PHS Presents the Philadelphia Flower Show 2016: Explore America!

Photos by Rachel Richards

This year's theme at the Philadelphia Flower Show is Nationals Parks and it is truly breathtaking! From North to South, East to West, Cape Cod to Valley Forge, Shenandoah to Yellowstone, iconic parks and historic sites are inspiration for exhibits created by the nation’s premier floral and garden designers.

The exhibitors have outdone themselves! Yellowstone, Valley Forge, Muir Woods and more have towering, soaring redwoods, wildflowers, natural springs, lighthouses, and more!

These exhibits are majestic, awe-inspiring and gorgeous. Explore, climb, hike, ford, marvel and simply take in the Flower Show’s acres of trails, exhibits and attractions, guests will discover the range of horticulture in the national landscape, including the fields of wildflowers, desert blooms, coastal flora, verdant meadows, fragrant pinelands, and ancient redwoods.

The Flower Show will also share the amazing, diverse stories that forged the United States with exhibits inspired by the nation’s monuments and places where history happened.

“The National Park Service and PHS share a commitment to introduce new generations to the beauty of nature, to be good stewards of our environment, to honor the contributions of individuals to our history, and to build vibrant communities,” said Cynthia MacLeod, Superintendent of Independence National Historical Park. “The 2016 Flower Show will be a fun and glorious event and a highlight of the NPS’s Centennial Year.”

The Flower Show also invites attendees to meet garden and design experts and take away innovative ideas for outdoor spaces inspired by diverse American regions, historic home decorating concepts, current gardening and decorating trends, and other creative tips they can bring to their own home and garden.

The PHS Philadelphia Flower Show is the nation's largest and longest-running horticultural event, and features stunning displays by the world’s premier floral and landscape designers.

Started in 1829 by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the show introduces the newest plant varieties, garden and design concepts, and organic and sustainable practices. 

In addition to the major garden displays, the Flower Show hosts world-renowned competitions in horticulture and artistic floral arranging, gardening presentations and demonstrations, special events, a mammoth indoor Marketplace, and Bloom Philly Festival, a citywide celebration.

We met with floral expert designer Debi Lilly who designs for Albertson's and Acme, she's created gorgeous, colorful collections of chop & drops bouquets in fabulous new hexagonal pantone colored vases. Debi Lilly design brings gorgeous to the grocery. "We try to make entertaining easy for anybody. From flower arrangements to candles to meaningful gifts. Clustering is the new design trend so flowers are sold with all you need to pick out just what appeals to you!" she explains. "With the Philly flower show being the gold standard, and it being my first time, I am excited to just be around such great inspirational talent as well as such fresh, unique ideas."

The products Debi has helped design and available in Acme stores do double duty- candle holders as vases and vice versa, and half the price of typical boutique shoppes! "I've been working with Safeway/ACME 6 years now, it is safe to say this is a partnership I am proud of. I even have an exclusive collection that I personally helped put together."

Debi Lilly is currently launching a bath and body lotions line with Eucalyptus Mint! She's excited to see the Designer escapes/table tops. Stylish tables are so interesting to me! she says, plus the demos and bringing national parks to life in such unique interpretations.

Photos by Rachel Richards PHS Flower Show 2016 ©

The Premier Sponsor of the 2016 Flower Show is Subaru, and the Exclusive Sponsor is Bank of America. Official Sponsors are AAA, Acme, Bartlett Tree Experts,  Belgard, Green Mountain Energy, and Tourism Ireland. Supporting sponsors are Amtrak and SugarHouse Casino. 

Contributing sponsors are AARP, Cruise Planners, Espoma, LeafFilter, Mid-Atlantic Waterproofing, Stash Tea, Stella Artois, and Verizon FiOS.

The Philadelphia Flower Show has been honored as the best event in the world by the International Festivals & Events Association.

Proceeds from the Flower Show benefit the year-round programs of PHS that have become national models of urban greening, including City Harvest, which creates green jobs and supports a network of community gardens that raise fresh produce for families in need; Philadelphia LandCare, which has transformed and maintains more than 11 million square feet of vacant land in the city; and Plant One Million, a tri-state campaign to restore the region’s tree canopy. 

Photos by engchik Christine Tarlecki © 2016 PHS Flower Show

                                 
You've got this whole week to go, the weather is great in Philly- so GO to the FLOWER SHOW!

Dates: til Sunday March 13, 2016

Show Hours

Mon. - Fri., March 7-11  10:00 am - 9:00 pm

Saturday, March 12         8:00 am - 9:00 pm

Sunday, March 13            8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Pennsylvania Convention Center

12th & Arch Streets

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Flower show map via PHS http://theflowershow.com/about/flower-show-map

The Box of Philly Brings Home Closer with Wawa, Tastykakes, Herr's and more!

For your Philly friends who’ve since moved away from the Delaware Valley, why not send them a subscription to a monthly Box of Philly?

It’s a fun collection of tasty locally produced treats and nostalgic trinkets from right here in Philly, sure to put a smile on the face of any Philadelphia expatriate.

Recently, owner Pete included for us Herr’s Potato Chips, a box of Tastykake Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes (or as I like to call them, Tandy Kakes), a whole bag of Goldberg Peanut Chews (the original dark chocolate version—yum!), locally-made chocolate covered pretzels from Shane’s Confectionary, and Reading Terminal Market Sweet as Fudge chocolate-covered peanuts.

