Five Things Friday

{pretty sunflowers from our wedding anniversary last year}

1.  This blog post...

Why Everyone Should Climb a Mountain

Couldn't agree more.

2.  This article...

30 Kids Who Wrote the Meanest Notes Ever

Hilarious!

3.  This band...

Greensky Bluegrass

Cannot get enough of their music lately

(plus, they are awesome in concert!)

4.  This dumb but exciting fact...

Emoji symbols now show up on my web browser and not just my phone.

No more stupid boxes that make it so I can't see the symbol!

So dumb, but weirdly made me happy to see... 

5.  This video...

Slomo

Brett showed me this and I cannot stop thinking about it...

"Do what you want to."

Happy weekend!*

Hiking the Archer Fork Loop Trail

A few more pictures from our weekend hike on the Archer Fork Loop Trail...

There were so many unexpected features of this trail!  A great cave, natural bridge, connector loops to other trails, etc... so cool!  We got a late start so we didn't have time to do the full 9.5 mile hike, but from what we did do, we had a blast.  And then we headed down the mountain and set up camp at a great campground right along the river (Leith Run Campground) and it only cost $7.50!  We love discovering awesome outdoorsy areas that we can return to in the future.  We will definitely be back this summer!

Did any of you get outside this weekend?!*

Scenes from the Weekend

A little bit of Mmmhops to start the weekend

Homemade pizza night with our new pizza peel!

(We are just so official now!)

Brett brought home surprise treats from Bethel Bakery on Saturday morning

(Best husband ever award!)

Took a little road trip to Ohio & West Virginia to spend lots of time outside

(Hiking the Archers Fork Trail)

First camping of the year!

(It was chilly overnight, but we were too impatient to wait any longer for camping season to begin!)

Downtown Marietta is pretty cute

Dinner & beers at Marietta Brewing Co

(Honestly, we didn't love their beers, but the atmosphere was pretty cool)

Brett's first mountain biking race!

He came in 6th place!

(So proud of him!)

Mountain State Brewing Co while stopping in Morgantown on our way home

(Loooved this place!)

They have a hand-built pizza oven at the brewery!

(And the pizza was delicious!)

Ending the weekend with a mandatory froyo stop :)

(Would you really expect anything less...)

This weekend gave us a taste of what's to come this spring and summer.  Spending all our time outside camping, hiking, biking, and just enjoying the great weather.  Being outside is literally my favorite thing.  I can't wait until it's a daily happening!  Cheers!*

Five Things Friday

{dreaming about that beautiful California sunshine while it's pouring here in Pittsburgh...}

1. This Kelli Murray print...
Fancy Living 

I have loved Kelli Murray's artwork ever since I first saw it back in 2010.
I even have a huge print of Dreamers Awake hanging in our living room!

2.  This enchilada sauce recipe...
Emeril's Easy Enchilada Sauce

This recipe will make you never want to use store-bought enchilada sauce again.

3.  This challenge...

30-Day Yoga Challenge
I just signed up for this and can't wait to begin.
I'd really like to get back into a regular yoga practice and
I think I can ease back into it with these great 20 minute daily challenges.

4.  This article...
A Lemon is the Key to a Perfect Tan?
Simple, genius tips!

5.  This fact...
It's FRIDAY!
And we are planning a camping weekend, so good things!

Happy weekend!*

Scenes from the Weekend

Cleveland brewery road trip edition!

Beers & lunch at Hoppin' Frog Brewery

A couple beers at Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.
(To be honest, we weren't that impressed with this place...)

Dinner & beers at Great Lakes Brewing Co.
(Now this place was awesome!  It even had a beer cellar with a bar, so cool!)

Checking out The Arcade in downtown Cleveland
(What a beautiful building!)

The Cleveland Zoo Rain Forest!

Cute giraffes at the zoo!

Final brewery stop of the weekend: Fat Head's Brewery

It was SO awesome!!  So glad we finally got to visit!

