This week I have a collection of simple photos that I took at the Three Rivers Arts Festival a few weeks ago. I love when this yearly festival comes to Pittsburgh because it is such a wonderful way to support local artists and walk away with some fabulous and unique pieces of art! There is an artist’s market (which to me is the interesting part) as well as many local music events in and around the city. Make sure you check it out next summer if you haven’t yet!
This past Monday I attended Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants Party with a few friends of mine. We originally heard of the party a few months ago through Groupon and bought tickets right away, taking advantage of the 50% discount in price. On the day of the event, we arrived a little before the doors opened at 6 pm and there was already a line extending almost the length of Heinz Field. The event was held in both the East and West sections of the club level in Heinz Field. There were tables, one for each of the featured restaurants, set up along the scenic glass walls in each of the clubs. Overwhelmed by the number of restaurants and the volume of food available to us we came up with a small strategy. We parted ways to survey a few different tables, sizing up our options, then we made our selections, grabbed a few plates each, and reconnected at an empty table to share what we got. This way we could get to taste most of the offerings without wasting food or getting too full.
By the time we made it to the other club level, many of the restaurants had already run out of food. I had been to a few of those restaurants already though so thankfully it wasn’t the worst that could’ve happened. I tried so many dishes. Some exceeded every expectation (I’m still drooling over them) and some sadly disappointed (like a bland tasting kielbasa). Now I know what to move to the very top of my ‘Pittsburgh restaurants to try’ list… Dinette, Spoon, Paris 66, Cure… and so many more. I think there are about 30 restaurants on my list at the very least. They are all here in Pittsburgh too. Imagine the trouble I would be in if I lived somewhere like Philadelphia or New York where my list of ‘restaurants to try’ would extend off the notepad on my phone and out my front door. Good thing I live in the small but mighty city of Pittsburgh!
Once we were completely satisfied with full bellies, we took the shuttle over to the after party at Rivers Casino. It was my first time in the new casino. What a huge place! In addition to more food and free drinks, we were given $10 to play the slot machines. That will be the first and only time I gamble. How does anyone win on a slot machine? The most I won was $3 and it was all gone three spins later. I had always wanted to experience gambling, I had no idea what to expect. I tried it. It isn’t my thing. Now I know.
I’m sad that this event only comes once a year. I would go once a month if they offered it. It is such a great and easy way to try an incredible number of fabulous restaurants all in one night. Here are a few pictures from my adventures!
Last week, my sister and I were trying to find things to occupy ourselves on yet another beautiful summer night. We ended up driving to the top of Schenley Park and were welcomed by a spectacular sunset over a lovely view of downtown. These pictures were all taken within a span of 5 minutes. Needless to say, before I edited them, they all looked nearly identical to one another. I intentionally edited them so that each picture would look different from the one before. To challenge myself to see the picture in a multitude of ways. (And also, guiltily, to kill more time.) I’m pretty please with the variety I came up with. The last one is my favorite. Enjoy!
Here are a few more photos from Highland Park. To cap it off I took a picture of the lovely plant growing right outside my front door! Enjoy! 
This week my photos are from Pittsburgh’s Highland Park. I was headed home after a happy hour with friends and got inspired by the beautiful sky as the sun was setting. By the time I found a place to park, the sun was gone… but the lighting and the atmosphere still had that beautiful evening glow. I’m glad I had my camera with me! Enjoy!
For the sake of my recent struggles with being on top of posting pictures I have decided that in my world, Sunday counts as the last day of the current week, not as the first day of the upcoming week. Feeling crunched for time, I dug back through my pictures from Houston and found some more to edit and share with you. Pretty soon I will also be a contributing writer and photographer for Human or Dancer, the blog run by dancers of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The first photos I’ll be adding to that site will be behind the scenes pictures from our rehearsals for our upcoming performance, Coppelia. If you are a reader in the Pittsburgh area, click here for ticket info! Hope you can make it!
Once again I have a collection of photos from downtown Pittsburgh. Each time I explore a different few block of downtown, there is a unique quality that draws my attention. Here it was the buildings. Every where I looked I noticed something unique about one building that the others lacked. I love old architecture. Enjoy!
The following photos were taken over the course of about a week in different locations around Pittsburgh. The first two were taken in Lawrenceville, the next three on the South Side, and the last two near my house on the day we got a few inches of snow. Next week, get ready for some pictures from my most recent trip to New York City! Enjoy!
This week my photos are of the Hot Metal Bridge on the South Side of Pittsburgh. As you can see it just recently snowed. Not very much, but it was still slightly exciting considering the lame weather we’ve been having this winter. I think Seattle has gotten almost the same amount of snow this year as we have in Pittsburgh. Now that’s just not right. Hope you enjoy!
For my photos this week I went through my entire library and composed a collection comprised entirely of black and white photos. It’s a different approach for the week than the usual “here is where I took my camera” theme that I so often fall victim to. I felt like mixing it up. I am in a bit of a monotonous stretch of life at the moment that I am slowly working myself out of. I have been taking one ballet class a day then going to my part-time intern office job every day for about 3 weeks now. Scanning is unbelievably boring. Trust me. Tomorrow is my last day scanning though! Get ready for some life changing events! =]
Tutus, Tomatoes, and T-Shirts 