Pittsburgh is still an absolute mess. Maybe it’s because I’m from Vermont and am used to everyone having a snow plow and 4 wheel drive that I have trouble believing that just over 2 feet of snow can bring an area to a grinding halt. Regardless, I am thoroughly enjoying the perks that this storm has provided.
Yesterday I made the trek down to the Natural History Museum for work, but since only 5 people showed up within the first hour, we shut down and I suddenly had a free day to catch up on work. I went to Starbucks and got a grande soy cappuccino to fuel my study session and managed to spend a solid 5 hours in the library before I had a group meeting. I made it back home (it took me twice as long as it should have – the sidewalks are still a mess!) and made a meal with what I could find. Carrot fries, Smart Dogs, and sautéed asparagus and broccoli are what I may be having for a few days until I can get to a grocery store.
After spending another 2 hours prepping for my stats exam, I received the best email that has ever found it’s way into my inbox:
This evening, public safety officials of the City of Pittsburgh strongly
encouraged the university to cancel classes tomorrow and call off all
non-essential personnel, in light of what they have assessed to be a
continuing dangerous situation for drivers and pedestrians as a result
of this weekend’s storm.
Classes on Monday are cancelled.
As soon as I read that, I put down my pen and decided to not do another second of work. While a lot of people were taking this extended weekend to have yet another night of partying, I opted to watch some Netflix on my computer and made a Valentine’s Day card for my grandparents. My night spent watching Confessions of a Shopaholic (cute but not especially good – exactly what I needed) and hacking away at old issues of Teen Vogue was pretty much the best gift the snow gods could have given me.
This morning I forced myself to sleep in and didn’t get out of bed until 10:45. I made my way into the kitchen and made an amazing bowl of oats. First I topped 1/2 cup quick oats with Splenda, cinnamon, strawberry preserves, Tofutti cream cheese, and Better ‘n Peanut Butter. Then I mixed it all together and dumped Kashi Go Lean all over it. I used to love PB,J,&C sandwiches when I was little, and this hit that same exact spot.
Now I’m trying to figure out what to do with my day. I have quite a bit of work that needs to be done, but there’s a big part of me that wants to put on Sex and the City reruns and reorganize my closet. Decisions, decisions…
What would you do with a surprise day off?
Many of you in the Eastern US are probably experiencing the ridiculous blanket of powder that has been delivered over night. In the 3 years I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, I’ve never seen this much white stuff come down all at once!
It’s crazy how the city has just stopped, too. Cars are buried pretty deep out there and I’ll be surprised if the mail man is able to make it today (despite that old saying about how the mailman delivers in wind, rain, snow, whatever, they’re not that reliable).
It’s been snowing since yesterday afternoon, but that didn’t deter me from heading over to South Side for a quick shopping excursion. I basically did the same exact route as I did last week (lunch at Pita Pit, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Forever 21) and still managed to pick up some new things.
At H&M I found a ridiculously comfy pair of jeggings (don’t judge — I’ll wear them to class in lieu of sweatpants and feel like I’m actually dressed), 2 $10 oversized sweaters, a simple navy tunic to belt, and a bucket bag that I carried through the snowstorm and fell even more in love with.
It’s a great faux leather and the tiny studs are such a cute detail.
At Urban Outfitters I managed to step away from the overly stuffed but still overly priced sale racks with just this belt.
A guy friend of mine went into my closet and declared that I have ‘infinity belts’ – as in waaaayyy too many waist cinchers than one girl could ever use. But they’re such a great accessory to pull together a look and makes any dress a million times more flattering than it was before that I can’t stop adding to my growing collection.
At F21 I also restrained myself and only purchased one item: these shoes. I basically have the same ones in black, but I had seen a more expensive version at Steve Madden and loved the braided detail enough to buy these. I also wanted some lighter boots to add to my arsenal. Do I sound like I’m trying to justify purchasing a pair of nonessential boots? Because I totally am.
These boots played an integral role in the rest of my night.
We had big plans to go see the $1 showing of Where the Wild Things Are on campus and if you haven’t seen this yet, you really should. It’s definitely not a movie for children, but rather a movie about childhood. Everything about it was so well done, from the imagery to the soundtrack. It made me think about childhood and familial relationships in a whole new way.
After the movie I had a night full of rum and cokes, sledding in the park at 3 am (there were quite a few other people out there too), running down Forbes to get to PHI bar, and doing a little bit of chair racing in a building on campus with crazy long, slanted hallways. And those boots totally carried me through all of the snow for hours. I kept having to stop and dump all of the snow and ice out of them, but once I did, they kept me relatively dry. It was nuts and I managed to get back at 4 am, but I woke up happy and not at all hungover this morning, probably due to the massive amounts of pita chips that I ate before passing out.
Now that the snow has effectively put a damper on my plans for the day (soccer is canceled and the roads to Target are definitely not passable), I’m chilling with some soup and watching Crash. I just love, love, love snow days.
