Lifestyles category, Page 214
Snowshoe event satisfies cabin fever and chili cravings in Laurel Highlands
Deep in the heart of the dark and cold of winter, cabin fever can strike. Appetites for hearty meals also increase this time of year. From 5-7:30 p.m. on Jan. 31, Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape partners, including the Forbes State Forest, will hold a “Snowshoes and Chili” event. Burn off...
‘Dark and moody’ colors, spa tubs among 2019 home design trends
The home remodeling and design platform Houzz recently released its annual forecast, derived from conversations with industry experts as well as trends spotted among its 40 million monthly users. It offers a snapshot of what we might see in stores, living rooms and Instagram feeds this year. We asked Houzz...
Rose of Sharon isn’t fussy about how or when it’s pruned
Question: We have a hedge of Rose of Sharon plants down the side of our driveway. They’re getting a little overgrown. They’re also very thick because they’ve spread by seed, too. What is the best time to prune them, and how do we do it? Answer: Unlike most other trees...
United States Postal Service releases ‘Year of the Boar’ stamp
To celebrate Lunar New Year, the United States Postal Service is releasing a 2019 “Year of the Boar” Forever stamp, the 12th and final stamp in the Celebrating Lunar New Year series. An important holiday for many Asian communities, Lunar New year is celebrated with parades, parties and other special...
Carnegie Science Center installation depicts waste, upcycling, from discarded plasticVideo
Through Feb. 15, Carnegie Science Center’s RiverView Cafè will display an exhibit depicting the fallout from single-use plastic waste and plastic pollution. The Sustainable Pittsburgh Restaurant program’s Straw Forward demonstrates a community-wide, collaborative effort to inspire a conversation about the issue of plastic pollution from a local perspective. More than...
Royal Caribbean bans passengers for life for jumping off Symphony of the Seas balcony
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Royal Caribbean has banned a group of men from Vancouver, British Columbia from ever traveling with the cruise line again after one of them jumped off a ship’s deck and posted a video of the stunt on social media. Nick Naydev posted the video on Instagram...
Oakland Restaurant Week returns with 16 sites for six days of lunch
Oakland Restaurant Week returns, with 16 eateries offering $6 lunches for six days, Jan. 28 through Feb. 2, according to sponsors Oakland Business Improvement District and Sustainable Pittsburgh. Diners also can enter to win free lunch for one month, along with other prizes from participating Oakland retail businesses. Also, people...
Some things to consider about alcohol on airplanes
On a recent Delta Air Lines flight from Newark to Minneapolis, a passenger seated near Stephanie Wolkin downed five mini-bottles of vodka in rapid succession. By the time the plane landed, the intoxicated passenger had become violently ill, and Wolkin, a retired union worker from St. Paul, Minn., had earned...
Dr Pepper petitions to be official soft drink of Texas
Why not? Some states have rather strange official symbols — Mississippi has an official toy: the teddy bear; Maryland has an official exercise: walking; and Utah has an official snack: Jell-O. So, when Dr Pepper started a Change.org petition to become the official soft drink of Texas, it really doesn’t...
Pittsburgh friends show off creative skills on Food Network’s ‘Winner Cake All’
This baking experience definitely was the icing on the cake. That’s what Pittsburgh-area friends Cathy Lucas Burnheimer and Lesley Polinko Wasielewski say about their upcoming appearance on the Food Network’s “Winner Cake All.” The episode airs at 10 p.m. Jan. 21. The two say the experience was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...
Gooey goodness: Eateries put unique twists on grilled cheese
The Ancient Romans did it. Ate cheese on toasted bread, that is. For centuries, the grilled cheese sandwich has satisfied appetites. During the 1920s, America embraced the classic grilled cheese, thanks to a readily available supply of inexpensive sliced bread and American cheese. The Armed Forces cooked thousands of grilled...
Wooden barrels: The fifth ingredient in making flavorful beer
One might consider a wooden barrel the fifth ingredient in beer after water, malt, hops and yeast. Brewers use them to impart additional flavors into the beer. But why barrels — bourbon in particular — and how did this come about, you might ask? Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all...
