How to have a perfect Philly day, according to Philly author Jo Piazza
It starts with black coffee and ends with wine and cheese at home. With lots of biking and writing in between.
Author Jo Piazza grew up in Bucks County and lived in New York and San Francisco before moving to Fitler Square, where she resides with her husband and three children.
The prolific author released Sicilian Inheritance last year — a murder mystery Piazza called her “most Philly book yet.”
This year, she’s back with Everyone Is Lying to You.
“It is a juicy, insanely fun thriller,” she said. “A murder mystery set in the world of tradwife influencers.” The main character lives in Philadelphia.
“I’m just so sick of books based in New York. I have vowed to never write a character that lives in New York ever again, and it’s going to be all Philly, all the time from here on out,” Piazza said.
On July 22, Chestnut Street’s Barnes & Noble will host a tradwife costume contest, along with an author talk with Piazza. When she is not on a book tour with her kids in tow, this is how Jo Piazza intends to spend a perfect Philly summer day.
7:30 a.m.
I usually wake up without an alarm. In the summer, that means I wake up when my 2½-year-old toddler does.
9:30 a.m.
We walk or bike everywhere. I have a massive cargo bike that fits all three of my kids (the older ones are 5 and 8). I drop them off with either a caregiver, or my mom, who lives in a building with a pool. Which, I have to say, is a magical parenting hack if you can pull it off.
This summer, I told my kids they’re not allowed to be bored. We don’t do camps, just a lot of museums and exploring the city. We bought a bunch of museum memberships and practically live at the Franklin Institute and Academy of Natural Sciences. Or we go to a playground. Taney and Sister Cities are our favorites.
After I drop them off, the day is mine to write.
10 a.m.
I write about 1,500 to 2,000 words a day and I do it all over the city — coffee shops, parks, restaurants. I always carry my laptop with me. Sometimes I even start writing on my phone.
Mornings often start at Rival Bros in Fitler Square (it’s my local coffee shop), with a chocolate croissant and the first coffee of the day. I am pretty basic, just straight up black coffee, and then whatever white substance they have.
Then I bounce around to write in different places. I do a lot of writing at Fitler Club.
If it’s Saturday, I stop at the Rittenhouse farmers market to grab a bunch of flowers and heirloom tomatoes and peaches during the summer. Then I’ll park myself at the La Colombe nearby and write from there for a while.
Noon
A yoga class with Matthew Shaw at Fitler Club, who is the best yoga instructor I have ever had.
2:30 p.m.
If I hit writer’s block, I hop on my bike and ride the Schuylkill River Trail.
4 p.m.
In the afternoon, I often stop by my favorite indie bookstore, Head House Books. There’s a warm, cozy chair in the corner right by the window, and I sit there to read for about an hour with whatever book I just picked up.
5 p.m.
I try to do day dates with my husband, Nick, when I can. We recently wandered into Kalaya. You can walk in on weekdays without a reservation, but you better get there right when they open. It was as insanely delicious as everyone says.
We’re early birds when it comes to cocktails. Our neighborhood spot is Friday Saturday Sunday. We’re at the bar by 5 p.m. It’s the perfect date night for two people who want to be in bed by 8. Shout out to Paul MacDonald. He’s the best bartender, literally, in the country.
6:30 p.m.
We often swing by Di Bruno Bros for some cheese and grab oysters from the Fitler Square location of Fishtown Seafood for snacks for home. On Fridays, the oysters are $1!
We moved to Fitler Square because a bunch of my friends from college live here, and we’ve made so many close friends through our kids’ school. We have an open-door policy in the summer. We’re like, “Just come over. My house is going to be messy, and I’m not going to clean it before you come. But I can make you a cheese plate and shuck some oysters in five minutes, and our kids can play in the basement and we can ignore them.”
8:30 p.m.
Putting my kids to bed is like an opera. But the best part about having all my friends at my house is I can just ask them to sit and have a glass of wine while I go up and put my kids to bed, but you better be out of my house soon after.