How are you enjoying the snow if you have it?
Today I headed down to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewage Authority to do research for a class project on Pittsburgh’s historical environmental impact. My part of the project is to handle water consumption data, and if you know anything about Pittsburgh’s water, you would know that this is not easy to come by. Pittsburgh didn’t have a city-wide sewage treatment plant until 1958, wasn’t filtering its water until 1907, and there are still many days when you shouldn’t go anywhere near one of the surrounding rivers.
Needless to say, it was pretty cool to do some actual digging through archives that aren’t anywhere else (trust me, I tried all of the local libraries and historical centers to find this stuff and had to go straight to the source). I got information from all the way back to 1884, and while I still have to sort through all of the pictures that I took (luckily I brought my camera along because these reports were in no condition to be stuffed in a photocopier), I think I have everything I need to finally fulfill my obligation to the class. It’s been so hard every week to have to report that I’m still looking for the information. I’ve spent mornings digging through newspaper clippings from 1903, hours trying to navigate the USGS site, and I don’t know how long emailing local water specialists.
While the guys at the plant were a little creepy (OK, way creepy and were making inappropriate comments but were mostly friendly so I just got away as quickly as I could), I felt much more comfortable in my detective role as a History, Ethics, and Public Policy major than I ever did as a Civil Engineer. I just love it when I get a feeling that I made the right decision by changing my major (even though I have to stick around an extra semester and pay another semester’s worth of ridiculous tuition).
What’s the nerdiest thing you’ve done recently?
During my last trip to Whole Foods I happened upon a bottle of vegan Worcestershire sauce. Ever since I ditched dairy and fish I’ve had a major hankering for some Caesar loving, and I’ve been itching to whip up a batch for a while.
Today I found myself with some solo kitchen time (which is an extreme rarity in a house with 6 girls who all love to eat) so I found a recipe and put my food processor to work.
I used the recipe from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch, but I altered it enough that I think I can safely post it here.
Blend:
- 4 oz (1/3 block) lite silken tofu
- 2 T lemon juice
- 3/4 t dried minced garlic (or 3 cloves of the real stuff)
- 2 T nutritional yeast
- 1/2 T Dijon mustard
- 2 t vegan Worcestershire sauce
- a little salt
- lots of pepper
- 1/4 t kelp flakes
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/4 cup water (enough to thin it out)
Toss with a head of romaine, sliced tomato, chickpeas, and a dusting of nutritional yeast.
I think I’m going to get 2 meals out of this batch, but I like my Caesars to be pretty saturated, so you could get 3 or 4. At first I was a little disappointed with the taste, but as soon as I let the flavors sit and absorb into the lettuce, I couldn’t eat this fast enough. It was creamy, delicious, and totally worth the 5 minutes that it took to make and clean up.
I’ve been really bad about making stuff from scratch recently. I’m just much more inclined to throw together a big salad or stir fry and eat a bagel for my carb portion. This really took no time at all to make though, so I will definitely be trying out some new recipes in the very near future.
{some notable things about today}
I have class in 45 minutes and am going to be incredibly late since I am posting this
I have to remember to mail the rent check – this is much easier said than done
I ate vegan carrot cake for breakfast (again)
it is above 20 F and sunny – remarkable
I have a new found love for all things Beyonce and Lady Gaga after the Grammy’s
waking up hangover-free is a an amazing feeling
finding a new style blog makes you rethink absolutely everything in your closet in the best possible way
images were taken in Schenley Park on 29 Jan 2010
I kind of have a major thing for animal themed jewelry (I know a certain Snacker who can relate) and yesterday’s trip to Forever 21 proved to majorly satisfy my obsession.
I had already scoped these out online and was praying that the South Side store would actually have them in stock and in my size, and I think that it is a small miracle that I was able to comb through that place and find exactly what I was looking for. I managed to just buy these and a sort of necessary belt and only did $11 worth of damage to my bank account.
Last night I went to a frat party for the first time in like, 18 months. And before anyone calls me out on what I said a few days ago regarding these kinds of parties, I only went because it was Jersey Shore themed and I was kind of really curious to see how Carnegie Mellon students would incorporate fist pumping and hair gel into a party. We don’t get a whole lot of guidos running around here. It was actually a lot of fun, and I ended up meeting some really chill guys who have 3 rabbits at their house. The highlight of my night was definitely cosying up to a pygmy bunny for a few minutes. We somehow managed to stay out until 5 am or so, and my really late morning is definitely putting a cramp in all of the plans that I had for today. Oh well, that’s what I get for spending the night dancing in these, which were a more impulsive purchase from yesterday’s shopping trip. They’re surprisingly comfortable and totally worth the $25 at H&M.
