Saturday morning in the dead of winter! We don’t have to be anywhere at any special time! Such is the beauty of being at the age of “old” and not having to be responsible for anyone but you….and the dog! The Philadelphia Auto Show  Philly Auto Show is running at the Philadelphia Convention Center and me, being the giver that I am, promised Bonaparte I would gladly join him in his lust for all things car!    Luckily for me, my girlfriend Becky, the talented artist, found out about our trip to the auto show.   Becky works and takes classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which happens to be across the street from the Convention Center. She was kind enough to leave two tickets to the PAFA so we could enjoy its museum! With Chippy dropped off at doggie day camp, we were able to get out of the house early enough to avoid any traffic on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill Parkway and drive to Center City in less than a half hour. We parked the car in a nearby garage and entered the Holy Grail of Testosterone. The Philadelphia Auto show. My ambivalence toward cars is well known by my friends and family: My Car Post and, hopefully my blog readers. Bonaparte, on the other hand, is a car fanatic.   He will tell me that I need to feed my brain with intelligence while I watch “Mob Wives” and my “Beverly Hills Housewives”, whilst he sits in a hypnotic state viewing Mecum Auto Auctions and various automobile programs on The Velocity Channel.   I do, however, have a soft spot for vintage cars—mostly because I love anything that’s older than I am. Vintage automobiles also bring memories of childhood and years gone by. It’s fun to see cars that our families once owned—don’t you think. Really, think about the days of primitive car seats and station wagons with “way backs” where we sat, as kids, looking out the rear windshield without seat belts! Besides, some vintage autos look very cartoonish which I think is kinda cool. A car after my own heart. It’s a hot mess! Remember sitting in the way back of a car like this? What about this cool 1957 Bel Air? This little lemony-yellow beauty sold for $455.00 in it’s day! A far cry from now. It’s sooooo adorable! Seafoam Green would be the perfect car to drive along an ocean road! Sunglasses,  Kerchief tied at your chin. Red lipstick. So chic! The original “Gangsta” set of wheels! Part of the fun of attending this auto show was watching the men.   Men at an auto show are equal to women in a shoe store. They both have this glazed-over gaze, mouth opened, and walking in a drugged-like state. Ferrari = Manlust! At the Ferrari exhibit I overheard a guy, totally serious, telling his macho companions, “I’m playing Powerball. When I win, I’m buying that Ferrari over there. I’m also buying a Bentley, A Lamborghini, and a Rolls. I’m not kidding”. He was extremely confident in stating “when” rather than “if” he wins. Monsieur Bonaparte guarding his “Bentley” like a pitbull! Bonaparte high tailed it over to the Bentley exhibit area faster than I could ever rummage through the goods a Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse sale. He looked to be guarding one of the Bentleys so that no other person would dare glance at it. I made a vow that if I ever won Powerball that I would gift him with his Bentley of choice, but only if he never again made mention of my messy car! A clean interior. Something that alludes me for my cars! We checked out a couple of new cars for me *eye roll* I still love my Scion and the new 2015 Scion had no major changes from the one I’m currently driving except it was spanking clean. The Rav4 is another car I’m thinking of getting Bonaparte thinks I should get. Do I really care? Although this Mini Cooper is awfully attractive to me! Our local Action News team was there signing “auto”graphs (pun intended) and taking pics. I think I scared the cute Melissa Magee when I yelled that she was even cuter in person than on TV. I swear she’s the only weather person who doesn’t sensationalize the weather. And she’s a doll! We really had a good time at this year’s Philly Auto Show. My only complaint was that there were no vintage Citroen cars. Yes. Those old-school Citroen cars are the only cars I truly love and I wish I had one. They don’t sell them in the States! My dream cars. The yellow one is especially appealing to me! So petit. So…messy looking! The original Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Building Thank god the PAFA was across the street from the Convention Center. It was cold as deflated balls out there! Wearing one of those short puffy jackets may have kept my upper body warm but from the thighs down it was painful just to cross the street. I swear it was so cold that fashion took a back seat! I looked like a lumber Jackie and I didn’t even care! Lumber Jackie me! PAFA’s new expansion. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts  PAFA is a great place to spend an afternoon or any time actually. Founded in 1805, it’s the oldest art school and museum in the USA.   PAFA recently expanded into a more modern facility and the original Academy is next door so it we got to visit two beautiful buildings chock full of wonderful paintings and sculpture. Peter Blume PAFA is holding an exhibit by the American artist Peter Blume. It was the first time I had seen his paintings up close. Some of his paintings have an eerie creepiness about them but they’re totally captivating. He’s definitely not my favorite artist, and he’s an artist that, in my humble opinion, never really found his true style, nevertheless, his paintings are worth a look! We saw some more modern paintings that were very colorful and happy. I have to admit, I enjoyed the paintings in the old PAFA building much better. Sculptures in the “casting” room. Classes are also taught here.  A couple of beautiful portraits are above. The building itself is spectacular and beautifully maintained. It was a new discovery for me to see so many paintings and sculptures done by early American artists. I’m so used to French, Italian and Flemish painters that all too often I forget we have such amazing talented artists, past and present right here at home!  It also gives me a chance to discover local Philadelphia treasures! It’s never too late to explore! Bonaparte and I are a really great team when it comes to doing stuff.   We’re pretty much on the same page as far as doing different things on the weekends. We both love museums, we love taking a local drive to Philly or driving up to New York City—weekends are always a fun time! The rest of the afternoon was spent running errands. We picked Chippy up from camp where he had a great time—I made a great dinner of Cornish Game Hen with a Cherry Sauce. I drank too much wine, though and forgot to take pics of the hens—they really looked great too! My apologies! We ended our fun day by watching “The Interview”. Oh my god. Sony films. You have GOT to be kidding! The controversy surrounding this movie was ridiculous. The movie was idiotic. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much money was wasted on such a moronic piece of garbage. The good thing is that it was so bad that I fell into a deep sleep—and had some pretty sweet dreams! Remember. On Sunday you will be able to wake up and say: “Spring is next month”. That is so awesome! In honor of the Philly Auto Show, here’s a great song John Fogarty “Hot Rod Heart”!

Enjoy your

weekend! XOXOXOXOXO!