Category Archives: Travel

Adventures of the single life.

It’s NaNoWriMo Time, Folks

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I’m 11,000 words into my first novel. Only nine days of writing and already 11,000 words! Not too shabby. I’m going to ignore the fact that my sister is 20,000 words in right now, and take a moment to celebrate some other cool achievements of November:

Veganomicon

1. I’ve been a vegetarian for a month and a half! And despite the occasional temptation of proscuitto, it’s been surprisingly easy. The Veganomicon cookbook has been an excellent resource for delicious recipes, including baked goods (my weakness).

Be the inspiration

2. I’ve started a new training plan with a goal of a half Ironman this summer. Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing my trials and tribulations right here on occassion!

3monthsnoclothesshopping

3. In September, I had a goal of not buying any piece of clothing for three months. Well, I lasted two months. I had to buy a new pair of jeans, okay!? Despite falling one month short, I am pretty proud of myself. I remember in detail the moment I put a patchwork maxi skirt back on the rack at GoodWill. Best $2 not spent.

Now back to National Novel Writing Month. I’ve got one month to write 50,000 words. Check out my progress here, and I dare you to start your own adventure this November (no, not shaving your beard doesn’t qualify).

Ciao,

Sarah

p.s. In honor of NaNoWriMo, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite reads.

Farewell to the Duck

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He left Pittsburgh’s steel shores last Sunday, floating down the Ohio. He was spotted bobbing his way to the Mississippi, floating silently, as he always does, into the Iowa sunset.

But for real, where will he be off to next?

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Exploring Oakland

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Exploring Oakland #miaprimacasa

This weekend my mom came to town. Woohoo! It was the first time I got the chance to show someone around my new city. Hard to believe I’ve been in Pittsburgh for three months already…

Cathedral of Learning pgh #miaprimacasa

We started our day with brunch at The Porch, which was lovely. I highly recommend the salted caramel French toast! Back in Madison, weekly brunch was a staple of a Saturday or Sunday morning, so it was good to kickstart my brunch-going in Pittsburgh with my mom.

Oakland Pgh #miaprimacasa

Afterwards, we explored the Oakland neighborhood a bit, including wandering through Schenley Park and the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon campuses. Coming from the Midwest, it’s refreshing to see beautiful, old academic buildings. Actually, it’s refreshing to see old buildings in general! Thanks to The Fire, Chicago is pretty lacking in old structures. One of my greatest joys in Pittsburgh is admiring the old brick home and Gilded Age architecture.

Carnegie Mellon pgh #miaprimacasa

Schneley Park pgh #miaprimacasa

Some other great sites in Oakland include:

–Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History

-The trails at Schenley Park

-The Cathedral of Learning at University of Pittsburgh (second-tallest educational building in the world)

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Carnegie Museums

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Carengie Museum

Arabian artifacts, dinosaur fossiles, glittering cases of gem stones, Renaissance paintings, and of course conceptual sculpture. These are just a few things to completely and totally over-stimulate your mind at the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History. As if a museum of either natural history or art wouldn’t be enough, the two are connected (under one roof and under one admission fee), so be sure to plan a whole day around this museum.

The Roads of Arabia exhibit was excellent. Beautiful, intriguing artifacts combined with video, tours, and very helpful volunteers, make this exhibit a success in my book. I spent at least a half hour in there, which I think is a pretty good testament on how much the exhibit held my attention (for an art major, I move pretty quickly through museums…)!

The art portion of the museum held an array of everything from Renaissance to Impressionism, to my personal favorite, conceptual sculpture and installation. Sadly, this piece by one of my favorite artists, Rirkrit Tiravanija, was not open. Which means I’ll be back!

Alexander Calder

Thankfully, a good supply of Alexander Calder works made up for my disappointment over Tiravanija’s closed exhibit.Carnegie Musem of Art Carnegie Sculpture Evening Richard Hughes

All this because the Andy Warhol Museum was closed and I was bent on spending my President’s day at a museum. Maybe that’ll be next week’s adventure…

My Little Sister is “Accepting Feminism”

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Accepting Feminism

My little sister has done it again. She has a tendency to write thoughtful, intelligent articles about feminism today. That’s right, the f word. Why would a 21-year-old care so much about crusty, old feminist theory? Maybe it was the influence of our inspiring lawyer mom. Or maybe she got sick of people asking if she was going to be dental hygienist when she told them she was studying dentistry (actually, she’s going to be a real, full-fledged dental school-educated dentist!). Or maybe it was her inspirational older sister who studied finance, quoted Gloria Steinem too many times, and encouraged her girlfriends to “just ask him out yourself, already!” Maybe I’m giving myself too much credit 🙂

Either way, Michelle’s article, titled “Accepting Feminism”,  is too good to pass up. Here’s a short excerpt. Be sure to check out the rest on the RIT Reporter’s website.

