Twenty Four Before Twenty Five

Tomorrow I turn 25....

 I cannot believe that it is almost October. My time in Pittsburgh has already started to fly by. I am finally moved into my new house (this has happened verrrrry slowly). I am hoping to get settled and post a lot more often! In honor being away from many of my best friends and family for my birthday, I thought I would share my goal list and reminisce about many great times in my twenty-fourth year.

 For the last couple of years, I have made a list of goals on my birthday for the year. I first was inspired by A Beautiful Mess and all of her fun goals.

I wrote this list looong before I had any idea I would be living in a new city and going to graduate school! This list would have looked very different if I would have known, but that is how life works. I loved digging out my list and looking back at all of the goals I did accomplish.

I am going to highlight a couple of the goals to commemorate the amazing year I had. 

 2. Travel to a new place.

 I am counting Pittsburgh as traveling to a new place. I moved to a new place. New school, new farm, new friends, new house.

 

6. Host a fancy dinner party.

 I have wanted to host a dinner party for close friends for a long time. I hosted the party with my dear friend Allison at my house, out in the garden. It was the perfect evening. We put together a delicious menu, had music playing through the windows, pretty lights and the best company.

 
11. Bring friends to the cabin.

 One of my very favorite weekends. Right before summer officially started, some of my best friends and I snuck away from the Cities for a weekend at the cabin. It was such a relaxing weekend filled with lots of laughter, little fish, sunshine, boats and great food. (All of these photos were stolen from my friend Janae!!)

12. Picnic in the park.

  Even better, we had a picnic on the beach. I went to Erie, PA for the first time to move my sister into her new house. She moved to Erie to go to graduate school and I feel so lucky that she is so close to me. Erie is just about 2 hours north of Pittsburgh. My aunt and uncle came to Erie for the afternoon and we all went to the beach and had a picnic at sunset. It was a really great introduction to Erie!

I feel so thankful for the people who are in my life and the opportunities I have had. I am looking forward to making my new list tomorrow with my goals for the next year!

Local Food Month

 September is Local Food Month here in Western Pennsylvania. The best way to engage in local foods this month is by following the Buy Fresh, Buy Local blog. Every week, a local food blogger will pose a challenge for people to participate in. People can follow along, post their responses, and have a chance to win prizes. I will be participating to the best of my ability, without having my own kitchen at the time being and having limited transportation. 

Their first challenge was to take a picture at your favorite farmers' market. The pictures I have are from a place called Patty's Farm Market. It is a year-round market that supplies both local and non-local produce. I have been there a couple of times for their selection and prices. I am looking forward to exploring new farmers' markets.

 

Pretty pitted fruits and apples.

Local Food Month and the Pennsylvania Buy Fresh Buy Local program are coordinated by Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). They do amazing work to support Pennsylvania farmers and focus a lot on community engagement through classes and conferences and educational programs. One of their offices is located on the farm I am working on. I am looking forward to participating in lots of their programming.

What brought me to Pittsburgh.....

I moved to Pittsburgh for a couple of big reasons. When both of my sisters decided to move away from Minneapolis this fall, I knew that if I was going to move, this was the time! I was feeling ready for a new adventure, ready to move on from baggage, ready for a fresh start. 

My father grew up outside of Pittsburgh, in a small town called Monaca. I grew up visiting at least once a year to see my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins! When I was in about 5th grade and pulling fossils out of the side of the hill behind my grandparent's house, I knew I wanted to move to Pennsylvania.  I have been dreaming about moving to Pittsburgh for many years now, and when I was looking to graduate school, my cousin mentioned the program that she had just started.

 

Chatham University

I looked into many, many different food focused programs all over the country. The ONLY program I ended up applying to was Chatham University's Master of Arts in Food Studies (MAFS). It is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary food studies program. It is really great because I get to learn about a variety of topics within food studies and also choose a focus. I didn't want to go into a program that I could ONLY study sustainable agriculture, or JUST nutrition, or ONLY policy, or JUST food communications. This program is a combination of all those topics. I wanted a comprehensive education to be able to continue teaching others through gardening and cooking. I am really excited that this program is what allowed me to take a leap of faith and move across the country to Pittsburgh, to a very new place. 

 

These are the steps I walk up everyday to class!

 

I also have a chance to work on another student-run, sustainable, organic farm. I am doing an assistantship at the Eden Hall Campus. I will be helping with the organic certification of the farm, various research projects, and general farm maintenance. I have already had so many chances to do new things! I have learned about growing and harvesting shiitake mushrooms and harvesting and milling buckwheat. I am looking forward to working on a new farm, learning new knowledge and skills!

 

Shiitake Mushrooms ready to be harvested.

This weekend, I started to really feel like I live in Pittsburgh. It is pretty crazy. I live in a city that is 900 miles from the Twin Cities. Nine hundred miles away from my family, friends, and my safety net.  I am looking at apartments with new friends tomorrow, fingers crossed for something great! I am really looking forward to having my own place.

New

New city, new adventures, new food, new people, and a new blog to keep track of it all.

This summer was a total whirlwind. I applied for graduate school in May, got accepted and decided to go in June, applied for loans and put our house on the market in July, moved (with no where to live) and started classes in August. I might be insane. 

I had the very best summer, with the very best people, in one of the very best places on Earth. When I was getting ready to move from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh and thinking about all of my new adventures to come, I knew I wanted a place to document it all. 

This blog will be a place for me to share things I fancy. Likely that will mean all things food, gardening, and crafting, with lots of everyday things thrown in.

I am so excited for a fresh start.