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All it takes to make fake abortion appointments is an internet connection and the will to do so / Photograph via Getty Images
Say what you will about anti-abortion activists, but you can’t accuse them of being disorganized. The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is the result of decades of planning and persistence among politicians, lobbyists, and religious institutions. And all that strategizing trickles down to the most grassroots of levels.
Philadelphia-area anti-abortion activists who spoke with us under the condition of anonymity say there is a vast network of similarly minded people who, like them, spend their free time making fake online appointments for abortions, resulting in no-shows at offices that offer the procedure. They do it on their lunch break, as the kids are playing video games in the next room, and while sitting on the couch with the latest episode of NCIS on in the background.
Their goal is to overwhelm an already taxed system and delay procedures, as one of them puts it, “to save every life possible.” They hope the delays will allow time for the people seeking abortions to “rethink” their decisions — or that the process becomes so frustrating that they just give up.
“They will also contact our on-call services at all hours of the night and pretend they are patients having medical emergencies,” says Sheila Ramgopal, CEO of Allegheny Reproductive Health Center in Pittsburgh, an area where patients from Ohio are traveling for abortions now that Ohio has enacted a ban on most abortions. “Anything to distract us from giving people the care they need.”
“It’s technological warfare,” declares one anti-abortion activist. The question of whether this tactic of making fake abortion appointments could be illegal remains out — and it’s not a question that Ramgopal has ever researched — but it is certainly in violation of the terms of service of the online apps, not that anybody reads those. A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Josh Shapiro said “this conduct could possibly warrant criminal charges.”
Ramgopal says some of these fake patients are “weeded out” during the telephone consultation.
“Sometimes, they might start to laugh or make up something that doesn’t make sense or they’ll say something abusive to the phone staff,” explains Ramgopal. But many are not detected. And even if they are found out during the consultation, the medical staff has already wasted time that could have been devoted to a real patient.
Of course, a medical facility that performs abortions also provides an array of other services, including things like pregnancy testing, prenatal health care and general gynecological care, services both sides of the abortion debate surely agree on. So I asked one of the anti-abortion activists whether she had any concerns that a person seeking one of those services might not be able to get them due to a clinic being overbooked thanks to their online trickery. Her response was that there are plenty of places that offer prenatal care but do not provide abortions and that said patient should go to one of those facilities instead.
The anti-abortion activists’ online work extends well beyond the borders of Pennsylvania. They say that they are using the same techniques to make fake abortion appointments in other states, and that their counterparts in other states are targeting Pennsylvania, as well as other locations across the country where abortion is still legal.
I asked one of the activists how many fake abortion appointments they might make in one day. They told me “dozens.” When I asked if they were inputting the appointments manually or using a bot or similar technological assistance or anything that would mask their IP address, they declined to answer.
But based on my own experience trying to set up an appointment for the purposes of this article, dozens in a day is certainly possible without the help of a bot. There are some questions to answer and an online account to set up that includes text verifications to your phone, but I was able to make appointments for both an initial consultation and an abortion itself at two separate clinics — so, a total of four appointments — in about 10 minutes using two Gmail accounts and one phone number. (I canceled both appointments within seconds of making them.)
Ramgopal says clinics are well aware that these fake abortion appointments are on the rise in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, but adds there’s not much they can do about it. There are all sorts of online fraud prevention techniques — for instance, an Airbnb property might require a renter to upload government-issued identification and provide fingerprints upon arrival — but similar hurdles could dissuade a person from making an appointment for such a personal medical procedure as an abortion.
“Our goal is to decrease barriers, not increase them,” insists Ramgopal. “Instead, you have patients traveling further and waiting longer. This is just what is happening everywhere.”
Not only does this Norman-style house at 238 Valley Ridge Rd., Haverford, PA 19041 look like the twin to which it is attached, but it also looks like every other unit in the Carriage Houses at Haverford Reserve development. Maybe that’s why its buyers went the extra mile to make it a truly outstanding house on the inside. | Photos: Leigh Ann Palloni, Palloni Images, via Compass
In the five-plus years I’ve edited the Real Estate & Home section here, I’ve featured several houses for sale in The Carriage Homes at Haverford Reserve, the upscale Goldenberg Group/Guidi Homes subdivision in Haverford.
And as the number of such features rises, it has become increasingly clear to me that this partnership has produced a luxury Levittown.
It quickly became impossible for me to tell one Carriage Homes at Haverford Reserve house for sale from another, for on the outside, all five of the models that were built in this development have the same footprints, and all of them have the same Norman-inspired exteriors. I doubt that any actual European village’s houses would all look alike.
