Today was my first "Day of Funk" for 2009. I'm sure there will be many more to come, but today was just the perfect occasion. What is this "Day of Funk?" Basically, I woke up at noon (actually, 8:30, then fell asleep and re-woke intermittently until noon when I forced myself out of bed), did not wash my hair, did not get out of pajamas, did not go to the gym, did not eat anything healthy, and basically did not do anything productive. In short, I was a scuzzball. When I forced myself out of bed around noon to get some Puffins, I immediately realized the day was going to suck because a.) it was POURING outside; b.) my vb team was supposed to meet at the HP sand courts for a practice but we canceled it due to the rain; c.) about 30 minutes after canceling our practice, it became sunny outside (though not long enough for a practice); and d.) I had some wicked crampage going on. Blah. Instead of being a productive member of society, I read a little, slept a little, watched a little tube, caught up on some blog reading, and made some beer bread and lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting.
Homemade beer bread.
My tray of lemony goodness.
I garnished them with perfect little blueberries. I wanted to use strawberries, but I ran out on Friday.
Ironically, the cupcakes LOOK good, but taste kind of off... they have a weird consistency. They taste good enough, but still, they're different. The beer bread also tasted kind of strange, but in a good way. It almost tasted like biscuits. Strange. Maybe my taster's off...?
Anyways, Saturday I took myself on a mini shopping spree/tour. I headed down to the Strip District and reveled in the craziness. One of my first stops was Wholey's, which is famous for its uber-fresh seafood and eclectic offerings:
Yes, the fish are still swimming, waiting to be taken home and fried up (or baked, or grilled
...)
There's a large variety of fish available - this picture doesn't do the place justice at all.
Sleepin' with the fishes...
These big suckers were kind of creepy.
Mmm, who doesn't love some Beef Tongue?
Or better yet, Tripe?
Once I turned the corner from the crazy meats, I found this glorious statue of goodness:
It was difficult, but I managed to restrain myself.
And finally, as I was about to leave, I found the one thing I was really SEARCHING for this weekend:
This isn't a McGinnis Sisters-sized little "sampler" bottle... this is the real deal. Mmm, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it!
When I left Wholey's, I was immediately greeted by this display:
That just ain't right. It's just downright mean. Keep walking, Lindsay, keep walking.
I mosied down to the Oriental grocery store and picked up some goodies for some future dinners:
That's Pad Thai sauce, Kung Pao sauce, and Large Rice Noodles. Yum.
Also:
Super-cute chopsticks for the next time I make sushi. So cheap!
I doubled back to put my purchases in my car, then realized all the shopping was making my tummy growl. By sheer coincidence, I realized this as soon as I stopped in front of Sunseri's bakery... where they have breads, rolls, and pizzas galore being sold on the sidewalk. I caved and got a piece of "pizza" on Sunseri's bread:
It. Was. Huge. Seriously. This is it folded over - the guy seriously gave me the biggest piece available. And guess how much money? $1. Rock. Frickin. On.
I stopped in Mon Aime Chocolat and sampled Rosemary Goat Milk Gelato, but they don't allow pictures. Plus, the sample ended up in my mouth pretty quickly. It was different, but it was REALLY good. My next stop was La Prima for an iced coffee since my pizza made me thirsty, but while trying to get my camera out of my bag, half of my coffee spilled all over me. Smooth move, and yet, classic Lindsay.
My last stop of the day was the Pittsburgh Popcorn Company - a place I've heard a lot about, but never had the urge to try. The thing that drew me in was the sign proclaiming the flavor of the day to be HAZELNUT NUTELLA POPCORN. Gasp!!
Mmmmmm nutellllllllaaaaaaaaa...
I'm not big on popcorn, but that's some quality crack right there. Crack doesn't come cheap, though - my small bag of popcorn cost me $4.25! Definitely a splurge item. But it was pretty great.
When I left the Strip, this was the temperature, per my car:
Not bad for the first week of March in Pittsburgh!
On the way home I passed the new Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville. It looks pretty cool and reminds me of the Centre Pompidou in Paris with all the crazy colors:
You know you've got skillz when you can take decent pictures while driving. :)
I also decided to make a very important pit-stop:
Highland Park Sand Volleyball Courts
The gate was unlocked! Yay! Look at all that beautiful sand!
But wait a second... what's all that stuff in the sand?
I love that I took not one, but TWO pictures of dog poop. Only me.
And then there's this pretty obvious sign right at the entrance:
Hmm...
Speaking of volleyball, you can't really tell from the picture below, but my hand is a lovely shade of eggplant:
Thank you, super-hard volleyball from Thursday night's game.
I made a few more stops Saturday, including Dunham's, Target, and Dick's. I got these beauties:
New Camelbak! ARGYLE! How cool is that?!
Ultra-cool kids' Peanuts toothbrushes... bet you wish you had a small mouth too, right? This was the bargain of the day at a whopping $1.02 for TWO toothbrushes! Hot dang! Also, I hate to admit it, but they DO work a whole lot better in my mouth.
And finally:
What you see above is two things: 1. my beautiful new volleyball with pretty blue flowers; and 2. what I call my "baby harness." You know how some parents have those leashes or harnesses that they put on their small children (and some older children... I've seen it) when they go to the mall? Yeah, well, they make them for volleyballs too. And since I think of my volleyball as my baby, it's only fitting that I should get it a harness so that I never lose it again. Actually, my baby harness has a practical purpose (and a more appropriate name): it's a "Practice Pal." Basically, this is supposed to enable you to practice by yourself without having to constantly chase your ball. Perfecto. Just what I needed. I was so excited to try it, I used it in my "dining room" AKA room with absolutely ZERO furniture (nope, not even a table). I think my baby harness was meant to be used outside or in a gym, though. It has quite a bounce-back.
Lastly, I tried to kill myself by going on a 30-minute, almost entirely uphill (and HUGE uphills) bike ride on Saturday.
By the time I was walking (yep, I couldn't even ride the last one) my bike up the last hill to my house, I was literally WHEEZING. I don't know if I've ever wheezed before. I seriously contemplated lying down in the middle of the road. It. Was. Torture. And yet, once I had regained consciousness on my kitchen floor, I couldn't wait to do it again. Sometimes I think I'm completely insane.
I seriously need to hit some hay. Like now.
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