Parts of being home with Henry were nice. (If you ask him, it was all nice because he got to mostly relax and not have to wake up at like 3am to go to work or see his mistress, whatever it is he does during the witching hours.
(Also can we talk about how dumb of a word staycation is? More dumb or less dumb than “glamping,” though? TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR A MONDAY NIGHT.)
So here are some pictures of food we ate and things of that nature, because we were kind of being tourists in our own town I guess? 네?
On our first day off, we walked to Beechview and had lunch at Taal, a new-ish Indian restaurant which I hope succeeds because the owner was so freaking nice. They had mixed reviews on the Devil’s Website (aka Yelp) and I’m no Indian cuisine expert but I’ve had it enough times and from enough different places to say with confidence that this place was comparable to most other places so STFU Yelp Elitists. Jesus Christ.
Anyway, we had a lovely lunch but it always feels weird at a restaurant without Chooch, who was in school, I guess because we were able to talk without him butting in to say he already knows everything we might even dream of talking about because he is such a fucking genius. Ugh.
Also if Chooch had been with us, we more than likely wouldn’t have been eating Indian food because that kid’s palate is so ginger, it can pretty much only handle buttered noodles and grilled cheese.
Friday morning, Henry and I went to Black Forge for coffee (for me) and iced tea (for him).
Their punch card tho.
We were talking to the barista about how the owners were currently in Riot Fest and I told him that we were supposed to be there too but decided not to go this year. I thought I would feel a twinge of sadness, maybe a quick pang of regret….but nothing! Hopefully next year’s lineup will excite me but for this year, I was more than happy to trade Riot Fest for a kpop concert.
Anyway, Black Forge is a metal-themed coffee shop and so much less pretentious than many other cafes. I think Henry was nervous about going there because he always feels like a sore thumb at coffee places to begin with because he hates coffee but he was like, “OK THIS PLACE IS FINE.”
I loved the guy who was working there that day. Usually small talk makes me clench up but he was really cool and I liked talking to him, bye Henry. I’m with this guy, now.
We also shared a Mexican chocolate donut thing which was really great but way too heavy and rich for me. I never would have been able to eat one on my own. I’m not a big donut person, but when I do eat a donut, I prefer it to be super light and either sugar, glazed, or some kind of mild fruit (preferably lemon). I’m picky.
Chooch had a half-day on Friday so we went to Lili Cafe for lunch, and if you’re sensitive to places that are super too-cool-for-school, either avoid this place entirely or go on a weekday I guess because it wasn’t crowded that Friday afternoon and I only half-wished I hadn’t showered that day so that I’d fit in better.
But the girl working that day was really nice and chill and the kimchi rice bowl was all I wanted so I was pretty blind to the bike messenger aesthetic of everyone in there but us. Oh well. That’s what you get when you want a decent vegan/vegetarian lunch, you guys.
On Saturday, my mom picked up Chooch and took him on a mountain adventure which basically means they got lost in the Laurel Highlands for four hours looking for Ohio Pyle, but they at least played mini-golf and visited the haunted Quaker Church. While this was happening, Henry and I went to East End Brewery because the Blue Sparrow truck was there and I wanted the vegan bahn mi. It was OK.
This pumpkin beer was the opposite of OK though. It was hideous. (Please keep in mind that I only barely like beer.) It felt like it was kicking me in the mouth and it stung. I hated it and Henry was pissed because THERE I GO WASTING MONEY AGAIN. He’s such a dad.
The worst part about our lunch that day was that I hated all of the other people there who were your basic day-drunk yuppies. I was pretty hateful that day.
On Sunday, I did a quick photoshoot with my pal Regina! She’s about to start a blog and needed some pictures of her around town. Here are a few:
And then Monday was me whining a lot and being exhausted because I walked and exercised too much and managed to get dehydrated and I was just a big miserable baby and SO BORED. I got a terrible pumpkin latte in the afternoon and then we watched a “just OK” horror movie (Final Girl, not to be confused with Final Girls that came out the same year and was better).
Oh shit the one good thing about Monday was that the new BTS album was released and it’s pretty dope.
OK I’m lying, it’s pretty much my favorite thing right now. Needless to say, we listened to it A LOT on Monday.
And Tuesday.
And….you know. So on and so forth.
I was kind of ready to go back to work. Sorry Henry. Be more entertaining next time.