Summer in Pittsburgh brings...

1. Farmer's Markets
Who doesn't love fresh vegetables and affordable prices? Throw in locally-grown, and I'm sold. With the prices of produce at the Giant Eagle skyrocketing these days, a girl needs to get creative. Enter Farmer's Markets. They are all over the city, in the suburbs and available on a weekly basis. 

2. Movies in the Parks
Starting in June and running through August, parks throughout the city of Pittsburgh feature free outside movies one night a week. It's easy, breezy and free - grab a blanket, your best bud or significant other, and enjoy a night under the summer stars of Pittsburgh watching a movie outside. Don't forget to bring popcorn!

3. Three Rivers Arts Festival
Apart from great art and free music, to most Pittsburghers, the Three Rivers Arts Festival means RAIN. And this year is no exception - the forecast is calling for rain the first three days of the Arts Fest. After that, we're in the clear though. 


4. Fireworks  - I mean, Buccos games!
Cheap bleacher seats, anyone?


5. Summer Concert Series

Allegheny County is hosting their annual summer concert series, held either at South Park or Hartwood Acres. These concerts are open to the public and FREE for all, with the exception of the Blues Festival, Pyro Fest and Allegheny County Music Festival. 

6. Steelers Training Camp
Even though Hines Ward will be broadcasting on NBC instead of ball-playing, Steelers training camp in Latrobe always hauls in the masses. Players are usually very accommodating and never disappoint fans.

7. Pittsburgh Pride Fest
Pride fest is such a fun celebration Pittsburgh enjoys on a yearly basis. They always bring in great entertainment, and this year is no different. Academy Award and two-time Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge will be the 2012 Pride in the Street headliner!  Melissa will be performing a 90 minute concert with a full band on Liberty Avenue on Saturday, June 9.


8. Furries
The National Furry Convention (Anthrocon) has made my list before, but it bears repeating. This. Is. Awesome. Not to mention unique to Pittsburgh. This year's theme is Midsummer Night's Dream, and runs from June 14-17. 

*click on pictures for source*

Perusing Pittsburgh Etsy

Ever since Christmas, when I went Etsy-crazy, me & Etsy have taken a break. I love Etsy, but I needed some space. And by space, I mean money. Considering it is nearly June, I decided that my hiatus had come to an end. And oh, what amusement perusing Pittsburgh Etsy always brings....

This edition of Pittsburgh Etsy shall be named: the Obviously Pittsburgh Stuff.

SO fun, amirite? A great interpretation of Pittsburgh done so simply, with just the right amount of city grit. I'm in love with this Pittsburgh iPhone cover. 

Next up are some funky cuff links. 

If Ford was a cuff link-wearin' man. I'd pick these up for him ASAP. Perhaps as a groom's gift for our 2013 nuptials? *makes mental note*

.........

These next few items were amusing for sure....but would I buy them IRL (that's short for "in real life," Dad)... I don't think that I would.

For example...

I'm trying to imagine a scenario where I'd purchase Pittsburgh-decked out cake stand:

Erm.....

Going with the Yinzer-in the Kitchen theme, would you parents out there get your kid one of these?

I hope this cutie got some money for his modeling job.

.....and this just baffled me. I don't even...what the...WHO the....

Perhaps I'm biased because this reminds me of the annoying women at Pens games who clap at all the inappropriate - or just plain wrong - times. Is this Hockey Mom Anime?

I don't even.

*click on each image for their source*

.............

Check back soon for my feature on Pittsburgh Etsy artists & crafts - aka the Not-So-Obvious Pittsburgh Etsy. See what I did there?

Exploring Pittsburgh

This Saturday afternoon seemed like the first Saturday in months that I had absolutely nothing to do. And it was glorious. After sleeping in, I woke to a gorgeous shining day in the Burgh. What to do? I didn't have an agenda, just one goal:  Be outside, bask in the sunshine. 

So I went to some of my favorite neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh - and in each of those neighborhoods, visited a few places I'd never been before.

First was Wild Card in Lawrenceville.

Oh my goodness. Consider it a heightened practice of self- restraint that I didn't walk out the door with the entire store in my bag. 

As the name would suggest, there were a ton of cards:

But there were about a billion items like this gem:

and so many items were made in Pittsburgh. I do love supporting local when I can.And I want all of these shirts. ALL OF THEM.

Of course, this was one a pure delight to stumble upon:

this one made me giggle and nod my head in agreement:

And this one, was a must have:

There were some fun research materials, as well. New to Pittsburgh? Pick up quicker on Pittsburghese via "Words and Phrases for Getting Arahnd Pittsburgh."

In love with Pittsburgh, like yours truly, but want to learn more? Pittsburgh Treasure Hunt. I picked that bad boy up.

I purchased quite a few other items..... mostly gifts for readers of my little Burgh Blog, so I can't share. Take my word on it and just visit the place!