I’m going to try and salvage as much of the day as I can, writing up a quick Power Point presentation about historical water consumption in Pittsburgh, getting a workout in, making some sense out of my Ethics homework, and getting ready for tonight. Hopefully a nap doesn’t sneak onto that list too, but my bed seems a lot more inviting than the library right now.
This week, Pittsburgh remembered that it is in fact January and is killing me with icy sidewalks, snow that sticks to your face, and awful temperatures.
Yeah, I know that this isn’t that bad. I mean, look at what I’m used to from back home in Vermont.
And those lows are not accounting for the windchill – and trust me, that windchill cuts another 15 or so degrees off. I used to stand out at the end of my driveway waiting for the bus for up to half an hour a day for 7 years in this stuff.
So today when I was extreeeemely bored in my Nature of Language class (at first I thought it was interesting, but then the professor decided to spend the whole time going over phonetics charts from the book), I cheered myself up by looking at what I’ll be experiencing in just 5 weeks when Spring Break rolls around and saves me.
There may be rain showers in there, but honestly, what’s better than a hot day at the beach, a nice dinner with a big glass of wine, and then watching a thunder storm on the ocean? Absolutely nothing.
Basically, all that’s keeping me from getting utterly depressed about the current lack of sunlight and having my fingers frozen numb several times a day is knowing that pretty soon I’ll be out of here, working on my tan.
What’s keeping you optimistic through this awful part of winter?
[photos from TheCobraSnake]
I am so over house parties.
This weekend marked my first foray into the world of bars, beer pitchers, and random men spending money on you since you look nice. It was a wonderful change of pace from basement parties where your shoes get ruined because of some mysterious liquid that has coated the ground (really – why is the floor always soaked? Beer spills? Melting ice sculptures? Vomit? *shudder shudder shudder GROSS*) where boys who are barely old enough to shave take any opportunity to grind up on you while you awkwardly search for a good enough reason to ditch him.
I still love little gatherings with my good friends, pregaming with a bottle of cheap wine, winning a few games of beer pong, but I feel like I’m ready to go to the next level of adulthood. And while the state doesn’t quite agree with my level of maturity, I’m just over 3 months away from being totally legit so I don’t think it’s all that bad.
Where do you stand on this kind of socializing? Are you a PJ, popcorn, and a Gossip Girl marathon on a Friday night kind of girl? Keg stand queen? Designated Driver? Bar tender? Homework doer?
I was just alerted by the always inspirational Amy that today happens to be National Yoga Day. As someone whose arms still ache from the incredible yoga session I had on Thursday, I felt compelled to post about the topic.
A girl at work once asked me if I did yoga and if I liked it. Without skipping a bit, I replied: Yes, and the practice changed my life.
I think she was a little taken aback by my prompt and effusive response, and to be honest, so was I. But as I thought about it more, I realized it was true.
I started practicing yoga a few years ago, but I got more into it once I got to college. I was able to take free classes for a PE credit, and it was such a welcome change of pace from my rigorous engineering classes. My teacher was demanding and pushed us beginners, but the feeling of lightness and relief that I always felt was worth every seconds spent pushing myself to perfect my downward dog.
However, after I fell down my basement stairs and did quite a number on my brain, hearing, and mental state, I started to use exercise as an outlet and a tool for self-harm. However, yoga can’t be used like this. You can’t balance on one foot for long periods of time if you haven’t eaten a substantial meal in hours and you can’t stand in tree pose if your mind isn’t clear. Practicing yoga forced me to take some deep breaths, relieve my self from stress, and focus on the here and now and the good that I could do for my body.
Now that I’m not taking free classes I don’t get to practice with an instructor as often as I would like, but I do make a point to either do poses on my own or pay the $6 and go to one at the University Center. As crazy as my days seem and as fuzzy as my brain feels, deep breathing and lots of Vinyasa flows always improve my day.
yogi survey
practicing since: 2006
days a week? 1 or 2, but I wish it were more often
most unique class: free yoga in the park in the summer
favorite kind of yoga: Vinyasa flow
favorite pose: eagle pose
least favorite pose: crow pose, mostly because I am awful at it
musical selections: radiohead, zero 7
why did i start? I had been taking pilates for a while and wanted to see where some of those poses were derived from
mat color: sky blue with lotus flowers on it
what i wear: leggings or yoga pants from American Apparel and a soft tee
Do you practice yoga? What has it done for you?
This afternoon I used the excuse that I needed bananas to make a trip to Squirrel Hill and to stop in to Avalon, a clothing exchange shop. I’ve been feeling the urge to shop recently, so this was a good way to appease my appetite for new things while not killing my bank account.
The trip proved to be a brilliant success, and I picked up some items that I am pretty much obsessed with:
navy body strap bag with lion detail
J. Crew Breton striped shirt
J. Crew chambray button down
I was so excited when I found these, since I’ve been drooling over editorials with this styling in them for months now. I foresee these being worn with black skinny jeans and my black motorcycle boots.
Is anyone else an avid reader of WhoWhatWear?
