Even though I knew it was Henry’s birthday, I signed us up a few weeks ago for a Children’s Hospital charity walk. My friend Todd had his own walking team for it and when I found out about it, I was like DID SOMEONE SAY WALKING? You know I love me some walking! Especially when it comes with an event t-shirt! Henry is a good sport and didn’t mind (too much) having to leave the house pre-7AM in order to drive around Oakland looking for somewhere to park before festivities commenced at 8AM. We ended up parking in one of CMU’s parking garages and cutting through their campus to get to the designated meeting spot.

I’m still v. annoyed with CMU and the whole college application process. I hope fucking Suri Cruise is enjoying her time in MY SON’S SPOT. (LOL j/k but NO RLY.) I’m actually glad he opted not to piss around on the second round of wait-listing because he really loved Drexel and being outside of Pittsburgh. Plus, he has a life at Drexel and isn’t on the brink of a nervous breakdown like these CMU kids are.

Pre-walk cold brew acquisition from the Roaming Bean. They had stuffed snickerdoodles there and Henry was ogling them to an uncomfortable degree and I thought for sure he’d treat himself since it was his birthday and god knows I treated him with nothing, lol.

(THE MAN NEVER WANTS ANYTHING, OK!?!?!?!? I was nice to him all day at least and if anything, I sacrificed A LOT by refraining from bossing him around.)

Anyway, what a great event! There were lots of vendors and free snacks (I had a banana and Smiley cookie — the breakfast of Pgh champions!), Zumba on a stage which would have been better if PAUL EUGENE was leading it, but they did play a Blackpink song which was cool I guess.

One of our other work friends, Sharon, also joined Todd’s team with her husband Dave and daughter Lillian so that was really nice too! Sharon is one of my faves and it was nice when I was still going into the office post-pandemic on Tuesdays because she was usually also there but then I just gradually stopped doing that and now we don’t have our own floor anymore and I hate going on some alien floor like I’m a visitor, having to share a space with STRANGERS UGHHHH.

Sorry, that was a little side rant. So very unlike me.

FINISH LINE!

So one of the things that I had to laugh at is that there was a booth there giving away kids pillows. I’m sure if I had gone over to the booth and actually paid attention, I would have understood what was going on but instead I just walked by and thought nothing of it. Then Sharon’s husband Dave decided right before the walk started to go and grab one even though their kids are teenagers. He came back with a Minecraft pillow and I was like, “OMG I BET CHOOCH WOULD LOVE THAT” so I sent Henry off to get one. By that point, it was slim pickins and the Minecraft ones were gone. Dave and Sharon both were like, “Please just take this one honestly, we don’t really need it” and Sharon ESPECIALLY was like, “I’m not kidding, I don’t want that in my house.” LOL. Dave even said he’d carry it through the route for us and I was like, “I mean, if you’re sure…” and their daughter did not seem like she cared either way, so now we have a Minecraft pillow to surprise Chooch with when he comes home next week! I know he’s going to be like, “Wow cool” in that shitty tone but then he’s going to be snuggling it in the care when we drive him home after his break.

THOSE KIDS WERE SO ADORABLE. You know that means something coming from me! The girl with the purple shirt on—Egypt—was like a mini-adult. I was a big fan of hers!

Anyway, it was honestly such a great start to the weekend. Todd and Brittany are two of my favorite people so it’s always fun seeing them, and their friends and family were so down to earth and welcoming! Hopefully they do this again next year because I’m in!

Also! You can see the neon yellow wristbands on some of us– there was a vendor handing out SLAP BRACELETS. I used to love those little bitches so much! It made me launch into a spiel later that day, a spiel that I am positive Henry has heard before, about how I was so obsessed with them back in the day (“Doesn’t surprise me,” Henry murmured) and one time, when I went to FRONTIER DAYS in Ligonier with my friend Kristin and her parents in elementary school, I spent all the money my mom had given me on SLAP BRACELETS because there were shops that had DESIGNS I DID NOT ALREADY HAVE IN MY COLLECTION.

Do you remember how they became outlawed because kids were allegedly getting sliced with defective ones?

Back at home, Henry was examining the one I got that day and made some offhand comment about the tape measure inside of it and I was like, “OK, WAIT, WHAT NOW??? THAT IS WHAT IS INSIDE THESE THINGS?!?!?”

And he said that’s how the original ones where made, with whatever the tape measure metal is!?!?!?

MIND BLOWN. Henry spitting facts as always, no break on his birthday.

We went home, ate lunch and relaxed for a while, then went to a brewery of the birthday boy’s choosing out in Jeannette. I decided that since it was a special occasion, I could break my month-long beer fast. (Just so you know, my choosing to not drink beer anymore is 100% about vanity and weight management, so I’m not like “falling off the wagon” or anything!)

But first, when there are “wall wings,” there’s me bossing Henry into a pose!

This was the foyer of Sobel’s Obscure Brewery! Because I’m a thorough investigative blogger, I looked at their website and found that this space was once an Historic 1903 Department Store (their capitalization, not mine!).

That’s the owner! He was very friendly. I sampled the Monkey Business brown ale and immediately went for a full pour of that.

It was DELECTABLE. Reds and browns for me, please.

Henry got a flight. I have been steering clear of flights because they make me feel sick afterward whereas one fill pour (or 2 half pours) don’t. Maybe it’s psychosomatic but in my head, it feels like mixing liquor and even now just thinking about a flight sitting in front of me made my stomach roil. Is there a science to this or am I just being weird as usual?

Since it was the middle of the afternoon, we were one of only about 3 groups there. It was a very pleasant experience! I only wish that the music would have been a little bit louder because it was almost eerily quiet in there.

I liked this place so much that I made Henry buy a glass.

It started raining really hard while we were there so we split a honey wheat while we waited out the storm.

I am really liking this new “season” (ugh, I hate when people say that yet here I am being One of Them) of our lives. It’s nice to have been with someone for so long but still have so much to talk about—well, that’s 90% accredited to me, the resident yapper. I always have shit to say. But it was just really fun sitting there and talking about the recent Cold concert, and past Cold concerts, and what we’re looking forward to at this year’s Riot Fest, and just concerts in general! MUSIC IS MY FAVORITE THING TO TALK ABOUT and thank god Henry can keep up.

After it stopped raining, we walked around a bit before driving back home. I loved this mural!

Can I be so for real for a second though and talk about how Henry is OOAK? Like, all men should be modeled after him. He is basically a feminist (I mean, I taught him though), he hates Trump, he is an ally, he is patient and reliable, he puts literally everyone else before himself (not always the greatest thing because SELF-CARE IS IMPORTANT TOO but you can’t train an old dog, etc etc), talks softly to the squirrels and bunnies when he passes them in the yard and driveway, and takes care of the most basic tasks so that I have more free time to paste things in my journal and do YouTube workouts or god knows whatever I’m into that week. This is why everyone likes him more than me, and after 20+ years I think I am finally OK with that. I get it, you guys! I get it. Lol.

He is so amazing that on HIS BIRTHDAY, he walked down the street to a local record shop and bought me tickets to two upcoming shows that I have been clamoring on about (Armor for Sleep and Royal Coda). On HIS BIRTHDAY. Ugh, I love that oaf.

Henry is the best. Like that’s news to anyone.

We met up with Amy and Dick yesterday at the Hazelwood Brew House. It’s a pretty cool place with three different breweries in one space so I was able to get three stamps and also hit my wall where I have decided I don’t like drinking and that OCD over these stamps is putting me down a path I don’t like. So, that’s cool.

But there were two highlights from the day that I want to talk about, aside from hanging out with Amy and Dick obviously and having a random guy take the below picture of us and completely cutting off the “Hazelwood  Brew House” sign which was the whole reason we asked a stranger to take the picture for us (AFTER HENRY WAS GOING TO PRECARIOUSLY PROP MY PHONE UP ON A RAILING!!!).

Highlight #1:

I was at the Abstract Realm bar by myself, asking the guy there about the different beers. I was still focused on making a decision so I didn’t quite hear what he said next but it sort of sounded like “Dance Gavin Dance.” I looked up at him dumbly and asked, “….huh?” and he goes, “Your shirt? That’s Dance Gavin Dance?”

BRUH. No one ever knows DGD out in the wild! (Well, at least not back when I was super into them but I have realized that they are definitely a bit more popular now since the pandemic.) We ended up having a LONG chat about post-hardcore. He has never seen DGD live and I was like, “NO, YOU GOT TO” and then told him that they’re coming to Stage AE next month and he didn’t know that! I actually JUST bought our tickets for this show on Friday, and then found out right after that it was also the 19th anniversary of Downtown Battle Mountain so it felt like kismet that that was the day I pulled the trigger and bought the tickets!

Then the Abstract Realm guy unbuttoned his shirt a little to show me that he was wearing a Circa Survive shirt (!!) so then we started chatting about Anthony Green and Sounds of Animals Fighting and the whole time I could hear myself like I was hovering up in the rafters and I realized, “Hey, she’s being herself! She’s talking in her real voice!” and then I double-realized that it was because I finally had someone to talk with about music. Fuck, it was invigorating. Especially to not be mansplained in the process.

HIGHLIGHT #2:

My Aunt Susie randomly (not so random, really – she and her husband go to breweries every weekend it seems!) came in right around the time we were getting ready to leave. It was kind of weird though because Amy has never met her and was JUST asking me if I have talked to her recently. I actually have not, it’s probably been since around my Aunt Sharon (Susie’s sister) died in 2016 aside from some Instagram likes here and there. And then – poof. Susie appears, lol.

