Christmas Carpool

Merry Christmas!!  I hope Santa was good to you all!

In case you missed it, check out the All I Want for Christmas version of Carpool Karaoke.

Santa Watch 2016

While the hospital doesn't have a chimney, it does have a helipad!  

I will keep an eye out for Santa and his reindeer (and put in a good word for those of you still on the Naughty List).  

It's a Wonderful Life

70 years ago It's A Wonderful Life hit the big screen and while the movie initially was not well received, it has become an American classic.

Growing up, my family would watch the movie after the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  As kids, we were told the movie was filmed in our hometown.  Turns out my parents were either misinformed or just lying (let's go with the first) because the movie was filmed in Seneca Falls.  This town, located in the Finger Lakes of New York, even has it own movie museum so I guess I will have to take it as fact.

Every year the Regent Square movie theater shows It's A Wonderful Life for the cost of a few canned items which are donated to the East End Cooperative Ministry food pantry.  So tonight I am braving the cold weather to soak up some last minute holiday cheer!

An Aggressively Festive Weekend

As the countdown to Christmas continues, Dan decided to come to the Burg for an aggressively festive weekend visit.  First stop on the trip was the holiday market downtown.  After perusing the shops, we headed to the PPG Place Wintergarden for their annual gingerbread competition.  While most of the entries were from local schools, the adult and professional categories did not disappoint.  

A licorice roller coaster next to a Frozen themed lodge.

There were several Up houses, but this one was a personal favorite. 

Dan and I then headed out of the city to Soergel's Orchard for a sugar cookie decorating class complete with festive drinks from Wigle Whiskey.

This kid was the teacher's pet, showing off with his incredible royal icing flooding skills and whimsical patterns.   

Mine were a pretty close second if I do say so myself.

Once the sugar rush was over, we drove back to the city to grab dinner at the new tiki bar, Hidden Harbor.  While the decor is not as outrageous as the Tonga Room, the drinks pack a similar punch.  My only complaint was that the drink was not served in a real pineapple but I guess those are hard to find this time of year in Pittsburgh.

Sunday morning forecast promised flurries, so we headed over to Boyce Park for some snow tubing.  Most of the snow from the previous week was melted, but thanks to modern engineering the hills were packed with a few feet of snow.  We were the only ones on the tubing slope which meant we could make a round trip in about five minutes.  

Now I'm off to do a little last minute shopping and wrap presents.