Philly Sick

I've been missing our old home a lot recently :( It feels like SO long ago that we secretly packed up all of our things and moved to Nashville. I definitely love our life here in the South, but I've had a hankering for the Northeast these days. It doesn't help that I've been looking through old blog posts from last summer and reminiscing on being tourists and BBQs with friends. Philadelphia is the city where Keith and I grew up. I mean... we didn't spend our childhood there, but that is the first place we ever really lived on our own. We figured out life together there. That is where we got engaged, got our first pet, planned our wedding, bought our first car... it's where we started our FAMILY, where I became Dana Richards. It obviously wasn't all smiles and happiness and we had reasons for leaving that I wouldn't take back, but today I would give anything for a Wawa hoagie, a trip to Sketch with Dan, Aly, Tim and Gil or even just a late night walk down Main St in Manayunk and a stroll on the towpath. It's weird to think that I can't just hop on a bus to New York City on a whim, or plan a last minute drive down to DC to get burgers with friends. Those are things I definitely took for granted while we were there and would love to have back. I feel so far removed from the life we had there and it makes me sad to think that soon it will be just a distant memory, or a story we'll tell our future children about "when we were young". I guess I just wish that we had the time and money to visit more often and feel connected to the place that we called home, but for now I'll be thankful for the 4 days we'll be there this coming November. I LOVE that town, I love that we lived there and that it will forever be part of our identity. Here are some of my favorite Philadelphia moments in no particular order:

Engaged. 12.14.09

Bangs for the first time since I was a child

Favorite burgers.

View of the skyline from the second floor of the art museum. My favorite.

Stoop life.

So much snow I literally couldn't open my eyes haha

Buying Marty!

Revolutionary War battle reenactments! Nerdiest job ever.

Saying goodbye to an old friend (ps-where did those prewedding bodies go! we look so skinny here!)

HENRY! The biggest cat I ever met.

Painting our little bathroom.

Picnics in pretzel park.

The Barnes Collection. I'm still sad they're moving this downtown :/

Rocky statue. 

Our tiny kitchen with no counter space.

Doing touristy things with family.

The zoo!

First Phillies game with Aly and Dan

Buying our bedroom furniture.

The chalkboard wall.

Our magical little neighborhood.

ShopRite (well actually... I don't miss shoprite haha)

Our cozy little living room with the dyed futon cover and makeshift "coffee table".

THE JERSEY SHORE!

First time sledding.

So many drinks in Dan and Aly's backyard.

Fireworks on the 4th with Tim and Gil.

Ruining snowmen.

The RIDICULOUS hills in Manayunk (that's why my butt looked so good haha) 

Chinatown. and the many occasions that I frequented this street the catch the bus to NYC for $10 

Our efforts to cozy up our first apartment together.

Cheesesteaks. Even though I never ate one.

Enjoying time outside with visitors.

Packing it all up.

Our last goodbye. 

120 Ripka St. 

So maybe I teared up just a little. Sorry for the nostalgia overload, I just needed to get that out of my system because it has been weighing on me this week. Regardless of all the things that I've said about it, Philadelphia was good to us, and I can't wait to pay her a visit and say thanks for the good times.

Am I the only one who gets really nostalgic over past homes?