Five on Friday

 

One. He's Just Cute - I know. He has a whole post devoted to him on Wednesday(s) but gosh, he's just so cute! He's been missing his grandparents this week but still being such a good little fella and he was especially sweet when he hopped up on the couch with me on Wednesday night... even if the motivation behind the hop up onto the couch was food!

He's just hands down such a good little dog. He has his moments from time to time - but then, don't we all? 

Two. Autumn Shopping - I did a wee bit of shopping earlier this week but y'all know I can't resist a good sale! I needed some black boots for the upcoming cooler weather and I have a pair of Tom's that I got last Christmas that I absolutely love! So I popped over to the Tom's website and surprise! They were having a 30% off sale!

I grabbed myself the Kelsey bootie in black and with the 30% off code FRESH - they were only $68! They're originally $95, so I thought that was a pretty great deal! I also got free shipping since my order was over $50 - so if you're looking for some cute shoes to add to your Autumn wardrobe - head over to Tom's while they sale is still going on!

Three. Hazy Days - The weather this week has been lovely... the temperatures have been hovering in the lower 70's and upper 60's and I've been able to pull out some lightweight long-sleeve tops I love! I love when cooler weather arrives because I'm a big fan of sweaters, boots and scarves...

The one thing this week that has been very strange has been the haze - especially when I investigated and found out that the haze that has been blanketing the sky this week is in fact... the smoke from the wildfires burning all the way over on the West Coast! That's wild! I know it is nothing in comparison to the terrible conditions out West - but I am still mind boggled by the fact that the haze has traveled across the country!

Four. Trying to Get Over the Hurdle - The weight loss journey continues but man... I feel like I have kind of plateaued recently! I've lost 43 pounds since January and I know that's nothing to sneeze at but I also know I still have a ways to go to reach my end goal - so I do find myself a little frustrated from time to time.

I snapped this picture on Thursday morning in my closet and while I feel really confident about that picture, I am still trying to get past this hurdle and keep on going! *sigh* 

Five. Weekend Plans - This week has seemed VERY long. Perhaps I'm not the only person that feels that way but I'm so glad to see Friday arrive! I have big plans to use my free You Pick Two from Panera tonight and finally watch Mulan on Disney+ - I know, I know... it's all very exciting!

Not sure what all I'll get up to on Saturday - I've contemplated making a walk/jog of the whole community, which could amount to over five miles - I'm not sure yet. I am going to see Tenet on Saturday afternoon but beyond that, I'll likely just read and chill. 

Sunday morning will be church and lunch and then... I'm going to the Blue Ridge Animal Rescue for a tour and I'm really hoping that I'll get to hold a little animal (a fox maybe?!?) while we are on the tour! I sort of want to steal a baby fox - but I suppose I'll refrain from that, ha-ha!

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The second to last weekend in September - what in the world! We've reached the place where the rest of the year is going to speed by in a flash, so make the most of it!

Watson Wednesday

The face you make when you really want a bite of cake pop... but you're told it's chocolate and therefore, you cannot have any. *sigh* Such disappointment.

Poof! The Weekend is Gone.

Blink and you'll miss it - that's how I feel like this weekend went. It was a good weekend but gosh - it feels like it passed so quickly and now here we are, Monday again! Friday evening was something of a whirlwind because I came home shortly after 5:00, scarfed down some Panda Express and changed clothes and then it was off to church for the evening. 

I attended the annual women's conference that my church holds and so I spent Friday evening and Saturday morning singing praise and worship songs, hearing some messages and spending time with some of my favorite ladies - including my Mom! It was a really wonderful experience; as always, and I'm always so glad that I made the choice to attend!

 

After the conference ended, it was time to grab some lunch and then pop into one of my favorite little shopping spots called The Miller House (and also Lantz's Pharmacy) to scope out their Autumn Open House goodies! The weather here has definitely started to trend toward more fall-like temperatures and I could not be more thrilled! I grabbed some pedicure tools at Target and then spent the rest of the evening giving myself a pedicure, cleaning up parts of my closet, eating some delicious taco soup and snuggling with my pup while I finished The Politician.