So how do you tell Haverford Reserve houses apart? By going inside them. And when you step inside this Haverford Norman-style house for sale, you will find yourself in one of the most attractive and strikingly stylish houses of the lot.
Its owners worked closely with the builders and designers to do this ”Pembrey” model house up right, with a design that puts the “custom” in “mass customization” with its contemporary take on traditional style.
They didn’t opt for all the bells and whistles Guidi offered: This house lacks the optional elevator that could be installed in the two models with second-floor primary bedrooms, and the owners also opted not to add a fireplace to its living room. But it has the best of just about everything else.
Even though the house’s exterior is Norman, the front rooms of the main floor are colonial in arrangement, with a living room and a dining room bracketing a central foyer But the non-aligned archways give it an off-center-hall twist.
(Noteworthy about this house: all the entrances from the outside employ French doors. But since this house’s exterior is inspired by French design, perhaps this could be expected. You will see as we continue this tour, however, that this house’s owners appear to be particularly fond of French doors.)
Both of the colonial main-floor rooms are painted a cool, subdued blue-gray; the shade looks like one known as New Providence Navy.
Dining room and butler’s pantry
Large front windows flood both front rooms with light. And the generous archway leading to the butler’s pantry will make serving food in the formal dining room much easier.
Kitchen and doorway to butler’s pantry
To the left of the butler’s pantry, a hallway and enclosed porch connect the house to its two-car garage. To its right, the kitchen serves as the hinge of the commodious everyday living suite.
Kitchen and passageway to study
The kitchen is equipped with Viking appliances that include both a wine fridge and a beverage fridge in addition to the French-door (yup, again) refrigerator-freezer. They also include a five-burner gas cooktop, a double-wall oven, a built-in microwave and a dishwasher. You will also find in this kitchen plenty of storage cabinets, lots of granite-topped counter space and bar seating for three at its island.
This everyday living suite has an open plan, but archways divide it into its three distinct components. The second one is the breakfast room next to the kitchen.
Rear deck off breakfast room
French doors connect it to a rear deck.
And both the kitchen and the breakfast room open onto the great room, whose soaring beamed cathedral ceiling gives it a note of grandeur while its fireplace contributes warmth, both literally and figuratively.
Around the corner from the great room lies the study. Connected to a short hallway by French doors, it has built-in bookshelves set up for audio and video. The owners opted to add French doors leading to stairs to the rear patio from this room.
That patio spans the back of the house and also connects to the deck off the breakfast room. The combination of indoor and outdoor spaces for entertaining means you could throw one helluva party here if you so desire. You will also be able to supply music from a Sonos sound system and calm down with a relaxing waterfall. A large side yard — one of the largest in the development — offers even more room.
The owners opted for a more restrained foyer than the two-story one offered with the base model. The extra second-floor space got incorporated into the primary bedroom suite as a huge walk-in closet.
One enters the primary suite via French doors (pardon me, am I getting repetitive here?) that lead from the second-floor hallway to its bedroom. That bedroom has a vaulted ceiling and a large Palladian window — a design element that’s more Georgian than French — overlooking its backyard.
A corridor with two walk-in closets and a dressing area connects the bedroom and the bathroom.
The fully-tricked-out primary bathroom has two vanities flanking its entrance, a soaking tub across from that entrance, a toilet closet and a walk-in shower.
A door between the shower and one of the vanities leads to that additional walk-in closet. Two bedrooms that share a Jack and Jill bath and the laundry room round out the second floor.
Haverford Reserve sits in Haverford Township’s tonier northern reaches, and if you enjoy recreation, you will find it at your doorstep: this house backs onto the Southbrook Trail, one of a network of recreational trails that meander through the surrounding 120 acres of woods and meadows. You can follow this trail to Haverford Reserve’s community park, a playground and three athletic fields, all located adjacent to one another. Then you can go exploring those woods and meadows via the trails across Parkview Drive from the complex.
The Merion Golf Club, Haverford College and shopping along West Chester Pike are also all an easy drive from here.
By now, you should have also figured out why I put “carriage house” in quotes in the headline: this Haverford Norman-style house for sale not only does not look like an actual carriage house, it’s also larger and grander than one would expect when hearing that phrase. Buy it and your friends might get a bit confused picking your place out from its neighbors. But you will be more than able to make up for that once they walk through those French doors.
