Hello from Sewickley, just outside of Pittsburgh, PA!
Matt and I and the kids are here staying with his parents for a couple weeks to bridge the gap between camp and school starting up again. Here’s what we’ve been up to so far!
Matt was actually gone for a couple days this week as he had to go back to DC for some in person workshops – bummer timing, but he’s back now and we’re all glad! He’s still working but having him around for part of the day is way better than zero, and I think next week he’s going to try to take some time off which will be nice to enjoy some end of summer family adventures together.
I’ve been on full time kid duty this week (which, to be honest, is a lot especially since I’m already burned out from the rest of the summer… very ready for school to start…) but have had back up support/company from either my mother in law or father in law which has been huge. My mother in law was working the first part of the week but is taking off now, and my father in law is retired!
The biggest hit so far has been the pool – we got Riese some diving gems that she had a blast swimming around and finding, and Wes was so cute walking around the baby pool (which is huge and awesome) saying “I swimming! I swimming!”
The downside to Wes really loving something is that when it’s time to leave, as a 2 year old, it’s his duty to throw an absolute fit.
We had dinner at the pool snack bar one evening this week which was fun to mix it up. No pictures because of kid chaos, but the kids had hot dogs, fries, and fruit and I had a chicken pita sandwich with fries. We had to drag Wes up there screaming to eat dinner (which he settled down and enjoyed once he was there, thankfully), and then we went back in the pool and when it was time to go I ended up having to haul him out of there in my arms literally kicking and screaming all the way to the car.
I know the other parents there totally “get it” but it’s still embarrassing to make a massive scene, not to mention physically and emotionally exhausting!
Anyway. My mother in law and I took the kids to a little “fairy trail” nature walk the other morning which was nice, too:
And my father in law and I took the kids to a really cool place called Poppin’s Playhouse one morning earlier this week. If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, I highly recommend it!
It was fantastic – really calm and low key vibe, very clean and bright, and so much amazing imaginary play and tactile toys for the kids to explore. It was so thoughtfully curated! (This photo does not really do it justice – there was a TON of stuff along the walls, too.)
Wish this was near me in DC because it is wayyyy better than the insanely loud/chaotic indoor play spaces we have!
It’s also right across the road from a farm (a very small urban one) which we had fun checking out briefly before heading home for lunch and Wes’s nap.
As for other activities, I did escape to play tennis one evening with friends at their club – it was a “cardio tennis” class and there was an instructor leading us in all sorts of fun drills and games. It was such a blast, definitely going back for it again next week before we leave!
Matt and I also got in a quick run during Wes’s naptime one afternoon before he left town… forgot to get a photo but it was super sweaty.
Lastly on the fitness front my mother in law and I tuned in to one of my sister in law Morgana’s virtual workout classes on Zoom, but I probably only did about a quarter of it because I had “company” on my mat the whole time, as you can see. 😉
I haven’t made it out to a yoga class yet, but I’m planning to go tomorrow and looking forward to it!
Food Highlights
Okay, let’s move on to the food! As always, my father in law has kept us well fed while here and it’s very much appreciated.
This super summery meal from earlier in the week was my favorite – grilled chicken with a garden herb lemon sauce, farmer’s market tomatoes and corn, sautéed mushrooms, and a pasta salad.
Another night we had my Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers with Chicken (<– recipe) which was also delish. I went back for another one after this picture!
Plus some peaches Riese and I got from the farmer’s market – they are so good right now!
We had some leftover pepper filling (basically quinoa, chickpeas, veggies, feta) that I used to make a salad the next day for lunch. I just added a lemon-y vinaigrette on top. Good combo!
Another night we had some rice, meatballs (topped with leftover herb lemon sauce), leftover pasta salad, peas, and tomatoes. The kids are super picky right now with food but they loved the meatballs – nice to have a meal they would actually eat… 😉
As for lunches, we’ve had mostly leftovers. One day I had some leftover taco meat with rice, peppers, tomato, and hot sauce, plus a big salad and some watermelon.
I made some chicken salad another day for a sandwich (we had a rotisserie chicken on hand this week which is always useful – see also: 11 Things to do with Rotisserie Chicken) – I used avocado, dijon mustard, and a little mayo. Good combo. Plus microgreens and carrots and strawberries.
Another day I had some of the rotisserie chicken drumsticks with some fresh tomatoes (topped with a little olive oil and salt), plus some simple avocado toast on farmer’s market sourdough bread.
Matt made us an epic brunch one morning as well using the same bread and those awesome summer tomatoes: bacon, egg, tomato, cheese, and avocado with some microgreens (also from the farmer’s market). Style points for his avocado presentation!
Lastly on the food front, Matt and I had a fun dinner out with some friends last weekend while his parents very kindly watched the kids for us! We went to a restaurant in Sewickley called Vivo.
We had drinks (Prosecco for me, always) and shared some appetizers to start:
For my entree I had the lamb chops. It was good but didn’t blow my mind – the flavor was on point but the chops themselves were a bit tough from all the fat and hard to cut.
And there you have it – our adventures so far here in Pennsylvania! I’ll see you back here next Tuesday for some recipe inspiration, and then again on Friday to wrap up the rest of our Pittsburgh area adventures.
Have a great weekend!
