a weekend in pittsburgh

I wouldn't say that I do anything incessantly... I am a fairly moderate person when it comes to habits or "rituals" but if there had to be a "thing" that I do a little too much - it would be taking photographs and/or videos. Our weekend in Pittsburgh supported this claim tenfold in a way that I am still trying to comprehend. I woke up on Saturday morning and deleted THIRTY EIGHT photos/videos from the concert we went too and I still had a dozen too many. It's the monster inside of me that I can't seem to put to rest. So, this blog entry will primarily be photo's! Maybe this way I can delete a little more from my phone ;) 

When we arrived in Pittsburgh we immediately found a place to eat. Starvation had no place in our fun-filled weekend so it was a top priority. Luckily for us, we did some research beforehand and figured that Southern Tier Brewing would be a "must-go". So, to Southern Tier we went. After we ate we made our way to the park across the street which also housed a Mr Rogers Memorial Statue. 

When we'd had our fair share of the park and the views it had to offer, we made our way to the airbnb (sadly, I did not snap a single photo). After that, we went out to the Church Brew Works and then headed toward the venue where the concert was.

Now, listen. I'm going to be completely honest with you all because that's what I'm all about... honesty. I might have had one too many drinks on this special weekend-vacation-celebratory night. With that being said, by the time the concert was over it was bed time. And I don't mean, "oh I'm tired and going to head back to rest" bedtime... I mean "I'm a threat to myself and humanity if I don't become secluded in my own comfort zone" bedtime. That meant that our first night in Pittsburgh came to a halt. We hailed the Lyft and made our way back to our airbnb (still bummed I don't have pictures. It was beautiful!)

DAY 2: I woke up feeling every mistake I made the night before and as a good joke was once told, I required two breakfasts. Oh to be (not as) young (as I once was on these types of night).

On day two we played it smart - no drinking. Not even a sip... Not even a Bloody Mary or Mimosa. And I mean all day too, not just the early part. It's what my body required and I was ever so happy to oblige (for once).

PITTSBURGH ART. We visited the Mattress Factory as well as the Andy Warhol Museum.

The Mattress Factory was four floors of unique displays which took us about an hour to get through. Very neat and we'd highly recommend visiting if you're in the area.

This was the first exhibit in the MF and in my opinion, the neatest! These were real-life plant varieties under special, multicolored lights. It was extremely trippy and in some parts a little confusing... I have a picture down below of the lights to give you a better idea. Very cool though! 

Not the best picture, but you get the idea. ^^

The walls were covered in this metallic lining that moved around with the air flow... Even standing perfectly still your body would be constantly moving all wonky.

And now, onto the Warhol Museum! This was seven floors and probably took us the better part of 2.5 hours.

This room was by far the best part of my day. I believe it was called "Silver Clouds" and I felt like a kid again. These big silver balloons just float throughout the room thanks to a little bit of helium and some constantly blowing fans. 

There you have it! Our quick, fun-filled weekend trip to Pittsburgh. Obviously there is still SO much more we want to see and explore so hopefully our next trip is sooner, rather than later. With it only being 2 hours away there's not many excuses to wait :) 

Thanks for reading along and I hope you're having a great summer! 

June links

I was, and still kind of am, devastated over the loss of Anthony Bourdain. I've always been a huge fan of his work. He's an instant classic and will be remembered for so many amazing accomplishments. I can confidently say that his greatness will live on through me, and many others. I think this article that Rose McGowan penned was beautiful. 

Speaking of the legend, I recently read this article of the one country that Bourdain refused to visit. 

Guess who finally checked out Evil Genius on Netflix. Listen, I thought I knew a lot about this case and I had a sense of pride in that... I was wrong. This dives VERY deep and while I 100% still believe what I've always believed about who did it, I think it's definitely worth checking out. 

I will be making my way to Pittsburgh soon and I can't wait! We are going for a concert, but decided to make a little trip out of it. We'll be staying near the Mexican War Streets area and I'm so looking forward to being a tourist :) 

WEDDING SEASON IS UPON US! Bask in it's joy and concede to the occasion to celebrate LOVE. Oh, what's that? You don't have anything to wear? Here are some ideas, or inspiration. I really love a lot of these styles! 

Four words: GOLDEN HOUR ARCTIC PHOTOGRAPHY. Do these photos not soothe the heck out of you? So beautiful.

I just finished "The Outsider" by Stephen King and honestly... it was horrible. I don't understand how it's getting such positive reviews. I'll talk more about it in my June book recap. (Read some of the 3 star reviews if you want, in my opinion, the true opinions)

[SPOILERS] Did Sophie Turner's newest tattoo spoil season 8 of Game of Thrones for us all? (I personally don't think so... but if it did then I'm not mad about it!)

Speaking of phenomenal HBO shows, last week's episode of Westworld left me with a heart that needed mending... Apparently, as I found out, I wasn't alone. 

FINALLY, I saved the best for last. 

NICK OFFERMAN + MEGAN MULLALLY = NEXT FAVORITE READ. 

October 2018 - it's coming.

my houseplants and my great grandma.

