Love back to the place that loves you back

StyleNation, I've missed you. Right around as I was going to post my tutoring outfit on Thursday evening, along with the caveat that I wouldn't be around for a couple of days due to a totally last-minute, unplanned trip to NYC/Philly, Blogger crapped out. Everything seems to be back to normal, but it did eat the comments to my last post. Alas.

You'll still have to wait for Thursday's outfit post (trust me: it's not that exciting), because today I want to throw out some love to my favorite city in the near vicinity. As you're all no doubt tired of hearing, I lived in Philadelphia for nine happy years. And, as you can probably tell, although I rarely come right out and say it ... I don't love New England. So I'm constantly whining about missing Philly. My husband had a world premiere with a Philly chamber music group this past week and he wheedled me into coming to the second concert, which was yesterday afternoon. We weren't in the city proper for too long before leaving for the concert venue and then for the airport, but during those few hours of mugginess and warm weather (I was too hot. Oh, Philadelphia, I miss your 70-degree weather in the spring), there was no rain and we got to reacquaint ourselves with some old haunts.

Every once in a while, when the yearning for Philly gets too awful, I resort to the internet for help. I've been known to peruse the Wikipedia page (sad, but true). But, most importantly, I've trawled through the blogopshere to find stylish inspiration from some sassy Philly-based ladies:

• Heart City Vintage was the first Philly-based blog I ever read and I quickly became hooked. I'm not much of a vintage-wearer (I used to be, somewhat), but Hannah's finds and stylings constantly leave me amazed, not to mention her adorable pictures in her South Philly street. 
• You probably know of Veronika, of Tick Tock Vintage, also a beautiful vintage-wearer living in South Philly. I want to be her. Or, failing that, maybe just meet her one day. This lovely lass has enviable clothes, hair, and legs (just sayin'...). I love that she dresses so fun and I love that she's also a lower-school teacher. Read her blog and get lost in her different activities, from Philadelphia estate sales to her amazing DIY wedding. Sigh.
• I only discovered Stylish Thought, by Fajr, a couple of weeks ago. She's a savvy (also, gorgeous) writer who cares strongly and infectiously about the subjects on which she writes. Sometimes the City of Brotherly love is an active participant on her blog and that makes me happy. As does almost everything else she writes. Check out her Philadelphia shopping guide! 

So, ladies, if you've ever wondered why I love my adopted hometown so much, I would definitely recommend moseying on over to any one of these lovelies to find out. These three blogs for me definitely showcase the wonder that is Philly to me. Not only are these women obviously intelligent and articulate, but they also have their own beautiful sense of style - each one is different from the other, and that - that - is what I love about Philly: about how you can see startlingly beautiful people who are beautiful for all sorts of different reasons. I myself am not being particularly articulate right now, but that's what Philly does to me. Go. Look.

(In other news, it looks like I'll officially be defending my dissertation in July. Eeek!)