Fascinating Facts About Facebook
Pumpkin: In Season
With a focus on fresh, local food, Pumpkin serves a menu that changes with the seasons. The menu’s limited selection reflects each dish's ingredients, allowing diners to know exactly what they're eating and where it comes from. Examples of moderately priced menu selections include fresh seafood and vegetables, daily soups and sides, and local meats. The best deal for diners with adventurous palates and big appetites is the Sunday tasting menu! People who really enjoy Pumpkin’s offerings can stop by their next-door market and pick up farm-fresh food to bring home. The intimate interior makes Pumpkin a great spot for a romantic dinner. A few words of caution: Pumpkin is BYOB, not always vegetarian-friendly, and cash-only.
Pumpkin
1713 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
(215) 545-4448
Pod: Shapes and Tastes
A popular spot for Wharton alums, Pod seems to cater to a high-end clientele. A Steven Starr restaurant, Pod has a sleek, streamlined interior that sets the tone for its modern take on Asian cuisine. Under pulsating, circular lights, guests are seated at a variety of geometric shapes: stools circled around a bar, square-shaped booths, and cubby holes with circular openings. The menu consists of the typical Asian fushion offerings of potstickers, spring rolls, dumplings, and hibachi. Vegetarians and pescatarians will be pleased with Pod's culinary variety. The sushi selection at Pod includes the usual standbys — Dragon and Rainbow — along with inventive originals like the Seattle and the Rio Grande.
Pod
3636 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 387-1803
Valentine’s Day Gifts From Hands And Hearts
Nothing says “I love you more” than the gift of your own time and creativity. But it’s important to make sure that homemade gifts are something that the recipient will be able to use. Here are some ideas for thoughtful homemade gifts for Valentine’s Day.
- Make homemade candy, cupcakes, or cookies, and give them to your beloved in a hand-decorated box or bag.
- If your partner keeps a journal, a scrapbook, or a photo album, make one for them. You can decorate a pre-made book or make one from scratch. Personalize one page with a photo, collage, or note to the recipient.
- Personalize a photo of yourself and your loved one. The possibilities are endless – you can surround the photo with keepsakes and reminders of your relationship in a shadowbox frame, make a collage, or decorate a frame for the photo.
- Give the gift of scent – sew small squares of fabric and stuff with lavender or rose petals to make sachets. Create a custom blend of essential oils, or buy a soap making kit and present your partner with homemade soaps in their favorite colors and fragrances.
- Remind your love that spring is right around the corner with some pretty pots and seeds. Make your own seed packets with personalized messages and rubber stamps.
Top Five Fabulous Spa Vacations
If you’re looking for a vacation that combines relaxation with invigoration, why not consider booking some delightful getaway time at a spa resort? Here are some of the best destination spas in the country, certain to leave you feeling refreshed and recharged:
Birdwing Spa, Minnesota
This gorgeous lakeside spa offers stunning views, charming suites, and a host of ways to both pamper yourself and promote your wellbeing. Clean food, detox opportunities, cooking presentations, and take-home fitness programs are just some of the many ways that Birdwing will send you home aglow with good health. Click here to learn more.
Canyon Ranch, Massachusetts
Located in the breathtaking Berkshires, Canyon Ranch offers fresh organic cuisine, a vast array of body treatment options, and many different programs promoting physical and spiritual wellness. Exercise aficionados will especially love the spa’s outdoor high-ropes challenge-course. Click here to learn more.
Copperhood Retreat and Spa, New York
This retreat is a particularly good choice for you if love the outdoors. You can hike through the gorgeous Catskills, enjoy nature walks, go fishing, embark on bird watching adventures, and so much more. There are also many indoor wellness-based and pampering activities to relish. Click here for more.
The Oaks Spa, California
If you’re hankering for a warm-weather getaway, then The Oaks is a perfect choice. The spa focuses on detoxification, optimum health, fitness, relaxation, and overall wellness, offering a variety of wellness-promoting services like acupuncture and aromatherapy. Click here for more.
Regency Wellness Resort and Spa, Florida
This ocean-front spa offers the ultimate in dreamy downtime and rejuvenation. Guests love the instruction sessions on healthy cooking and juicing, as well as the aqua classes and the roster of holistic body treatments. Click here to for more.
Best Non-Fiction Books of 2011
2011 saw people hungry for information. These four non-fiction books offered some of the year's best (and most entertaining) sources:
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
A competitor in the U.S. Memory Championship, Foer delves into scientific research and the cultural history of memory to help readers stop forgetting and build better memories. As we learn through conversations with varied personalities, we are the sum of our memories.