 

Sunday was another good day - coffee, church and then trying out Firenza Pizza - which is new to the area and allows you to create your own pie with tons of topping combinations! I didn't get too wild but I did make a pie with pepperoni, bacon and green peppers - yum! I spent Sunday afternoon doing some cleaning up/organizing things in my little home, reading, talking to my little sister and just being a bit lazy - as one should on a Sunday afternoon.

I closed out the weekend with my bubble bath and some quality time spent being cozy on my couch. It was a good weekend. It was a weekend that managed to be both full and also light - and that was perfectly fine for me. 

That's A Wrap on Pittsburgh

It's Saturday and I thought I'd just pop in real quick to share a few more pictures from my weekend in Pittsburgh! We didn't hang around too long on Monday morning, just packed up the last of our things and made our way to a breakfast spot called First Watch. I had the most delicious Lemon Ricotta Pancakes topped with fresh strawberries - so very delicious, even if they were so very bad for me!

 

We made our way through the Pennsylvania countryside toward Shanksville, stopping along the way to check out some covered bridges that seem to litter the area! Weirdly enough - they were all red! I have to wonder if that was a requirement back in the day? All covered bridges must be red in color! 

The final stop on our weekend trip was the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania and I don't think it even occurred to me until we were there that we were visiting mere days ahead of the 19th anniversary of September 11th. I honestly don't know what to say about this Memorial - I found it so arresting; likely because of the stories of the 40 passengers on Flight 93 and the choice they made on September 11th.

The black walkway that leads you to the building is meant to mark the flight path of Flight 93 and stretches past the building where the exhibit is housed and to an overlook spot where the pathway breaks and then picks up again along the white Wall of Remembrance. The Wall of Remembrance appears as a straight line from above but when you are alongside it, you can see that it wavers - a design decision that was made to indicate that on September 11th each of the 40 passengers on Flight 93 made a choice to fight back.

The final piece of the Memorial is the Tower of Voices - which has 40 individual wind chimes that play in the breeze. The final chimes were added on September 5th and each of the chimes is quite large, so it requires quite the stiff breeze to move them. It was a windy day when we were in Shanksville but the breezes weren't enough to make the chimes sound. It's also the largest musical instrument of it's type and nowhere else in the world do chimes of this size and magnitude exist.

Pennsylvania is a lovely state and Pittsburgh is such a hidden gem! I cannot recommend enough that if you're looking for somewhere to visit, Pittsburgh should be on your list! Even if you have to wear a face mask while you explore - get out and explore!

Remembering

Nineteen years ago I sat in Mrs. Cumberland's Algebra II class trying to wrap my brain around solving for X - until another teacher ran in, muttered something to Mrs. Cumberland and then raced back out. Mrs. Cumberland turned on the TV and I spent the rest of the day trying to wrap my brain around what I was watching unfold on the television. 

I lived in rural Mississippi and while everything about September 11th felt terrifying in the extreme, I also felt that since I lived in the middle of nowhere - I was fairly safe. I suppose the people that lived in Shanksville, Pennsylvania thought the same thing until Flight 93 crash landed in a field and forever made that unremarkable field a place no American would ever forget. 

 

 

One World Trade Center & September 11th Memorial

 

The Pentagon Memorial

 

 

Flight 93 Memorial

September 11, 2001 changed American history as we know it - whether you're like me and will forever remember where you were when the events of that unfolded or you learn about it in a history book. It was only 19 years ago and the aftermath caused the United States to come together in a show of unity that I'd never witnessed before in my America.

It's only been 19 years and now America is more divided than we've ever been. We bicker and judge and berate anyone who is different from us. We seem to have forgotten that what makes America so great is that we are all different and those differences are what make our country unique and beautiful - America is called The Melting Pot for a reason. 

The world is a scary place these days - and I wish there was an answer. I wish there was a way to convince people that different is just that - different - and not wrong. I wish our country could learn to embrace different and love our neighbor - not just when tragedy strikes.

It's A Pittsburgh Post (Part Two)

Happy Thursday! A week ago I'd never been to Pittsburgh and now I have even more to share with you about Pittsburgh, so that's fun! I always love exploring new places and Pittsburgh was filled to the brim with just that. Sunday morning started with a drive to the Hazelwood neighborhood to try out Le Gourmadine - a patisserie that I'd seen rave reviews about.