“Men most often feel the effects of our patriarchal society as it impacts the women closest to them: their sisters, mothers and friends. Feeling disconnected from the movement, some men may have trouble relating to feminism. While this isn’t justifiable, it is understandable.”

Three years ago I expressed this sentiment in a Reporter views article aimed at convincing women to proudly accept the title of feminist. This time around, I’m calling out the men.

While it’s true that most men are not quick to accept the label of feminist – a Huffington Post/YouGov poll revealed that only 16 percent of men ascribe this word to themselves—I believe that the majority of men do, in fact, support feminism’s main belief. In my last article, I worded this belief as: “men and women are moral, political and social equals.” Although I would now include “and people of all genders” in this statement, the point still stands. With a similar definition of feminism, the Huffington Post poll asked this question: “Do you believe that men and women should be social, political, and economic equals?” Out of 1,000 people surveyed, 83 percent responded “yes” to this question. With only 23 percent of women in the poll identifying as a feminist, it’s clear that both genders had significantly more agreeable view of feminism once the dirty f-word was removed.

When you get down to the foundation of what feminism means, both men and women are clear supporters. By avoiding association with the label of feminism, men buy into the stereotype of feminists as radical, head-shaven, man-haters and give others permission to do the same. However, by accepting the role of feminist and helping to de-bunk the negative stereotype, men can help create a more equal society, a job too big for just one gender to do. Moreover, men should be willing to support a movement that aims at breaking traditional roles that negatively impact their gender as well…. Read on here.

Rabbit, Rabbit

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Happy first day of October!

Rabbit_in_montanaRabbit_in_montana

p.s. A British superstition stipulates that one must repeat the word “rabbit” to ensure good luck for the coming month. But be sure it’s the first thing you say that morning! I learned it from my Latin teacher. Now you know, too 🙂

 

 

Pgh Gallery Crawl: Like a Pub Crawl, Except You Get Drunk on Strobe Lights

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Pgh Gallery Crawl

I’ve been to a slew of gallery crawls and gallery nights, mostly in Chicago, but also in Madison and Florence. The Pittsburgh gallery crawl was different simply because it was a new city whose art scene I have’t explored. And also, it was the first gallery night I’ve attended alone. I thought I could picture the night: me, wandering the cultural district trying to deceiver a tiny map from a brochure and barely making it past the parking garage let alone to a host of galleries. Thankfully, the night turned out quite the opposite. Was it the strobe lights? The crazy interactive video collages? The night air? The giant duckie? Who knows! Either way I had a blast, met a load of crazy people, and would do it again (alone) in a heart beat.

Pgh Gallery Crawl 2

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Kurt Hentschlager

I waited in line for this exhibit for an hour. I never actually made it to the room where the piece was taking place. But somehow, I left feeling like I had a good taste of postmodern art. Or maybe I try to find art in places where it’s not (intended to be). I’m known for thinking broken fence posts are part of sculpture gardens and that missing electrical outlets are accidentally unmarked installations. So I didn’t feel too disappointed to have spent an hour, crammed inside a tiny room with forty people, watching the smoke hiss out from under the door of the exhibit, wondering if we’d ever make it inside. I witnessed tension rise between people after a group cut the line. I met a man who, like me, ventured to the exhibit alone, and who took a moment to write down a note in a notepad he kept crumbled in his pocket. “Just for, you know, story ideas.” And finally, I watched a man get carried out of the exhibit room after experiencing a seizure. I was outta there in a second.

Granular Synthesis: Model 5 and Pol
Kurt Hentschlager and Ulf Langheinrich

Ironically (or not), the next exhibit I visited featured a large screen and four images of a women’s face, twisting and convulsing in repeated, robotic movement. At times both terrible and hilarious, needless to the say, the pieces made me very comfortable. Thankfully, I find uncomfortable art often times the most effective. Better to be disgusted by something than to think it beautiful in every way. Why? Because often beauty doesn’t really challenge how we think. Discomfort does.

For instance, getting a bit uncomfortable and exploring the city alone one evening.