I hoped she didn’t feel ambushed but I wanted to say hi and also give Amy the opportunity to meet her aunt. It was really nice to see her again — we used to jokingly call each other “brat” when I was growing up and spending a lot of time at my Pappap’s house and she was still living there until she got married so we were actually around each other a lot back then. My childhood BFF and I were even in her wedding!

Susie has always been super cool (and normal, which speaks volumes if you know my family) and I really hope that we get to hang out for real at some point now that we ran into each other.

I think I was overstimulated though because I was up almost all night, just laying in bed with my mind racing. I don’t know why this happens to me now–it’s like my social anxiety is mad at me for ignoring it in the moment so it rears its obsessive head right when I’m trying to fall asleep. So rude.

These small holidays without Chooch — Easter, HIS BIRTHDAY, Mother’s Day, etc. — still feel very strange. For every step forward I take on this Empty Nest journey, a day like Mother’s Day pushes me back 2 steps. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t moping around, feeling sorry for myself all day (wow, growth or am I just lying LOL) but it just felt like…a day. I’m so grateful that he called though and we got to chat about his mystery Instagram suspension, roommate’s torn ACL, take his Dunkin’ order…it’s so funny to me because we NEVER talked to each other on the phone, hardly at all, when he was still at home. He’d call Henry but he and I have always been texters so the rare phone call does take place, we’re like strangers for the first minute or so.

OMG AND HE SAID “LOVE YOU” BEFORE HE HUNG UP, WHICH MADE ME SCREAM, “OMG YOU SAID LOVE YOU!” Lol.

Anyway! Then we did the donut/fritter pick-up that I previously posted about. Afterward, we were going to go to this one brewery in Bellevue for lunch and so I could get a stamp in my dumb passport, but it was only around 12:30 and we figured it would be packed with Mother’s Day brunchers. So, Henry suggested killing some time at a nearby Ambridge brewery. There are three in that area, I think, but I chose Altered Genius because they have a black IPA (brilliantly called the BlackGuyPA and was created to celebrate diversity in the brewing industry).

It was kind of a rough start though because they were also doing a Mother’s Day brunch by reservation only and we thought we were going to get tossed out onto the street but then the bartender said we could sit at the bar if we were just there to drink. THANKS THAT WAS THE PLAN ANYWAY!

I got a 1/2 pour of the Black GuyPA and it was everything I wanted in that moment.

It ended up being a chill place to hang! Everyone there seemed super nice and didn’t treat us as enemy infiltrators.

And they also had cider from A Few Bad Apples on tap too! This one was Victorian Earl Grey. It was perfect for Mother’s Day! You know, because mothers, and tea? I don’t know. I cut myself off after this one – sitting at a bar all day drinking? Couldn’t be me. We were actually getting ready to leave but then the older gentleman next to Henry started talking to us about the black IPA, which led to him talking about his daughter’s house, some trip he took  to Floida recently, the astronomical cost of concert tickets (“Some people are spending $500 on concerts! I’ll tell you what I’d do — I’d go home, pour myself some beer, and play the CD!” while I’m sat in quiet shame over the amount of money I’ve spent on Kpop tickets, lol), and then detailed his favorite concerts to us starting back in 1974 or something.

I wasn’t expecting him to be a Frank Zappa fan!

He was also SHOOK that I knew who Captain Beefheart is. “You’re so young!” he said and I was like, “THAT’S RIGHT, KEEP IT COMING, SIR” while Henry smirked and said, “Yeah, she knows a lot.” LOL, that pained him to say out loud.

Creeper alert (creeper is me) but I wanted a photo to remember him! His name is Don and he is apparently a regular there. He told us they have a good Octoberfest so maybe we’ll be back for that and see him again!

Right as we were leaving, one of the Altered Genius ladies gave me a tulip for Mother’s Day! It’s things like that that make me want to return to a place. I felt so comfortable there and the people were great! Spoonwood and Penn Brewery can fuck off.

After that, we finally made it to Lincoln Avenue Brewery and got a cozy table in the corner, post brunch-crowd. Another wonderful service experience! Our server was a delight. Henry was sulking  though because even when it was him asking the question, she would focus 90% of her attention on me. I can’t help that he ALWAYS looks surly!

I had her choose my beer for me, it was her favorite IPA and it was a good choice! Thank god for half pours.

The kitchen was running behind so we got the pickle dip, another glowing endorsement from our server. She described it as like hummus but with pickles, but honestly this reminded me so much of crab dip and I know this because back when I first moved into my current house and had parties all the time, I decided to make crab dip one time because the recipe called for “imitation crab” and me being the dumbo high school drop-out that I am exclaimed, “Ooh! So this is vegetarian! I can eat this!”

LOL ugh. So that’s how I know what crab dip tastes like (or at least the crab dip I made—OMG I wonder if I got the recipe from a legit cookbook because I cannot picture 20-year-old Erin asking Jeeves on her 70% broken & smokin’ laptop for party dip recipes?!) and I swear to you, if I closed my eyes and ate this, I would totally think it was crab dip and panic that I was breaking my veg vows!

I explained all of this to Henry and he had that glazed “cool story” look in his eyes.

Black bean burger!

That was a nice day. We were both so full though that neither of us ate dinner. #OldPeople

Many moons ago, I went to the OG Troy Hill Art House (La Hutte Royal) with Corey and Kara. Since that time, three additional houses were added to the mix so I added it to the list of THINGS HENRY AND I CAN DO INSTEAD OF SITTING AT HOME IN REPOSE list. The best part for Henry is that touring the art houses is free (music to his ears), you just have to schedule an appointment. We’re actually going to La Hutte Royal in two weeks with Shawn and Jess (it just reopened this month after being revamped and I’m excited to see the changes!) so I picked “Lighthouse Darkhouse” for just the two of us to explore on a random Thursday night in an effort to get out of the house.

I was so excited to log off work at 5:30! We went to Allegheny City Brewing for beer and light dinner from the La Palapa food truck. It was a really good start to the evening, especially when one of the bartenders tried to fake me out by asking, “What is that?” when I slid over my stupid beer passport and asked for a stamp. He immediately was like JK! when he saw that my face was probably contorting into “embarrassed school girl” right before his eyes BECAUSE IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH TO MAKE ME FEEL STUPID. So  then we chatted about how many stamps I had collected so far and I told him about my faux pas that nearly put me on the SHE’S GOT A PROBLEM path when I thought I had to complete the book by the end of 2025.

“Yeah, these books don’t expire,” he said. Thanks, guy, I know this now. But that’s why I had to take an extended break from stamp-collecting!

I liked this one was called Hullaballoo because that’s been a favorite word of mine since the BATTLE OF THE NETWORK STARS days. It was OK.

This is blurry because I was trying to take pictures without looking weird, which just made me look weirder.

This place was nice – the people behind the bar were very friendly, there seemed to be some regulars sitting at the bar (one guy had his dog in his lap and that was precious), La Palapa was satisfying. It did get super crowded and loud pretty quickly after we arrived though, plus a band was setting up and they were supposed to start at 7. I really didn’t want to walk out during a band again like we did in Columbus, so I was like, “Yo, we gotta SPLIT before 7.” This just meant we still had nearly an hour to kill before our 8pm appointment in Troy Hill so Henry suggested going down the street to another brewery in my dumb passport.

Before I move on to that portion, I just wanted to mention that the last time I had La Palapa was when Chooch and I ate at their Southside location after I went to Kyklops to give my down payment on my Marcy tattoo. I always associate those two things now!

Henry and I both small pours at Late Addition –  mine was a Scottish thing and I really liked it! I think I’m figuring out that in addition to Belgian (real Belgian), I am leaning toward Irish and Scottish things. And some German. MAYBE I AM A TRADITIONALIST.

It was just us and the bartender, and one couple in a booth. Then an older woman came in, presumably a regular because she immediately started talking to the bartender like she knew him on a “you serve me beer regularly” level. The couple left, so then it was just us listening to this older broad tell the bartender the most mundane shit, like the chicken parm lasagna she made for her kids in college and how that made her the most popular mom that weekend. “This is the sauce I made,” she said, thrusting her phone in his face. I had to hand it to the guy, if he was actually disinterested, I certainly could not tell.

Oh! They were selling the Pgh Beer Week glass thingies that I had wanted to get at the time but was also too ambivalent about going out to a brewery in search of one. But the broad bought one which made me squint to get a better look and I hissed to Henry, “They have the glasses here! I’m going to pee, buy one for me.”

And when I came back, it was sitting in front of my seat – yay! I like getting things.

Then it was nearly time for our Troy Hill Art House appointment! We did have a few minutes to kill so we walked around a bit after parking in front of the house – Henry kept saying, “This can’t be it” because truly it just looks like a regular house that you’d see in a city neighborhood. We circled back around 7:55PM and Henry was like, “WHAT ARE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO?” Well looking at my appointment confirmation on my phone, I was saying that I thought when I went years ago with Corey and Kara, we just stood outside and waited for someone to come out, and just when I got to the part that said ATTENTION – DOCENT RULES: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE DOOR OR KNOCK and was reading it out loud, Henry went ahead and JIGGLED THE DOOR KNOB and then RANG THE DOORBELL.

“Why did you do that?” I cried.

“It didn’t say not to ring the doorbell,” Henry shrugged.

“IF IT SAID DON’T ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE DOOR OR KNOCK, YOU SHOULD ASSUME RINGING THE DOORBELL IS ALSO OFF THE TABLE!” I wheezing in embarrassment at this point. It was a Ring doorbell and rang kind of loudly – I was expecting a tinny voice to come through chastising us, but the silence was almost worse. Henry was like OH WELL and went back to sit in the car, leaving me alone to look like the culprit! Thank god Ring cameras don’t lie.