OTHER STUFF: The house has a full unfinished basement that currently serves as a golf practice room, and if you want to, you can add that elevator yourself. A $709-per-month homeowners association fee covers maintenance of the roads and common areas, lawn and building exterior maintenance, management services, snow and trash removal and a reserve fund.
238 Valley Ridge Rd., Haverford, PA 19041 [Leigh Anne Ambrose | The Ambrose Team | Compass]
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many abortion funds saw an influx of donations. Here are eight to support. / Photograph by Hannah Beier via Getty Images
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June, eliminating nearly 50 years of federal abortion protections, many people jumped into action: taking to the streets in protest and opening up their wallets to donate unprecedented amounts of money to abortion funds, which promise to support women seeking healthcare in the many states where access to abortion is now illegal or significantly curtailed.
But there are a lot of abortion funds out there — so where to donate? Planned Parenthood, as the nation’s largest and most well-known abortion care provider, might be near the top of your list based on name recognition alone. But Planned Parenthood frequently receives large donations, including a record-breaking $275 million from MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife, in March. While donating to the Planned Parenthood chapters of Southeastern Pennsylvania or Western Pennsylvania isn’t fruitless, these organizations have a broader focus on reproductive rights issues and are less focused on simply helping people get abortions right here and right now. With that in mind, here are eight other reputable organizations for you to donate to in the post-Roe world.
This abortion fund has been around since 1985, when Pennsylvania prohibited state Medicaid coverage of abortions. Now the state’s largest abortion fund, the Abortion Liberation Fund has a long legacy of ensuring equitable abortion care, providing people with counseling, information and financial support. Abortion providers here are already experiencing increased demand and call volumes, from Pennsylvanians and out-of-state residents alike, and the Abortion Liberation Fund is no exception. You can make a one-time or recurring donation, buy merchandise, or organize community events with the resources on the fund’s website.
In 1995, this grassroots nonprofit organization was created to help increase access to the Allegheny Reproductive Health Center in Pittsburgh, which has provided abortion care to people in central and western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. That will be all the more important today, now that Ohio has passed a law banning abortions after six weeks and West Virginia has outlawed the procedure altogether. The fund helps pay for abortions and also covers travel expenses.
Opening in 1972, Pennsylvania’s first outpatient abortion provider is still one of its most reliable, providing medication abortions up to 10 weeks and surgical abortions up to 24 weeks. The center has already seen an influx of Ohioans and West Virginians post-Roe and, like many other abortion providers, they’re currently inundated with calls. (Call-back times can be as long as three days.) Luckily, there are a number of ways to support the Women’s Center’s abortion services, not only in Philadelphia but at their other locations in Cherry Hill, Delaware County, Hartford, and Atlanta. The Philadelphia and Cherry Hill locations receive funding from the National Abortion Fund and the Abortion Liberation Fund of PA. Alternatively, you can donate directly to The Women’s Centers Abortion Access Fund linked on their website.
Founded in 2004 by La’Tasha D. Mayes, Bekezela Mguni, Maria Nicole Dautruche and Lois McClendon, this Pittsburgh-based organization dedicates itself to defending the reproductive health rights of Black women, girls, and gender non-conforming people in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Last year, New Voices established the new #SAYHERNAME Justice Fund, which helps provide mental health services, abortion care and personal hygiene items to those who need them.
This organization may be in a different state, but it serves Pennsylvania residents all the same, providing financial assistance to those living in or traveling to New York for an abortion. Though abortion is currently legal in New York, the NYAAF recognizes that cost is a significant barrier to safe abortion care for low-income communities and has made grants available not only to patients in states where abortion faces significant restrictions such as Texas and Utah, but also to patients in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and beyond. You can donate online, and the all-volunteer organization is always looking for help with a variety of tasks.
Founded in 2014, this Maryland nonprofit offers financial assistance and practical support for abortion-seekers living in and out of state. Your donation will not only help to fund procedural abortions throughout the state, but will also help to expand BAF’s Practical Support Program providing transportation, lodging, and translation services to those who need them.
Logistical challenges of getting to an abortion provider can often be a significant barrier to receiving care. With that in mind, this national service located in New York helps individuals secure transportation, lodging, meal assistance and childcare. Though the Brigid Alliance doesn’t provide financial support for appointments, the resources it does offer can often be invaluable for individuals seeking care.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary last year, the nation’s largest independent nonprofit abortion fund is well-equipped to assist patients in all 50 states when it comes to paying for emergency contraceptives or abortion services. The Los Angeles-based organization hosts trained volunteers who staff its telephone hotline five days a week and works with over 700 clinics nationwide to help cover patients’ medical expenses. There are a number of ways you can donate, including by supporting the KIIRA Fund, which provides funding to people relying on community-based clinics.
