TGIF!

I freaking owned this week!

{via}

I am hoping to do a full overview on Monday, so instead of hearing some shit come out of my mouth look at what I put in it this week:

Loaded bananas for breakfast…I’m indecisive so one has sunflower seed butter, raisins, and pecans and the other one has Justin’ Chocolate Hazelnut butter.  I don’t love hazelnut butter, but I had to toss my Mara Natha almond butter after the recall.  First world problems y’all.

I am usually all sweet potato all the time, but this week I was craving russet potatoes.  I grabbed 2 when I was pillaging the sweet potato section at Giant Eagle and I have a ton of frozen broccoli so this made sense for lunch a few times this week:

And you know I had to take advantage of pumpkin spice being back – I allowed myself to get a dairy-based drink one time!  It would be more often, but Starbucks has yet to switch over to organic, GMO-free milk.  Which is a little crazy considering how much they charge per cup…I swear I’m parked and not driving while taking this picture! 😉

And then I forgot to take pictures of everything else. The end.

Remember that time I convinced myself that I could just workout at home and I would totes be fine?

Since the Crunch Fitness that opened down at the Waterfront has early morning and late night hours, PLUS they now offer a Barre-based class I decided to bit the bullet.  You gotta do what you gotta do, right?  More on this later.

Also, last night for the Steeler game we had a puppy play date with the emojii dog, Miss Vivien Leigh.  She is that ball of white fluff underneath Bea.  I could not get the girl to sit still long enough for a pic!   She is absolutely adorable and I think you should go follow her on Instagram.  Liberty supervised my flip flop and the puppy chaos.

That time my blog was a shit show for basically the entire summer of 2014…

Dear SFTS readers:

You da bomb.

Thank you for continuing to come back here and read my rambling nonsensical thoughts, especially after I drop off the face of the earth for a spell.  And then continue to do so on a regular basis.  I never really fall of the face of the earth, you know…or even the internet.  If you are really missing me, you can just catch me on Twitter: @MichelleSFTS if you want a live feed of this shit show I call life.

Moving on…

To say that I have been actually training for the Great Race is a joke.  I’ve been running obviously, but I haven’t stuck to my training plan at all and I keep taking breaks because of humidity fatigue blah blah blah being a lazy asshole.  HOWEVER, I still feel confident 18 days out that I will finish.  And have fun.  And those were my only goals, really!  This race is just a hoop I am making myself jump through so that I will have confidence to register for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May.  It’s sickening to me that the past 2 years of running have just been hoops I created for myself to build me up for the Pittsburgh Half.  Wait, is this like anxiety procrastination?  I don’t know.  I really do love to torture myself.  That’s harsh, it’s actually been a fun journey and I’ve learned a ton about running.  I fell in love with running immediately, the first time that running itself even occurred to me.  Since then, I’ve developed gratitude for my ability to run.  Tbh, I’ve developed gratitude for a lot of things since I started running.  It is seriously so freaking cool how much is possible if you just believe you can do something.  I never, ever, ever in a million years thought I would be able to do the things I now ask my body to do on a daily basis.  It’s incredible.  Anyway, I’m not going to go on one of my sappy “Running has made me a better person” tangents because I’m in way too good of a mood for all that.  I actually have no idea what the whole point of this entire paragraph post was.

Love y’all.

August Happenings

I just read through my Bloglovin feed for the first time since July – if reading amazing words written by intelligent, fierce, creative, dynamic women doesn’t make you want to write then I don’t know what will.  I haven’t written anything in awhile because I’ve honestly been in a funk for the last few weeks.  Then, there was this media blitz on Robin Williams’ tragic suicide and that was a huge trigger for me.  I felt myself sliding even further back into the darkness.

I refuse to go willingly.  I just fucking refuse.  This post is going to be rambling and aimless and shitty, but I don’t care.  I have to write something just to feel like I am still in control of my life because I am in control goddammit.  Oh, and there might be more profanity.

