" Little Italy " in Pittsburgh

          Hi Everyone!
              Today I'd like to take you on a trip to the"Strip District" in Pittsburgh, Pa. This is the Italian section of Pittsburgh....even Pittsburgh has a "Little Italy".
This section is one long block of wall to wall Italian specialties,dried meats, homemade pastas, ravioli, imported olive oil, olives, cheeses, pastries, biscotti. This is only a small list of what is available. You can find everything you need to cook an Italian feast! 
 One of the things I miss most about living in N.Y. is not being able to find all the Italian foods I am so used to. This section of Pittsburgh was like a trip back home. I wanted to buy everything and bring it back to Northeastern Pa. but we did the next best thing...we ate lunch in a great little café.
Enrico's Café was like going back to Venice, Italy. The food was just wonderful!!

Now, no matter where I go I always manage to find at least one store that has something to do with decorating the house. I found the prettiest little shop, Roxanne's Dried Flowers. A beautiful shop filled with dried flowers. My daughter-in-law, Lauren and I got lost in this shop. Lauren and I share the love of flowers and gardening. We both find dried flowers the next best thing.  The

displays were to die for!!! Roxanne was gracious enough to allow us to take some pictures.

                                             Arrivederci,
                                                                               sue

Fall Curb Appeal

           Todays post is about decorating the front of the house. It may be small but I try to give it as much impact as I can.
           I like to decorate the front of the house. To me it says, "Welcome".
 The Fall season has so much to offer in the way of decorations. Corn stalks, pumpkins, hay stacks, gourds, winter pansies, and don't forget the beautiful mums. I don't think I ever saw so many colors as I did this year.
          This year we went to about three different farm stands and nurseries to purchase the decorations. I was in awe at the variety.

                         There was so much to choose from... I wanted it all!!
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                                                                           Front Porch

     

      A Basket of Mums in the Perennial Garden

The townhouses are all the same on this block. We didn't have a choice about color or shape of our units. They all look alike....but it is through our decorating that we bring our own personality and uniqueness. I love to walk through the neighborhood and see how each person has decorated their home for the Fall. Somehow we have all managed to add a little bit of who we are to our homes. The neighborhood not only looks festive it looks LOVED!!!

                           xoxo
                        Sue