Lifestyles category, Page 22
10 Western Pa. ways to ring in 2025
Are you ready for 2025? This year flew by and somehow, Dec. 31 is upon us again. If you don’t want to stay home and First Night in Downtown Pittsburgh doesn’t seem appealing, there are lots of other events to attend. Here’s a sampling from around the region. City Works...
Local business owner joins prestigious Spark 10 for women in manufacturing
A local Black business owner is getting a place on the national stage. Nisha Blackwell, CEO, designer and founder of Knotzland, was nominated by a long-time customer to be part of Recast City’s inaugural Spark 10, which focuses on women in manufacturing — specifically, small business owners with brick-and-mortar retail...
Here are some stress-free dishes to make for your holiday gathering
The gifts are half-wrapped (or half-bought!), one string of lights on the tree is out and the stockings have not yet been hung by the chimney with care. And somewhere on the ever-growing to-do list is the dish you promised to bring to Christmas dinner. With just a few days...
From teen CEO to entrepreneur: Lani Lazzari grows Simple Sugars into skincare powerhouse
Entrepreneur Lani Lazzari continues to stir things up in the skincare world. She was just 11 when she began experimenting with sugar and other all-natural ingredients in an attempt to cure her eczema and other related skin issues in the basement of her parents’ Fox Chapel home. Her mother, Gina...
It’s eggnog season. The boozy beverage dates back to medieval England but remains a holiday hit
SAN FRANCISCO — At Scoma’s Restaurant in San Francisco, this holiday season ‘s batch of eggnog began 11 months ago. The process typically starts in late January, just after the previous year’s celebrations are over. Nearly a thousand egg yolks, gallons upon gallons of heavy cream and roughly $1,000 worth...
NORAD’s Santa tracker was a Cold War morale boost. Now it attracts millions of kids
The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow...
Still shopping? Here are some last-minute local gift ideas
If you haven’t wrapped up gift buying for the holidays yet, you aren’t alone. Forbes reports that 31% of Gen Z, 36% of millennials, 42% of Gen X and 42% of baby boomers who answered a survey about their holiday shopping habits said they still planned to buy gifts in...
Community rallies to save toy drive in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
The multi-purpose room at the Thelma Lovette YMCA in Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood resembled Santa’s workshop on Wednesday. Elves — volunteers, actually — helped adults choose toys for their little ones. There were piles of games and books, Barbies and baby dolls and trucks, ready to be wrapped for Christmas...
Strip District restaurants to close: Cioppino and Osteria 2350
New Year’s Eve will be the last night for upscale Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar as well as its less formal sister restaurant, Osteria 2350, in the Strip District. “Unfortunately, the pressures of running a fine-dining business have become increasingly untenable,” the owners said in a social media post. Cioppino...
Millions of Stanley mugs recalled
Could your Stanley travel mug be dangerous? About 2.6 million of Stanley’s switchback and trigger action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the U.S. have been recalled due to a burn hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The mugs’ lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and...
Most U.S. teens are abstaining from drinking, smoking and marijuana, survey says
NEW YORK — Teen drug use hasn’t rebounded from its drop during the early years of the covid-19 pandemic, according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous...
Hanukkah sweets are treats for any holiday table
Hanukkah, like Christmas, is just around the corner. This year, the Jewish and Christian holidays both fall on Dec. 25. Hanukkah’s eight days of celebration will cover Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. That’s a lot of festivity. And, as with most holidays, it also means a...
Fun Buy The Pound Toy Store brings out the kid in all of Sewickley
Shelves of plush stuffed animals sit shoulder to shoulder awaiting to be hugged. Miniature dogs, cats, fish and dinosaurs peer out from the shelf looking for a new tiny friend. Hobby horses are piled in a box and ready to gallop. Play-Doh is still solid in the container, puzzles are...
Plum High School students attend Junior Achievement of Western Pa. Stock Market Challenge
Plum High School student Eli Pollak has a financial strategy. “The earlier you start, like at our age, investing, the more money you will make,” said Pollak, who attended the Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania Stock Market Challenge presented by Citizens on Thursday, Dec. 12 at Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s...
Mt. Washington bar and grill to close
After three decades, Redbeard’s Sports Bar & Grill on Shiloh Street in Mt. Washington is closing. Owner Len Semplice announced on social media that the establishment’s last day of operation will be Dec. 21. “This is a sad day,” the post said. “The Mt. Washington community has been our family,...
Pittsburgh 4th in list of top cities for dating
If you’re single and looking to find love, Pittsburgh could be the city for you. The Steel City came in 4th place in a recent study ranking American cities based on “dating friendliness,” the New York Times reported. WalletHub compared 182 cities, including the 150 most populated cities and at...
Sewickley Community Center adapts to serve evolving needs
A community center that once welcomed performances by Motown stars — including Diana Ross and the Supremes — continues to evolve to meet the needs of its public. The Sewickley Community Center, originally formed in 1935 as the Sewickley Colored Community Center, remains a steadfast staple center offering a variety...
PA Humanities project tells the stories of Black Pennsylvania
The voices of Black Pennsylvania took center stage Wednesday at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center during an immersive storytelling experience that showcased a project by PA Humanities titled “Voices of History: Stories of Black Pennsylvania.” The program was inspired by a talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson,...
TikToker accepting donations for fake charity scammed followers out of $1 million, cops say
A TikTok personality solicited nearly $1 million in donations for a charity she ran supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, Alabama authorities said. But investigators say the charity didn’t exist. Amy Downs, 57, now faces seven charges of charitable fraud and three charges of tax evasion, the Limestone County...
Black Market: Holiday Edition pop-up brings unique finds for holiday gifts
The Black Market: Holiday Edition has transformed Downtown Pittsburgh into a festive hub for celebrating Black entrepreneurship. Now in its fifth year, the unique pop-up marketplace debuted last weekend in Market Square, featuring 20 local Black-owned businesses nestled within the Peoples Gas Holiday Market. With a second installment set for...
‘To observe and report’: Radio hams play key role for National Weather Service
Steve Fazekas and Eddie Misiewicz are self-proclaimed weather geeks and have the stories to prove it. In 1977, Misiewicz, then a volunteer firefighter in Dawson, Fayette County, went to Johnstown to respond to the devastation from a flood. He remembered picking bodies out of trees. Fazekas, of Winfield, recalled the...
Vote for local high school artists in ‘Paint the Plow’ contest
High school students across the state have decorated winter snow plows, and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials want the public to vote on their local favorites. The annual Paint the Plow contest is part of PennDOT’s annual campaign drawing awareness to winter driving safety. Students were asked to create a...
Businesses offer indoor and outdoor decorating services to light the way this festive season
Mary Jo Miller of Point Breeze wanted to brighten her three-story home for the holidays but knew climbing a ladder to reach the top — with a pitched roof — to install Christmas lights wasn’t safe. She found Pittsburgh-based Three Rivers Lights through a Google search. The company installed lights...
Chipotle is raising US prices after promising bigger portions
Chipotle is raising its U.S. prices to offset inflation and to compensate for a promise to increase portion sizes. Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, Laurie Schalow, confirmed Friday that the Mexican restaurant chain was implementing a 2% price increase nationally. Schalow said it’s the first time the California-based company has...
Drone show in Schenley Plaza to feature local artists’ work in the sky
Alexandria “Rex” Yeager’s roller skate illustration won a contest — and the prize is that her artwork will be transformed into a drone image. About 250 drones will be part of Saturday’s “Celestial Choreography: A Dynamic Drone Show” at Schenley Plaza in Oakland. Crafted by Texas-based Sky Elements, the aerial...