We were originally planning on going camping this weekend, but the weather was against us (rainy and cold all weekend long).  Instead of just sitting around the house all weekend, we made a spontaneous decision to go on a brewery road trip!  We hit up a bunch of breweries that we've been meaning to get to and had a blast (some were better than others... hint hint Great Lakes & Fat Head's)!  The weather was crazy, though: we left Pittsburgh and it was in the upper 50s and sunny.  By the time we got to Akron, it was pouring and then as soon as we drove into Cleveland, it was a complete snow blizzard.  It was insane!  We, of course, still made the best of it and didn't let it ruin our brewery hopping weekend.  So fun!  Cheers!*

Five Things Friday

Happy Friday!*  Trying out a new series over here... "Five Things Friday".  Every Friday, I'm going to do a post rounding up five things from my week.  It might include an interesting link, something I'm currently loving (or hating), an inspiring quote, a pretty picture, the list could go on and on.  Basically, this is sort of a "catch all" type of thing... all of my randomness from the week rolled up into one post.  Enjoy! :)

{marvelous cup of coffee from our trip to Spain in 2012}

1.  This article...

33 Genius Three-Ingredient Recipes

Amazing!  This makes cooking seem so much more approachable.

2.  This quote...

"Life is seeing the world, even when it's close to home."
I love this.  It's a good reminder that you don't always need to go on an extravagant
vacation far away to have an amazing adventure and explore new things.
There can be great things to discover right in your own backyard.

3.  This masterpiece...

This Guy Built His Own Namaste Bubble House and It Looks Amazing!  

This is so awesome.  And it only cost him $9,000 to do.  What!

4.  This book...

Blog, Inc
I got this book from the library last week and it has been really inspiring!
I went through a blogging hiatus recently due to lack of ideas and direction for it,
but this book has been motivating me to dedicate more time and love to this
little internet corner of mine.  By no means am I looking to make a profit from my blog
(maybe some day!), but there are so many great tips in this book to just making
your blog better in general.

5.  This site...
Tiny House Swoon

(especially Joe's Truck House)

These places are so inspiring.  They are a good reminder that you don't need
a lot of things to live a rewarding and wonderful life.  Simplicity is key.

Happy weekend, friends!*

Spring... ?

Well, it's almost April and I'm still wearing gloves and my winter coat to work.  Something is wrong with this picture.  Usually, Pittsburgh has decently mild winters.  But no, not this year.  We moved home from California riiiight when the weather gods decided that it'd be a good idea to have winter last a little a lot longer than normal.  But!  I must (for my sanity) stay positive here and think about those couple days (that have been few and far between...) where it actually did feel like spring.  During those days, we spent as much time as possible outside enjoying the warmer temperatures.  And let me tell you... they were glorious!

Also, warmer temperatures = froyo, obviously...

Let's be honest here, I really just need nicer weather solely to have a reason to go get froyo.
Bring it on, spring! :)

Scenes from the Weekend

Homebrew & jam sessions

And I even busted out the djembe

Beautiful weather on my run around the neighborhood

A day at the Strip District (with chocolate covered pretzels and oreos!!)

Blind Owl Band at the Thunderbird Cafe

Life inspiration from a bathroom stall

We had a great weekend at home, just hanging around Pittsburgh.  It was nice to have a more relaxing and laid-back weekend since we've got some trips out of town planned for the coming months!  Now if only the weather would start to cooperate and bring us some spring temperatures.  I mean, it's almost April... come on!

Happy last week of March!*

(this year feels like it's flyyyyying...)

Catching Up...

Happy Friday!*  I'm really trying to get back into my blogging routine and be a better blogger.  So I feel like it'd be a good idea to do a quick "catch up" post of things we've been up during my "blogging hiatus".  This way, I can have a fresh start going forward and blog about current happenings.  So here we go...

Life lately...

Greensky Bluegrass concert at the Rex Theater!

(This band is SO fun!)

A trip to Erie for our nephew's 3rd birthday

Visiting Lee & Jess in Maryland and hitting up lots of great breweries!

Celebrating Valentine's Day and loving this little gift Brett got me :)

Getting outside for some hikes even though it's cold and snowy

Pittsburgh BeerFest!

Spending a Saturday wandering around our old neighborhood Shadyside

(and grabbing some slices and beers at Bites n Brews!)

The Avett Brothers concert at the Peterson Event Center!

(crappy seats, but fun show!)

We made homemade pretzels!

(This is one thing I actually did blog about this year)

Celebrating lots of birthdays!

(Mom, Dad, and my sister Brita)

Okay, now we're all caught up and it's back to regular blogging!

Happy weekend!*