Worst of Philly winner Mayor Kenney / Photograph via Getty Images
Our Best of Philly issue comes out in August, as it has every year since 1974. In a handful of those years, we’ve included a Worst of Philly list as part of the issue.
This year, we aren’t doing a Worst of Philly list in the mag, because, well, times are tough. Do we really need to complain about that place charging $20 for a shitty burger that it takes a waiter 50 minutes to bring us? Or the fucking Jawn Morgan billboard along the highway? (Okay, yeah, actually, stop the presses maybe, because Jawn Morgan should totally get a Worst of Philly for that travesty.) But Jim Kenney, the guy we elected to be our mayor not one but two times … he exemplifies what it is to be the Worst of Philly. And it must be said.
As homicides and non-fatal shootings have increased at an alarming rate in Philadelphia, we’ve been waiting for Mayor Kenney to lead us through this crisis, not to mention all our other crises. We’ve been waiting for him to do something meaningful. We’ve been wanting him to say something truly important and impactful, not just blame the gun lobby.
Alas, in the face of a, you know, shooting — and not just a shooting, but a shooting at the celebration of America’s birth in the place where it was born — Mayor Kenney, instead of doing any of those things, came out with a live-on-TV quote he might regret more than any in his career. I’m sure you’ve read about it already, but just in case:
“I’ll be happy when I’m not here,” Kenney told a TV reporter after two cops were shot at the July 4th festivities on the Ben Franklin Parkway. “When I’m not mayor and I can enjoy some stuff.”
A reporter, who was probably stunned at that remark coming so soon after what could easily have been a tragic event — a mass shooting, perhaps — double-checked that Kenney meant what he said: “You are looking forward to not being mayor?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact,” Kenney said.
Now, we have to give Mayor Kenney some kind of trophy for being honest, but as fellow faltering Democrat Joe Biden would say: C’mon, man!
Naturally, conservatives have picked up on Kenney’s words and run with them, giving the right-wing squawkers on AM radio in Philly plenty to squawk about. (They’ve also been having a field day with his comments that night about gun control.) That’s to be expected. In their eyes, Kenney is the enemy, the anti-Christ, the symbol of all that’s wrong with our city. (Actually, they normally reserve those titles for Larry Krasner, but he gets a pass this week.)
But now, members of Kenney’s own party — granted, some of them purported mayoral hopefuls using the moment to soak up the spotlight — have come out against the man.
Let’s start with Councilmember Helen Gym, who had this to say:
I am horrified and outraged by last night’s shooting on the Parkway. Our prayers go out to the injured police officers and to a terrorized public who should never experience anything like this. Whether it’s in the daily life of neighborhoods, on the Parkway, at a university, or on South Street — every person deserves to live their lives free from fear.
Jim Kenney may be defeated, but this city won’t be. There are thousands of lives on the line in the remainder of his term and a generation of youth who are looking to us to be the cavalry that Harrisburg and Congress refuse to be. We must deliver, and we must act.
Then there’s her colleague, condo king and fellow Councilmember Allan Domb:
Last night, while thousands were celebrating the July 4th holiday on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, we were once again reminded of the persistent threat of violence facing our city. In this moment of crisis, Philadelphians desperately needed a calm and commanding presence from their mayor. Instead, our mayor said out loud what many of us have long felt: He no longer wants this job. This, unfortunately, was yet another example highlighting the leadership void in Philadelphia. It’s unacceptable, and we deserve better.
Which brings us to Councilmember Derek Green, who is calling on Kenney to resign:
We are all exhausted by the level of gun violence in our city. However, our city needs someone now with the passion and vision to lead us forward. Resign.
We could go on, but what is it they say about a dead horse?
Kenney and his PR team have gone into full-blown damage-control mode, and he released a lengthy statement on Tuesday that included the following:
I’d also like to clarify some of the comments I made at the press briefing last night at Jefferson Hospital. In a late-night, overwhelming moment of frustration, I said I was looking forward to no longer being mayor. Let me be clear, I’m incredibly grateful to be mayor of this great city and for the people who elected me to lead.
And then, in the most ridiculous of ways, in the same statement in which he attempted to walk back his comments, he basically reiterated them, saying, “Being mayor comes with a lot of restless nights, so I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep.”