We arrived about three minutes before they opened and we were second in line - and by the time we'd finished ordering, there was a line snaking out the door, so I knew we were in for some goodness! I got the pastry they are known for - their almond croissant - and it was just about the most divine thing I've ever had for breakfast! I also got a dozen of their macarons and they were some of the best I've ever eaten in my life; filled with luscious jam and cream centers surrounded by perfectly crisp shells!

We ate our pastries at Schenley Park in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood before heading over to the Phipps Conservatory to explore. The Conservatory is large, beautiful, filled with different gardens and tons of luscious plants - it's basically a delight! I took tons of pictures and I've tried to refrain from posting every single one here, ha-ha! The Phipps Conservatory is home to several sculptures by Chihuly and I think I've made it known how much I love admiring Chihuly glass - no exception here!

 

 

I may have sidestepped a "barrier" plant to get the picture of the Chihuly glass below. But hey - why would you have that blocked off? It's too beautiful not to get a snap of! 

 

 

I'm sure when the world is "normal" you can wander all over the conservatory with no thought to direction but because we live in a COVID world now, they had a very specific pathway mapped out and I really thought it was handy. Following the pathways allowed for you to wind through each of the gardens without backtracking or missing anything - it was great! Granted, it meant that even though it's pretty large - we were through the entire conservatory in about an hour! 

 

 

If you're planning a trip to Pittsburgh - I'd 100% recommend that you pay a visit to the Phipps! Another place I'd recommend a stop at is the Carrie Blast Furnaces but be sure to investigate before you go! The Carrie Blast Furnace is a steel mill along the Monongahela River that is no longer in use but a company called Rivers of Steel offers tours April - October, so it's definitely worth checking out! Alas - we barely got through the gates before we were informed that we couldn't even wander the ground without a tour. *sigh* We've put it on our list for next time though! 

 

After lunch at Burgatory - where I had a bison burger topped with Angel Dust (I'm sure it wasn't literally dusted with PCP...) White Cheddar, Onion Straws and Bourbon BBQ sauce - it was back to the Strip District to check out the Heinz History Center! I had to get the essential picture of myself with the giant Heinz Ketchup bottle made entirely out of... Heinz ketchup bottles, ha-ha! I was also thrilled to check out the exhibit of props and clothes worn by Mr. Rogers! Did you know Mr. Rogers was a Pittsburgher? I didn't know that - but if you're reading this, now we both know!

  

The Heinz History Center also has almost two floors dedicated to Pennsylvania sports history, so I attempted to throw passes like the Steelers, shoot a hat trick like the Penguins (GO CAPS!) and more. I discovered what five pounds of fat looks like and came to the realization that I'd lost eight and half of those lumpy things... and I also tried my hand at a golf shot and actually made a hole in one! My Dad said he should have been recording but I'm convinced if he had, it wouldn't have happened! 

I don't have a side ponytail in that above picture - but I do have my face mask hanging off my face for a quick snap! After grabbing the most amazing Mr. Rogers mug from the gift shop we headed back toward the center of downtown to see the Mr. Rogers Memorial along the edge of the Allegheny River and then - I finally got to have some pierogies! A sweet friend that is a Pennsylvania native told me I couldn't say I'd been to Pittsburgh if I didn't have some pierogies, so I happily chowed down on some at the Foundry! 

 

The final stop of the night was back up to Points of View Park on Mount Washington to watch the sun set and take in the lights of the city blinking into life against the night sky. The views were pretty spectacular and I understand why the overlook area draws so many people each evening - the view cannot be beat! Pittsburgh was such a hidden gem - I wasn't sure what to expect from the city but I absolutely loved it and would go back again and again to take in everything it has to offer! 

I feel like we did so much but I also get the feeling that we barely scratched the surface of what Pittsburgh has to offer! I know I've already got a list of to-do's for a return trip in the future: taking in a baseball game; ideally watching the Pirates play my Nationals, and going back to Carrie Blast Furnace are on the list! Pittsburgh is definitely a city you have to check out - I can't recommend it enough!