Lifestyles category, Page 41
Leanne and Erik Ford open the state’s 1st Buck Mason location in Sewickley
A unique business recently opened in Sewickley, founded by a former building renovation TV star and her husband, a clothing mogul. Leanne Ford of HGTV’s “Restored by the Fords” and “Home Again With the Fords” opened Pennsylvania’s first Buck Mason location, a high-end casual clothing store. However, unlike the other...
Women Who Rock celebrates Taylor Swift’s birthday with Swiftmas pop-up shop
Walking into the Swiftmas pop-up shop, guests were greeted by a pink Christmas tree, sweatshirts that read “1989” and bedazzled lightning bolt earrings. A pink neon sign read, “Babe you look so cool.” It was held at the SouthSide Works by Women Who Rock in honor of the pop star’s...
Would your documents survive a disaster? What to protect and how to do it
Floods, fires, historic storms — severe weather events are on the rise. If your home was hit by high water or a wildfire, would your important papers be safe? “Unfortunately, I’ve had clients who’ve been victims of fires, flooding, hurricanes,” says Sev Tamayo, an agent with Goosehead Insurance in Palm...
O’Hara couple finds home for Tortured Souls brewhouse in New Kensington
The journey from home beer brewer to brewery owner has been a tortuous one for Scott Wyman and his wife, Angie. After the O’Hara couple’s plan to locate their brewery, Tortured Souls Brewing, in a former Sharpsburg church fell through, they looked at multiple places in and around the Pittsburgh...
Forget the surprise if you’re thinking of giving a pet as a holiday present
NEW YORK — Adriene Mishler was still grieving the loss of her beloved blue heeler mix when her boyfriend at the time surprised her with a Christmas puppy that was nearly identical. “I wasn’t quite ready to fall in love with another animal,” she said. “At the same time, looking...
Stew Wood Fire Fusion opens in former Fuel and Fuddle space in Oakland
Stew Wood Fire Fusion is set to open Monday, bringing an eclectic mix of meats, sandwiches — and yes, stews — to Oakland. It’s not the first restaurant venture for owners Karen Perdomo and John Ortiz. The couple opened The Colombian Spot in Pittsburgh’s South Side in 2017 and added...
Celebrate the holidays with these quintessential Pittsburgh attractions
While Kaufmann’s department store decked out for Christmas in Downtown Pittsburgh isn’t on the list of Pittsburgh holiday musts anymore, there are still plenty of things to see and do during the holidays in the city. These are the places and events that are quintessential Pittsburgh at Christmastime. “A Musical...
Technology built the cashless society. Advances are helping the unhoused so they’re not left behind
WASHINGTON — John Littlejohn remembers the days when lots of people had a couple of dollars to spare to buy a copy of Street Sense, the local paper that covers issues related to the homeless and employs unhoused individuals as its vendors. Today, he’s finding fewer people are walking around...
Leona’s ice cream to open scoop shop in Lawrenceville
Ice cream wholesaler Leona’s is moving into the brick-and-mortar world and is set to open a scoop shop in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood next year. Co-owner Katie Heldstab said Leona’s has agreed on a spot inside the soon-to-be-complete Lawrence Hall on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. She said the location is perfect...
When is St. Nicholas Day? And how did this Christian saint inspire the Santa Claus legend?
NEW YORK — The white-bearded Christian saint whose acts of generosity inspired America’s secular Santa Claus figure is known worldwide — but Saint Nicholas’ origin story is not. The legends surrounding jolly old St. Nicholas — celebrated annually on Dec. 6 — go way beyond delivering candy and toys to...
With a kit or from scratch, you can grow mushrooms indoors at home
My late Uncle Pepe was an avid mushroom hunter, rising early on late-summer Saturdays, field guide in hand, to head to a local New York City park for his weekly forage. Upon his return, my Aunt Jenny would meticulously wash the hen-of-the-woods, turkey tail or other fungi free of soil...
Raising Cane’s to open 2nd Pittsburgh-area restaurant
A popular chicken-finger chain is opening a second Pittsburgh-area location this week. Louisiana-based Raising Cane’s is opening a new location in North Versailles on Tuesday, according to a press release. The restaurant is located at 298 Lincoln Hwy. in the Mon Valley suburb and will become the second Raising Cane’s...
