Longview Center for Agriculture

The Longview Center for Agriculture is a regional hub for reconnecting the land, the community, and food. The center consists of 90 acres of certified organic farmland, which includes an organic fruit orchard and an on-site Farmer's Market.

The center hosts many events like the weekly Lost Arts Workshop. They also serve as a connection point for farm-based education in the area's elementary schools.

The on-site farmer's market provides the community with local foods grown on site or at nearby farms. They carry products that are local and humanely raised and that support independent small farms. They clearly have
a commitment to the community!

The Longview Center for Agriculture is a great place to take children to explore their senses. Children are encouraged to get down and dirty and explore all that the farm has to offer from picking flowers, tomatoes, and even apples.

Currently, blackberries are in season and ripe for the picking! It will be hard for you not to leave with a ton of blackberries. Make sure you bring a container or bag to collect them in {and plenty of wipes!}.

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 The Longview Center for Agriculture is located 3125 Stump Hall Road in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

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Posted in: a grande life,collegeville,farmers market,organic,philadelphia,turnip farmer

Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast | Review by The Turnip Farmer

When I was a child, some of my fondest memories were the winter holidays spent with my Mommom. I remember walking into her house and it was always so warm. The heat from the oven filled the entire house.
It was that kind of warm that comes with the best naps when you have the perfect amount of blankets and the pillows are just the right firmness (and possibly a slight glaze of drool on them when you awake). And her house always smelled so good. She was always baking something and the holidays were the height of baking season, of course. I remember walking through the front door and craning my neck to get a peek into the kitchen (that we weren’t allowed to be in) to see what had been whipped up, sugared, buttered, glazed and frosted. Holiday dinner at Mommom’s house had the very feeling that is evoked from viewing Norman Rockwell’s painting ‘Freedom from want’.

My Mommom has been gone for many years now and I’ve longed to experience that warmth and those scents again. It was never replicated until I crossed the threshold of the Cornerstone Bed & Breakfast in Philadelphia. I’m a sucker for a Vi ctorian home and was impressed beyond words with the beauty of this home. But it was the welcome, the warmth and oh my goodness the smell of fresh baking that drew me back
to my childhood. I wanted to run right into the kitchen and sneakily drag my finger through the big bowl of icing that I just knew was in there!

The Cornerstone is a fully restored Victorian mansion that was first constructed in 1865. It’s located within walking distance of University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Philadelphia Museum of Art, restaurants, and shops. First time in Philly and not sure where to go? Just ask one of the Inn Keepers, Dennis. He is a veritable encyclopedia of all things wonderful (and not so wonderful) in Philadelphia. When asked what he
would recommend for dinner, he rattled off a list as long as my arm and the history of most of the eateries. 

Most of the seven rooms at Cornerstone only accommodate two guests each. The Continental (where both Stephanie's, Jenni and I stayed) sleeps four. This suite was amazing. It included a sitting room and two
spacious bedrooms with an adjoining bathroom that included the biggest tub I have ever seen in my life. Like every well laid out bathroom, the double sink and vanity were separate from the facilities. Very handy when you have four women staying in one suite!

But each room is just as spacious and elegant as the next. Every room is beautifully decorated and includes wi-fi and satellite TV offering over 100 channels. Stained glass, Tiffany-style lamps, decadent wallpapers (including a faux tin-stamp paper!), needlepoint and antique black and white family portraits decorate the entire house.

If you ask about those photos you will be delighted with tales of the Bartelme family.

My favorite part of our visit was definitely the full service breakfast on Sunday morning.

Liz put together an outstanding breakfast of a blueberry casserole, ham, fruit and hot-cross buns. Additionally it was an opportunity to talk to the owners and the other guests at Cornerstone that I enjoyed
most. Dennis and Liz are such wonderful hosts and not only fed us but kept us entertained throughout breakfast. They even humored all of my silly questions about their decor and photos and history of their
inn.

The only thing that would have made this visit more perfect would have been some warm, Spring weather. Apparently Mother Nature has not yet gotten the memo that it is in fact Spring! I really would have enjoyed having a sit on the the lovely wrap-around porch. I guess I’ll just have to go back some time!

Dennis, Liz, Jules and Chris, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for hosting our group. I went in fully expecting to enjoy our visit and was delighted to have it bring back happy childhood memories. It was a perfect reminder of how I’d love to have guests feel in my home. And that is what made this visit so perfect - I didn’t feel as if I was in a hotel - I felt like I was home.

This is my personal review of Cornerstone Bed and Breakfast. All comments written here are 100% my own. Cornerstone hosted our visit gratis in return for an honest review of their establishment. I am so pleased to be able to report that we had a lovely and positive experience at their inn. You can also find Cornerstone Bed & Breakfast on Facebook. If you ever stop in, tell ‘em the Turnip Farmer sent you!