A couple of years ago I went out and bought a couple houseplants… That slowly grew little by little and now today, I have somewhere around 20’ish! I love my houseplants, as you probably already know. But it wasn’t until summer of 2017 that I realized my love for houseplants was probably passed down to me.

Growing up, my great grandmother would come up from Florida every September and spend a few weeks with us. During those weeks I would sit in her room every evening and watch her shows with her and ask her every question I could think of (not joking here, every.question.). She’d tell me all about her parents and family growing up, my great grandpa (her husband) and her journey through life (the most fascinating stories were definitely anything around the WWII era!).

Then last summer my grandma, mom, sister, Lilah and I all went down to Florida for a girl’s trip and we were able to spend a lot of time with her. It should have been no surprise to see her home filled with house plants but alas, I was amazed. She even had a long ledge by her window covered in them, just like I do. We bonded, yet again, over something we both loved and had in common. I told her all about my plants and showed her pictures and she told me about hers.

My great grandma has always been a resonating force to me. I’ve loved, and still love having that woman in my life. She is a vision of a life well lived and a beaming inspiration for a life I would be blessed to live. I could go on and on about how wonderful she is, but I’ll spare you the novel and just quickly say that, at 97 years old she’s the sassiest woman I’ve ever met. She still takes care of herself and can cook, email, drive, etc. Amazing is an understatement.

To know that her and I both wake up every morning and admire those glistening, bright green leaves soaking in the early hours of sunlight fills my heart. It also gives me a little more motivation than I already had to keep them around for the rest of my life. I don’t care what Cade says about it! (Just kidding… Cade really doesn’t have a problem with my plants but for sake of sarcasm I pretend he does sometimes.)

my cleveland favorites.

Guess who's lived in Cleveland for just over two years now?! In my entire two year experience (yes, all two years of it ;) ) I've experienced some brag-worthy and superior service as well as some "I don't care if I never come back" service... But let's just focus on the positive, shall we? Cleveland is hustling and bustling when it comes to the service industry. There is always going to be a new restaurant or brewery that we haven't tried... and yet still, there are so many places that feel like that small town bar where you know the regulars. I love that about this city! 

Below I've listed some of my personal favorites. I did my best to narrow this down because I think it could've gone on and on... but I'm hopeful there's something for everyone here.

Breakfast / Coffee

The cuteness that is "Coffee, Coffee, Coffee"

                Coffee, Coffee, Coffee 

                LOOP

                Grumpy's Cafe

                TownHall

CCC is my favorite place to grab a quick coffee. If you go, then I'd recommend either the Jai Chai (for tea lovers) or the Rocketfuel (for iced coffee lovers who need the extra kick)!

TownHall - I'd be remiss not to recommend their Eggs Benedict. Oh me, oh my! I've had many an Eggs Benedict in my life but none compare to TownHall's.

Lunch

The amazing mural on the patio of Jukebox! 

                Jukebox

                The Proper Pig Smokehouse

                Liquid Planet

                Choolaah

Jukebox has ... how do I put this so it doesn't sound overly dramatic... Ok, Jukebox has LIFE CHANGING, BEST-EVER, SLAP YOU SILLY buffalo chicken dip. Served with a fresh, warm Cleveland Bagel. It's worthy of happy tears, if I do say so myself. 

The Proper Pig has THEE best BBQ that you will have outside of the south and the staff is friendlier than anything I've ever seen.

                    

Dinner

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for my dinner recommendations but I have this old gem from a dinner at Collision Bend! 

                Lizardville (Lakewood location)

                Buckeye Beer Engine

   Bakersfield

   Collision Bend

               

Yes, I know... There are Winking Lizards all over NE Ohio. Why did I put this in my list, right? It's the location - this Lizardville is gargantuan and it also includes the Lizardville whiskey bar (and bottle room). We go here somewhat frequently and it's always a good time.

Buckeye Beer Engine was one of our first "favorites" in Cleveland. They are known for their pickle spears and special sauce that goes with them and I would say if you're going to go here then you HAVE to get the pickle spears with dip! It's incredible, truly! 

Bars / Breweries

The Spotted Owl takes you back many centuries to enjoy only the finest cocktails in Cleveland! 

Let LBM blow your mind with drink creativity and flavor. The staff is also friendly as can be. I have no doubts that you'll be glad you came here! 

If you go to Edison's Pub then you MUST (hear me? MUST) sit on the patio. It's covered in greenery and secluded. There's nothing NOT to love about Edison's. Oh, and don't forget to have some free popcorn! 

                The Spotted Owl

                LBM

                Fat Heads Brewery

                Edison's Pub

           

I don't have any good pictures of Fat Heads to share above, but I will say that while the saloon is an excellent place to catch dinner if you're in the area - I would more so recommend checking out the actual brewery! 

Activities

Ah yes, the beaches of Cleveland!

                Edgewater Beach (Beach House)

                Rocky River Reservation

                Cleveland Museum of Art

                Rockefeller Greenhouse

                Cinemark at Valley View

One thing about the Valley View Cinemark - it's huge! Like it could house every person in Cleveland comfortably huge! There's so many options for food, snacks, coffee, etc. in there. Plus, they usually have special viewings of indie films, or re-showing of older movies. I know it's just a theater, but it's a good one! 

And there you have it... my Cleveland favorites!