Ciao,

Sarah

Adventures in Pittsburgh: The Cafe at the Frick

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Frick Cafe Pgh Tea

When I learned that The Cafe at the Frick, which is situated on the beautiful Frick Park grounds, served proper afternoon tea, I couldn’t wait for a free Sunday afternoon to give it a try.

Frick Cafe Pittsburgh

My high expectations were not let down! For $18, I enjoyed four different types of salads (crab, beet, tuna, and egg), two scones (orange and lavender) complete with English sweet cream and strawberry preserves, a variety of four cookies made perfect with chocolate sauce, and of course hot tea (I chose the Frick’s specialty blend).

Frick Cafe pgh afternoon tea

Frick Cafe Pgh

I also enjoyed the perfect autumn weather and a gorgeous view of the gardens surrounding the Clayton mansion. Not to mention, I was reading Jane Austen’s Emma the whole time, which let me tell you, when coupled with tea, is probably the most sublime experience you’ll have in a long time. Reading about Emma discovering her love for Mr. Knightley while eating a lavender scone, is a Jane Austen lovers dream, I would think!

Frick Museum Pgh

To top it off, the service was excellent. Before they closed at 5pm, I even had time to take a look at the art galleries, which hold a great experience of their own.

Frick Park

For more information about the cafe, the museum, and the park, be sure to visit the Frick website.

Related Posts:

Adventures in Pittsburgh: Schenley Park

Adventures in Pittsburgh: South Side Flats

Adventures in Pittsburgh: 61C Cafe

First Triathlon Highlights

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On Sunday, September 8th, in Canandaigua, New York, I participated in my first triathlon: the sprint distance Finger Lakes Triathlon, an annual fundraiser for Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center.

Obviously, I was quite stressed preparing for this race. Certainly because of the swim (before February of 2013, which is when I started my swim lessons, I could barely doggy paddle and couldn’t tread water), but also because this was my first race without my twin sister, Angie. …And also because I was preoccupied with, you know, moving halfway across the country (Madison to Pittsburgh to be exact) as well!

During the race (probably a minute after finishing the swim), I realized that my stress was all for nothing. Here I was, finishing the swim leg (my biggest enemy until this point), and running to the first transition. I was doing it, and it felt both awesome and ridiculous (have you ever gotten onto a bicycle soaking wet?)…and not so serious at all! It was actually so fun! The racers were surprisingly chill and open. Like at my first marathon, I felt like I was a part of something bigger- sharing a well-deserved moment with like-minded strangers.

Honestly, when I first stepped up to the registration table to collect my bib and timing chip, I felt rushed, intimidated, and nervous. I thought, “I definitely don’t belong here!” Thankfully, a swim clinic hosted by Ironman athlete (she’s swum along side Lance Armstrong!), Mary Eggers the evening before the race, erased my unease. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of questions asked by the racers…everything from swim technique questions to how to best put on a swim cap. And each question, no matter how simple or obvious, was answered by Mary with enthusiasm. I realized, nobody was judging anyone here! After all, we were all here at the starting line, weren’t we? It didn’t really matter if this was our first triathlon or our 100th because we were all racing.

When Mary led those of us in wetsuits down to the edge of the water for a quick practice swim, I was surprised to find that I couldn’t wait to get into the water! Me, a girl who couldn’t float let alone front crawl eight months ago, was actually excited to swim. I had made it to the start line. It wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy, but for sure, it is where I belong.

Decorating My New Pittsburgh Home

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My New Pittsburgh Home

When you move in to a new space, especially one so drastically different from your old, it’s pretty overwhelming to begin the decorating process. To start decorating my new 70-year-old Tudor-style duplex in Pittsburgh (I moved from a clean-cut suburban apartment in Madison, WI), I began with images. Pinterest, of course, is probably the best place to collect visual inspiration. After spending some time browsing, I decided to narrow down my decorating plans into 4 sections:

1. My bedroom, bathroom, and closets- with a focus on organization

2. My living room- with a focus on comfort, displaying eclectic pieces of art and memorabilia, and entertainment (a bar cart included in my plans!)

3. My dinning room and kitchen- with a focus on my favorite moments, brunch and coffee, by creating a coffee bar and a bright and open eating area

4. My sewing room- with, well, a focus on sewing!

Not a bad start for a pretty overwhelming ordeal! My goal this week is to get up most of my wall art and begin to rearrange. Stay tuned as I start to put together my two favorite ideas, the bar cart and the coffee bar!

Ciao!

Sarah