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Philly Wine Week

March 2, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

While it may still be a little chilly toward the end of March for many activities in and around Philadelphia, it’s never too cold for wine! Philly wine week was begun in 2014 and now, in its fourth year, has expanded to include many more events as well as participating area restaurants. The organizers are committed to making wine and information about wine (how it’s made, what the different kinds are, how to determine what will be most pleasing for specific palates, etc.) more accessible to everyone. It’s grown tremendously each year and the opening event has been moved to its largest venue yet. The week-long, city-wide event kicks off on Thursday, March 22 at Philadelphia’s historic Armory with Opening Corks, where you can taste over 100 wines and sample foods from some of the areas best purveyors and restaurants. One dinner includes the opportunity to meet several wine makers and find out more about the process. If you like wine, this eight day event provides all kinds of different opportunities for date nights and other special occasions. There are themed events (regional wines from Spain or Italy, for example, as well as “classic” wines and mystery tastings) throughout the week at different locations. For a full list of events, click here. To see all the participating establishments, click here.

Jennifer LeBow’s Blondie Recipe

February 25, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

Love brownies, but find you’re looking for a similar treat with more of a butterscotch flavor? Voila! My blondies should do the trick!

Jen LeBow’s Blondies

Preheat to 350 degrees

Crust:

1 1/8 cups graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup white sugar

5 T melted butter

Stir together and pour into a 9 x 13 pan.

Bake 10 minutes, remove and set aside.

Filling:

Cream:

3 eggs

1 ½ cups brown sugar

Add and combine:

1 1/8 cups flour

1.5 t vanilla extract

3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) melted butter—pour in slowly

Add and mix JUST til combined:

1 ¼ cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Pour batter into prepared crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes.

Cool before attempting to cut!

Philadelphia Flower Show 2019

February 22, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

relocating to philadelphia events — To experience the world’s largest and most respected flower show, mark your calendar for March!

Updated February 2019.

The Philadelphia Flower Show

The Philadelphia Flower Show is not your run-of-the-mill flower show. It’s the oldest and largest in the country. It’s even won an award for world’s best event. To learn about the history of the show, click here. It is truly a sight to behold and the event is set to attract 250,000 visitors, if previous year’s numbers are any indicator. This year, from March 2-10, the Philadelphia Convention Center is transformed into a horticultural homage to the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. The 2019 theme is “Flower Power” and it explores the impact that flowers can have on society.

Exhibits and Vendors

Exhibitors include all the best known nurseries in the area and their installations are created with adherence to the theme of the show. For 2018’s list of exhibitors and their exhibits, click here. In addition to the exhibits, there are professional demonstrations and lectures. If you would like to take home a momento or are inspired by what you’ve seen, you won’t want to miss the shopping area, featuring over 150 vendors. You can find botanically inspired jewelry, flower themed aprons, all kinds or specialty gardening equipment from gloves to trowels to irrigation systems and, of course, plants galore.

Attending the event

Who goes to the flower show? Many locals go religiously, every year. It’s a wonderful thing to do as a family or to entertain out of town guests. If you are visiting the area (perhaps planning to move to Philadelphia, the Main Line or other surrounding suburbs), you will not be disappointed. My recommendation would be to take public transportation or a cab or Uber/Lyft because the parking rates are very high during the show’s run. Here are some pictures of previous shows to give you an idea of the scope of this event.

If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973

Edible Plastic Bags

February 14, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

Learn about a completely biodegradable subsitute for the plastic bags that threaten our oceans’ ecosystems.

No, I’m not suggesting that you step up your contribution to saving the environment by eating your bags once you have unpacked them after going shopping. While I know that many people are committed recyclers, some people aren’t and even people who dispose of plastic bags properly (over one trillion bags a year are thrown away) can’t necessarily control whether one flies out when the trucks come by to collect them. The point is that, through intentional disregard or accident, we end up with a lot of plastic bags polluting not just our land, but our oceans and other waterways. Nearly nine tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. Marine life as well as sea birds are at risk whenever these bags foul their habitats. They get caught in them or ingest them and they get stuck in their stomachs, restricting the animals’ ability to digest food. Luckily, there is a new product being made to battle this epidemic: cassava bags. Made of 100% natural cassava root, they are not harmful if eaten, dissolve in water and are totally biodegradable. Many cities and even the state of California are working on legislation to ban plastic bags in their locales–along with environmentally friendly re-usable cloth bags, cassava bags might be one part of the solution to the plastic problem.

Food Markets Around the World

February 13, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

From around the country to around the globe, here are some wonderful markets not to miss if you find yourself in these locales.

