"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn." ~ Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

March, like February before it, was a hectic whirlwind of fun, food, and travel.  To kick off the month, B and I went skiing in Eden, UT (45 minutes outside of Salt Lake City) with his high school friends.  On our way to the rental house we stopped for dinner and I had my first In-N-Out Burger.

It was artery-clogging delicious.  In addition to my first time eating at In-N-Out, it was my first time skiing out west.  While this was generally a terrible winter for skiers,  we were lucky enough to get two feet of fresh powder our first day on the slopes.  If I had a complaint it would just be that skiing in that much snow is hard work!

 [Day 1 - white out!]

 [Day 2 - fantastic views and sunshine]

 [B getting radical in 2 feet of powder]

[B enjoying some chili in the lodge]

We had a fantastic time and I'm so thankful for B's friends who arranged a great house and great meals every night.  Can't wait for next year!

The weekend after our trip B and I enjoyed a little "bar hop" through Philly. 

 [the city at dusk]

We started at Oyster House with a dozen oysters and some bubbly.

Then we enjoyed the taco sampler and some cocktails at El Vez.

 [Julep Mexicana]

Next we enjoyed pork buns and a cocktail at Chifa.

 [Inigo Montoya]

Finally we had pretzels (with beer mustard cheese sauce) and beer at Bierstube.

Everything was fantastic and we had a great time enjoying the city.

The next morning I headed over to my in-laws house to shower my soon-to-be-sister-in-law J5.

 [mother of the bride, bride-to-be, and my mother-in-law]

[my shoes for the shower, courtesy of Tory Burch]

The following weekend was one of my favorite holidays of the year - St. Patty's Day.  For the fourth year in a row all of our friends gathered at the Bards for Guinness, green, and a great time!

 [my pals]

 [safety first]

[mayhem on the streets of Philly]

For the final weekend of the month, B and I were invited to a dinner party with my colleagues on the night of the big mega millions jackpot.  We didn't win but we had some great food and enjoyed a hilarious round of the newlywed game (B and I won!)

 [our favorite appetizer - smoked salmon, cream cheese, and potato and onion cakes - easy and delicious!]

 [Obamas in training]

[master chef]

The following morning B and I ran in the Phillies 5K at the ballpark.  It was my first 5K so I was somewhat nervous, but we had a great time and finished in 28 minutes!  After the run we treated ourselves to a well deserved brunch at Johnny Brendas.

I had the biscuit and gravy topped with fried eggs - a recent addition to their brunch menu.  The biscuit was fluffy and delicious but the gravy wasn't my favorite.

B had the chilaquiles, a traditional Mexican dish in which green salsa or mole is poured over crisp tortilla chips and simmered until the tortilla starts softening and then topped with fried eggs and cheese and served with refried beans.  It was perfection.

After breakfast we saw Hunger Games (I loved the first book so I was pretty disappointed in the plot cuts and the casting of Peeta - where was the charismatic beefcake from the book?!), I took a nap, and then we met up with some friends for drinks at Boiler Maker (formerly Blue Bear, Doc Watson's).

The ambiance was great, and they have an impressive tap list, but three of the four of us were served the wrong beer in our first round.  I attribute it largely to the fact that they have different beers in the upstairs beer but permit patrons to order from either so if you are sitting downstairs and order a beer from an upstairs tap (or vice versa), things can easily get lost in translation.  I'd like to try it again when some of the kinks have been worked out.

It really was a great month, and with the recent warm front April is shaping up to be just as fun.