn’t intend to buy anything because I’m moving to NYC (hopefully soon but probably not!) and I want to accumulate as little as possible, so instead I determined to support my favourite Philly-based artists by sharing them here:
Jedidiah Gallery features an assortment of artists, including many Chinese artists, and two of my favourites are Han Wang’s porcelain fortune cookies and Tiantian Li’s watercolour lingerie. Kimmy Makes Things is for all the animal lovers out there; I can’t choose between the corgi butt tote and the corgi butt enamel pin. Anethum Jewelry has beautiful minimal jewelry; Georgina bought a pair of earrings and I’m super tempted by this pair of breast friend rings. If you’re looking to add some boho vibes to your humble abode, Proper Goods has an assortment of brass himmeli, and if you catch them in person at an art fair/market/bazaar, they also sell low maintenance air plants to go with them!
By the time we made it through the market, we were worn out by the sun and needed something to cool us down. Is there anything that screams summer like Rita’s Italian Ice? The three of us got different flavours of gelati (Italian ice with frozen custard) — cherry for me, mango for Georgina, and blue raspberry for Victoria — unintentionally covering all the primary colours, which made my photos very happy. Gelatis in hand, we settled into a nearby stoop and raced to finish them off before the sun melted them down.