{PGH Dining} Tender Bar + Kitchen

Welcome back to Lawrenceville, Readers. I know you've heard about the place, skinny jeans and all, and you may have even been to an establishment or two in the past.  There's a new reason to hang out in Larryville, and it's Tender Bar + Kitchen. I'll affectionately call it 'T Bar'. So, T Bar opened super recently, so you haven't missed a whole lot yet, except for awesome cocktails*.

Previously, T Bar's space had been occupied by a thrift store concept shop from Wild Card and others. Each time we visited the run-down, unfinished space, we'd always get there after the good stuff was taken. At least that's what we told ourselves.

What a transformation this place has made. It's like a sexy cocktail lounge with good wall paper. 

We were seated in the front room, where the library-style wall, complete with movable ladder, was located, where glittering bottles of spirits are shelved. 

The menu page featured food on the front and a smattering of drink options on the back, including wine, beer, Arsenal cider, and cocktails.  Right away, I was drawn to a tiny corner of the menu featuring 30 classic cocktails, which the waitstaff will happy trill off ingredients for you if you need a refresher on a Navy Grog.  It's nice to see something so honest it's hipster. Kidding, but it really was happily 'Mad Men'-esque to have these listed.

Which ones did we order? Well, they came from the house cocktail section and from off the menu.

Reading in April

In the brief minutes between commitments, I've been reading all over the place so I'll be ready for my book clubs in May. Yes, that was plural. In 2013, I find myself as a part of three book clubs. How did this happen, y'all!?

The first book is The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace, for my 'adult' book club. Adult meaning everyone is well-established in their lives/careers/reading acumen. About the book: This is DFW's first novel, oddly about nursing home escapees, and the first 25 pages are straight up hilarious.  This was my suggestion many moons ago with this group, but it took a bit for them to take up this lengthy novel.  They're not afraid of choosing long novels or obscure/controversial writers. But, when I bring up suggestions, they fall flat at times; it takes time for a youngster to gain some clout. We'll see what the group thinks after we meet next.

The other novel is Barbara Kingsolver's acclaimed The Lacuna, which I'm reading for the newly-created Sister Book Club. The group members include me and my sister, which is truly awesome because we're getting to do something together, though thousands of miles separate us.

We're planning to meet and discuss the novel when we're in Chicago next month. More on that soon! I'm off to work on a finance presentation.

Happy weekend!

Busy As A...

Be{cause} it's the tail end of the semester, I am loaded down with papers, presentations and assignments, all which are due in a few short weeks. I do see the light at the end of the tunnel...

And, it's filled with coffee. Rich, strong coffee.

Unintended Break

It must be obvious, but I'm taking a bit of a break from blogging. The break was unintentional and has emerged from the lack of extra time I've experienced over the past few months. In truth, this was a long time coming.

Between school, work, and relationships, this life is busy. Cray, even.

In January, I didn't knew just how busy it would be.

At the beginning of the year, I vowed to begin posting more often on ADOS, and in reality, this will be a resolution I can't keep right now. On the other hand, I'm making progress with three of the other five goals: 'Make Decisions for My Career/Education', 'Keep in Touch With Family and Friends', and 'Complete My Reading Challenge'. I've started to shadow professionals in the field to learn more about what jobs interest me the most, written cards and letters to family and friends over the past few months, and have burned through 8 of my new 30-book goal for reading this year. I'm even hosting a book club!

So, bear with me as I take a slight 'break' from the blog to pursue life. On a side note, I'm physically feeling better, so I can throw myself full-force into all of my commitments. In the future, I promise to be back regularly with lots of PGH Dining, health and 'big news' posts. For now, enjoy the smattering of here-and-there posts. :)

Happy April, Readers! 

Sick

This is my life right now:

As my Dad would say, I've "got the crud." I'm dosing every 4 hours with daytime meds, and drinking lots of fluids. The show must go on!

{Over The Weekend} Dancing at the Phipps

Well, I'd been feeling slightly icky this weekend, and Monday is here with a vengeance. I was beginning to get a sore throat over the last few days, and this morning it is here and trying to kill me.
But, at least I had a good weekend?
Right.

Friday evening, Husband and I made ourselves a Tex-Mex fiesta dinner: Taco shell-less taco salads with lot of crunchy items (celery, cucumber), homemade Spanish rice (wrong culture, I know), and a Dos Equis con lime.