August so far:

1.  Our little Transit got SMACKED by a drunk driver while it was parked in front of our house.  We are still waiting to hear if it’s totaled, but I’m pretty sure at least 1 or both of the axles are broken.  While it may look like a simple side-swipe, I assure you that there was full impact, which caused the Transit to jump into the air.  If you want to see video of the crash, you can watch here on my Instagram.  And follow me while you’re at it! @MichelleSFTS

2.  My brother came to visit me for the day and we had so much fun!!

my gum matches my hair!

We rode our bikes down to the point and explored downtown a little bit.  By the time we got back to my house, we were both incredibly sore so we decided to dumpster dive for coupons and then clip them.  That’s what incredibly cool people do, you know.  Afterwards, we went to Kennywood (my 1st time this summer!) where he rode almost every ride for the first time.  It was a pretty big day for him and I must say I was impressed with his bravery!  The only thing we didn’t ride was the Black Widow.

3.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Liberty is the absolutely strangest, most unique dog I’ve ever known.  She is a very weird girl and I love her for her quirks.  For example, as I glanced out the window this morning I noticed this:

Guess she just needed some privacy?  I can’t.

4.  Last weekend, Christina and I decided to fill our growlers up at our new favorite brew spot – The Brew Gentlemen in Braddock.

And yes, they had White Sky (the chai-spiced wheat beer I am obsessed with).  And yes, we are attending the Garden Party there on August 30th and you should too! We then spent the weekend drinking on our front porch while we chased away johns from the hooker’s apartment across the street.  It was extremely entertaining and my friends now say I have graduated from Block Watch Captain to Cock Block Captain.  Bea Arthur just wasn’t as into it as us, but she did enjoy loafing around in the sun.  She couldn’t keep her eyes open because she is just a natural born cuddler.

5.  My sister is coming to visit on Saturday and I couldn’t be more excited for girls day.  We are going to spend the day getting pedicures, talking about make-up, shopping, and drinking coffee.

Heat Wave Flashback!

It’s the first official day of summer!  What are you doing today?  Biking, hiking, running, swimming, reading, day drinking?  TELL ME NOW!!

I will be back Monday for a full recap of my weekend, but I thought it would be fun to see what we’ve been reading @ SFTS over the years around this time.

1 year ago (2013):

We were celebrating the Supreme Court ruling DOMA to be unconstitutional during the same month as Pittsburgh Pride.  This year,  we celebrated that Pennsylvania has ruled in favor of marriage equality!  We were also trying our hand at container gardening, whelping a litter of the sweetest F1 labradoodles, talking about Pittsburgh food trucks, and learning how to be a more responsible consumer!  Some of the month’s notable recipes were:  Perfect Chicken Burgers and Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bars.

2 years ago (2012):

More gay pride (don’t you just love June!), but we also started our CSA: Clarion River Organics, hit up Kennywood, the Murray Avenue Grill, and talked about urban recycling issues.

Apparently I didn’t blog during the summer of 2011!  I think that’s when I switched my blog over from The Urban Pilgrim (yes, that’s what this blog was called when I first moved to the big city of Pittsburgh) to what you now know as SOLE For The Soul.  Did you read The Urban Pilgrim?  But seriously, what are you doing this weekend?

 

Hey You April Fools: Guest Blogger Takeover!!

Thanks for stopping by!  Today is sadly not the day that people say – “April Fool’s!!  You’re not really 30!!!”  Because I am.  As of yesterday.  Womp womp.  Anyway, instead of hearing me complain about how old I am you’re in luck!  SFTS has linked up with a ton of other local Pittsburgh Bloggers for an April Fool’s Day Switcherooski (just go with it).   Today’s post comes from DeAnna and Tony of D&T in the burgh, two local foodies who love to write about restaurants in the area. If you’d like to a mini-tour of a local green building, head over to Red Penn Mama and check it out.  🙂  Happy April Fool’s Day!!

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Before we get into this blog post, we must issue an apology. A write-up of Piccolo Forno is way overdue!

Before the Lawrenceville dining scene was the “power house” it is now, Picollo Forno was holding down Butler St with pride. Long before Cure, Tender, Tamari, Industry and Franktuary, Domenic Branduzzi was making amazing wood-fired pizzas, homemade pasta, and paninis for the masses. Piccolo Forno got its start back in 1989 in the Strip District next to La Prima Espresso, Dom’s Parents were the original proprietors (Antonio & Carla), however Dom opened the Lawrenceville location in 2005. He still operates under the original creed of his Father “Fare Tutto con Amore” or “Make everything with love”. Dine here once and you will understand that.

