shots fired.

dress: vintage, estate sale
cape: handmade by my mama
tights: urban outfitters
shoes: anthropologie

valley forge is a gorgeous national park about 20 miles outside of philadelphia. about 225 years ago, george washington and his troops parked there for the winter. during this time, the army was suffering from starvation, disease, exposure, etc. they made thatched huts, which took anywhere from three days to one week to make. the huts that you see in the first picture are reproductions, but one can imagine how cramped and uncomfortable (not to mention unsanitary) the conditions were.

maybe you remember valley forge from the cycling trips i've taken there. the park is huge; there are cycling and roller blading trails, a big stream, lots of open fields, and historic landmarks. there's even a church built in 1903 that (apparently) has a seven year waiting list for getting married there. as bryan and i were driving around the park, we passed an old hotel/restaurant that had been abandoned and i'm dying to go inside.

also - thank you for the incredibly sweet comments and emails about louie. he is now able to take 5-6 steps before sitting down, but is still limping on his right foot. he's eating and drinking, which is also a good sign. we've been spoon feeding him, fluffing his pillows: i even set my alarm for every two hours last night to check on him. by saturday, we'll know whether to go with the surgery or not. but - and i say this hesitantly - it looks like he's improving. all your thoughts and good vibes helped!

across the frozen fields.

one of my favorite pictures from a little shoot today at valley forge national park. more pictures to come later this week!

biking out to valley forge.

i know i've mentioned several times on the blog that i ride my bike frequently; i ride to work and class every day, and occasionally ride on the weekends longer distances. it's difficult for me to make time (sometimes 4 hours) to go for rides, but i'm trying to make a better effort, especially after buying a new road bike last year. philadelphia has amazing trails for cycling; riding out to valley forge national park is definitely one of my favorites. there's a trail dedicated solely for cyclists and runners, and you can take a 2 mile gravel path through the woods to get to the beginning of it. a couple of friends, bryan, and i left monday morning for our ride; it was over 85 degrees!

here's us as a group - kevin, amanda, bryan, and jon.

here's the "tow path" that goes through manayunk. it's through woods, and along the river - absolutely gorgeous.

i found this little guy on the path. it looked like he was trying to make his way to the water, but was blocked by that giant inflatable pipe in the background. wildlife sighting #1!

there were tons of baby ducks (geese?) all over the place. we stopped to take a couple of pictures, and the mama bird was not happy.

here's my "outfit". the jersey is from twin six, and yes, bryan and i have matching ones. i'm not sure where the shorts are from, and i'm wearing vans. i tried clipless pedals but they're just not for me. i keep forgetting to clip out and end up falling over.

if you're in the area and looking for a ride, you can check out the map of the ride here. it's about 55 miles round trip, but you can definitely make it shorter if you're a beginning rider.