While Henry was cowering in the car, acting like he felt no shame for breaking the rules, a group of 4 college girls came barreling at me out of nowhere. It was actually alarming how they seemingly just appeared out of thin air–like, it was a super quiet street and then suddenly: the signature sounds of a group of giddy girls. BOOM. BANG. BRAY.

I stepped out of the way to let them pass and then realized that they were looking for the Lighthouse. Four different versions of “This can’t be it” all at once, surround sound.

“You’re at the right place,” I buttinsky’d. “We’re waiting too!” And there was a collective sigh of relief from their group. Then I proceeded to tell them about Henry ringing the doorbell and they were like, “OH MY GOD HEE HEE” but like, for real and not sarcastically so I loved them from this moment on.

(I’m obsessed with wanting college aged kids to think I’m cool, but like not the sorority types—the cool, grungy, mom jeans-wearing kinds. That’s what these girls were like!)

A tinny voice came out of the Ring camera letting us know that he’d be right there, and about a minute later, the docent approached us from the other end of the sidewalk. No one was in the house when Henry rang the doorbell! Thank god. I was nervous that another tour was in progress. After we signed waivers and the docent opened the door for us (and it wasn’t even the door that Henry was trying to open!!!), the first thing Henry said was, “IS THERE A BATHROOM?” Oh for god’s sake I wanted to kill him. There wasn’t a bathroom, but there is one in one of the other adjacent art houses so the docent had us go in and wait for him while he called whoever was still at that house to tell them NOT TO LOCK UP YET BECAUSE SOMEONE’S GRANDPA HAD TO COME BY AFTER THE LIGHTHOUSE TO PISS.

!!!!!!!

Goddammit, Henry.

I don’t have any pictures of the rest of the evening because the Troy Hill Art Houses really stress that no photos and videos are permitted. I definitely broke the law at La Hutte Royal because the docent wasn’t following us around BUT I only posted three of them to my blog because I feel like Kara made up a loophole that was like, “You can probably take pictures as long as they’re not being shared publicly” so I took that for scripture.

It was a quick 30 minute tour and without giving anything away (because everyone should go and experience this – IT’S FREE!), it was just so incredible to behold, legitimately. Two people came into a house that had burnt so badly in a fire that it had no structural integrity and built a freaking lighthouse in the middle of it. The docent said that lighthouse is the only thing holding the house together. And yes– you get to go inside of it, because the actual house is not really accessible. The top has an actual lighthouse bulb thingie in it, and it works. And it’s blinding.

Embarrassment aside, I was impressed that Henry was interested enough to ask the docent legit questions about the artifacts and whatever inside. I asked about a feather that was hanging from the ceiling, wondering of its significance but apparently the artists just added it for the whimsy of the shadow it produced, lol.

Very near-future me: “Hey Henry, here’s a box of a 1000 neon-dyed feathers for you to tack to the ceiling, chop chop.”

After the tour, the girls giggled their way home and the docent told us to hang tight while he locked up and I blurted out, “BY THE WAY, HE’S THE ONE THAT RANG THE DOORBELL IN CASE YOU COULD HEAR THAT EARLIER” and then I felt so CLEANSED and FREE of that burden I was carrying. The docent just laughed and waved it off. “Oh no worries! I actually have the app on my phone because I live right down the right, so I can monitor it from there,” he said, WHICH WAS BASICALLY SAYING THAT HE KNEW HENRY RANG THE DOORBELL. I wanted him to be angry about it so Henry would feel like shit but he really seemed like he didn’t care after all – UGH. If it was that guy from the Bayernhof, he’d have passive aggressively woven references to it into his script for the whole 2 hour tour.

“And here’s our REGINA CORONA 27″ AUTOMATIC CHANGER DISC MUSIC BOX, it knows not to ring the doorbell.”

Anyway, he let us PEEK IN THE DOORWAY (the one Henry tried to act like was entitled to enter when we first arrived!) to see some “behind the scenes” magic. It was a chaos-tangle of lamps and chandeliers; I don’t even know what we were looking at but I felt so privileged for that sneak peek! Then we walked around the corner to one of the other houses, where idiot Henry got to pee. In addition to being one of the art houses, it also doubles as their office space and the artists’ housing. There was the super cool art fixture in the background, a bunch of bugs in Jello molds. Even just that part of it was super cool so I’m excited for when we hit that house up in the (near) future.

In sum: the tour was splendid, the docent was informative and friendly while giving us our space to explore, and those girls were so adorable! It’s nuts to me that these artsy gems are in some random neighborhood of Pittsburgh, hidden in plain sight (they are all inside legit houses that don’t have any signs or neon lights beckoning stragglers in off the street), and they ARE FREE. It’s like stepping inside someone’s crazy altered reality for an hour and forgetting the actual crazy reality you left on the doorstep.

It was a really good Thursday night!

You guys, I think I am finally leaning into this empty nest life. Things have settled down in my head and I’m finally allowing myself to enjoy DOING THINGS again. I do not recommend going through a traumatic loss of a pet and your kid leaving for freshman year of college simultaneously though, and then have that compounded a few mths later by the re-election of a psycho fascist dictator. It’s all too much for anyone. Therapy has helped, writing in here has helped, crying to Henry has helped, reconnecting with old friends and having soul-baring vent sessions over IPAs has helped!

One of the things I have been adamant about doing this year, and have been actually holding up my end, is just getting out more generally. ESPECIALLY ON WEEKNIGHTS. The one night recently, we just went to the mall because I had something to pick up at the Vans store and even just something as simple as that made a difference and broke up the monotony. But also, on weekends where we don’t have anything planned with friends, concerts, etc., I have been trying to do one small thing. Usually it’s just us going to one of our favorite cemeteries for a walk, sometimes it’s going to a new-to-us cafe, etc. This past weekend, Sunday was going to be the warmer, sunnier of the two days so we planned our walk for that day and since Saturday was gross and dreary, we picked a little indoor activity. Since I’m still attempting to get all of the stamps in my dumb Pgh brewery book, we chose Hop Farm in Lawrenceville and had a nice little afternoon date where we rehashed the movie MOTHER MARY which we had seen the night before, which I DO NOT RECOMMEND. And, also, I have been reminded during our last several movie dates why I stopped seeing movies in the theater years ago — I CAN’T STAND BEING AROUND PEOPLE WHILE I’M TRYING TO WATCH A MOVIE. The crunching. The rustling of wrappers. The sibilant whispering of nearby patrons. Go fuck yourselves!!! I will have to go back to my “weeknight only” rule of theater-going if I’m going to continue down this road. (It gives me something to talk to with Chooch, which is why I have been seeing movies again in the first place!)

Anyway, JFC do I go off on tangents or what. The whole point is that on Saturday, we went to Hop Farm for the first time, had an AMAZING experience at the bar with the bartender who was SO YINZER FRIENDLY (IYKYK) that I almost felt like I was being filmed for some local tourism spot on the Sunday morning news. The moment he found out we had never been there before, he started chucking (in the gentlest way) sample pours at us until we had essentially tasted their entire liquid oeuvre. There was one lone regular sat at the end of the bar, weighing in on his faves as well, and I ended up getting the one he was currently nursing: The Cheeseman of Dusseldorf. It was really good! I am still learning what I like and have begun to settle into traditional German styles, I guess. Basically, beer that tastes like beer. My other thing is that I don’t drink to get drunk–I am really trying to appreciate the flavors and all that nerdy stuff. No more flights for me either because I learned that they make me feel like shit. I like to get a small pour of two different things when we go out and that is working for me so that I don’t feel like I’m on a slippery slope to alcoholism. (I HATE BEING DRUNK.)

Anyway, this place is actually huge. Aside from the bartender and his pally at the bar, we were the only ones there so it was really nice to sit back and bitch openly and loudly about everything on my mind and hearing my shrill voice bounce off the floor and walls like I was in Laurel Caverns.

Can I also be gross and say that I’m glad my fear of being an Older Couple with nothing to talk about has not come to fruition and that we actually have such fun conversations these days when we go out?!

My second half-pour was their flagship IPA, Dinosaurs in Space. I’ve been growing more and more picky with IPAs but this one was nice. What a nice little rainy Saturday side quest!

The weekend also included lots of cuddle time with Penelope who, KNOCK ON WOOD, has randomly decided to start eating her dry food again!? Maybe she was just going through a phase, trying to see if  there was anything else out there, who knows. I’m still also putting out various wet foods just in case and she has been half-heartedly grazing on those but it’s the dry food she seems to be really eating. I’m just happy she IS EATING. The vet had me so panicked.

Buddypalooza.

Saturday after lunch, we went to Pink Box for some Asian buns which we promptly ate at the cemetery. IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!

Mausoleum bathroom selfie.

In between all of this  stuff, I somehow fell down the FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER rabbit hole after having not thought of that band for over a decade at least. I started thinking of my old Zen and wishing I could charge it because I can only imagine the random shit that’s on it. Also — do I really want to revisit that time in my life though? Lol. I had a shitty job and a toxic BFF. I did realize that I had some of those songs saved to an old Spotify playlist though, which saved me because I could NOT remember who sang this song:

Here’s what I just learned as I write this blog post:

• Blindside is a Swedish band?? Did not know this.
• THEY ARE STILL TOGETHER and played shows as recently as spring 2025?!

And that was basically the gist of the weekend!

I was IN A MOOD on Saturday. You know how they say babies throw fits because they literally aren’t capable of using their words and understanding exactly what emotion they’re feeling? Tell me how I am 46 years old and still LIKE THIS.

The bottom line is, and unkindly fuck right off if you’re about to minimize my feelings, I am going through something weird following the departure of Mark from NCT. It’s not that I am some crazy-ass fan, but I am relating this to my own life and it is reminding me in a shitty way that people age out of things and need to move on. Nothing lasts forever.

Nothing.

Lasts.

Forever.

