The City with a Front Door

I had the most lovely adventure over Spring break with Jay & Amber.

It was a perfect blend of coffee, culture, & community.
To start off where I left off,
We ventured out to Oakland for lunch!

At Oakland, we had the "ultimate Pittsburgh experience" at Primanti Bros.

These sandwiches included every side item on the sandwich for easy eating without a lunch break for people like truck drivers, sailors, & miners.

It was an experience.

Also, on a coffee note, we visited Ryan at the Starbucks where he works, and I got an epic Pittsburgh mug as my token sovernir.

Afterwards, we wandered into a magical old book store.

We found an incredible edition of Hobbit for Travis. :)

Then we went to the top of the city with a front door at Mount Washington.

Travis and Jay loved the statues.

That night we had dinner again.

It was so wonderful to be apart of that community for even just a couple of days.

It was as if we had always been there and would always be.

True community is such a beautiful thing, we sometimes take for granted.

They depended on each other,

worked together,

laughed with one another,

prayed in unison,

and LIVED life together.

Later, Travis, Jay, Amber, and me skipped out on Bible study and went for ice cream at Oh Ya's,

this place with millions of toppings that they blend all up for you. YUM!

We played spades (as usual) while the ice cream was being consumed.

Travis & Jay whipped me & Amber pretty good...but it was fun.

Tuesday, Travis & I explored Pittsburgh on own in a lazy fashion.

We walked Carrie & Scott's dog, Max,

and ate lunch at The Church Brew Works.

It was an old Catholic church transformed into a brewery!

It was definitely an experience with awesome food and homemade root beer. 

The booths were even made out of pews.

We spent the afternoon at Squirrel Hill at the Te Cafe and  the Library.

I think our entire trip could be boiled down to food, coffee, and books. :)

This adventure was amazing.

Pittsburgh is pretty much the coolest town ever.

I enjoyed Pittsburgh's coffee, culture, and community.

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Pittsburgh Preview

So Travis and I made it to Pittsburgh

To visit our lovely friends, Jay & Amber.

It rained the entire drive through the night,

But after 15 hours, we made it!

Once we were there, it felt like we just came over for a visit,

Filled with Spades, conversation, cookies, & good food.

We visited a Mennonite Church,

Which was fabulous.

The pastor taught on a very controversial topic,

Presented both interpretations of Scripture,

And left it up to us to make a choice.

It was refreshing.

So far, we have visited 3 coffee shops:

Coffee Tree Roasters

21st Street Coffee & Tea

Common Place Coffee Company.

(They are so great for putting up with my coffee explorations!)

Sunday afternoon was spent at the Strip District

& random SNOWBALL fights.

Oh, ya, it SNOWED!

On Spring Break.

Travis & Jay built a 7 foot snowman.

It has been great getting to know Jay & Amber's community:

Jen & Ryan,

Karen & Dave,

Carrie & Scott.

Each night we gather for dinner and afterwards have prayer.

Last night, we had Lentil Burgers!

YUM :)

This morning we had pancakes at Pamela's

and walked around Squirrel Hill.

Looking forward to what the rest of our adventure holds.

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Elsie & Emma of Red Velvet

Exciting news!

This past week, I had the privilege of interviewing Elsie & Emma of Red Velvet about how they use their blogs to promote their business.

If you have never checked these girls out online, 

you SHOULD!

They are so adorable.

And if you live in Springfield, you should check out their shop on Commercial Street.

 Red Velvet is a vintage & hand-made things boutique that also sells cupcakes! 

 I had so much fun doing my first "Broadcast Journalism" project.

If you want to check out my team's story on Social Media in the Springfield community, click here.

Also, here is the video we made:

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Feeding People

This week I got to "return to my roots".

PRSSA & Lambda Pi Eta (Communication Honor Society) teamed up for an awesome volunteer effort at Ozarks Food Harvest!

(I may have been a bit bias in my planning, but it is such a good cause!)

Two girls went with me (Susan & Tara), 

and we had a blast with this other older group.

Our job was to pack food boxes after the others sorted through dented cans and expired foods.

It was neat to be a part of tangibly feeding people  who need it most. 

Our volunteer supervisor told us we pack about 6,000 pounds of food (if I remember right),

or what they normally pack in 6 hours.

Yeah, teamwork!!!

It was great to return to my internship location and give back again!

If you are ever looking for a place to give back in the Ozarks,

check Ozarks Food Harvest out!

They are doing so much to reach a significant problem in the community.

Lindsay's current intern, Sara, and her put together this new awesome video to.

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The Chamberlain Art Show

My lovely friend Lizzy had a beautiful get together this weekend. 

It was called "The Chamberlain Art Show".

I went to visit her to help put on this massive event and to meet her newly acquired fiancée, Jon.

They are so cute by the way!

They have been dating since November 2009, 

and I just have never been in town at the right times to meet him.

 There was art work in every room of the house

on every inch of the wall.

It was incredibly elaborate.

But then again I would expect nothing else from Lizzy.

My big contribution was arranging the food,

making Mushroom Pate,

and creating fun candles around the house. 

This was my favorite piece of artwork.

It was called: "Jesus was a Black Man Too",

and it was painted by the talented Leah Nixon.

Lizzy, being an aspiring playwright, wrote a play called "Collection Time", 

and it was performed that night.

The concept was that our technology tools are not necessary to life as the "garage man" comes to collect all of the "trash" (electronics).

It was very intriguing.

This is a photo of the theatre room.

It was cut down the middle by blue tape.

One side saturated with technology,

and the other memorabilia from the past.

 On top of having a fabulous weekend with an old friend,

Lizzy asked me to be one of her bridesmaids.

I feel so honored.

I just about cried on the porch at 2 am in the morning after this crazy night. :)

I heart friends!

The funny thing is I visited her in St. Louie almost exactly one year ago.

Remember my Comfort of a Coffee Snob post?

Funny, how that stuff can happen on accident. :)

This picture is for Hannah Elizabeth & Connally:

 If you want to see more photos of the art show,

Check out my album here.

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