Afternoon on the North Side

On the same afternoon that I had my first iceball from Gus and Yiayia's, Corey and I spent some time just meandering about through the Mini Maker Faire, through the park, through the War Streets and and through Deustchtown. It was mostly done on a whim (we had planned to attend the Maker Faire, but only checked out the stuff outside), and it was quite the enjoyable whim to be retold with photos.

Have you ever seen this fountain near the Children's Museum? I don't think I had ever noticed it before. I work in an office with a (baller) view of the PPG fountain, and this one kind of puts it to shame. It wouldn't be able to double as the location for a skating rink though, that is for sure. (Ouch.)

Part of my excitement about going to the Mini Maker Faire, was the possibility of lunch from a food truck. And we had options of hot dogs (Franktuary), grilled cheese (Oh My Grill), or pierogies (PGH Pierogi Truck). We both went with grilled cheese (finally - after wanting a taste of Oh My Grill since summer's food truck round-up). Help keep food trucks in Pittsburgh a growing trend - check out Pittsburgh Mobile Food's site for information on how to get involved or for announcements of awesome food truck events.

The Mini Maker Faire was pretty interesting, for the little of it we ended up seeing. (We had to decide to pay to get into the Children's Museum or stay outside where it appeared free. We chose to keep it cheap.) We spent the most time learning about a couple projects going on at HackPGH.

Small version of a lighting project JackPGH will soon be displaying at their location.

After checking out the Faire, we walked on over the to park.

And then we walked through the War Streets. (Someone please buy me a house in the War Streets.)

Finally, we walked down the main drag in Deutschtown to check out if the Priory Bakery was still open. On our way to find out, Corey spotted this gem of a t-shirt hanging in the window of the neighborhood Goodwill. After doubling over in laughter on the other side of the street for a good three minutes, I immediately made the decision to purchase it. (Of course I did. Not even my dad was surprised when I showed him the picture below later that evening.)

In other news, the bakery was open and I bought some cookies. They were delicious.

Thanks for a lovely afternoon, North Side. Hope to be seeing you again soon.

The Twelve Days of a Pittsburgh Christmas: The Most Perfect House

On the twelfth day of a Pittsburgh Christmas, I'd love the most perfect house on the South Side Slopes or that firehouse in the Mexican War Streets.

I don't intend on leaving my apartment in Bloomfield anytime soon, but if someone wanted to buy me that house I fell in love with on the South Side Slopes or the awesome firehouse that's catty corner from Randyland in the Mexican War Streets, I won't turn them down.

Mexican War Streets Fantasies: Mullen Visits!

Oddly, the person who has visited me from Boston the most is also the person who has not yet had a real, honest-to-goodness Pittsburgh weekend. She'd come in for business trips, usually one-nighters good for dinner and drinks, and for my mom's funeral, which, well, wasn't the most fun reason to be in Pittsburgh. So, finally(!), Mullen came to town for her first official Pittsburgh weekend.

After taking her to breakfast at Coca Cafe and Wildcard and an adventure through the Strip where we bought assorted goods (beer, t-shirts, turkey carcass, artwork, donuts - you know, the usual), I brought her to the Mexican War Streets. Primarily because I knew she'd fall in love with the neighborhood. (And not so secretly because I truly believe this girl would flourish in Pittsburgh).

I wanted to walk from Downtown to the War Streets so we could pass Mullens. For obvious reasons.


Our walk took us through Allegheny Commons and North Park before hitting the War Streets. It was a beautifully mild Saturday afternoon - perfect for a long walk. Earlier in the week, I had attended an apartment-warming party in the War Streets. Just walking into the entryway of the building - not even the amazing apartment itself - gave me serious apartment envy. The War Streets are quickly creeping up my list of neighborhoods I want to investigate when it comes time to buy a home. The area is lovely. It is full of color. The Monterey Pub is awesome and perfectly neighborhoody. I knew Mullen would fall in love with it, and we started making (fantasy) plans for buying and flipping a house in the area. At first, I wanted to take Mullen past the Mattress Factory and show her the sunken garden, but the lightbulb went off over my head and I changed our route to get to Randyland.

We were taking pictures of the mural on the side of the building when Randy himself came out of nowhere in a faded Pitt sweatshirt welcoming us into his backyard, where the bulk of his creations reside. I'd never been past the gate to the backyard before, so this seemed like a really special occasion. What follows are pictures from outside and inside the backyard of Randyland.







After we made our way out of Randyland and down the street toward the Monterey Pub, I pointed out the firehouse catty-corner from Randyland. It's for sale. And it's hard to figure out a way that my life could continue without that somehow ending up in my possession one day. (So, if any of you want to chip in and buy me a firehouse in the War Streets: go. for. it.)

BY THE WAY.
This is my 100th post on Everything Better Pittsburgh.
Thank you for reading! I've been having a blast coming up with adventures and writing about my one true love. Here's to another 100 things to say about Pittsburgh.

PGH Beautiful: Graffiti and Street Art, September 2011, Vol. 2

A sampling of graffiti and street art from wanderings leaving the Mattress Factory and heading toward downtown.

From Federal Street on the wall of the bridge before the Warhol heading into downtown.
(The best thing about this dino graffiti is that there is a faint pink dick right on top of it.)

Awesome tiger sticker from a fence in the alley outside of the Mattress Factory.

The best kind of graffiti: a black cat. From the same alley outside of the Mattress Factory.

PGH Beautiful: Murals, September 2011, Vol. 2

A sampling of some murals seen on the other side of the Mattress Factory.

A poem painted onto the glass storm door a few homes down the alley from the Mattress Factory.

These two homes are in the same alley, and are side-by-side (obviously) murals with very different feels.

I'm partial to this mural, because I'm partial to any artist's rendering of Pittsburgh's notable sights, buildings, and skyline.

PGH Beautiful: Murals, September 2011, Vol. 1

A sampling of the murals that make Pittsburgh one of the most colorful cities in the country.

Downtown: This mural is right above the valet bike parking in the cultural district.

Mexican War Streets: RANDYLAND. This has got to be one of my favorite North Side things. Randyland's mural/map is pure perfection.

More of Randyland's explosion of color.

Bloomfield: On the side of The Shop.