Lifestyles category, Page 210
Annual Natrona Heights quilt show bursting with color
Nancy Pauli has been involved with needlework and crafts of all kinds since she was a small child at her grandmother’s side. But she kept putting off starting to quilt until she retired because she thought it would “take over my life.” “And it has,” says the former health care...
Entitled 8th-grade daughter refuses to clean the litter box
Dear Carolyn: I live in a home with two indoor house cats with a litter box. My 8th-grade daughter is supposed to be responsible for sweeping and scooping litter but does a terrible, lackadaisical job. It’s in my laundry room, where I smell and step all over scattered litter. Half...
Travel tip: Consider a cruise for a midwinter getaway
Trade your cabin fever for a cruise ship cabin. Cruise Critic offers five destinations for winter vacations on the water: 1. The Caribbean and Bahamas: Warmth and sunlight are a year-round draw. Keep in mind that some February and March cruises fill up with spring breakers and can get rowdy....
Rethinking Chicken Florentine with clearer, brighter flavors
Chicken Florentine is a buffet-line favorite featuring chicken breast and spinach in a mild cream-and-Parmesan sauce — sometimes stuffed inside, sometimes stacked on top. All of these components are good, but this dish can often be stodgy or fussy (involving dredging chicken in flour and sauteeing). We wanted a simplified recipe...
Living with Children: In education, the old standards worked better than the new
As with nearly every public policy topic these days, myths abound, but few mythologies rival that surrounding public education. Some examples: Myth: Smaller classrooms promote better learning. Fact: The teacher-pupil ratio has little to do with student achievement, as demonstrated in the 1950s when elementary classrooms were bursting at the...
4-H fun: It’s so much more than cows and cooking these daysVideo
In case you were wondering, 4-H is more than just cows and cooking these days. That’s the word from Lyndsey Androstic, the Westmoreland County 4-H extension educator. “I tell people that we are maintaining tradition, but also changing to remain relevant,” she says. What that means is that young people...
Take some lessons then hit the slope, rink with confidence
On a recent Sunday afternoon at the bottom of the Boyce Park ski slope, class was in session. Students listened as instructors took the time to discuss everything from how the equipment works to how to turn to the proper stance when heading down the hill. It was one of...
Can this Hempfield couple ‘Bake It Like Buddy?’ Tune in and find outVideo
Some husbands and wives might throw in the (dish) towel if asked to enter a test kitchen and make a technically difficult cake from scratch in four hours. While being filmed. And while competing against another couple. And being judged by television’s Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro. Hempfield’s Gabrielle “Gigi,” 57,...
American presidents inspired these grand old hotels
Pair history with exploration when you and the family check into a storied hotel inspired by an American leader. Here are five to consider: 1. McKinley Grand Hotel, Canton, Ohio This boutique, independent hotel is the ideal home base from which to learn about our 25th president. Visit the William...
Win it for Vivi! Whiskey the whippet revs up for Westminster
NEW YORK — Sleek and aerodynamic, Whiskey the whippet is dashing through the dog show world. He’s among the fastest breed of pooches on the planet, and his rise has been rapid: Coming off big wins televised on Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day, he’ll now try for dogdom’s Triple...
Palm Angels lights up NY Fashion Week with strobes, stags
NEW YORK — With a strobe light show worthy of a seizure warning and classic statuary in clear boxes, Milan streetwear cool guy Francesco Ragazzi brought his celeb-popular Palm Angels brand to New York Fashion Week on Friday for the first time. And the reason? His explanation wasn’t nearly as...
Exhausted caregiver struggles to support healing husband
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: My husband is broken — there is no other way to put it. Years of chronic pain led to multiple surgeries with extended hospitals stays. Physically and mentally he is worn out. He hasn’t worked in two years, so he relies on...
Husband’s siblings refuse to help care for their ailing mother
Dear Carolyn: I spent 10 years helping my aging parents. They died six years ago. Now my husband’s mom is 91 with dementia and he and one sister do all the caregiving. His other two siblings refuse to help. I feel they either need to put in equal time or...