For a different take on latkes, try these ginger sweet potato pancakes with orange zest
Let’s start right up front by saying these are not traditional latkes. Classic Jewish latkes for Hanukkah are made with russet potatoes, occasionally Yukon golds, and are usually very simply seasoned with salt, pepper and onion. These are something else altogether — shredded sweet potato pancakes spiked with minced fresh...
Daycation Destination: Indiana, Pa., is ‘Christmas Tree Capital of the World’
It’s the birthplace of a famous Hollywood star and a major holiday destination dubbed the “Christmas Tree Capital of the World.” Take a Daycation Destination trip to Indiana, Pa., set amid the rural, scenic foothills of the Allegheny Mountains in Indiana County, about an hour east of Pittsburgh. It’s home...
Bloomfield home will be fabricated with shipping containers for $825K
Six shipping containers stacked and welded together will become a house in Bloomfield. You read that correctly. Rebekah Siegel and Eric Smooke of Siegel Smooke Holdings LLC, both Allderdice High School graduates, ran into each other two years ago in Shadyside. They embarked on developing the property. “This is not...
Murrysville consumer advocate: Don’t get scammed during your holiday shopping
Last year, during the open enrollment period for Medicare, Mary Bach of Murrysville began receiving calls morning, noon and night about how she and her husband weren’t getting all of the benefits to which they were entitled. Bach, who is a nationally recognized consumer advocate and member of the AARP...
Pittsburgh fuzz-rockers Melt to host live set Friday to celebrate vinyl debut
Ask 10 people for the best way to describe fuzz-rock band Melt and nine of them likely will talk about the Pittsburgh trio’s thunderous volume. Just ask Jacob Gardner. Earlier this summer, the South Side resident and part-time punk bassist discovered Melt while scrolling through websites, searching for concerts to...
Holiday Lights Trolley takes guests on a 3-hour tour of festive locations in Pittsburgh
Sparkling lights have always brightened Molly Shaheen’s holidays, so much so that she founded a company — Holiday Lights Trolley LLC — to bring that festive feeling to others. Pittsburgh is her most recent city stop. Guests will board a trolley or bus and take a tour around the city,...
Slice it up: Italian Village Pizza near Aspinwall serves pieces of the pie
It all started in 1980 with one slice of homemade dough with fresh tomato sauce and melted cheese cut into a triangle. Now, 43 years later, the 16 Italian Village Pizza shops in Western Pennsylvania have hit the 100 million mark — a 100 million slices of pizza sold. “That’s...
Heights Plaza buzzes with opening of Harvest Moon’s 2nd location
Scott Walmsley relaxed in a velvet armchair with a hot beverage Wednesday morning during the grand opening of Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates in Heights Plaza in Harrison. He couldn’t have looked more content. “This is exactly what I’d be doing at home,” said Walmsley of Freeport. “It’s a comfortable...
Wagon Wheel co-owner will continue selling ‘Our Famous Red Cake’
Mimi Kaufman of Salem isn’t starting a bakery. But she also wasn’t quite ready to give up the flagship red cake dessert at the Wagon Wheel, the restaurant she has owned alongside her sisters. The Wagon Wheel is closing its doors, but fans of the dessert will be able to...
15 interesting and underrated European museums
For every world-famous European museum like the Louvre or Prado, there’s one that flies under the radar. The following collection is made up of both quirky and unusual museums and those that are home to world-class collections but just aren’t as well known as they should be. Bottle Peter’s Museum,...
New incentives could boost satisfaction with in-person work, but few employers are making changes
NEW YORK — Justin Ryan Horton has two jobs. When he’s not putting in 24-hour shifts as a firefighter, the 22-year-old is working as an administrative assistant for a local community college from his home in Colorado Springs. Firefighting is, of course, not a work-from-home kind of job. So when...
Jill Biden says White House decor designed for visitors to see holidays through child’s eyes
WASHINGTON — Ninety-eight Christmas trees, more than 142,000 twinkling lights and nearly 34,000 ornaments deck the halls of the White House in ways that Jill Biden hopes will inspire visitors to embrace their inner child and experience the “magic, wonder and joy” of the season. It’s her theme for the...
What’s Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2023? Hint: Be true to yourself
NEW YORK — In an age of deepfakes and post-truth, as artificial intelligence rose and Elon Musk turned Twitter into X, the Merriam-Webster word of the year for 2023 is “authentic.” Authentic cuisine. Authentic voice. Authentic self. Authenticity as artifice. Lookups for the word are routinely heavy on the dictionary...
