Throwback Thursday: Travel Here, Travel There, Travel Everywhere… With Books!

The one thing that I have learned through my travel experiences is that you can have fun anywhere you go; it’s all in how you plan it. Make sure that you are prepared for that plan to fall apart entirely, and then you will be able to explore. Some books that I have found helpful, either because they are awesome reads and take place where I was traveling, or because they provide loads of information.


Welcome to Pittsburgh: The Steps of Pittsburgh

According to Bob Regan’s Pittsburgh Steps: The Story of the City’s Public Stairways, Pittsburgh has, “more city steps and bridges than any other city in the world.” Additionally: Pittsburgh has hundreds of streets complete with street signs, and oftentimes houses, composed entirely of steps. These “paper streets” are municipal rights-of-way and appear on many maps as valid thoroughfares, much to the consternation of unsuspecting motorists.


Bridging Divides with bell hooks

I was first introduced to bell hooks in a college Women’s Studies class. Immediately, I was blown away by the brilliant way she explains complex concepts like racism, sexism, and … Continued


Cookbooks for Summer Eats

Summer means lots of different things to lots of different people, but me, well, I spend summer how I spend all other seasons: thinkin’ lots about what I’m going to cook and eat. Here are some tried-and-true cookbooks you can check out for some A+ summertime recipes.




Visiting All CLP Locations by Bike — in One Day!

Last week, my classmate Justin Cole (Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon ’18) put my model to the test on his bike, attempting to visit all 19 branches in one day. He even got a CLP passport (which is a bit like the National Park’s Passport to Your National Parks) stamped at each location.


Spine to Spoon: Over Easy by Joy Wilson

As someone who inevitably fills every hour of the day with some kind of odd gig or pet project, I often find it hard to leave an entire chunk of time totally free and set aside some time to savor summer while it’s here. But exploring a new cookbook is a great excuse to take a break in the kitchen, and you can always justify taking a break to cook (everybody’s got to eat sometime, after all). Recently, I was lucky enough to be able to spend an entire morning with Joy Wilson’s Over Easy: Sweet & Savory Recipes for Leisurely Days. Based on title alone, it sounded like the perfect companion for a belated break from a busy week.