I did a lot this past October, but never really got a chance to blog about it. I wouldn't want people to think that they aren't important enough to make it on the blog, so I shall rewind a bit and catch up with my life.
This is Matt and Justin, or The Whomping Willows and Justin Finch-Fletchly respectively. They are two amazing wizard rockers who performed at the PAW (Pittsburgh Area Wizards) Halloween party the week before Halloween. I came to Pittsburgh specifically for this show. It was awesome and they are both two super talented and funny guys. We all went back to Freya's place afterwards and hung out until an ungodly time in the morning. At which point I had to drive to my parents house and sneak in. I have to admit, that was actually kind of fun too! More photos.
My week in Pittsburgh was super packed. One of my friends, Allison, happened to be in town from Colorado at the same time. We met up for brunch and had a good talk about remodeling homes and married life. Then she locked herself out of her parents house and I had to take her to her grandmothers. It was a good thing she was home!
I also got to meet up with one of my best friends, Laura. We had dinner at the new Sharp Edge that opened on 19. Sharp edge is so fun, they have tons of imported beers on tap and will let you sample anything you want. Laura also brought some friends from her work and we had a really good time drinking and hanging out. Is there anything better than just sitting around with appetizers, drinking beer and talking about The Big Lebowski? I think not. Also, just to make a note, this was the second time on my trip that The Big Lebowski came up. I did not start any of the conversations and they were completely different groups of people. Weird.
On Thursday of my trip I woke up and went to meet my old boss from Shadyside, Maria, and her daughter Iris. We got coffee and talked for a while. It was really nice to catch up and see Iris again. When I saw her last she was one and a half with barely any hair and a limited vocabulary. Now at almost 3 she has a full head of curly hair, can have a whole conversation with me, and is half as tall as I am! Well not really, but she is darn tall for her age!
Thursday night I met up with my brother and his new girlfriend, Christie. We went to Molly Branigans, where our waitress ignored us and they were having some sort of trivia contest that was loud and no one was playing. We still had a nice time. Christie and my brother are totally gross and in that "new relationship" stage. It's mostly amusing and I like anyone who makes my brother happy. Luckily for me though, she seems very cool. She can follow Jon and my sense of humor, which is awesome, because it generally just makes people confused or in my mothers case, angry.
Friday Jon and I were off to Chicago! Neither of us had seen our niece yet. So, we took a road trip out that way to spend the weekend with Chris, Lisa, and Claudia. We just hung out and played with the baby. 
Jon and I got to pass out Halloween candy to some neighborhood kids. Claudia was dressed in a little devil outfit. She was originally going to be a chili pepper, but the kid just keeps growing and she got too big for it!
We also played a PlayStation karaoke game. Which is unbelievably fun. I really thought I knew more lyrics to "Step by Step" but I guess I've let down my childhood friends with my lack of NKOTB knowledge. Jon and Lisa, however, rocked the house with WHAM! Or A-HA, I can't remember.
Either way,
these two are born rock stars! I don't think Claudia minded the singing (she didn't cry anyways) but she did seem confused by the insanity of her family.
After our visit Jon and I headed back to Pittsburgh. Monday night I met up with
Giancarlo and we went to see
Zack and Miri make a Porno. I highly
recommend it. If you think Kevin Smith films are funny or if you like Pittsburgh (I fall into both categories so I loved it) go see it.
Then I headed back to my little cabin in the woods only to return again two days later. Which will be discussed in another entry. See more Chicago pictures
here.
After my super fun trip at the end of October to Pittsburgh and then Chicago, I came back to our quaint cabin for a whole 2 days. Just enough time to unpack, re-pack, fret over what to wear and head back to my parents.
