Lots of living.

Hey ya’ll. It’s been awhile, yet again. The end of winter seems to be both flying and creeping along. When I think about freezing in the wind, shoveling the snow off our walk (alright, let’s be honest, M does this most of the time) and hunting for a missing glove nearly every morning, it seems like winter has been here for a hundred months. But then when I realize it’s already March and that I’ve been back in Pittsburgh for five months (and living in our house for four), it barely feels like this winter passed at all.

I think I’m thinking about this because of the glorious weekend we just had. The weather was unusually perfect for an early-March weekend, and the company was so sweet and much-needed. My cousins came in from Philadelphia for a weekend of fun in Pittsburgh, which has literally never happened before. I always have the best weekends visiting them in Philly, so I was nervous that my city wouldn’t live up to the fun and excitement. But as the weekend was closing, my cousin’s fiancé commented that the weekend was just full of “living,” and I couldn’t agree more. We did so much living this weekend. He’s a recap.

• Friday night started with a pizza and beer-fest cozied up in our living room. The fire was crackling until we got too hot, and we spent the whole night chatting and watching quality reality television like “Catfish” and “Shark Tank.” It was the first time some of them had seen our house, and the first time everyone had seen it with furniture, and it was so fun to see everyone gathered around our coffee table with snacks and drinks.
• Saturday morning we woke up and headed into Oakland for breakfast at “The Porch.” “The Porch” has become one of my new favorite brunch spots for several reasons. First, their farm bread is the kind of homemade deliciousness I wish came out of my oven on a daily basis. Their seasonal menu utilizes greens and veggies grown on their rooftop garden, and the mimosas have some fantastically fresh OJ. Finally, somehow it’s never crowded. I guess that’s what happens when you put a semi-nice brunch spot on a college campus. It’s either too expensive or too early for 90% of the local population. But just perfect for me.
• I should mention that the sky was absolutely sunny and perfect and even though it was only 60 degrees, the boys were comfortable without jackets and it was so refreshing to be outside without being painfully cold. We strolled around Oakland, rode to the top of the Cathedral of Learning and relived college years with my cousin and his girlfriend who spent four years at Pitt.
• We then headed down to the Strip District, which I’m now convinced is one of the best hidden gems of Pittsburgh. Most people probably don’t consider it to be hidden…but for some reason, I never think to go down there. We started off at a whiskey distillery for a tasting and a cocktail, which was fun but reaffirmed my dislike for the liquor. The girls meandered through the markets and stores for a little shopping and stocked up on fancy popcorn and coffee before meeting the boys at a rooftop deck for an afternoon drink. We must have sat outside for hours drinking hard ciders and beers, playing silly word games and planning a family vacation for 2014. It made me endlessly grateful for the wonderful family I have and the unusually close relationship I have with my cousins. Even though I’m more than 300 miles away for most of the year, our weekends together are filled with a really unique kind of happiness, and I’m so glad that our “extended” group loves one another just as much.
• After going home and relaxing in front of the TV with hors devours and more coffee, we got ready for dinner and headed out to “Tamari” for sushi and cocktails. Dinner ended up being a little longer than we expected (though it yielded a free lobster roll, which I think we all agreed was just fabulous), so we ended up going back home for a round of Battle of the Sexes and more drinks. Even if you’re a board game hater like me, promise me you’ll give this game a try. I think it’s hysterical, and every time we play, I end up with tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at some of the conversations that take place. (Hint: imagine four boys trying to determine what a specific make-up brush is used for or the purpose of various stemware. It’s worth it. Trust me.)
• Sunday morning dawned VERY early; especially considering we lost an hour due to daylight savings time and we didn’t go to bed until close to 4 a.m. We groggily headed over to my parents house for breakfast, which was much needed (and I was very glad I wasn’t tasked with feeding eight people myself).
• We said goodbye in early afternoon and stood outside on my parents back patio wondering how this day was even warmer than the last. I told M that we had to delay cleaning up our house and drag the patio furniture outside for an afternoon nap. No excuse not to be outside in this weather. Luckily, he agreed and we spent two beautiful hours on the back deck before having dinner with his parents.

What a perfect weekend.

A perfect weekend that quickly deteriorated into a not-so-perfect work week, but I’m focusing my sights on the weekend and looking forward to our next family get together.

Until then…

To happy family,

Lia