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Posted in: cornerstone,philadelphia,turnip farmer

Magic Gardens | Review by The Turnip Farmer

"we are faced with these objects of reflection overstating some of themost interesting developments..."

More from my trip to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens to come...

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Posted in: magic gardens,phildelphia,turnip farmer

Liberty Bell | Review by The Turnip Farmer

More to come about our trip to the birthplace of America...

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Posted in: liberty bell,philadelphia,turnip farmer

Eastern State Penitentiary | Review by The Turnip Farmer

Biding my time
at Eastern State Penitentiary.
More to come about our trip to America's most historic prison.

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Posted in: philadelphia,turnip farmer

Blog with Love | Post by the Turnip Farmer

This is a pretty good example of how ridiculously excited I am.

Yesterday, Stephanie² arrived in Philadelphia. Just one more days until me and three of my closest friends and blogging buddies get together in one of the greatest cities in the country, Philadelphia. Jenni, Stephanie¹ and I have known each other for the better part of three years and we've been chatting with Stephanie² for over a year now. We've had play dates, talk almost daily on gchat and a day without a comment on Facebook or Twitter from any of them is like a day without sunshine. They are as much a part of my daily routine as brushing my teeth and screaming at the neighbors dog when it poops on my lawn for the millionth time. But I digress....

When Stephanie² decided she wanted to leave her magic kingdom in the foothills of Disney World and come visit us in the northeast, well we just knew we had to show her Philly. I mean, I could have given her a pretty rockin tour of Delaware but Philly...well, its Philly! You really don't have to say much else about it, that's how amazing it is.

We have a full agenda for the weekend. First, we are staying at the beautiful Cornerstone Bed & Breakfast.

Not only do we get to lounge around in this beautiful room, we get to lounge sans screaming children!

Stephanie² is on her own for part of Friday and she will be visiting the Academy of Natural Sciences and their Bizarre Animals event.

Then she will be taking her first ever Septa ride down to Delaware to meet my family! So Septa passengers, if you see Stephanie², do me a solid and help her out. The trains can be a little nerve-wracking for someone that's never used them.

After a meet and greet with the fam, Steph and I are headed back to Philly for some dinner and a ghost tour with the Original Philadelphia Ghost Tour.

Philadelphia Ghost Tour has been rated one of the best top ten ghost tours in the country. The ninety minute
walking tour takes you through Old Square, St. Peter’s Cemetery, Old City and Signers Garden.  They supply tour guests with EMF (electromagnetic field meters) and encourage you to bring cameras. You
never know who you might run into...or through...in the case of a ghost. ;)

Saturday is our marathon site seeing day. We are hitting up the Eastern State Penitentiary - one time home of mobster Al Capone.

We are lucky enough to be going the same weekend they are having a Hands On History weekend. Visitors will get to screen dirt and debris for artifacts with on site archaeologists!

Then we are meeting up with Jenni and Steph to tour the Mutter Museum.

Thanks to Visit Philly, we are going to see some of the most popular destinations in Philadelphia.

The VIP pass which they have so generously given our group includes tours of:

 Morris Arboretum

 

Longwood Gardens

Philadelphia Zoo - the America's first zoo!

Franklin Institute

University of Penn Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology

 Rosenbach Museum

Please Touch Museum

American Jewish History Museum

National Liberty Museum

 National Constitution Center

Mummers Museum

African American Museum

Fort Mifflin on the Delaware

and so much more! What a shame we only have two days to pack it all in. We can't possibly see everything before Stephanie² leaves on Sunday but we are gonna try to cram in as much as we can! Just goes to
show you that you can truly spend a whole week's vacation in Philadelphia and never get bored.

We'll also be stopping by Franklin Fountains for a yummy ice cream treat (shhh! don't tell Medifast!)

Another 'must see' on my list is the Magic Gardens on South Street.

We're hoping to fit in a stop to Rittenhouse Square to take some maternity photos of Stephanie¹ if the weather allows. Seriously, I am tired already. Also, I am really nervous about leaving C and Izzy for the entire weekend. I've never been away from Izzy for more than one night. My husband is obviously completely capable - it's just that I will miss them terribly. It's so silly when you consider that I will only be 40 minutes from my front door.

We are all so excited and so thankful to all the establishments that have opened their doors to us. Can't wait to meet all of the people that we've spoken too and see all that Philly has to offer!

Follow all of us on Twitter as well with these trend topics and Twitter names:

@blogwithlove

@mommabrown08

@goobermonkey78

@mrsgloves

@jennifrmtheblog

@visitphilly

#philly #love 

A super huge MASSIVE thank you to Caroline at VisitPhilly.com for the passes and fantastic
weekend!

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Posted in: blog with love,philadelphia,turnip farmer