I love the feel of the dining room, exposed brick walls, marble tabletops, black and white photos of Italy, open kitchen, and the absolutely gorgeous wood-fired oven. It’s open without being loud; it is intimate without feeling stuffy. Our server tonight was Maria and she was wonderful, she was there when we needed her but not hovering around. She’s good Dom, def a keeper. Along with Cenacolo, this is our favorite BYOB in the city, so don’t forget to bring your favorite bottle or in our case bottles.

After we cracked open our first bottle, we decided how we wanted to conquer the menu. For our apps we went with the Crostini di Fegato- chicken liver mousse on toast and the Polpete Toscane- baked pork/beef meatballs with fresh green herb sauce. Both apps were knockouts, D preferred the Crostini and I preferred the Polpete, but we devoured both. The mousse was creamy, served on a perfect crostini with capers and sweet onion jam. The Polpete were dense but not heavy with a crisp exterior and that fresh herb sauce would be delicious on anything!

If you are going to Piccolo Forno for a nice couples night out we suggest sharing a pizza and a pasta for your entrees. Tonight we went with the Cavoletti e Taleggio pizza, brussel sprouts and pancetta with Burrata and Taleggio cheeses. D and I have had the pleasure of eating pizza in Rome and Tuscany, Dom’s pizza is just as amazing. In fact just tonight alone we heard 3 different tables say “This is just like what we had in Italy”. The crust is crisp without being crunchy and has just the right amount of chew to it. You can never go wrong with brussel sprouts and pancetta, so putting them on a pizza just seems like a natural fit.

We were trying to decide which pasta to share but then Maria told us the special, Cocoa rotini, with a beef heart Bolognese. Once we heard that, the choice was made. It was fantastic, the cocoa was not overly sweet, it has a more earthy flavor and the Bolognese was great, the beef heart was not intense but there was that faint ‘minerally’ taste you get from eating organ meats. Let me say that I love (even more than usual) that my wife was all about ordering the chicken liver mousse and beef heart Bolognese.

We had to make sure to leave room for dessert so we didn’t polish off our entrees (but they will make some amazing leftovers). Now, I usually hear Tiramisu and just automatically order it, however another dessert caught my eye. I ordered the Chocolate Tartufo (google it) and D ordered the Dream Bomba (similar to Tartufo). My dessert was chocolate gelato with zabaglione cream center covered in cocoa powder and chopped hazelnuts, it was like a pimped out nutella! D’s Bomba had peanut butter gelato with a caramel center covered in a milk chocolate shell and then drizzled with chocolate and peanut butter sauce. Both desserts were stellar, but I say mine was the winner (sorry D). HA! Along with our desserts, Maria made us great cappuccinos.

If you want some real deal Italian food but do not want to endure the 10hr flight, make the drive to Larry-ville. It is as close as you can get to authentic cuisine in this area. So remember- bring some wine, order pasta and pizza, and order dessert and coffee, and above all else relax and enjoy.

Piccolo Forno

www.piccolo-forno.com
Also on Facebook

412-622-0111

3801 Butler St
Pgh, PA 15201

BYOB!
Reservations only for parties of 5+

Hours:
Mon-Sun: Closed
Tues-Thurs: 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm

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If you’d like to read some of the other posts from the Blogger Event, click on any of the participants below:

A Librarian’s Lists and Letters

Beezus Kiddo

Crank Crank Revolution

D&T In the Burgh

Don’t Forget to Eat

Downtown Living

Emily Levenson

everybody loves you…

jelly jars

‘lil Burgers

Ngewo’s World

Oh Honestly, Erin

Orange Chair Blog

PGH Happy Hour

Radio Chumps

Red Pen Mama

Sean’s Ramblings

Small Town Dad

Sole for the Soul

Syntaxxerrorrr

Tall Tales from a Small Town

The Firecracker Blog

The Pittsburgh Mommy Blog

The Steel Trap

West of Mars

Ya Jagoff

Yinz R Readin

Yinzster

Yum Yum PGH