Welcome Change: Living Life in the Most Livable City

Welcome change. It's an appropriate mantra for fall, when the leaves start to turn and the cold starts to creep in. It's getting darker earlier, and it's harder to get up in the morning without sunshine streaming in the windows at 6:45 a.m. I used to fear change, because I am a creature of habit and routine. But, I look at change as the continued evolution of things now. The ability to accept change and adapt to change will always be important to me, because so much is outside of my control that there's never a guarantee that things will stay the same (or work out the way I want them to). Which brings me to this blog. I feel like it's been evolving over the past year, settling into itself. Which is why I added a subtitle to Everything Better Pittsburgh: living life in the most livable city. No matter how it continues to evolve as I continue to change and be changed by my favorite place, it still holds true to the hopes I had for it:

This is what I love about Pittsburgh. There's always something to look for. There's always something to figure out. There will always be missing pieces, but it's the search and the small journeys it'll take you on. If nothing else, I want this to be writings about new discoveries around the best city. It will feature the myriad of ways one can wrap themselves up in Pittsburgh's greatness. It'll be odd things/interesting things/wonderful things I see. It'll be yummy things I eat. It'll be the crazy things I overhear. There hasn't be a day in the year I've been back that I haven't absolutely swooned over this place. When I say that Pittsburgh is the best city in the world, I mean it.

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.

My Perks of Being a Wallflower

Guys. I'm about to get a little emo on you. I can't help it; it's my nature.

I read this book when it came out. I don't know how I found out about it. I can't remember if I learned of it myself or if someone put it in my hands. This book has stayed with me. It retains meaning in new ways each time I read it. It might (and probably most certainly does) make other people cringe. But it makes me happy. Because it's kinda about being sad. Feeling awkward. Being a little lonely. (I told you this was gonna get a little emo.)

When I found out there would be a movie made of the book that was pretty integral to my adolescence, I worried. If I'm anything other than a amateur Pittsburgh scholar, it's television and movies directed at teens I'm an expert in. But, Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the book, also wrote the screenplay and directed the movie. A very good thing. What you see during the film's 110 minutes is something very close to the actual experience of going to high school. It's the perfect adaptation from page to screen. 

What does this have to do about Pittsburgh?

Perks of Being a Wallflower takes place in Pittsburgh. It is full of Pittsburgh things. One of its most important scenes takes place going through the Fort Pitt tunnels. Perks of Being a Wallflower was filmed in Pittsburgh. It is full of Pittsburgh things. It makes Pittsburgh look beautiful. It made me feel bad for anyone who sees this and doesn't live here. (It was also full of references only a Pittsburgher would know: the O, Eide's, "jagoff," and the Fruit Loop to name a few.)

You can catch some of those lovely sights and references in the trailer:

Before I went to see it with my brother at the beginning of the week, I reread my dog-eared, underlined copy. There might be no paragraph in fiction that has ever called out to me like this one:

Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called "Landslide." When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. 

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

- Stephen Chbosky

Treat yourself to a couple hours in the movies with Perks of Being a Wallflower. If you take it in at the Manor, you can also take in a beer. Celebrate adolescence with a cold one now that those awkward years are behind you.

Pittsburgh Day of Giving & Buy a PGHTee For a Good Cause

Pittsburgh friends! Today, October 3, is the annual Day of Giving. Today, your donations to qualifying organizations (there are so many to choose from!) will be matched. Meaning, more money for people working to make positive changes in the city.

If you're a BikePGH Member, you can renew your membership. If you wanna be a BikePGH Member, you can use that as your donation. Just FYI!

And, if you're in the market for a great new PGHTee, you can make a donation to Second Chance Pittsburgh and get an awesome new addition to your t-shirt drawer from Steel City Cotton Works:

So, help some dedicated people get some shit done. This city - it's worth it.

30 Before 30: Iceball from Gus and Yiayia's

Corey and I were on the North Side to check out the Mini Maker Faire at the Children's Museum a couple Saturdays ago. It was such a lovely afternoon that we decided to take a walk around the park and the War Streets (more on that later!), and in doing so, I recognized an opportunity to knock another 30 Before 30 Item off the list: an iceball from Gus and Yiayia's.

Gus and Yiayia's is a Pittsburgh institution, and I'm ashamed that I have never enjoyed an iceball from these fine folks before. Considering my first job was the Sno-Kone girl at Mineral Beach in Finleyville (yeah, I know.), I felt a certain kinship with Gus, who prepared my cherry-lemon iceball (the perfect combination, after several summers schlepping these I have learned).

With summer officially behind us (yay, fall, yay!), I never thought I'd be crossing the iceball off the 30 Before 30 list this soon. I figured it would be a "down to the wire" item (which, I'm positive will be happening plenty come May 2013), but it's said and done - and it was delightful.

Take a Walk: Octopus's Garden in Friendship

On Saturday I had an hour to kill before meeting up with a friend for some North Side adventures. So I took a walk. (As part of my effort to walk around my neighborhood more often.) My destination was something I had passed by and heard about in passing, the Octopus's Garden in Friendship on S. Aiken.  Earlier in the day I had been walking around running errands and buying hot beverages and donuts and had the feeling of "I'm in love with this place" hitting me pretty hard. Hidden gems in my neighborhood like the Octopus's Garden definitely add to the love. For where I am in my life now, I can't think of a better place to live than in Bloomfield and on the edge of Friendship, Garfield, and Lawrenceville. Here are some photos from the garden. If you ever find yourself with some time to kill after grabbing brunch at The Quiet Storm or coffee at Voluto, walk down S. Aiken and enjoy the garden for yourself. 

30 Before 30: Banjo Night

"Banjo Night" has been an event suggested to me many times in the past five or six years. Even before I moved back to Pittsburgh, friends were putting it on my to-do lists for visits back home. It took placement on the 30 Before 30 List to finally get myself to the Elks Lodge on the North Side to experience it, but it certainly won't take much to get me to go back.

Every Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Banjo Club holds an open rehearsal at the Elks Lodge on Cedar Avenue, just across the Allegheny River. Admission is free. Food and beer are cheap. And the entertainment is priceless.

If you've never gone, don't wait as long as I did to enjoy a few hours of banjo-playing and merry-making. It happens tonight. You may find me there, dragging along my dad and brother.