That is what I am hung up on right now, flipping through memories of the golden era in my Kpop Phase of Life. Remembering how it felt, and how happy I looked, to be at my first NCT Dream concert. Remembering how I had the all-consuming impulse to run to the nearest tattoo shop and get sprouts and YO DREAM etched on my body permanently.

It all came to a head late Saturday morning when Henry and I drove to Freeport to get some treats from Vivian’s Bakery, and then the plan was to continue to KITTANNING for some reason to go for a walk. But when we got to the bakery, I short-circuited and lost my mind  when it was time to order and ended up not getting what I wanted, blamed Henry, acted like the reigning Douchey of Cuntswold, and proceeded to derail the next 2 hours by yelling for no reason, playing mind games, and then curling up in a ball facing out the passenger side window, crying with NCT Dream on blast.

How old am I.

We ended up coming back to Pittsburgh and Henry, without a word to me prior, went to Yinz Coffee on the Northside, got me their seasonal iced cherry blossom chai and two cookies. Then we went to Uniondale Cemetery where I stormed off ahead of him and walked most of it by myself until he took a different path and stepped out from behind a tree like fucking Michael Myers, I guess to try and remind me why I got a crush on him in the first place way back in 2000.

Jesus. 26 years ago. I hate time.

So, then everything was OK. We came home and I had my afternoon feeding which helped a lot. The cookies did too.

I suggested that we go to Firewhistle Brewing in Elizabeth later that day. Initially, I was going to suggest that we do this earlier in the day and then walk the bike trail thingie that’s out that way because we haven’t walked it in a few years now. But then Henry had his KITTANNING plan –  like wtf even is in KITTANNING, I hate it there now after Saturday morning – so I let him run with that since he rarely cooks up an itinerary of his own. Anyway, he was down with this plan (like he would ever say no) and on the way there, I got an alert that the Pens game was starting.

“Oh, maybe we will actually be able to watch a hockey game for fucking once!” I cried happily, the Erin of Morn’ nothing but a ghost now.

You guys, I ALWAYS HAVE THE BEST IDEAS. This place was such a cozy local establishment. EVERYONE AT THE BAR KNEW EACH OTHER but NO ONE gave us suspicious once-overs. The bartender was down-to-earth and patient while Henry decided what he wanted. (I already knew I wanted the RED ALE – that’s my current go-to, further adding to the misconception that I am Irish.)

(I guess technically this is listed as an AMERICAN red, but whatever.)

I loved the vibe. The owner is also a firefighter and fun fact: my baby shower was actually held in the basement of the fire hall nearby. Don’t ask.

OMG this beer was really good too. It was called Ritterweisse and we heard the bartender tell someone that he’s been calling it the Kyle Rittenhouse but it wasn’t going over too well!! This was some kind of dark German beer that reminded us of the Golden Age Christmas ale we got for Xmas Eve, just without the spice. It was so good. I only just got the red ale and then “helped” Henry drink the ones he got, lol. Not the wheat beer though – I was too busy writing tongue-tip love poems on the roof of my mouth about my beloved red ale while Henry was slamming the wheat.

And we got to watch the Pens cream the Panthers 9-4! FUCK YOU TKACHUK!

I was having so much fun listening to everyone talk about the Pens (only complaint is that the game was on mute because the bartender had a playlist going) and engaging in small town small talk. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer to keep to myself here in Brookline but sometimes I do wish I was part of the community. Sort of. OK, no I don’t. I can barely stand to talk to my actual neighbors, let alone expanding the borders to….other streets. Gulp.

Granted, every so often I would think about Mark and get morose all over again, but at least I wasn’t alone.

Ugh you guys, I’m sad looking at this because 1. it was our last full day with Chooch at home and 2. it was the last day of good health before some kind of sinus nightmare hit me. I feel like all I have been doing since Sunday night is leaking out of my face and fitfully sleeping.

I’ll have to make this one short because I have Kleenex plugging my nostrils and my eyes and every time I blink, more emotionless tears fall from my eyes.

We took Chooch out to lunch on Saturday. He had plans to play football with some friends afterward, and then went geochaching later that night, so I was glad that he fit in his lame ‘rents on his last day home.

I will just say this now – I don’t get the hullaballoo over Spoonwood. The food is just OK and the beer is mid, and the atmosphere does NOTHING to balance that out. But you have no idea how much people here love this place. I only suggested it because we had a gift card and their current beer list sounded OK.

I hated every beer I had there last year when we went for Chronica’s going away party. In fact, it was such a weird vibe that day with the way Spoonwood treated Chronica that even they started to reconsider their loyalty. There was one server in particular that day who was completely rude and exchanged words with Monica even though Monica HAD CALLED SPOONWOOD IN ADVANCE TO TELL THEM TO EXPECT A LARGE-ISH PARTY THAT DAY. Spoonwood dropped the ball bigly and then tried to make Chronica feel like it was an error on their part and that ain’t it, sis.

Anyway, as soon as we arrived on Saturday, Henry IMMEDIATELY had a near-collision with THAT SERVER so I texted Chris to tell her this, after the hostess sat our party of  three at a tall table meant for eight people?! Bro, we got there right when Spoonwood opened and there was an entire floor full of empty 4-seaters but OK, put us at this large-ass party table?! We felt so weird sitting there so we asked to move to a normal table, god forbid causing friction right off the bat! They did let us move but I felt like we were getting some dagger-y staff side-eyes after that.

Get over yourselves, Spoonwood.

I actually did moderately like the taster I got:

And then I got a full-sized Working Class Hero because it said it had corn in it. It was OK. I didn’t like anything Henry got.

Also, I got a falafel wrap and it was OK. The falafel was kind of dry, and there was no “wow factor” to it – it tasted like an average falafel wrap. I got cornbread for my side and that was also dry but also kind of OK. Again, I don’t get the hype over this place?!

I will say that three lunches and a bunch of beers cost less than our completely underwhelming lunch at Busch Gardens last week. I still haven’t recapped that because Hipstamatic keeps freezing on me when I try to edit my pictures, but I’ll tell you now that our lunch there was $98 and came with much less food and that didn’t even include the two beers that Henry and I got. Theme parks are so shameless!!

Meanwhile, I happened to glance over to my left and noticed a woman at a table that I am 99.99% sure I played doubles with when I was a freshman in high school. She was a grade above me and we were friendly, and I think we were even Facebook friends when I was still using that garbage site, but I have this complex where I assume that no one remembers me. Chooch kept threatening to go over to her table and say, “Excuse me, are you Julie? My mom talks about you ALL THE TIME.”

He’s such an asshole, lol.

When we came back, Chooch went off with his friends and Henry and I walked to Uptown Coffee in Mt. Lebanon because Megan tipped me off to their banana pancake latte and I was in THE MOOD FOR IT. First of all, the girl who took our order was wearing a Wonder Years shirt, and then there was a comically tall barista wearing a hat that said something like, “I’m just a little guy” or something and that really endeared him to me. I don’t come to this place often at all, but the last I went was during the pandemic when Chooch and I walked there and I remember having a great interaction with the barista over her Michael Myers tattoo, and Chooch was so embarrassed because god forbid his mother ever engages in small talk!

I was actually remembering this when Henry and I were walking there that afternoon and exclaimed, “Chooch is the reason I can’t do small talk anymore, and resort to acting like an alien just beamed to Earth every time someone asks me a question.” Speaking of complexes!

Can confirm that the banana pancakes latte slapped – I think I need to fully divorce myself from 802 and Potomac Station because even though they are way more convenient to get to from our house, they disappoint more than anything. The owner of Potomac is all about teaming up with Pgh influencers (Yinzfluencers???) now and their Insta has become to annoying and try-hard. I just want a good latte, is all. But there is always something…off. And the baked goods are very hit or miss – everything tastes of Crisco.

Uptown had a much more robust selection of baked goods and their snickerdoodle was top tier. I hate that Henry and I split one instead of each getting our own!

Right before we left, a super tall man came in – had to have been over 6’5″ – and the super tall barista was eyeing him up territorially, like he didn’t want to be dethroned as TALLEST IN THE CAFE, even temporarily. It was crazy because they were both extremely tall, comically even.

And that has been 1,000 words about a Saturday. Thank you, thank you.

Thursday was our 2 year wedding anniversary! And it just so happened that the next Lolev beer pairing event was that day—yay, anniversary plans were basically made for us! This pairing was with Umber – a local woman-owned artisanal chocolate shop. Amani told us about this at the last Lolev event we attended so I had my eyes peeled for the event sign-up to go live!

I really love Lolev so much. Not only is the beer the best I’ve had in this city, but the ambiance is on point and the people there are so friendly and inclusive. The same bartender has been there every time we’ve gone – he’s the one who put me on to the Pgh Beer stamp book thingie – and his laugh so boisterously contagious. Plus, Amani is so upbeat and talkative, it brings even this near-recluse out of her shell.

When we were at the Self-Reliant Seitan pairing last month, Amani and I got into a conversation about Lolev’s match lager which they said wasn’t going to make a reappearance this year, so Amani had started a petition to show the brewers that there was a vested interest in this naturally-green beer perfect for that famously green March holiday. It was actually last March when I had it at our inaugural visit to Lolev. Anyway, Amani’s plan worked because a few weeks ago, Lolev announced on Insta that Iroh was making its much anticipated return! I was worried that it wouldn’t still be available if we waited for the Umber event, so Henry and I actually went to the Zelienople location the day it debuted.

And it was good that we did, because Amani said they actually didn’t have any left, except for one keg that she asked to be saved for the brunch event that she had planned to celebrate its return. I think she said it’s this weekend, actually, but she sneaked out two tiny samplers for us on the downlow – SHE IS THE BEST!! Henry doesn’t like matcha so he took a sip and then when she left the room he slid his glass over to me. Yessssss.