Then I went to the Strip District for some fresh produce and whatnot. It was hustlin' and bustlin' on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon. A truly wonderful place for fresh, local food, products, entertainment and  beverages.

The Strip is kinda famous for being home to renowned Pittsburgh places like the original Primanti Bros, DeLucas, Peppis, Pittsburgh Popcorn Co, Mancinis, Penn Mac, and... MMMMM Wholeys

(pronounced woool-eeeeeys, not hole- eeys, please & thank you)

I've never been to the way back of Wholey's fish market - this is what I discovered:

Now that's as fresh as it gets.

All in all, a lovely lazy Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Mothers' Day 2012

Hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day! I certainly did.


It involved Blueberry-chocolate Ricotta Pancakes.

It involved Mushroom Risotto w/ Carmelized Onions

And it involved some magnificent women (if I do say so myself)

Hello, Bully: Get PITSburgh Proud!

Did you guys hear about the Pit bull, Lilly, in Massachusetts? This dog was rescued, and then ended up saving her owner's mother's life, when the woman got stuck on train tracks. Lilly the Pit bull pulled the woman off the tracks and was severely injured ( but is alive and recuperating) from taking part of the hit from the train. Lilly lost a front leg, the owner's mother was uninjured.

I strongly encourage you to watch the video of this amazing story, and spread the word.

On the Pittsburgh front, many Burghers are  supporting Hello Bully, a local pit bull rescue group, via a campaign in conjunction with The Cotton Factory, to raise awareness and help generate donations.

The Cotton Factory and Hello Bully are pairing up to bring back the incredibly successful limited edition PITSburgh t-shirts and aprons for the month of May. These shirts were specially designed as a fund and awareness raising campaign for this campaign, of which portions of each shirt/aprons are donated to Hello Bully.

The PITSburgh pride design is available on both t-shirts and aprons with your choice of gold or pink ink. $5 from each t-shirt and $3 from each apron sold will be donated directly to Hello Bully. The shirts are available for sale online at The Cotton Factory now through May 31st-  so go get yours now. After May 31st, these adoraBULL (see what I did there?) shirts and aprons will no longer be available. I mean, look how cute:

As part of the Hello Bully campaign, on this Friday, May 4th,  the Cotton Factory and TeeRex Syndicate will open for Unblurred along Penn Ave between 6:00 and 10:00 pm. 10% of all t-shirt sales that evening will be donated to Hello Bully, who will be on hand to provide information about the benefits of pit bull rescue and it’s positive effects on the community.

What a Jagoff: Pittsburgh Opera Shames Themselves.

The Pittsburgh Opera is honoring Governor Tom Corbett with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Governor Corbett will be honored for his early work as a teacher as well as his longstanding protection of the public interest as Pennsylvania Attorney General. Additionally, 
as Governor, he has recognized the economic, educational, and social value of the arts."

Everything about that statement is wrong. Here's why.

Shame on the Pittsburgh Opera for whoring themselves out to get funding by honoring a man who has done nothing but squash the arts and arts education programming as soon as he stepped into office.

Shame.

Pittsburgh (Half) Marathon 2012: Completed!

I'm very proud to report that I've finished the Pittsburgh Half Marathon for the second year in a row!

Naturally, I was anxious beforehand, but I was lucky to have my parents & Ford there. They calm me and balance me. Being there with me before it starts, and there as I cross the finish line makes it all worth it. I'd love to tell you I train  and run aallllll for me... but some of it is so my loved ones don't see my body crumple as I pass out 500 yards before the Finish Line.
Kidding. Kind of.

I didn't CRUSH it, but I sure felt strong throughout the entire 13.1 miles. *fist pumps*

The course this year was fantastic and gave us plenty of delicious views of Pittsburgh during the run. We ran through Downtown, the Strip District, Northside, West End, about a million blocks through the Southside onto the Birmingham Bridge through the lower Hill District, onto the Blvd of Allies for a nice, downhill finish. Also, I think I crossed at least 6 bridges (only 440 to go) during the Half.
Despite my worries about not being prepared enough, or worrying if past injuries/allergies would pop up, I still felt strong all the way until the end, and am so proud of myself.

While running a half is easy for some to do, it is certainly a challenge for me. And LOOK at where I placed in my age division:

In case you can't read that (I'm horrible at screenshots, truly) it is veritable proof that I *somehow* placed 101 out of the 1708 women in my age division. Even though I paced about 4 minutes slower this year than last year (finishing at 2:22 in 2011) I am content with my time, considering my injuries and yada yada yada. The difference in how much stronger I felt this year as opposed to 2011 is a remarkable high. And so is finishing my second- ever Half Marathon. I loved running through my city, having fellow Pittsburghers cheer for me and all the other thousands of runners of steel.

Seriously. FIST PUMPS ALL OVER THE PLACE:

And the glory of finishing is hugging these people...

 so I can wipe some of my sweat off on them: