Stop And Smell The Roses At Longwood Gardens

I've spent the past hour searching for something fun to do this weekend. The Picasso exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art doesn't debut until late next month, and the same goes for the Ancient Rome & America exhibit at the National Constitution Center. The car show isn't until next weekend and I feel as though we've seen exhausted all of the other fun Philadelphia weekend activities. We've seen the Body World's exhibit at the Franklin Institute (very cool by the way...if you haven't see it I highly recommend it before it's gone) and strolled though the Mutter Museum (if you like body parts floating in jars it's a can't miss...at least click on the link). And as far as the historic tours go, let me put it this way... the dog has to be walked twice a day and we live in the middle of Old City. If she could talk I'm sure that even she could give you a pretty good tour by now.

Do you feel like you've run into a boring winter rut? If so, I suggest that you stop and smell the roses (not to mention thousands of other types of flowers) at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Longwood Gardens is a place like no other. It's not just for old ladies, I promise. Even beer swigging tough guys can appreciate it. It encompasses 1,000 acres and has 20 indoor and 20 outdoor gardens as well as fountains, a bitchin' organ, historic houses and more beautiful flowers and plants than you've ever seen in your life. Oh yea...and it only costs $16 to get in. $16! That's a bargain if you ask me. And if you've got a valid student ID you can get in for the kid's price of a mere $6. They also schedule concerts, fireworks displays and much more throught the year. Right now they've replaced the holiday exhibit with their Orchid Extravaganza. Do me a favor. Look out your window right now at the cold, dead grass and trees and tell me you wouldn't love strolling through a beautiful and WARM conservatory complex, looking at lovely orchids and smelling the sweet smell of something other than cold air. Yah. That's what I thought. Longwood gardens could be the answer to "what are we doing this weekend?" all year round. I freakin' love it there and I'm certainly going to return in April when they roll out the Art and Passion of Fragrance exhibit. My nose will thank me.

The hubby, my family and I just got back from a trip there a few weeks back. We were fortunate enough to get a behind the scenes look at everything, courtesy of a great friend that works there (thanks a bunch Mark!!). Many of these pictures are courtesy of my Dad (thanks Dad!)(some are snagged off the website...but I'm sure they won't mind). **Longwood Gardens Slide Show will be posted soon on the left banner**

And while you're out there in beautiful Kennett Square do me a favor. Head over to a place called Talula's Table. I have been hearing about this place for YEARS and have yet to visit. It's supposed to be one of the best farm-to-table restaurants on the whole east coast. It's been in Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, etc. for years. I suppose I haven't eaten there yet because reservations are notoriously hard to come by AND dinner has a set price of about $125/person. But I'd still be interested in checking it out since the menu looks AMAZING. If you don't feel like spending an arm and a leg for dinner then just head on into their specialty shop where you can buy gourmet items, and send me a note letting me know what you thought. I'm sure I'll get out there eventually, but if you get there first I'd love to hear your take on it.