You should have left it at what you said on Monday night after the shooting, Mr. Mayor. At least then, we believed you. All we know is that January 2024 (when Kenney’s term officially ends) can’t come soon enough.
Jayson Musson, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, His History of Art, 2022 / Photograph by Carlos Avendaño.
Philly is known for its plethora of inspiring murals and public art. But it’s a destination for great art programming on the gallery walls as well, beyond just the PMA. (Though, they do have some exciting stuff coming this fall, too.)
Wild/Mild: Vox Populi’s 17th Annual Juried Exhibition Through July 10th
This year, the contemporary gallery and artist collective’s juried exhibition explores both unremarkable and unhinged moments from the last two years. From hundreds of applicants, 19 selected artists of various forms practicing in and around the city present two different rooms of paintings, prints, sculptures that consider what it’s like to live in extremes. Vox Populi, 319 North 11th Street #3
A Brand New End: Survival and Its Pictures Through July 16th
This exhibition is just one piece in a five-component undertaking by multimedia mastermind Carmen Winant, to investigate how images and self-representation intersect with domestic violence and feminism. The genre-bender and intense researcher uses imagery from the archives of Women in Transition and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence for many of the new pieces in the center’s galleries. And if you’re a fan, keep an eye out for Winant’s book including materials from the showcase, coming this fall. The Print Center, 1614 Latimer Street
Keith Haring: A Radiant Legacy Through July 31st
Born in Reading and raised in Kutztown, the instantly recognizable style of Keith Haring is one of the most prominent of the AIDS crisis and the 80s at large. Until the end of the month, this exhibition will contain over 100 colorful works produced during his brief career in uniting NYC street art and queer counterculture with art aristocracy. Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine Street, Doylestown
Derrick Adams: Sanctuary Through August 28th
Multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams brings a reimagination of the Green Book, a series of Jim Crow era travel guides for Black motorists, to the African American Museum. Inspired by the life of the text’s creator, Victor Hugo Green, the exhibit will contain over 50 works by Adams that bring to life the archive of sanctuaries from Green’s directories. African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street
Pool: A History of Segregation Through August 30th
For the past 20 years, Black children have had a higher rate of accidental drowning than white children by 50 percent – an undeniable result of racially discriminatory public pools. This free show at Fairmount Water Works delves into the ties between water and social issues through photography, murals, rarely seen archival footage and an animated film from recent Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames. Fairmount Water Works, 640 Waterworks Drive
Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self-Taught Artist in America Through September 5th
If you’re seeking art for art’s sake rather than the more stiff collar stuff, this is it. The over 50-piece exhibition pays tribute to post-WWI artists who crossed boundaries and rose in prominence without formal training, such as West Chester-born Horace Pippin and Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses. Brandywine River Museum of Art, 1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford
Installation view from the entrance of the Weitzman / Photograph by Robert Hakalski
The Future Will Follow the Past: An Exhibition By Johnathan Horowitz Through December
Curated by artist Johnathan Horowitz, this collaboration with the Lowell Milken Center at UCLA will supplement the Weitzman’s existing collection of pieces interpreting over 360 years of Jewish life. Alongside a series of installations from Horowitz’s own sociopolitically probing body of work, the exhibition includes contributions from big names like Jenny Holzer, Adrian Piper and art-rock legend, Kim Gordon. Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, 101 South Independence Mall East
Sunny Days & Lonely Nights July 8th, 6-9 p.m.