Unlike many people, I’m not a huge fan of traveling. So if you ask me about great resorts or museums in European cities, you’ll most likely get a blank stare. Food, though, well, I’m a BIG fan of that. And while I openly admit that I haven’t been to a single one on either of these lists, in the spirit of providing the most important (read “food-related) resources to my readers, I thought I’d provide links to two lists boasting the world’s best food markets. Many, but not all, of the ones on the shorter list are found on the larger one. In my defense, when my oldest daughter spent a semester abroad in Paris, and the rest of the family went to visit, we did go to a few food markets, including her favorite, Marche des Enfants Rouges. The “Market of the Red Children” is so named for the orphanage whose building it occupies, which dressed its children in the identifying color of the Christian charity that ran it. While this particular market is more of an eater’s market than a cook’s market (more prepared food, fewer raw ingredients), it’s a great place for lunch and I would highly recommend it!

Philly Contraption Contest

February 12, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow 1 Comment

Do you like Rube Goldberg-inspired machines? Come see this Contraption Contest!

Personally, I think Philadelphia’s soft-spot for inventions may stem from our Ben Franklin pride. Regardless, as a city, it has often sponsored and encouraged scientific exploration and creativity. In April, students in 4th-12th grades (in different categories by age) will work in teams to create a Rube Goldberg-style machine that must successfully play a musical instrument. This contest is held by a local non-profit called CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia whose mission is to support arts and culturally diverse traditions. The event will be held in Ardmore with judges–each team will run its machine twice for the judges–and cash prizes. There are rules about number of steps each machine must have as well as restrictions on types of materials and power. If my engineer daughter (who is out of state finishing her last semester of college) were in town, I’m sure she’d want to go. If you haveor know a student who might be interested, please consider sharing this information!

Increase in older, wealthier renters

February 7, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

Wealthier grandparents are taking over a chunk of the rental market. See why!

There’s been an interesting shift in the rental market. Most often, renters fall into one of a few categories: people who move around frequently due to job changes, young (without the nest egg to put a down payment on a house), elderly on a fixed income (who can’t afford “surprise” expenses related to home maintenance projects like a new roof), or other people who may not have the money to either come up with the down payment or deal with the maintenance and tax costs of home ownership.

However, there’s a new demographic that is growing rapidly: older, wealthier people, specifically grandparents who rent in order to be able to be near their grandchildren. Some are renting in the same place they’ve lived (and have sold their homes there) and are traveling to see their children and grandchildren. For those, if the apartment is a bit smaller than what they are used to, but they are only in it for shorter periods of time between visits to their families, smaller and maintenance-free living may be very appealing. Other grandparents are keeping their homes but renting small apartments in the locations where their grandchildren are, so they have a place to eat and sleep, but are really spending most of their time at their kids’ homes, on the soccer field, etc. with their grandchildren.

Obviously, maintaining two households, even if one is an apartment, suggests a certain economic level. I anticipate that, to serve this population, some small, but relatively luxurious rental units will start popping up. This type of housing will also appeal to the “executive renter” who may have just moved for a job and hasn’t bought a house yet or might be on a 2-year work stint where buying doesn’t make sense. So keep an eye out for growth in that sector of the residential real esate market!

Home Warranties: Read the Fine Print

February 6, 2018 by Jennifer LeBow Leave a Comment

philadelphia relocation and home buying — Be careful when considering different homeowner’s insurance policies, home warranties and other home protection products.

Protecting your investment

No matter how careful you are and how many safeguards you put in place, there is no way to protect yourself financially from any accident that may befall your home/property. That said, homeowner’s insurance, home warranties and other insurance policies are widely used by homeowners. They can be a wonderful safety net, but you need to be sure you’ve read the fine print; too often, something that “seems like it should be covered” isn’t. A great example is flooding. Unless you have flood insurance (which is completely separate from your homeowner’s insurance) neither damage to your property or belongings as a result of flooding will be covered.

What is covered?

Most of the time, damage caused by continual issues, as opposed to single events are not covered. For example, let’s say your roof has been slowly leaking, unbeknowst to you, for eight years into your attic and, once you realize there’s a leak, you discover there’s mold. Most insurance companies won’t cover that. Also, “normal wear and tear” items are often not covered, even if the resultant damage is. In the event of a sewer pipe back up into a basement, the cost to clean and repair the basement may be covered, but sometimes the sewer pipe, which has eroded over time, may not be. If it’s not repaired (regardless of who pays for it), you’re likely to have another back up. So be sure to be very clear with your insurance broker when choosing a policy about what it does and doesn’t cover.

Home warranties, which run about $475 a year are intended mostly for appliances and HVAC and plumbing problems. Again, certain things are covered and others are not. The motor on the dishwasher often is, but the spinning device that squirts water to the top rack often isn’t. Go figure. With those, you also have to be careful not to call your own repairman; you usually have to call the warranty company and use one of their preferred vendors.

Special insurance

Finally, in our area AQUA offers insurance on the water supply and sewer pipes that run from the house, underground, to the street. If you have older pipes, I’d advise looking into their policies to learn what they cover (I know there are caps, as well). So just a word of caution: look into the cost of insurance options, understand the coverage and caps and then do a cost/benefit analysis, all the while realizing that there is no way to remove all risk: when you own a home, stuff’s gonna happen and some of it is going to land in your lap.