We cleaned the whole house, top to bottom, for the house showings we're having. It's funny - Our property company will show our house right and left to potential new tenants, but won't give us the time of day on our move-out procedures  More on this later.
First, here's a cat in a box:

I swear, I took about 50 cat-in-box photos on Saturday. This is life, y'all.
Later that night, I attended the graduate school club's formal dance at the Phipps Conservatory. It had been more than 10 years since I'd been to a dance {other than weddings, which are different}. Look at my fantastic dates!

The location was lovely, food was sparse, and there was a little bit of dancing. We all had a lovely night, and I even managed a photo of the newly planted tulips in the center garden. 

Sunday was spent reading for school, having a lunch date with a friend, spending time with Husband, and cooking/baking for the week.

Lunch at Whole Foods

Today it's back to work, and hopefully kicking this icky feeling with cold meds and sugar-free cough drops. Cross your fingers I'm not getting sick!

Apartment Hopefuls

Midterms are safely over {grades still pending, eek}, but life is still extraordinarily busy.
Husband and I are actively looking for an apartment, and have applications in on a few properties.  Rentals are in high demand here in Pittsburgh, arguably, there are only so many neighborhoods worth renting in within the city.  I know we're being picky, but we've been burned once {full story to come once we've moved}.  If you put in an application chances are there is already one submitted ahead of you.  The property then has their pick of renters, and they may even bring you in for an interview.

Apartment Hunting

I was also able to meet with both of my mentors within the past month: a C-Suiter with decades of experience, and a second-year graduate student in my same program and concentration. These meetings brought to light several topics for thought (Master's thesis topic, seeking potential preceptors) and improvement opportunities.  I'm excited for March's potential in allowing me the time to explore these areas.

Today, I put some thoughts in writing on my other blog, Well Aware, regarding some health care happenings.  Feel free to read and comment, if you've got the time to listen to my questions.

Homemade black bean and chicken enchiladas with southwest salsa and brown rice.

Finally, I have been eating everything in sight, from Oakland to Shadyside to Lawrenceville, and let me tell you - it's all been good.  The plan's to have some PGH Dining posts up soon.

I hope your March is going well!

Sleepy Study Buddy

As I studied for my midterms this past weekend, this is what I had next to me. 

Talk about a total motivation sap.

{Over The Weekend} Cooking School, Cakes and Cat Tipis

I know it's already Monday again, but I wanted to share my past two weekends with y'all. {This post is weekend #1.} A friend of mine gave us tickets to a Market District Cooking School Class {as her husband was sick and couldn't go}, so we headed out to Robinson Township two Friday evenings ago. The class was structured around tasting the intricacies of wines and beers with food. 

Just Starting

We arrived in the large classroom above the wine and beer area of Market District, and sat down among approximately 30 people. A good size class, I thought. {If the class is too small, it can seem awkward at times!} We were offered appetizers of grapes, cheeses, lobster and red pepper dip, and water crackers.

It's a bit pricey at around $35 a ticket, but you get food, drinks, information and good company. {Go Pittsburgh food community!}

A Stone Among Trees

Bottom line, graduate school is a back-to-basics experience for me, and I would guess most people who took time off between their undergraduate degree and pursing their next step would agree with me.  It's not the subject matter itself or lengthy number of assignments.  The classes are {mostly} stimulating, full of topics I am interested in learning more about.  But, the true difficulty lies in the feeling of being behind the 8-ball. The overwhelming amount of knowledge I must 'catch up on' is the unnerving part of the equation, just as I knew it would be.

Last night during my leadership class, we were completing a role-playing exercise in small groups, mainly to discover our style of interaction with peers.  I was chosen {and partially self-elected} to be scribe, which then turned into 'the voice' for the group. When preparing to give a 30-second elevator speech on our strategic vision, I flubbed and made a mistake on a type of hospital stay versus outpatient care {sorry for those readers who aren't into health care}. This error was recognized by all in the group, and brushed away when I shyly claimed, "I'm sorry, I'm new to all of these things."
In this learning process, I can't forget to be humble.

Three classes per week, several homework assignments, group projects and discussions, hundreds of pages to be read...it's all about gleaning as much information as I can from each and every situation.

However, there are other, smaller details that make the program somewhat difficult.  I am three to five years older than most of my classmates, and nearly all of my starting cohort; I've mentally created a sense of soft ageism among us.  I'd been removed from the formal education system for more than 4 years, generous time for someone to earn their undergrad degree and safely gain entrance into graduate school.  At times, it's easy for me to feel like a stone among trees.