The Corridor Contemporary’s three floor gallery contains work from the likes of Warhol, KAWS, and coming this Friday night, Bronx-born painter Anthony Rondinone. Stop by this Fishtown solo exhibition for pieces reminiscent of a less gruesome, pop-culturally aware Francis Bacon. Corridor Contemporary, 1315 Frankford Ave
Women In Motion: 150 Years of Women’s Artistic Networks at PAFA July 9th to 24th
Once upon a time, Cecelia Beaux, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art’s first full-time female painting professor, hoped for the day that the work of women in art would be as normal as commonplace as men in art. This month, the exhibition will introduce viewers to the artist networks created among women like Beaux, her peers like the acclaimed Mary Cassatt, and more who produced work at the academy. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 118-128 North Broad Street
Jayson Musson: His History of Art July 22nd to November 13th
Going to the art museum doesn’t have to be a humorless, no-nonsense trudge down silent, ice-cold hallways. Yes, art can be fun. Funny, even. In the early 2010s, UArts and UPenn grad Jayson Musson made a name wittily criticizing elitism of the art world through his YouTube series “ART THOUGHTZ.” Coming later this month, Musson turns it up to 11 and takes aim at the field’s male domination issues with an exhibition featuring costuming, props, puppetry and inspiration from nun-turned-BBC-art-critic Sister Wendy Beckett. A selection of workshops and lectures with Musson will also be available at the museum throughout the fall. The Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1214 Arch Street
nkwiluntàmën: I long for it; I am lonesome for it (such as the sound of a drum) October 8th to October, 2023
From the curators of 2019’s holographic Ghost Ship exhibition by the riverfront, comes a new immersive installation to Pennsbury Manor. Opening on Indigenous Peoples Day weekend, multidisciplinary artist and recipient of a Pew Center for Arts & Heritage grant, Nathan Young will transform the historical sight into a meditative space to consider colonialism, Indigenous agency, and the artist’s own connection to his ancestral Lenape homeland. The experience will feature original music, personal narrative and environmental recordings. Pennsbury Manor, 400 Pennsbury Memorial Road, Morrisville
Matisse in the 1930’s October 20th to January 29, 2023
The largest collection of the famed father of fauvism is making its first stop in Philly, where Matisse visited during a pivotal decade in his career. This vast, multi-room collaboration with the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Musée Matisse Nice will explore this period in the 1930s, displaying over 100 items from his most renown works to seldom seen paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and a documentary film. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
A sample of Angela Monaco Jewelry rings set with onyx, sapphires and emeralds / Photograph by Team AMJ
Need some help as you plan your Big Day? There’s always something new and noteworthy to help turn your wedding into a dream come true. Right now, there’s a newish shop from Angela Monaco Jewelry in Rittenhouse, a set of beautifully crafted vow, guest and anniversary books, and super-modern modular event rentals to set your reception scene. Check it all out below. And if you need more ideas, visit our Local Wedding Guides for inspiration.
Angela Monaco Jewelry boutique / Photograph by Team AMJ
Conscious jeweler Angela Monaco is making it easier for Philly to find unique engagement rings and wedding bands (and other baubles) with her new store in Rittenhouse. Opened in December adjacent to Ritual Shoppe — Monaco’s lifestyle boutique — the store is designed as a nod to the Southwest, where her mother grew up. That’s a far cry from our historic city: “I love to create spaces that make you feel different when you walk in off the street,” notes Monaco. Earth tones mimic the high-desert terrain, and cave-like wall cutouts display her wares. Stop by to browse ready-to-wear creations, all locally crafted from recycled metals and ethically sourced stones. Or book an in-store consultation to collaborate on a personalized piece — the process takes about eight to 10 weeks. Monaco is adding a line of one-of-a-kind engagement bands that bridge the gap between pre-designed and custom, for folks who don’t want to wait to put a ring on it but still like a singular style. 2001 Walnut Street, Rittenhouse.
Photograph courtesy of the Art of Etiquette
The Art of Etiquette’s heirloom vow, guest and anniversary books add a personal touch to your love story. The inclusive vow books are labeled, among other things, “Vows to My Beloved: Our Adventure Begins,” rather than “bride” or “groom.” And the anniversary book comes with 50 love letters to exchange with your partner throughout your marriage.
Photograph courtesy of Pandemic Design Studio
Back in 2017, when former Wayne architect David Rozek launched Pandemic Design Studio — his brand of über-modern furniture and decor — he had no idea he’d use the pieces in his own pandemic wedding three years later. But he did, designing a modular Node bar and fashioning a 60-foot-long centerpiece using 495 ceramic vases. After seeing the tablescape in action, he realized the possibilities for event rentals. Among the items? His Stacks line of “tip-resistant” vessels, which are inspired by North Philly’s smokestacks and range between three and 15 inches tall. Next, he’s working on a modular horizontal planter centerpiece, to allow for easy conversation across tables.
Published as “The 411” in the summer/fall issue of Philadelphia Wedding.
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This Victorian-era expanded trinity at 608 Kater St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 has a twin, as you can see from this photo (it’s on the right). But it’s totally original, and totally modern, on the inside. | Bright MLS images via Compass
One of the things that annoy just about everyone in the real estate biz hereabouts is the appearance of the year 1920 in the date-of-construction data in public records.
Especially when it’s clear just from looking at a house like this Queen Village Victorian expanded trinity house for sale that it was actually built well before then.
The mock-mansard facade offers clear evidence that it was not only built before 1920, but most likely before 1900, for the heyday of the mansard roof in America was during the years from the decade before the Civil War to the decade after it. That period, which coincides with the high Victorian years, also saw French Second Empire architecture reach the height of its popularity.