New Amazon headquarters a tale of 2 very different cities
Before mid-November, Long Island City and Crystal City were never on the same page, much less uttered in the same sentence. Though both destinations are on the East Coast (New York and Virginia, respectively) and within shouting distance of a major metropolitan center, they had little else in common. Well,...
Explaining nurse’s schedule to boyfriend’s family is like talking to a brick wall
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Dear Carolyn: I am a nurse, my boyfriend is a teacher. A lot of his family are teachers, too. My boyfriend and I get along great, he is really patient with my schedule and I am completely understanding that he gets extra time off...
Woodlands group offers tour of Champion wood mill
The Westmoreland Woodlands Improvement Association is sponsoring a field trip Saturday to a wood mill in Champion that turns lumber into handles for landscaping and gardening tools. The tour of the Ames Companies’ mill begins at 9 a.m. at 135 Roaring Run Road. It is expected to last about 90...
Metallica now has its own beer — Enter Night
Metallica has teamed up with California-based Stone Brewing Co. to create a dark beer named after one of the band’s most popular songs. Enter Night, a hoppy pilsner, clocks in at 5.7 ABV and should be hitting shelves near you soon, USA Today reports. Until now, it’s only been offered...
Wigle Whiskey releases Phil’s Shadow in advance of Groundhog Day
On Feb. 2, Punxsutawney Phil may or may not see his shadow. But before he predicts six more weeks of winter — or not — he and the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club will visit Wigle Whiskey Distillery, 2401 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 18 for the release of Phil’s...
Superior Motors kicks off Dinner Series with guest chef Simone Tong
Superior Motors will kick off its 2019 Dinner Series on Feb. 5, the first night of the Lunar New Year celebration, with guest chef Simone Tong of New York’s Little Tong Noodle Shop visiting the Braddock location. “We’re excited to introduce and showcase (Tong’s) amazing Yunnan-inspired cuisine to Braddock and...
Bud Light debuts bigger nutrition labels
DETROIT — Nutrition labels are coming to the beer aisle. Starting next month, packages of Bud Light will have prominent labels showing the beer’s ingredients, calories and the amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein in a serving. The labels aren’t legally required, but major beer makers agreed to disclose ingredients...
Dreading graduation accolades after a rocky year
Adapted from a recent online discussion. Hi, Carolyn: I am finishing a training program and the ritual is a gathering with one of the senior people standing up to say (presumably nice) things about each of the departing trainees. I’ve had a rocky year, and my close supervisors and I...
Out & About: You Are Here Gallery reception is ‘snow’ problemVideo
Sometimes the best-laid plans of mice and men fall prey to a snowstorm. Such was the case for the Jan. 12 opening of “Stitches” in You Are Here Gallery in Jeannette, the evening that Winter Storm Gia blew through. Unlike previous openings in the new downtown art space, where guests...
Bleach isn’t so scary if you know how to use it correctly
There is dissension in laundry rooms and grocery store cleaning aisles everywhere. For some of us, when it comes to whitening and disinfecting laundry and certain areas of our home, common household bleach is a wonder product. To others, bleach is a hazardous chemical. To get to the hard truth...
Out & About: Art on Tap warms up a cold January night
It was cold outside, but warm and friendly inside The Westmoreland Museum of American Art for the Jan. 11 Art on Tap happy hour. The monthly gathering in the Greensburg museum features live music, an art scavenger hunt, light bites from Elegant Catering and beer from All Saints Brewing Co....
Out & About: Urban fantasy author visits Seton Hill writing group
A man walks into the Philadelphia airport and buys a Pittsburgh Pirates cap. It sounds like the beginning of a joke — or maybe a tragedy, given what we hear about Philadelphia sports fans. But that’s what urban fantasy novelist Kevin Hearne did on his way from his Arizona home...
Hotels sweat the details to help guests meet their fitness needs
It wasn’t the price or the points or the location that most influenced Ruth Furman to book a stay at the Holiday Inn Express Waikiki in Honolulu last summer. It was the yoga. Namely, the free poolside yoga every weekday morning. Furman, who makes fitness a priority at home, knew...