THE DEETS!

Would you look at these gorgeous chocolate drops of art?? Almost too pretty to eat. ALMOST. You better trust that I was choking on my saliva as soon as Veronica, the cocoa virtuoso behind the Umber brand, set down the box in front of me. I wanted to take Henry’s box too.

Veronica recommended taking a sip of the beer first, then a bite of the chocolate, separately. Then finishing the chocolate with another sip of beer at the same time. This was a good suggestion because it forced to slow down when my basic instinct was to essentially swallow each piece whole.

UGH EACH CHOCOLATE WAS SO GOOD. If I was forced to choose a favorite though, it would be the matcha. It was the perfect balance of matcha and white chocolate.

Oh! And we learned stuff that night too because when Veronica came over to sit and chat with us, she told us that white chocolate is actually only 2% less cocoa than milk chocolate?!? I truly do love white chocolate (I’m one of “those people”) and was never one to bitch if I got a white chocolate Jesus in my Easter basket as a kid, and sometimes I actually crave white chocolate over regular, but I always thought it wasn’t actually chocolate??!

I really love orange + chocolate.

This may have been my favorite pairing. It was my favorite beer of the night and the Mexican hot chocolate was subtly spicy and tasted JUST LIKE MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE in solid form.

I mean, would you look at the detail on these though??

Zeus was my favorite beer from the last pairing we went to and I was so stoked to try this Zeus-infused chocolate at the end. I could really taste it, too! Incredible. Amani said they are talking about doing the reverse now, where Umber chocolate is infused in a Lolev beer. Even if it’s a stout or porter, I will be down to try that. I feel like where Penn Brewery failed spectacularly with their Sarris Chocolate collab, Lolev will get it right.

I am such a simp for Lolev.

That’s how Henry always looks at me, btw.

What a fine way to spend an anniversary! And the best part is that Chooch is still home for spring break so one of his friends dropped him off at Lolev after they were done playing football at CMU, so he could be our DD! To thank him, we took up Umber’s offer of 10% off if we re-filled our boxes with chocolate at the end of the night (twist our arm) – Henry and I got one to share, and we gave the other to Chooch.

I can’t believe two years ago, we were in Korea. Bambi was alive. Chooch hadn’t yet committed to a college. It feels so long ago and like just yesterday, all at once.

I was looking forward to today all week because we had plans to go to Lolev (the Zelienople location) for the release of their matcha lager, Iroh II. But first, I had to be Queen Miz all morning because I was FASTING until my 10:40am appointment at Quest to get bloodwork done. Nothing major! But Nourish (the nutrition app) offers FREE PANELS every couple of mths and my dietician put in an order for me to get them done again. Of course, I have my check-in call with her on Monday and only just remembered that I hadn’t made the Quest appt so by the time I scheduled something for today, the earliest available was 10:40am. I get up pretty early even on weekends and normally eat around 9:00am but you literally would have thought I was on a forced hunger strike for a week, the way I was lashing out at Henry.

“Great, I’m going home to eat now!” I said to the Quest phlebotomist before she had even fully withdrew her fingers from the cotton ball / tape contraption she had put in the crook of my arm. I was HUNGGGGGY, you guys.

Later that day, we got to Lolev around 1:00pm and I was so stoked for this matcha drink of the goddesses that I ordered A FULL POUR. I’m a half-pour princess, for those who don’t know. But I knew this was all I was getting and I wanted it in the cool glass that it was meant to be served in.

It was just as divine as I remembered from my inaugural stop at Lolev a year ago. This brewery, man. It is just god tier in my book.

Henry got this New Zealand pilsner and it was light and refreshing. Before that, he got Luminis, a double IPA which was almost as good as their 5-star Zeus. Every time I think I’m over IPAs, Lolev is like, “Here – drink this. Haha, you thought.”

Not pictured: the droves of green-clad 3/17 revelers milling all about Zelienople. I always forget that people start celebrating the Saturday before because, contrary to popular belief surrounding my ultra Irish name, I am NOT Irish and actually, St. Patrick’s Day is right up there with Flag Day in terms of “holidays IDGAF about.”

We actually briefly considered walking down the street to another place called ShuBrew to get one more beer and a late lunch, but that place was poppin’ off with Leprechaun LARPers. We walked in, walked out, and drove to the neighboring town of Harmony for baked goods and caffeine.

Not pictured, part 2: the German pretzel bakery where we got a double chocolate cookie (mine, and it was SO MOIST that it was POSITIVELY GLISTENING like it had been smeared with SUGARED OINTMENT from the heavens above), a Snickerdoodle (Henry is a hardcore s’doodlehead), an Irish scone, and a load of sourdough. Then we walked up the street to ANOTHER bakery called Lagerhaus and I felt bad because it was 15 minutes before they were closing but the ladies behind the counter were so sweet. (Same with the lady at the pretzel bakery – we got there at the very end of their day, and she was apologetic that they barely had anything left but we were happy with the pickins slim as they were!)

I like to take action shots of Henry returning from the bathroom in order to send to Chooch.

And this one was sent to Alyson STAT! This frown of the day was way too good to not share with her, and I knew she would be the only one to appreciate it. She texted back that she was saving it for future phone wallpaper and then asked what had made Henry so CROSS. I read that part of the text to him and he goes, “Has she never hung out with you?!?!”

Wow. Just, wow. I have been so amiable all day!

I really liked this place. It was cozy and made me feel like I was on vacation. BTW, I got a cherry vanilla matcha and Henry got a honey bun iced latte. Both were very well-crafted (I am PICKY with matcha because I love it so much), and we got a mini banana cream pie and carrot cake square to go. They gave us the carrot cake square on the house because the barista accidentally made my matcha with whole milk at first and caught it right before giving it to me, and we truly didn’t mind waiting for a few one but they were like, “Take this for free!”

Honestly, I was the who felt bad because we had gone in there 15 minutes before closing and the remaking of the matcha put us there at exactly closing time. I hate doing that to businesses!

But again, they could not have been nicer and if they felt put out by our late arrival, they definitely did not let on.

On the way back to the car, we were lured over to the WEAVERS HOUSE by this adorbs lamb whose name I learned is CHUGGER because he’s bottle-fed. I learned this because I got sucked into the WEAVERS HOUSE and an older woman sitting behind a loom immediately struck up a conversation with me and I had no idea what was going on but she reminded me of Barb Riley if Barb Riley was into textile craftmanship.

(Can I just take a moment to state for the record that I miss Barb Riley so goddamn much that she still appears in my dreams every now and then and SO MUCH reminds me of her. In fact, I had dinner last Monday night with Margie and Sue at Amel’s and I realized that the last time I was there was with Barb. And on the way out, Sue pointed to the dessert case and said, “Makes me think of our girl” and I was like </3 in real time. 2024 was such a shitty year. I can’t even keep track of the amount of times I see something, hear something, remember something, and think, “I HAVE TO TELL BARB—-oh.” I think I need to visit her grave tomorrow.)

(Chugger agrees.)

Anyway, when I finally emerged from the Weavers House, Henry—who had stayed outside the whole time lamb-loving—asked drily, “So, when’s your weaving class?”

Wow.

I mean, I did take the flyer home with me, so you never know.

Then we came home and Henry immediately went to the store because OMG it was after 4PM and he hadn’t gone to the store yet and he has to go to the store every day because it’s literally his favorite thing, pushing the cart mindlessly down each aisle, letting the soft rock waft down from the ceiling speakers and restore his will to live.

My God-tier Pittsburgh brewery posted on their IG story a few weeks ago about an event they were hosting with Self-Reliant Seitan (a woman-owned purveyor of vegan deli meats). Basically, a small bites pairing with small pours of Lolev beers. I immediately showed Henry and said, “We’re going.” Not a question. Not seeking permission. Tickets purchased straight away.

So, that’s where we were this past Thursday and it was the best time. (Ignore Henry’s blank face here; he was probably still mad because my new thing when he tries to sass me is to say, “Calm down, Pam Bondi.” I was going to say ‘if the shoe fits’ but hers are probably custom-made for her devil hooves.)

The spread! Do you know how hard it was to sit with this in front of me, waiting for the first pour to arrive? It was extremely hard for me but apparently the lady next to us had even less will power because she devoured the whole plate before it even started. But my resistance paid off because it was really fun and interesting to taste how complementary each beer was with the bite it was paired with. I guess this is how all of the normal people felt all those years ago at the Bigelow Grille vegetarian dinner with East End Brewery beers while I was dramatically gagging and acting like my palate was being dissolved by acid.

LOOK HOW FAR BABY HAS COME.

Aside from Henry and me, there were 7 other people there, so it was a nice, small group and allowed us ample time to talk to Emily of Self-Reliant Seitan, and the host, Amani who I recognized from the other times we’ve gone to Lolev and it was so nice chatting with her! Not to brag but I feel like she came over to our table more than the others AND she gave us two extra pours at the end of the night; I felt like teacher’s pet!

And Emily was very sweet and informative – the seitan really sells itself once you taste it, but she me even more inspired to buy some before we left. She doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar store yet but sells at various farmers markets and pop-ups so I told her that we will for sure be seeking her out while Chooch is home for spring break because I know he would also love this and I would like to send him back to Philly with some food anyway so why not super delicious locally-made seitan by a woman-and-queer-owned business?! Love to support ventures like this.

LOL. He mumbled “thanks” when he glanced over and saw that I’m including this picture. Cry about it, P-Bondi.

OK, now let’s get into the beer and bites! I am going to tell you right now that I can’t choose a favorite bite – I was obsessed with all of them. But there was a clear winner with the beer.