That would place the likely construction date for this house somewhere between 1850 and 1880. But, truth to tell, that doesn’t matter so much now, for a makeover ten years ago changed this house into a totally modern looker on the inside.
The transformation of this expanded trinity begins on its main floor, which is now totally open. It’s big enough to accommodate a living room, a dining area and a kitchen.
Said kitchen features granite countertops, mosaic-tile backsplashes, up-to-date Bosch stainless-steel appliances and lots of strikingly modern cabinetry. (The listing agent says about these “awesome” cabinets, “Please open and see for yourself.”)
French doors at the back of the kitchen open onto a good-sized rear patio enhanced with greenery and a planting bed.
Since this is a Queen Village Victorian expanded trinity house for sale, the second floor has enough room for two bedrooms and a hall bath. The rear bedroom currently serves as a home office.
The front bedroom has built-in shelves and two large windows that let in lots of light.
And the bathroom in between is at once totally modern and a throwback to the past, thanks to its subway-tile wainscoting and shower lining.
The primary bedroom on the top floor lies behind that mansard rooflet. The largest of the three bedrooms has a lovely exposed-brick accent wall. And where the two below it were rebuilt with bamboo floors, this one still has its original hardwood flooring.
It also has French doors that open onto a private rear deck.
And it has a great location just below South Street. From here, you can walk to two supermarkets at 10th and South streets, the Italian Market, the Bainbridge Green restaurant district, Head House Square and the Delaware riverfront, among other places.
But you don’t even have to walk to Bainbridge Green to find great dining and drinking spots: A cidery, a French gastropub and a popular pizzeria sit at the west end of your block. And SEPTA bus routes on 7th, 8th, Lombard and South streets can get you where you want to go outside the neighborhood.
All these things make this mid- to late-19th-century (not 1920) expanded trinity with a modern heart quite a find.
608 Kater St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 [Alan Ladd | Compass]
I’m suited up in my boxing gloves, sweat dripping down my back as I listen to George Pitsakis, coach and co-owner of Juniper Muay Thai, explain the combination for tonight’s class.
“Muay Thai is all about spacing and balance,” he says, serving a punch-kick-elbow sequence meant to knock an opponent off-center. As a consistently spazzy person who tends to fall over without even moving, I laugh to myself. My lack of coordination is just one of the many reasons training at the tight-knit boxing gym in South Philly continues to humble me (and sometimes puts me on my ass). Yet joining Juniper might just be the single best decision I’ve made in my adult life.
Muay Thai is Thai boxing. An ancient martial art and combat sport, it has the punches and hooks of classic boxing with the added elements of kicking and clinching, making it a bit like stand-up wrestling. I hesitantly joined Juniper in 2019 at the urging of my partner, who has practiced martial arts all his life and thought my natural strength and love of team sports would make it a good fit. He correctly predicted that I would enjoy hitting shit as hard as I could, but what surprised us both was my immediate hunger to completely immerse myself in the sport.
This is due in part to Juniper’s approach to teaching. Pitsakis and Joe Logan, the head coach and other co-owner, offer a women-and-femmes-only class four days a week during which they accommodate the needs of everyone from true beginners who are putting on gloves for the first time to a handful of fighters competing in local amateur bouts. Where other women’s kickboxing programs often center cardio or self-defense, Logan and Pitsakis, both former pro fighters, emphasize the fundamentals without making any of us feel like we’re secondary in a male-dominated sport. There’s no condescension here, only patient coaching that has taken more than one of my classmates from first-timer all the way to the ring for an amateur fight.
I’m still regularly challenged by my notable clumsiness. That’s also what has drawn me back to the mat night after night. With other activities, like running or yoga, I often felt like I was fighting against my body’s natural size and shape. In muay Thai, the fact that I’m almost six feet tall, with thick legs and broad shoulders, gives me something to throw behind a cross-body punch or switch-kick. I measure success by watching the angle of my foot shift correctly for a kick, or as I learn to string together more complicated combinations, like a jab-cross-hook-leg kick.
In the middle of class, when I’m suited up in gloves or holding pads for a partner, there’s no space in my brain for anything but the absolute focus needed to follow the combination of the day. The classes are an antidote to the loneliness and distraction of working from home — a workout that cultivates mental resolve, connection, and support from the community of women who gather each night. For most of us, muay Thai is the rare true hobby: We do it because it empowers us, and because as we get stronger, we celebrate each other not for how our bodies look, but for what they can do and the strength they contain. Which, it turns out, is a lot.
