Our First Weekend of Spring

Hi Bloggy Friends,

I hope you're having a nice day. It couldn't have been a more beautiful weekend here in Philadelphia. Is it as nice where you are? We took advantage of the warm weather and sunshine by strolling to parts of town we haven't ventured to in a while, dining at restaurants where we could sit outside and we began the steps to shaping up our patio for summer.

We're not exactly sure what we'll do with it yet, but I know I want our outdoor space to be a lush oasis where we can escape with a spot of wine or tea or maybe even have dinner. It's a small space but I think we have enough to work with. I know some of you have a gift for gardening, so feel free to lend suggestions about what plants will work best and etc.. We'd like to have vines hanging from the top of the walls that would eventually latch on and grow all over and a small fountain for added ambiance. We need a set of comfortable, yet sleek patio furniture as well. Do you know where we can find something sexy?

Besides getting the house in order we also enjoyed some Philly nightlife. Friday we had dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant, Izumi (1601 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-271-1222), and later met our friends Tim, Rob and Desiree at Voyeur Nightclub (1221 St. James St., 215-735-5772) for cocktails. Today we spent most of the day getting our grocery shopping done. On the way to and from the store me made pit stops at Sweet Freedom (1424 South St., 215-545-1899) for delicious gluten-free treats and Uhuru Furniture & Collectibles (1220 Spruce St., 215-546-9616), where I found a neat $10 antelope sculpture (pictured left). It has a chip in one of the antlers, but I'm going to caulk it and spray paint it lime green or something funky like that. I'm always in the mood to funk something up but Alan thinks I should leave it alone. What do you think?

The springtime weather really gives me the boost I need to start decorating again. I'm looking forward to our first spring/summer in the new home. Do you have any special plans for your home now that winter is being ushered away? I'd love to hear all about it.

Have a great week. I'll chat with you soon. Facebook click HERE.

Love, Josh

P.S. Here are links to the work I did for City Paper this week:

• Queer Bait - My monthly LGBT events column
• Neighborhood Watch - My weekly street fashion post with fellow intern Julia West
• Navigating Open Relationships Class
• Video of a Police Brutality Protest in Center City
• And I make a brief appearance in Molly Eichel's review of the Janelle Monáe show I attended on Thursday night. It was one of the best I've seen.
• And be sure to keep an eye out for City Paper's style issue coming out this week. The editor was gracious enough to let Julia and I contribute with an article about what trends will shape the coming decade. It's the biggest thing I've done for the paper so far. I'm really excited about it. Stay tuned!

Vancouver!

Just joking! Did I have you there for a minute??? :)

Hey Bloggy Friends!

Today begins my countdown to the big surprise that I will be announcing at the end of the week. Each day I will be moving through the choices that aren't correct, before reaching the big one on maybe Thursday or Friday.

My Bloggy Friends know me pretty well. Vancouver is an awesome city, but there are no plans for us to move there at the moment. While it would be an exciting opportunity, right now is just not the best time for that. Alan just started his new job and I am finishing my first semester at Temple - it would be crazy for us to pick up and put it all on hold all over again! I guess if the option did come up I would be all for it, though. My bloggy friends know I love a challenge!

I hope you guys are having a nice week. So far it has been a muggy, rainy one in Philadelphia. School is going very well. I have some grades coming in from past assignments and am proud to say I am averaging a solid A in all of them! It feels good be moving along and especially to be doing well. I registered for my Fall classes this week. It looks like I will have a pretty good schedule - but we'll talk about that another day.

Have a good one and tune in tomorrow!

Love you all,

Josh

Enjoy this short slideshow of a few pictures from my first visit to Vancouver in 2003, with my friends Matthew (dark hair) and Aaron (red hair). We had such a great time that the three of us returned in 2006!

A S'puss'cial Visitor!

Hey Bloggy Friends!

It's been a while since I blogged last. I am still reeling from Hillary's big win last Tuesday. I'm so excited about the coming month here in PA. We're in the spotlight now, Baby!

I've been having a really fun time lately. One of my best friends (and Bloggy Friend), Rick, is visiting from Louisville. He has been here since Thursday. He will be here a whole week, so we have plenty of time to leisurely see the city and have some fun together. We've been spending our time exploring different parts of the city, like Center City, the Gayborhood, Manayunk and Ardmore. We've also dined, thrifted and chatted over coffee - some of our favorite things to do together. It's been great having him here. I'm sure some of you recognize his name from the comments he leaves from time to time, so say hello next time you see him!

Here is a quick video of our afternoon and a little about what we have been up to lately. Expect a few more posts in the coming days - we have some exciting plans up our sleeves!

I hope your week is off to a great start. Did I mention I am on Spring Break? It's a little early for me, but I'll take it!

Talk to ya soon, trannies.

Love, Josh