First up, we had Edo – a Japanese rice lager, paired with a chicken cordon bleu bite. Bro, I could have done with a chicken cordon bleu plate-sized serving, but am grateful for the bite. It was freaking delicious – I asked the resident meat-eater here and he said that taste-wise, he could barely tell it wasn’t real, except for the texture. For me, having not eaten meat since 1996, I was actually nervous that I was eating real meat.

(Henry just said, “Obviously I liked her products, or I wouldn’t have bought any!” This is true – he was pretty gung-ho to buy some that night!)

Also, Henry was laughing because we got there early so we each got a half-pour to nurse while waiting and I was like, “UGH what if I ending up getting one of the 4 that are going to be served later?” and of course the beer I chose was literally the first one on the list for the night, lol. Good thing I liked it!

Kara and Chris ended up not being able to make it, so I zoomed in on their plates, sitting sadly on a counter. :( We missed them!

Next, Kamo II and a sausage & mustard cream pastry. I swapped out one of my halves for one on Henry’s plate that was bigger LOL. You know when you’re left wanting more, it’s freaking good. Henry said this one definitely tasted real to him.

THIS WAS MY FAVORITE BEER! Zeus, a sweet IPA thing. I liked every beer that night (because, Lolev) but this one seriously sent me. It’s what I want in an IPA. And this salami and cheese cracker thing made me want to have a get-together in the worst way because I’d love to wait for my friends to start chewing and then scream IT’S ALL VEGAN, BITCHES!

I’m a light-weight.

OK this was the show-stopper. The ultimate pairing – a wrapped stuffed date and Demeter, a maple bourbon-y barely wine that had me feeling like I could breathe fire. Strong AF and not something I could drink on its own on a normal day, but it legitimately was perfecto with this wrapped date. Such a smart duo!

Henry has referenced this wrapped date bite numerous times since then so I think it’s safe to say we know who he’s thinking about as I write this on this Valentine’s Day, lol.

Of course, we had to take a picture to send to Chooch who was like, “wow you’re so cool” lol.

Amani told us that she’s organizing a local Mexican chocolate and beer pairing next month so I will be on the lookout for that one too!

Also! When I was in the bathroom, there was a CALL TO ACTION poster in the stall because Iroh, the MATCHA LAGER, is no longer in production and there was a QR code to scan to help bring it back. I didn’t have my phone in there with me, so when I came back to the table, I asked Amani about it and she said she was the one who made that poster because she’s adamant about getting the brewers to bring it back! When we were there in October, the bartender said that it was seasonal and usually comes back around St. Patrick’s Day since it’s green, so I was really anticipating that happening this year since that beer seriously had me considering changing my name to Iroh, startin an Iroh cult, writing an Iroh manifesto. I was obsessed. Anyway, I will actually cry if it doesn’t come back, but Amani said she thinks she’s making progress and that hopefully it will be back in action for the chocolate event. PRAY FOR US, EVERYONE.

What a nice evening! Of course, I was just drunk enough to trauma-dump on Henry the whole way home but he’s used to it. I have a few drinks and start ranting about my family. Who doesn’t!?

Everything sucks but carving out time to do things like this is worth it. Otherwise, we’d have been sitting at home, fuming over Pam Bondi, the Epstein Files, ICE, and that fucking piece of rotten shit jackhammering our country to hell. Sorry, it’s just always heavy on my mind.

Anyway – if you live in or near Pittsburgh:

• go to Lolev and knock back a Zeus
• buy Self-Reliant Seitan, make a sandwich, and eat it while reading my blog lol

My friend Kristy invited me to this cool Black History Month Beer Release at Burghers last night and I think an Erin from another time would have found a reason to flake because it was one day notice and on a work night and honestly what goes on up there in my head, the mental gymnastics I perform sometimes to make stupid excuses to not do things.

But I haven’t seen Kristy in years and our last plans were legitimately postponed because it was the day after I had that stomach bug  two weeks ago and I genuinely still felt like shit plus, was I contagious?? Maybe! And also, I had to do a presentation yesterday at work for a semi-large group of people and I knew that having something to look forward to later (that involved alcohol, which I would definitely be wanting) would help me get through it. I’m just no good with these types of things (don’t worry – I had therapy an hour afterward and my therapist was prepared to talk me off a ledge lol).

God, it was so nice to sit with an old friend and drink a beer that I ACTUALLY REALLY ENJOYED! It was a Black IPA called Roots & Resilience, and it was dedicated to all the impactful Black Pittsburghers. I also got to meet Kristy’s friend Marcus who is the first Black licensed brewer in the city!

Kristy writes for Pittsburgh Magazine and asked me some questions about my road to beer-liking for an article she’s writing, and that was so exciting for me! It also made me realize that the narcissistic Leo in me could do a presentation at work with NO WORRIES OR STRESS at all if the subject matter was ME. How pathetic am I.

Anyway, we talked about EVERYTHING bugging us and hoo boy, was it cathartic while also still being really fun. It has always been easy to talk to her, no walls, and it didn’t feel like it had been 10 years (??!!) since we last saw each other. I have to be better.

I came home feeling so happy and like a giant weight was lifted – I guess I didn’t realize how much I really needed deep, soul-baring conversation and I hope it helped her too.

P.S. she made me this adorable little Jeeter from Kennywood holding a beer!

P.P.S. the second beer I had last night was an Italian thing that Kristy recommended and it was totally refreshing. I think now that I have been here twice, I’m putting Burghers in my top 3 local brewery!

P.P.P.S. we were talking about the first time we met in person and it’s worth sharing on here again because it was so random and sums up our friendship perfectly, LOL.

How to Die in the Event of a Rape

Don’t mind me. I’m just over here green-faced and burping at the mere recollection of my journey to 20 stamps. Chooch kept saying this was going to turn me into an alcoholic but in the end, I think it actually turned me AVERSE to beer.

Anyway, let’s get the rest of the stamps on record here for prosperity.

We met up with THE Chronica at Headley’s for some stamp action. I truly lost track as to what # stamp this was but rest assured we had a wonderful evening with Chronica. We hadn’t seen them since their going away party last July at Spoonwood! They returned from Spain in the fall but are actually headed back again as I type this. So I am super grateful that we got to see them during a hectic holiday season!

Either Chris or Monica pointed out that this picture makes it look like we were hanging out a random animal hospital, and very happy to be doing so, LOL. I don’t know why we were positioned this way, probably at my misleading direction, but it makes it even funnier honestly!

Of course I made them pose with the bag of CHRONIKKAH Dark Matter coffee that I saw and had to pick up for them when we were in Chicago because they have gone by the portmanteau
Chronica for probably as long as I have known them!?

Last weekend, we went to Helicon in Oakdale. It was OK. I wasn’t wow’d and probably would not go back. I also started to get a headache almost IMMEDIATELY after my first sip of whatever this was.

After one half pour at Helicon, we went to the new Grist House location also in Oakdale. I have GOT to stop getting locally-brewed Belgian beers because they do NOT TASTE LIKE BELGIAN BEERS. I didn’t really enjoy my other beer either (some kind of sour that was supposed to make me feel warm on a cold day or something but that was not true) HOWEVER!! I am not writing off Grist House because I have had one of their IPAs from somewhere else and I thought it was just fine, plus this new location is really cool, the staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, and I am just going to go ahead and say this now – I think I had the best soft pretzel of MY LIFE there. Would certainly go back for that and the vibes.

This is the sour that did not inspire warmth.

The next day, we went to Golden Age to buy beer for Christmas Eve, as previously mentioned in my Xmas Eve post, and that counted toward a stamp!

On the way home, we stopped at Burghers on the Southside. I didn’t see anything on the menu that appealed to me so I opted out, but Henry got some New Zealand ale thing. I took a sip expected it to be basic but YOOOOO. Was this possibly the best beer out of all 20 stamps? I don’t know but it was NICE. You know how when people say something tastes bright? Well, now I understand what that means because it legit lit up in my mouth. I loved it. I probably ended up drinking half of it.

Then we went down the street to Velum. Mid, honestly. The people there were very nice but I wouldn’t go back.

I can’t even remember what this was but it was whatever. Henry got two tiny IPAs that were fine. One had a description saying it tasted like spruce and yep, they got that right.

I dunno, I didn’t really like the vibe in there either. It felt like we were sitting in a snack bar, which is only acceptable if it’s connected to a ROLLER RINK, obviously.

And then Friday was THE DAY! I decided on Eleventh Hour for my 20th stamp, because I realized that I never collected the 10 stamp prize along the way and Eleventh Hour was one of the only breweries listed that had BOTH prizes available to collect.

I LIKED THIS PLACE! I think I’ve had their beers before at other places, but the vibe of the actual brewery was super chill (I mean, it was also a Friday afternoon, so…) and the bartender was great. She didn’t even count my stamps, just completely trusted me!

I had a REALLY delicious sour (I am so fickle with sours so when one is amenable with palate, I rejoice) and enjoyed it while lovingly stroking my prizes. Meanwhile, Henry was looking at the Pgh Brewers Guild website and it says that these books DON’T EXPIRE?? That you just can’t combine books for the rewards?? So I can technically still keep collecting stamps in this one I guess until I reach 30??

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

That chaotic race to 20 for WHAT.

Oh well, it was fun and you know I love a challenge.

Anyway, I came home and shoved my rewards in Chooch’s face.

“Oh wow,” he deadpanned. “How will you talk about this for 30 minutes at the Christmas Eve table with Kevin and Corey?”

OK HATER.

(Literally, he said we talked about beer for 80% of the night on Xmas Eve and I really find this to be a gross exaggeration.)

