Montour Trails - Thanksgiving Day

Photos are from my walk on Thanksgiving morning. This part of the trail just recently opened in Pittsburgh. The section is from Morganza Road to Valleybrook Road and over looks Valleybrook Country Club. Must say it is one of the more scenic parts of the trails in the immediate area.

DECEMBER 1 - GIVE AWAY - REMINDER

Here is a great opportunity to win this great tote for just following my blog. All followers listed will be put into a hat and the winner will be picked December 1 on my mom's birthday. So be sure to send me contact info. Good Luck!!!

ETSY FEATURE SHOP ---- INDISCRETION

My name is Mara Franklin, and I'm the owner, designer and seamstress behind my company, Indiscretion. When I went away to college, I originally wanted to start in a fashion design program. I ended up in the art department instead, earning a BFA in Jewelry/Metalsmithing, and a BFA in Art History from the U of I in Champaign. I then attended NYU for their Costume Studies/Decorative Arts graduate program. I worked in different museums handling their textile and clothing collections, but I really wanted to make them myself! To give my desire an outlet, I'd create clothing and accessories, only to hoard them or give them to friends and relatives. A really close friend suggested I sell my unusual style online (as I was too shy to approach any local stores), and that was back in December 2005. I started with some handmade vintage style hats on eBay, and branched out from there.I now have two different clothing/accessory lines on Etsy: Indiscretion - Street Couture, and Haute Indiscretion, a more formal/dark side of my designs. I absolutely love what I do!



Where am I?

http://indiscretion.etsy.com/,

http://hauteindiscretion.etsy.com/
http://www.indiscretion.us/

An Etsy Find..House of Mouse

I have been learning a great deal about Etsy the past few weeks. One of the by products of learning about Etsy is that you find many friendly shop/owners. One such shop is http://www.houseofmouse.etsy.com/. Here is my favorite listing and I'd like to share it with you.

TRIO OF BANGLES - Beaumont Fields Collection

Three bangles, wet felted from merino roving in shades of orange, are each encased in soft 28 gauge, crocheted wire. SIZE: Diameter: 2.5 inches.COLOURS: Orange; Cranberry; Gold; Peach.

This is just one of her many unique listings so go check out www.houseofmouse.etsy.com. It's not to early to start Christmas Shopping.

White Wine - Chardonnay

The other night we enjoyed a dinner during "Restaurant Week" in Pittburgh and were introduced to a very nice chardonnay. Chardonnay is never my first choice and fortunately, because it was a "restaurant week" dinner, I did not have a choice of what wine I wanted with my dinner. The wine choice came with the meal and I'm very glad it did. I loved it. I had asked to the waiter for the name of the wine and he in turn sent the sommelier to our table. The sommelier was very gracious and so happy to tell us all about the wine and why it was different than most.

Once the grapes are soft-pressed, 40% of the juice is drawn off and fermented in oak wine barrells for 4-5 months then reunited with the stainless steel-fermented portion. The touch of oak created a smoother chardonnay. The price is reasonable.....approx. $12.00.

My dinner was an appetizer of squash ravioli and a main course of quail.

DECEMBER 1 - GIVE AWAY

Here is a great opportunity to win this great tote for just following my blog. All followers listed will be put into a hat and the winner will be picked December 1 on my mom's birthday. So be sure to send me contact info. Good Luck!!!

Favorite NEW Restaurant

The WILD ROSEMARY in Scott Twp., Pittsburgh, Pa. When I was raising my family the building was a ice cream shop that we would take the kids to after a T-Ball game. Now it has morphed into my perfect idea of a restaurant. Wear your favorite jeans and top, linen table clothes, silver sugar and creamer, bring your own wine, AND ABOVE ALL the most wonderful food. The available seating is for only about 16 people so reservations are important. The exterior draws you in with the wonderful Italian type urns of rosemary flanking both sides of the building and the 3 tall glass vases topped with clay crocks of ...what else but ....rosemary in the window. I'll be going tomorrow for lunch and hopefully will be able to take some pictures to show you what I'm babbling about. So check back tomorrow for the photos. If you happen to live in the 'BURG, look them up and tell them RoomThreads sent you. At which point, they will look at you like you had two, maybe, three heads. But do put it on your list of restaurants to visit when in Pittsburgh.