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5 Fun Ways To Celebrate Easter
Image credit Easter is fast approaching, and for those who like to celebrate the festival synonymous with chocolate and new beginnings, finding ways to spend this joyous holiday can help you to enjoy it more and really have some fun. Whether you have kids or not, Easter is a time for getting together with loved ones and partaking in all things egg and bunny-related. If you need some inspiration on how to spend your Easter this year, then read on. Egg Hunts Traditionally thought of as a kids-only thing, an Easter egg hunt can be fun for the whole family. A simplified version where kids find small chocolate eggs or…
- Art, Blog, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Explore with Cassie, Fitness, Food, Latest News, Restaurants, Travel
Four-Diamond Loews Philadelphia Hotel Welcomes Guests Like Family
Whoa, Loews! You had me at HELLO … and that Charcuterie Board. Family, indeed. “Whether anybody was home meant everything to a house. It was more than a major fact: it was the only fact … The family was the house’s soul.” — Jonathan Franzen Story, photos by Sharon Kozden It didn’t take me long to discover that The Loews Family at Loews Philadelphia Hotel meant what they said when they said I’d be welcomed like family. In July 2020, the luxury hospitality company introduced “a fresh brand position which defines Loews as more than simply a collection of hotels, but a brand deeply rooted in welcoming and caring for…
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Fahoo Forays, Dahoo Dorays: Welcome U-ville, a Seussian Whoville at Philadelphia’s Uptown Beer Garden
Bright Lights, Big City: Uptown Beer Garden presented its seasonal U-Ville in homage to the Seussian Whoville. Between the radiant white of a clear conscience and the coal black of a conscience sullied by sin lie many shades of gray – where most of us live our lives. Not perfect but not beyond redemption. ~~ Leslie Pinckney Hill “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” ~~ Audrey Hepburn Story, photos by Sharon Kozden On the evening of November 16th, I Ubered into the City to celebrate the unveiling of Uptown Beer Garden’s holiday creation, U-ville … a name whose…
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Uptown Beer Garden Mutates Upside Down for Spooky Season with ‘Stranger Things’ Theme
“People don’t spend their lives trying to get a look at what’s behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition.” ~~~ Murray Bauman, Stranger Things Story, photos by Sharon Kozden Actually, Murray, I beg to differ with your above-referenced statements about “the curtain.” I liked getting a look at what’s behind it … at least I did on the evening of September 28th … when Aversa PR and Craft Concepts Group welcomed media to a preview party like none other at Uptown Beer Garden‘s Stranger Things-themed pop-up bar. Greetings from Hawkins, Indiana. Wish you were here! Perhaps if I had watched Netflix TV’s Stranger…
- Animals, Charity, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Food, Latest News, Suburbs, Travel
Lehigh County Humane Society Holds First Annual Garden Party at Bell Gate Farm
Keynote speaker Eve Warsinski poses with husband, daughters and Koda. Story, photos by Sharon Kozden “Our animals connect us to the sacred. What are pets, really, other than an attempt to have a little bit of a God in the house?” – Russell Brand Autumn weather in Pennsylvania felt more like spring or summer than fall. Not cool, literally. Projected temps were near 80 degrees some days. The expected crisp chill? It would be here soon enough. Despite seasonal signs of brilliant-hued mums, cider fests, all things pumpkin spice and Halloween decorations, I continue wearing open-toed sandals and tee-shirts. Consequently, my headspace can’t seem to reconcile this unseasonably warm weather…
- Animals, Culture, Day Trips, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Nature, Style, Suburbs
Horses ‘Rein’ at Annual Carriage Procession in Chester County, PA
Carriage-hitched horse and riders pass the Lincoln Building, home to the annual Yellow Springs Art Show. “At its finest, rider and horse are joined not by tack, but by trust. Each is totally reliant upon the other. Each is the selfless guardian of the other’s very well-being.” – Author unknown Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My first encounter with a horse occurred during the summer of my 12th year, when a school chum allowed a bunch of us to ride her mare. The young equestrian sat in the saddle as we took our respective turns while scrunched in front of her. Both horse and owner actually resembled one another as…
- Architecture, Art, Beauty, Culture, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Music, Nature, Restaurants, Style, Travel
Paris, je t’aime! An American Reminisces on Her Love Affair with France
Story, photos by Jill Beckel Bonjour! It is hard to say where my obsession with Paris started, but I am honestly not sure. I know that I dreamed about going to Paris as child and something about it always fascinated me. I took French throughout middle school and three years of high school. However, I am by no means fluent. I can pick up phrases and written words here and there, but definitely could not hold my own in a full-on on conversation in French (I did try to brush up with the Duolingo app before this trip). Once I was in college, I knew that I wanted to travel…
- Arizona, Culture, Dance, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Music, Restaurants, Style, Travel
Explore with Cassie Celebrates 5 Years of Lifestyle and Travel Blogging
Story by Cassie Hepler, photos by D’Nyjah French What began as an idea to keep exploring in the middle of a cold, harsh Philadelphia winter has now blossomed into a 5 year old! I remember it well… that month me and my IT angel spent grinding the idea out with laser sharp focus. By the end of January 2015, we had not one but two websites Explore Philly and Explore New Jersey (this is what happens when you mix a Virgo with a Taurus… extra AF). But since it was such a local East Coast hyper focus, we found that limiting. Of course we frequently traveled outside of the tri-state area…
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DesignPhiladelphia Festival Celebrates 15 Years, Hosts Kickoff Party at Cherry Street Pier
The Ben Franklin Bridge’s steel-suspension design is a perfect backdrop for DesignPhilaldephia’s Kickoff Party. “Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fits our needs so well that the design is invisible.”- Don Norman Story, photos by Sharon Kozden My introduction to Philadelphia’s design scene occurred in fall at Cherry St. Pier, where DesignPhiladelphia kick-started its 15th annual 10-day long festival with a launch party that had the stunning Benjamin Franklin Bridge as backdrop. It was a fitting and iconic location choice. What, after all, screams both stellar design and Philadelphia more than the Ben bridge? What wasn’t fitting on that…
- Architecture, Art, Culture, Dessert, Drink, Entertainment, Events, Explore with Cassie, Fashion, Food, Latest News, Music, Nature, Restaurants, Science, Sports, Style, Travel
Cheerio! Exploring London, England a Second Time Around
Story, photos by Jill Beckel London, England… a city known for its gray skies, beautiful architecture, culture, art, rich history, the River Thames, the British monarchy, pubs and tea. I was fortunate enough to have been able to study abroad in my college days for a term my sophomore year of college back in 2006. Since then, I’ve been yearning to go back and explore the city even more. I recently got the chance to make the trip back with my husband this time and it couldn’t have been better. All that I would have wished for was to have been able to stay longer! I knew that I wanted…