Plus, add some premium items for a tiny fee- Philly Phanatic Fathead decal, Wawa ground coffee, chocolate covered PB sandwich (why didn’t I try this!?)

The best part of these boxes is that it's a little taste of home for those near and far! Many of these items you cannot get at whatever state you live in's convenience store- its certainly no Wawa!

To get your own Box of Philly subscription for yourself or a friend, visit http://www.theboxofphilly.com/ Boxes come in 3-item, 5-item or 10-item sizes for $25, $35 or $60, respectively. Totally worth it!

Pantry Challenge - Week 2

The Serious Pantry Challenge – Part 2

Saturday October 17- Yay! My honeypie and I have been married 6 months. It’s pretty awesome. Marriage is awesome and we are having fun. The house isn’t neat, but who cares? Priorities!

BOO!

I got up at 7:30a,, walked the dog a mile, Steve and I went to the farmer’s market and got some goodies: fresh cider, mushrooms, and fresh pork for dinner that weekend.  Home…and crashed out into naps. Didn’t get far in doing much on my to-do list. Played scrabble with my 89 and a half year old Grandmom, Steve and I brought her pizza and we had a great time!  I had been doing good avoiding the Diet Coke…until now.. Sunday I had slept like 10 hours. The sleep debt is real, people!

Steve woke me up to get going w the girls, as Sam and Jill and had a full day in Philly planned. And we had the BEST day! Shopping in Reading Terminal Market buying spices, bread, coffee, produce, and other goodies. We had a lovely lunch! Then we went off to the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia to attend the exhibit of Down the Rabbit Hole where the original Alice in Wonderland manuscript was displayed, along with a ton of amazing books and artifacts.

Monday October 19- While I am happily chowing on my beloved Noosa yoghurt, I decided to look at the calories. 230, and 11 grams of fat.  ELEVEN! Does yogurt typically have this much fat? I added cinnamon, flaxseed and nutmeg, but it’s still a pretty high breakfast counter. I’m not going to stop eating it, but not every day for breakfast. 

Lunch was Thai leftover- serious yum.  Dinner- somehow I was starvvvving again, and I stopped off to Wendy’s to get a hamburger and fries (no Diet Coke tho!) and no Frosty. Im trying to cut down some of my vices here. Ate then went off to teach my class.

Tuesday October 20- Breakfast was a Perfect Bar- organic honey, almonds, peanut butter and fruit. YUM! High in calories (310, 11 grams of fat) but kept me full for 5 hours. Apple, clementine, water, coffee...

Lunch- didn’t eat lunch, had tea.
Dinner- snack at 4:30-a couple perogies, crackers and salmon spread, plus (at 8pm) 2 Bud Light Limes and half a quesadilla with my friend AB at a Mexican cantina. Good times! Home to bed and crashed OUT!

Wednesday October 21- still watching the spending! Another Perfect Bar for breakfast- the Peanut Butter is delicious! Ate my apple and tangerine.

Lunch- a splurged and got a quesadillas from the café. It’s great, and the other half will be lunch tomorrow (spend $9 on that and iced tea).

Dinner- Steve and I had lasagna at his cousin’s house. She made a delicious dinner and desert and we had a great time hanging out. And I passed out at 9:45.

Thursday October 22 – I made squash and pumpkin soup last night in my cast iron pot. Steve and I went to dinner…and I discovered it this morning. It was probably hot until midnight, and I was boxing it up at 5:15. I think it’s ok, testing a half a cup for breakfast. I’m ok, whew. Had another Perfect Bar for breakfast- full peanut butter flavor. Good, but I was starving again in 2 hours. I think that’s just me today. SO I ate my last piece of quesadilla. Im still a bit nervous to eat my soup, but I have brown rice to mix in with it. That will be the bulk of my lunch. I had a piece of prickly pear, which I have never had before, plus a kiwi.

Coffee, water.
Lunch- just a yogurt.
Dinner….

Okay, I am jumping ahead here, as it is Friday morning. I just got up…and I feel terrible. Instead of telling you how I did this week, which you can read below, I’m starting with the end of the week. It’s 6:00am and I feel awful.

Last night I had Wendy’s for dinner, 8 chicken nuggets, fries, a small hamburger and water. I got my hair done, and then picked up some Halloween candy to give out. Then I promptly ate about ½ of KitKats and a few Peppermint Patties, and then went to bed. I passed out (sugar crash maybe?).

I awoke this morning feeling terrible. I feel hungover. I’m puffy, my stomach hurts, my head hurts, and I’m feeling stiff. My body is screaming out in protest to all the salt, sugar, and fat, and let me tell you, I’m listening. No more!

I also noticed here how I have been skipping lunch, so when i get home, I'm starving and grab something. Not smart. Even if I eat a yogurt, it's something.

I’ve been fairly good lately, losing some weight and making better choices. Last night I made awful choices. I didn’t even realize how I had been feeling better with no Diet Coke, less sugar, and less fat. More veggies and lean protein have been helping a lot. I’m sluggish and icky. Later on I’m getting an omelet and drinking lots of water.

And that’s it for today! Stay strong y’all!

Me and my girls at the market!