Published as “I Tried It: Saved by the Bell” in the July 2022 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
Philly Girls Who Walk pose at the Benjamin Franklin Bridge / Photographs courtesy of Philly Girls Who Walk
When Bianca Solari founded Philly Girls Who Walk in April, she was looking for a way to get out of the house and socialize that didn’t involve drinking. As people get older, she says, it generally takes more effort to make friends. The 29-year-old social media pro (she works in digital for Lululemon) found the answer on social media, where she came across the New York-based group City Girls Who Walk. Solari reached out to the founder and asked to start a chapter in Philly; once she got the go-ahead, the Fairmount resident hit the ground running, setting up an Instagram account and spreading the word on local Facebook groups like PHILAQUEENS. To Solari’s surprise, the first walk, in May, brought out more than 100 women.
“I was excited that 10 people were going to show up and then when 100 girls showed up, it was so heartwarming,” Solari says. “Our last walk, across the Ben Franklin bridge, brought out roughly 175 women.” She attributes the popularity to the fact that “it’s very low-commitment. You’re just walkin’ and talkin.”
Walks are announced one week at a time, generally a week before they happen, on Instagram and on PGWW’s GroupMe account, which has more than 1,000 members. Walks are about three miles long and last from 45 minutes to an hour. In the summer they’re starting at 6 or 7 p.m. to avoid the daytime heat. Solari frequently puts out polls on GroupMe to figure out best routes and times for participants.
Friends who met through Philly Girls Who Walk protest the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade.
And sometimes, the strangers you walk with become the friends you march with. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a group of women who met on a PGWW walk marched together for reproductive rights, sending Solari a photo after the fact.
Post-walk, those who wish to continue the party are encouraged to do so. Solari partners with local businesses for activities, like a happy hour recently held at La Peg. Bars and restaurants interested in hosting 100-200 women are encouraged to reach out via Instagram or by emailing phillygirlswhowalk@gmail.com.
I’ve never been much of a July 4th stan.
As I’ve become older and more informed, this holiday has become increasingly irrelevant for someone like me, a Black queer man. There was no “independence” on July 4, 1776, for my enslaved ancestors, no “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in America for anyone but white male Christians. That’s why this weekend has usually been just another excuse to go to a cookout and enjoy some low-key time off.
But now, even that doesn’t feel right as we watch the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s dismantling of the rights of those who could become pregnant — the right to choose.
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the nation has begun to grapple with how the unpopular opinions of the minority can oppress the majority. Several states have had trigger laws banning abortions go into effect immediately, forcing individuals to rethink how they might maintain full autonomy of their bodies. The threat of even more bans, coupled with Congressional bickering over what to do next, has made the idea of celebrating America’s birthday feel like a sham.
What in the hell are we celebrating right now? Fifty years of legal precedent have gone down the drain. A conservative majority of the Supreme Court — put in place by a man elected by a minority of voters — has stripped the rights from millions of Americans and made it clear that other long-held principles could be on the table. That is as un-American as it is so-American: a nation that claims to be founded on liberty for all, yet remains as patriarchal, hypocritical and possessive as it was at its inception.
It feels regressive to celebrate our country as our political institutions fail us — especially those of us who could become pregnant. How do we say “God Bless America” when our nation has just put countless citizens in mortal peril? I can’t act as if this is American politics as usual, because to normalize this shit is to be complicit in it.
I would rather use this time to reflect and refocus on how to restore the rights that continue to erode. Whether supporting organizations financially, amplifying other voices, or joining groups to help mobilize voters, everyone has a role to play in protecting our democracy. And it’s long overdue for those in power to act their wage.
Politicians, we don’t need you in the streets protesting; we need your asses in your legislative offices, lobbying the powers-that-be to do more. Corporations, your social media posts and company policy changes are peanuts — divest from “pro-life” organizations and politicians who are largely responsible for this. Celebrities, community leaders, developers and other rich people — now is not the time for your performative virtue-signaling or for reinventing the wheel. Instead, give money and space to those who are already doing this work.
And to the everyday citizens just trying to get by, don’t become pessimistic — keep the faith (no matter what), vote the traitors out, and never stop demanding more from those with resources.
As red-white-and-blue festivities ramp up, please consider how far we’ve fallen: back to the days when individuals had to consider means of reproductive care that aren’t private, safe or secure.
How, this weekend, can we sing the lie that this is the “land of the free and the home of the brave”? It can only be true if we actually act the part. Currently, that’s not the case.
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