Here are the breweries we visited (or popped in just for a to-go pack and stamp); the ones I will definitely go back to are bolded:

• Lolev, obv.
• Cobblehaus
• Dancing Gnome
• Brew Gentlemen
• Hitchhiker
• Aslin
• Back Alley
• Headleys
• Helicon
• Strange Roots
• Burghers
• Velum
• Eleventh Hour
• Chimera
• Grist House
• Sly Fox
• Southern Tier
• Golden Age (I loved that Christmas beer!!!)
• Hazel Grove
• East End

What have I learned?

• I have low tolerance
• I am extremely picky
• Flights aren’t for me – I get sick/drunk every time I get a flight
• I’m so over IPAs yet they’re also my failsafe / fallback
• I really like red ale but have also had bad ones so I don’t know
• Christmas beers are better than pumpkin beers
• Belgian beer should only be made in Belgium
• Sometimes if a beer sounds like it’s going to be plain/boring, that might end up being the best one so I need to stop looking for the flashy ones!
• I need to find a new challenge for 2026, preferably one that involves salads and lots of exercise
• Beer tastes better at concerts 100%

Piața Sfatului, or Council Square, was lined with restaurants and bars and has got to be the place to be in the summer season. And winter! In autumn, it was still beautiful and blessedly uncrowded. I have seen so many pictures of the iconic BRASOV sign on Mt. Tampa back there and it felt beyond surreal to see it in real life. It’s the little things!

Strada Sforii! It’s one of the narrowest “streets” in Europe, only wide enough for two people to walk down side-by-side and was intended for firefighters to use it as a quick accessway. This is a must-do in Brasov and I was stoked that we made it there in between hordes of tourists! I have seen videos where people are pushed through in a crowded line – no fun in that!

I would say the top complaint I have seen across the board about Romania is their unhinged graffiti problem. We definitely saw less of it the more rural we got, obviously, but once we started making our way south toward Bucharest again, the tags began popping off. Brasov was a clear indication that while the buildings were old as shit, we were in more urban land for sure. Graffiti doesn’t bother me – as long as it’s not on churches, etc. Probably, it shouldn’t be here either but I felt like it added some flavor, I don’t know! It was fun to go through and look at all of the different languages. I didn’t see it in my pass-thru but on one travel vlog I watched on YouTube, I saw something written in Korean!

I knew if I looked hard enough, I’d find at least ONE Kpop reference, lol. #StanATEEZ

I took pictures with the good camera too and haven’t had a chance to even LOOK at them. Basically, I’m saying these Romania posts have no end in sight. I’m sorry.

Huntr/x representin’!

I mean, I don’t know! The graffiti gives it a grimy, sleazy flair! I think it would be such a cool backdrop for senior portraits. I have no idea why that was my first thought.

After moseying around town some more, we stopped back at the room to chill for a bit and I had to stop and take a million pictures from the catwalk thing that lead to our room. I just couldn’t get enough of this sight! It’s the main reason why I booked this room.

Then on the way back out, it was darker so I had to take more pictures LOL. Me one day in the nursing home: “Have I ever shown you my BRASOV SIGN pictures?” Every nurse under employment: “YES. ALL 87 VERSIONS.”

Brasov has a Romulus statue too!

I loved the lighting on this building!

After some shopping, we ended the night at a bar near our room called AFTAR STUBE.

Henry for some reason asked to sit outside and it was SO COLD. I was visibly shivering and although Henry was ignoring my frost-bitten status, the waiter noticed and asked if I needed a blanket.

YES, PLEASE.

He grabbed one from a stack inside an old telephone booth and brought it over to me and I was so grateful. He had come off very brooding and dark-vibey up until this moment (not that I minded, we were in Transylvania for fuck’s sake, ride that stereotype my guy).

Even though it was so chilly out, it was a great atmosphere. Groups of people came out here and there to smoke, so it wasn’t like we were ostracized but I still wished we had sat inside where the action (and heat) was.

I don’t want to paint myself like some kind of hop ho, but I was openly moaning while lapping up this sexy glass of sweet froth.

(FORESHADOWING: for as much as I loved this in moment, I feel extremely queasy just thinking about it right now. Ugh.)

This was a classic Romanian beer – very delightful! Bere Czell toasted my check-in on Untappd! (It was Henry’s beer, but I stole a few sips lol.)

Then this confident girl strutted onto the patio! The blurry picture is the result of me being slightly inebriated, my hands shaking from the cold, and the cat not standing still for even a split section.

One of the younger servers told us her name – it sounded like Video but that wasn’t it – and said she is a neighborhood stray who comes there for food every day. After I said, “aw” to the stray part, he said, “She is….” and after struggling for a moment to find the fitting English word, finished with, “living.” LOL. She definitely looked happy and healthy!

That was one thing I noted very quickly about Romania – they love their stray cats. It seems that many local restaurants have quid pro quo relationships with them – they keep the rats away, the restaurants give them scraps.

“Video” was following the younger server around like she owned the place. I loved it.

We split this veggie pizza – it was perfect with beer!

I stopped after my Hop Hooligans dessert beer, but I made Henry get this IPA from Clandestin because I follow them on Instagram and wanted to taste it lol. Also, it’s worth noting that I kept the labels of both cans, of course. I’m Captain Packrat.

What a great end to our first night in Brasov!

When Chooch was home for Thanksgiving, we made him go to lunch with at Chimera Brewing and he was so annoyed because I only wanted to go there to get a stamp for my Pgh Brewery passport thingie and he didn’t want to be part of that. But then football was on the TVs there so he was happy. Because Chooch, son of Erin and Henry, somehow became a football fan on his own time.

I can’t remember what number stamp this was – 8, I think?? I’m already so over this but I can’t quit until I win. I definitely need something else to fixate on in 2026.

I watched the annual MAMA Awards which was really somber in light of the Hong Kong apartment fire tragedy. :( It was annoying because a lot of people were calling for MAMA to cancel entirely, but then when they opted to go for a somber, toned-down ceremony, people complained that it wasn’t exciting enough. Jesus.

Henry got Trudy all decked out in her Christmas best Friday night after Thanksgiving.

Kevin came over for the first time on Saturday so she had to be dressed for the occasion, lol. We were dying because moments after our company arrived, the doorbell rang AGAIN and we thought it was a glitch until later when Henry reviewed the security footage and we saw  that we were legit Ding Dong Ditched LOL. I was just bummed that our DDDitcher didn’t hang around long enough to enjoy the mesmerizing doorbell jam.

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We had pizza and played the 80s & 90s Song Humming game in the attic – Henry opted out, lol.

The next day, we went to Hazel Grove Brewing for another stamp (#10 – #9 was actually a “cheat” because I sent Henry to a place we’ve already been to – Strange Roots- and he bought a bottle of something called the Plague that was just OK). Anyway, I was excited about this place because they had some Belgians there but I am starting to come to the conclusion that I don’t like American versions of Belgian beers. I have been impressed by NONE so far and keep going back to my imports from Duffy’s. Clearly, I need to just go to Belgium. (And admit that I just don’t really LIKE any other kinds of beer.)

All of my Buddys are totally beefed up for winter. I don’t know how this one doesn’t get stuck in HNC’s roof!!

Last Saturday, Henry and I took the T to the North Shore and had, ugh, a “day date” I guess. BUT ONLY BECAUSE I WANTED MORE STAMPS!!! Right away in Dormont we encountered an aggressively chatty Elder Yinzer but then he liked my shoes (just dark purple Vans) so then I was like, “OK you can stay.” He was in a big hurry to get home and watch the game, whatever game that was.

We went to Southern Tier and had a nice lunchtime beer. Mine was Cherry Pie and it was actually OK but it got kind of cloying after a while. Our server was so nice and that made me like it there even more.

After getting my 11th stamp (yay!), we walked over the bridge to downtown and saw this which is so gross but obviously I had to take a picture because: agreed.

Once we were downtown, we walked around the Christmas Market and look–why do I even bother? I KNOW it’s not for me. And it still is not for me! But we did get a pretzel and cherry strudel to share, so there’s that. I’ll tell you what though, seeing Santa’s Workshop made me so sad though because YOU KNOW how much I looked forward to dragging my work friends over there for our annual group photo with Santa. :(

Here’s the last one we took, back in 2019. MEMMMMMMMMMMMMMries.

Santa always looked forward to our appearances. :( HE TOLD ME SO.

Anyway. Then we walked down to Sly Fox for our second beer and more importantly, ANOTHER STAMP. I got some winter ale thing that was pretty good but the best part was that it was so chill in there (it was also chill the last time we were there after the No Kings protest in June) and they had a bangin’ playlist! PORTISHEAD? BRING ME THE HORIZON? BALANCE AND COMPOSURE? BRAND NEW? It was so good that I had to give the two women behind the bar snaps and they were like, “YESSSSSS.” Being complimented on your music taste is the best, I’ll tell ya. I could have a parade of people going by and telling me I have a nice ass or I’m so smart or whatever, but one person tells me “sick playlist, man” and I am eating out of their hand.

Just like that.

Now you know.

(I miss the old days when people would ask me to make them a mix tape!)

Also, look at Henry smiling because he enjoys my company so much.

On the way back, we saw the Elder Yinzer again! He got on and back again in Beechview. Then on the walk back home, we stopped at Le’s Cafe in Dormont for sticky mango rice (and Henry got a pistachio latte but I learned the hard way that it’s one or the other for me – a sweet drink or a sweet treat from Le’s, I can’t do both or I crash so hard). It was such a nice day! Well, I mean, Pgh weather-wise, it was cold and gray. But it was nice getting out of the house for fun things.

I also learned that flights aren’t great for me. If I get a flight, I feel like I’m drinking less but I always end up feeling so drunk and sick for the rest of the day?! So now I am sticking to one beer. I think I was OK with two on Saturday because there was more than an hour in between the beers since we had to walk from the North Side to downtown for the second place. THIS WAS BY DESIGN. I PLANNED IT THAT WAY. God forbid I should just relax like a normal person. Everything has to have hidden exercise involved.