The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick
Information is now overly accessible in our culture, but Gleick traces how this reality evolved with the growth of information technologies and the contributions of figures such as Alan Turing and Claude Shannon.
What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes
Drawing on his personal experience of being a 23 year-old lieutenant, Marlantes weaves an affecting portrait of the consequences of war for young soldiers. Including thoughts from Homer, Jung, and others, Marlantes illuminates a difficult to imagine reality for many readers.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Isaacson’s candid portrait of the late creative entrepreneur is based off two years of over 40 interviews with Jobs himself along with quotes and opinions from family members, friends, co-workers, and competitors.
5 Kid-Friendly Holiday Movies
In the swirl of holiday activity, one of the best ways to spend some quality time with kids is to enjoy a holiday film together. Here are some of the top holiday movies for youngsters:
A Muppet’s Family Christmas
This is a fun movie that will fill your house with song. In fact, the kids (and you!) probably won’t be able to resist singing along. The film features characters from Sesame Street, the Muppets, and Fraggle Rock, a colorful and energetic ensemble that brings the season's spirit right into your living room.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol
Many film aficionados consider this Disney cartoon version of “A Christmas Carol” one of the best adaptations of the classic Dickens tale. You and your children will love watching Scrooge McDuck’s adventures as he discovers the true meaning of the season.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
This holiday classic, narrated by Burl Ives, uses puppetry and stop-motion animation to present an original twist on the famous tale of Rudolph. You’ll enjoy making holiday memories with your children as you share in the whimsy, charm, and intelligence of this film.
Home Alone
This action-filled comedy is particularly fun to share with older kids, pre-teens, and teens. The main character, a spunky eight-year-old boy, accidentally gets left home when his family leaves for vacation and finds himself fending off house robbers. Hilarious holiday capers ensue.
A Christmas Story
Generations of young people have grown up enjoying this funny, moving, memorable tale of a boy’s December adventures during the 1940’s. You’ll love revisiting this classic film just as much as your kids will adore discovering it for the first time.
Tap It: Five Awesome iPhone And iPad Games
Apple’s portable devices have redefined gaming – no longer do you need a joystick or buttons to have fun on the go. Instead, games that use the iPhone and the iPad’s touchscreen interface are all the rage. There are hundreds of games on sale in the App Store, making it hard to find those that are worth your time. Here are five that will give you hours of entertainment:
- Angry Birds. In many ways the killer app for portable gaming, this insanely popular game is deceptively simple: use a slingshot to launch cartoon birds at structures to dislodge pigs. But inside the game is a robust physics simulation and some exceptionally well-designed levels.
- Infinity Blade. This 3D swordfighting game has won legions of fans for its bracing difficulty and gritty, intuitive mechanics. The story hook, which has you playing multiple generations of warriors, is great too.
- Doodle Jump. One of the first iPhone hits, this simple action game has a charming low-tech visual style and is insanely addictive. Guide your little hopping hero up the clouds by tilting the device and tapping the screen.
- Critter Crunch Lite. This charming, colorful puzzle game is easy to learn but infuriating to master, and will have you coming back over and over again.
- Game Dev Story. A hilarious simulation game that puts you inside a software company, this addictive title has won legions of fans for its insider humor and cute art style.
The 2011 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade
Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Parade is always a big day on the local calendar. Marching bands, floats and Hollywood stars march down broad ways to give thanks, have fun, and ring in the holiday season. As always the parade is sponsored by 6ABC and the Philadelphia Museum of Art is ground zero for the fun. Check out the details here.
Off the Lot: Tips for Buying a Car
There are plenty of reasons to invest in a car right now. Since gas prices keep going up, good mileage has never been more important! The recession also makes it a buyer’s market. If you’re planning on making a vehicle purchase, here are some things to keep in mind.
1. Knowledge is power. If you’re buying a used car, get every piece of information you can about the vehicle’s history – how many owners it had, whether it’s ever been involved in an accident, and its maintenance history.
2. Run a vehicle history report. Sites like carfax.com provide these for a small fee, and this will provide you with data that sellers might prefer you not know about, including whether the odometer has ever been reset.
3. Arm yourself with research. Consider your car buying needs before you start shopping, and research potential vehicles on the Internet before you go out for a test drive. Consider gas mileage, carrying capacity, hauling ability, and other factors that fit your lifestyle.
4. Be strong. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to walk away from a sale that doesn't feel right. You have the power in the transaction – there will always be another car out there, after all – and showing a willingness to walk away can help save you money.
Equal Housing Opportunity