Pittsburgh

Diving Back In and A Few Favorites

As I mentioned in my post about our vacation, Jimmy and I wasted no time getting back into the swing of things once we arrived home in Pittsburgh! The first thing we did when we got home on Saturday was mow, weed wack, and mow some more. Mowing past our garden got me all sorts of excited to start planting!

We had a church fellowship dinner for my father-in-law and his wife on Sunday and it was so special! Everyone brought food, the fellowship hall was decorated beautifully, and the time spent with our church family was just the best. My assignment was to film a vlog of everyone giving a message for the bride and groom, and I had a blast with that.

On Monday, Jimmy and I were back to work! We were excited to hear that the zipline he worked on for the Pittsburgh Zoo will be opened this weekend. Go Jimmy!

One of the dogs I have been pet sitting for a few years turned six-years-old, so I took her on a special trail walk for her birthday.

Chocolate lab on bridge by water in Pittsburgh Panhandle Trail by Walkers Mill in Rennerdale PA Pittsburgh

The weather was just beautiful and made me so thankful that this is my job. It’s not always fun to walk dogs in January in Pittsburgh, but it’s 100% worth it come May!

In the evening, I had some real estate work. My brother is listing my father-in-law’s wife’s house for sale (Did you follow that? Lol!), so we all met up so Will could go over the contract with them and I could photograph the house for the listing.

Southbound Enterprises real estate agent Will Smith talking with client in CraftonGirl taking pictures inside a house with DSLR camera

It was a family affair, which I loved! Jimmy even tagged along as my assistant and carried a step stool around the house for me to climb up and down to get some good shots. He snapped this photo of me because he thought it was so funny that I scrunch my face up when I’m focusing. Oh, and if anyone is looking for a house in Pittsburgh, let me know 😉

It’s Tuesday as I type up this post, and I’m sure the rest of the week will include more pet sitting, mowing, and real estate work. It feels good to get back into the swing of things. On Saturday, Hannah and I will be hosting a joint birthday cookout for our husbands since their birthdays are just a day apart. I can’t wait!

Before Jimmy and I left for vacation, I had a few things I wanted to share, and I’m finally getting around to it. First, I have some new favorite markers for journaling.

Pilot Frixion erasable marker pens

Technically they’re erasable marker pens. I have only used the eraser once or twice and it worked fine, but I would definitely say they’re more of a marker than a pen. They sort of write like a pen, but definitely come off as a marker. Okay, I’m done geeking out over writing utensils, haha.

Next up, I went to Trader Joe’s and got some fun food and drinks to try out!

Trader Joe's maple ladders and sunflower seed spread and coffee and other products

I’d literally give all of the above products a 10/10 for price and taste. If I had to pick a favorite, I’d either choose the Colombia coffee beans or the maple ladders cereal. So good!

Okay, one last favorite. Our families and neighbor took such great care of our pets while we were gone, and it made us so happy. Mavis and Lola stayed with my parents for the week, and we had both of our parents and our neighbor check in on Malcolm on different days.

Pets

We got some great pictures of the girls from my parents of all the dogs hanging out and were slightly obsessed with talking to Malcolm on our Petzi cam!

What are some things you’ve been loving lately?

Adventuring and Getting Creative in the Kitchen

Pittsburgh has been getting some warmer weather and sunshine lately! So much so that we mowed our lawn twice this week and it was warm enough for Mavis and I to take a little adventure to a creek near our house.

Cocker spaniel puppy by water

This was her first experience with a body of water and she was definitely curious, but not super into it. Lola enjoys water, so I wish she had been with us to show Mavis how fun it is, but I’m not confident taking two dogs by the water with an almost 20 week baby bump, lol.

The warmer weather has me dreaming of gardening, too. Jimmy and I were back and forth on starting a garden this year since our baby is due in September and we have done like zero things to prepare for his or her arrival, but we figured we’ll just make the garden smaller this year and if it gets neglected, then oh well. We love gardening too much to give it up 🙂

I’ve been having fun in the kitchen lately! I think my favorite way to cook and bake is to see what we have on hand and then improvise and create meals or treats out of those items.

Tabbouleh ingredients cucumber, tomato, green onions, bulgur and quinoa mix, and lemonTabbouleh

I realized we had some of the classic tabbouleh ingredients on had yesterday, so I improvised off of this recipe and our little side dish turned out wonderfully!

I had also bought a container of cocoa powder and was in the mood for cookies, so I made these chocolate drop cookies and highly recommend the recipe. It’s simple and they definitely hit the spot.

King Arthur Flour Chocolate Drop Cookies on cooling rack

Other ways I’ve been creative in the kitchen lately include whipping up my favorite homemade baked beans and adding some extra spices, making a strawberries and cream oatmeal creation, and cooking cereal bars with marshmallow fluff, vanilla Chex, and Mr. Goodbars.

Alright, I better get going. I’m having my mother-in-law, mom, and sister over this evening and need to clean up our house a bit! I got the kitchen all cleaned from the aforementioned cooking and baking, but the rest has been a bit neglected 😉

Do you like to get creative with cooking and baking?