The rest of the weekend was full of cuddling with Peenlop and rewatching Stranger Things from the beginning. We binge-watched season 5 while Chooch was home but holy shit, did I forget A LOT, even after watching a 35 minute refresher video on YouTube before starting season 5!! I’m not ready for this show to end. Umbrella Academy was hard enough to say goodbye to! Those two shows go hand-in-hand for me and Chooch. I have the nicest memories of finishing a Jillian Michaels workout (don’t worry, I’m done with her) with Chooch and then sitting down to watch Umbrella Academy or Stranger Things. Also, Drew was around for that too.

Super sentimental about everything, I can’t help it.

Also, not a spoiler but Chooch and I were very much against the use of Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” in Stranger Things. We both screamed, “They can’t do that!!!” because UMBRELLA ACADEMY DID IT FIRST. Maybe they could have used DEBBIE GIBSON INSTEAD, JUST A THOUGHT.

Oh, also Henry went to Aslin on Sunday and got a 6-pack which will probably live in our fridge for mths, untouched, just so I could get MY 13TH STAMP!! 7 more by 12/31, can I do it??? We’ll be in Chicago this weekend so I’ll have to really strategize, ugh. All of this for some stupid glass.

Back in the beginning of October, Henry and I stopped into Lolev because they had a seasonal beer with MICHAEL MYERS on the label and I needed it, even though it was a stout. Or a porter. I don’t know the difference, just that I don’t enjoy either. But the can!! Michael Myers!!

Anyway, we ended up sitting at the bar for a bit, chatting with the bartender – who was insanely friendly and informative – and he showed me this beer passport thingie. I have seen the coffee ones before, but didn’t know that there was one for breweries! He said, “Eh, it’s probably too late in the year to get started with this though” because I guess it’s only good for 2025. Basically, you just go to the breweries that are participating and get a stamp, and then collect prizes at the end of the year based on the number of stamps you get.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

He happily gave me my inaugural stamp (Lolev is my fave local brewery so I was happy to start there!) but then we went away to Romania and lost many days of stamp-earning.  However, I came back with a vengeance and am proud to say that I have SEVEN STAMPS now out of 40. 40 stamps earns you the privilege of attending some beer party but I don’t want that – going to a party with a bunch of beer dorks is the last thing I want to do. Getting awkwardly mansplained about the types of hops in the beer I’m drinking and probably not liking? No thanks.

Besides Lolev <3, here are the breweries I collected stamps from so far:

BACK ALLEY

Guys, I cheated on this one! Back Alley is right up the street from us and I was like, “OMG Henry great idea, why don’t you walk your ass up to Back Alley and just get a 4-pack to go so I can get a stamp?” and then as he was getting ready to walk out the door, I ran after him with my passport screaming, “DON’T FORGET MY STAMP!!!”

We tried two of the beers that night while watching Johnnie Guilbert videos. They were fine. I only took a few sips of each and then slid my share on down to Henry. He was like, “I’m glad you’re turning me into an alcoholic just so you can get stamps.”

Anyway, it was fine, but probably won’t go back. I’m picky.

COBBLEHAUS

Last Sunday, we went to Cobblehaus with Corey and Kevin. I had been wanting to go here for some time now because they’re supposed to have Belgian beers and after dabbling in IPAville for a bit, I have decided that Belgians really are my one true love.

They only had two Belgians on draft that day and they both good but just didn’t give me the feels like legit Belgians do. (Imagining a group of Belgian people tickling me now, maybe this will be my next hyperbolic kink that gets me in weird blog situations.)

(Clearly, I need to just to go to Belgium.)

But! I did really enjoy the experience. The atmosphere was great and the company was even better. We got there when they opened at noon and accidentally stayed until they closed at 5PM, lol.

Henry was embarrassed because as soon as we walked in and said hi to Corey and Kevin, I immediately panted, “CAN YOU STAMP THIS???” at the bartender.

“Jesus, Erin, at least order something first!” Henry said, full of disappointment. I lack brewery couth, sorry!

BREW GENTLEMEN

Last Saturday, we had to go to one of the European markets to get stuff for Romanian Thanksgiving, so I suggested that we just “pop in” to a nearby brewery while we were out so that I could get a stamp. IT IS CONSUMING MY LIFE. Brew Gentlemen was pretty close to where we were going, so it was settled. We’ve had BG beers before (actually, I think it was at the Honey Revenge concert) but have never been to their place.

This time, I ordered before thrusting  my passport at the bartender but I could tell Henry was still annoyed – SORRY THAT I GET EXCITED OVER STUPID THINGS, HENRY.

Anyway, I got this really amazing chai ale thing and it was refreshing AF. I kept saying, “I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH I ACTUALLY LIKE THIS” around every single sip.

Henry being annoyed with me.

Henry being dumb.

Me in the bathroom.

Anyway, what a fun and quick afternoon beer! Then we went to a cemetery and walked it off before Euro grocery shopping.

HITCHHIKER

On Sunday, we had decided to try to do two breweries within close proximity. Originally, we were going to go to 2 Frays and East End, but then Kara told me that Chris and his bike club did a collab with East End and there was going to be a thing there for that on Tuesday so we moved East End to Tuesday and decided to instead go to Sharpsburg and do Hitchhiker and Dancing Gnome which are withing WALKING DISTANCE of each other, so even better!

Hitchhiker was actually sort of the gateway into me thinking, “Whoa, COULD I like beer??” but then Henry was all, “You don’t like beer, you just like these because there’s sugar and lactose in it!”

OK to his point, yes, I was only drinking their dessert-y milkshake beers. But they are SO. GOOD. It’s what challenged me to try other, more basic/standard beer again just to see if maybe my palate had been broken enough to tolerate it by now.

I immediately felt super comfortable here. Granted, we got there right after they opened so there was only one other couple sitting at a table, but the bartender was very lovely and reminded me of Lynn Gunn a little bit (I’ve come to realize that many women of a certain age remind me of her, and by certain age I mean mid-20s). She was very patient as Henry was being a diva unable to make up her mind.

I got the Mr. Bitters and then swapped with Henry because he actually got a pumpkin something or other?! Henry hates pumpkin! But I think he probably knew that I would like that better than the Mr. Bitters which was fine but the pumpkin thing was so much better.

DANCING GNOME

We had planned on just having one beer at Hitchhiker and then walking to Dancing Gnome because for some reason I had it in my head that I was going to like it more there.

I DID NOT. I found the bartenders to be your typical “we know beer better than you do” types of whatever this new generation calls hipsters. I mean they weren’t blatantly rude but I felt like they were making fun of me as soon as I turned around MAYBE I’M PARANOID BECAUSE I HAVE LOW (NO) SELF ESTEEM. But it just wasn’t a warm place.

The beers were just OK. I can’t remember what I got. Oh! The Yam Jam. It was neither yammy nor jammy. I smrobably would have been better off with just a basic IPA. Whatever that is. But the one in this picture is actually Henry’s – I probably look like such a drunkard but I always check-in every beer on UnTapped even when it’s something I just took a sip of. So this picture was just for check-in purposes.

I did not like this one at all and immediately passed it over to Henry. (We were getting half pours, btw. Look at me trying to justify us.)

Guys, we went left Dancing Gnome feeling unsatisfied and went BACK TO HITCHHIKER for a flight!

“Why didn’t we just go to Dancing Gnome first for one beer, and then come here?” I asked in disbelief. We KNOW we like Hitchhiker!

“We’re back!” I said happily to the guy bartender and he was like, “Oh boy.” No, I’m kidding, he smiled.

I always think I like sours because Hitchhiker has the best ones (hello sugar) and then I get burnt at other places when I try a sour. But damn Hitchhiker is really so great.

I was talking to my therapist about how we’ve been doing this (she’s a beer person and was flipping through my passport because ofc I had it in my purse during our last session) and I realized something! Henry and I have actually been spending quality time together during this mission! It’s been really fun and I’m thrilled to say that my fear of becoming the kinds of Empty Nesters you see at a restaurant, not talking to each other, was all for naught because we’ve been having the best time!

Granted, I’m a professional yapper so I don’t know why I ever had fears of becoming an incommunicative couple.

I will admit that day drinking is not for me though. We definitely went overboard like we were on a date or something weird, who are we.

EAST END

I will only leave the house on a work night for a select few people and Kara is one of them! As mentioned previously in this drunken post, Kara’s husband Chris is a co-founder of a local bike crew called Give Up and East End made a havy IPA in their honor! Kara lured me with the ube-flavored sour, and that was a fun one but I REALLY liked the Give Up beer!! I wanted Henry to buy a pack of it but he was all THERE IS NO ROOM IN THE FRIDGE!!

It was a great time hanging out with Kara while also dodging the East End owner because I trashed his beers so hard in an old blog post – like REALLY old, so old that it was actually from the LiveJournal days and then reposted over here –  back when I truly hated beer with my whole hateful heart. And then he found it, because of course he did, when am I ever going to learn, but he commented and thought it was funny! And he asked if he could include it in his beer newsletter or whatever and I was so mortified but also like, how could I say no this guy who was clearly such a class act and so chill about some dumb broad dragging his livelihood through the mud of the Internet streets.

Anyway, after we left, KARA TOLD HIM and he apparently said he wished I had said something while I was there but OMG having to talk to someone about something weird I wrote about them on my blog already happened once this month, so I think I reached my limit! Maybe next time!

Well, that’s my summary of the first 7 stamps in my dumb passport (PICTURED ABOVE!!). 13 more to go by 12/31! CAN I DO IT?