Sister wants to get healthy, but Mom thinks it’s sinful
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: My youngest sister is 14. She recently spent 10 days at my house visiting and we had a wonderful time. She is a little overweight and concerned about how to fix it, so I spent this week teaching her how to work...
Couch Brewery’s Known Cheater beer honors local Super Bowl controversy
A Pittsburgh brewery poked fun at a local Super Bowl controversy with a beer called Known Cheater in honor of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the former KDKA producer who took a now-infamous jab at him. Couch Brewery co-owner Darren Gailey said he was surprised to see the joke take...
Options abound in flooring today
A stunning sofa or a beautiful wall color might catch your eye when you enter someone’s home. But flooring is the key to any room, says interior designer Elina Cardet. As the visual base for every other design choice, “flooring is the most important decision,” says Cardet, interior design director...
Valentine’s chocolate bars may hold ‘golden tickets’ for Westmoreland Cultural Trust partyVideo
The Westmoreland Cultural Trust and McFeely’s Gourmet Chocolate in Greensburg are partnering for a Valentine’s sweet treat, offering milk and dark chocolate replicas of the Palace Theatre’s marquee. The bars’ edible gold dusting emulates the downtown Greensburg theater’s glowing lights. Bars are priced at $6, with $2 from each purchase...
Monterey Bay, Altius among Open Table’s most romantic spots for Valentine’s Day dinner
If you were hoping to snag a table at one of Pittsburgh’s most romantic restaurants for Valentine’s Day, you might have to pick another day. Altius and Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, both located on Mt. Washington, were just named among the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants by Open Table, the popular...
Collaboration gives Valentine’s Day truffles a Pittsburgh flavor
A collaboration between Good Food Pittsburgh and Millvale’s a519 Chocolate makes for a “hometown” Valentine’s Day chocolate box of truffles featuring some flavorful Pittsburgh businesses. The 15-piece edition includes the following flavors, among what might best be described as decadent: • Burnt Almond Torte, inspired by Pittsburgh’s (and Greensburg’s) Prantl’s...
Don your dancing shoes for Community Kitchen Pittsburgh benefit
Get a head start on Valentine’s Day and support Community Kitchen Pittsburgh’s mission at “Dance With Me” from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at Pittsburgh’s Graeme House. The evening of dancing, dining, and cocktails will help support Community Kitchen Pittsburgh programs and students. The nonprofit’s website states it supports the region’s...
Laurel Highlands 2019 guide has new magazine format
The Laurel Highlands 2019 Destination Guide is being released this week with a new size and a new style. Produced by the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, this year’s annual tourism publication for Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties has arrived with smaller dimensions than past versions and with a shift in...
Kids cooking up mid-century treats in Heinz History Center
Kids in Mariruth Leftwich’s upcoming “Cooking Up History: Mid-Century Treats” class at Senator John Heinz History Center weren’t born yet when foods like Spam and Swanson’s frozen TV dinners first appeared on supermarket shelves. They missed the heyday of mom’s tuna noodle casserole, the peak of popularity of Strawberry Jello...
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra announces 2019-20 season offerings
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s 2019-20 season will include 20 classical weekends and seven Pops weekends. The programming includes not only new music and repertoire favorites, but also features stimulating juxtapositions. For example, three of the world’s top violinists will play violin concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, contrasting them with more...
A sweet opening for new Oakmont Bakery
For everyone else, the opening of Oakmont Bakery’s new home sandwiched between Oakmont’s Third and Sweet streets was, well, sweet. For Marc Serrao, the bakery’s owner, the emotions ran a bit deeper as he fought back tears before cutting the ceremonial ribbon to start a new chapter. “This is all...
Bonfire Food & Drink is heating up the South Side
The South Side has added another restaurant to its stacked roster: Bonfire Food & Drink, a much- anticipated new culinary concept by Chris Bonfili, the chef and owner of Shadyside’s former Avenue B and Sewickley’s B Gourmet. After closing Avenue B last year, Bonfili scoured the city for a location to...
