10.2021 Life Recommendation // Visit Pittsburgh's Historic Northside

As some of you may know, I have been a Northsider for awhile now. I moved there for the ability to be close-ish to work (as far as those pesky bus routes are concerned) and close to all the exciting amenities of the of the city. But what I didn't realize was how much I'd fall in love with the Northside itself! So today, I want to recommend some neighborhood highlights and things you should do if you make the journey across two whole rivers:

• Mayfly Market - a little corner market and deli; check out local favs Gilligan's Sorbet and Brothmonger soups available there (and follow @brothmonger on Instagram to have your mouth water daily!)

• Huszar - a family-owned Hungarian restaurant; come for the Goulash, stay for the Chicken Paprikas!

• Sampsonia Way - Take a stroll down Sampsonia Way to see the City of Asylum painted houses, visit the Mattress Factory Museum, and stop and smell the roses at the CoA Alphabet Garden, as well!

Finally, I recommend that you come visit me at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh! You heard that right... I will sadly be leaving Crafton at the end of the month for a position as a Children's Librarian at CLP-Allegheny. I am sad to be leaving, as I have met so many wonderful people here and have felt so honored to serve the Crafton community over the last nearly 3 years. But I am also excited for where this new journey will take me. So if you're ever on the Northside, please don't hesitate to stop by the library and say hello!

09.2021 Newsletter Recommendation // Emily Oster's ParentData

I don't remember how I found this newsletter, but I've been aware of Emily Oster's work since beginning to put together CPL's new Parenting Collection last year. She has authored several New York Times bestselling books on parenting and pregnancy, including Expecting Better, Cribsheet, and The Family Firm. She is also a professor of economics at Brown University, and all of her work is firmly data-driven and meant to help parents make informed decisions about their child's care.

This is where her newsletter comes in! ParentData succinctly tackles recent trends in parenting research, with topics ranging widely from screen time to sleep training to the question "has the pandemic lowered babies' IQs?" (Before you worry, the answer is not likely, as there are several validity concerns with that particular study.) You can subscribe for free to have this newsletter delivered directly to your inbox twice a week!

Subscribe at https://emilyoster.substack.com/.

08.2021 Music Recommendation // HOME VIDEO (album) by Lucy Dacus

Last month, I had the incredible opportunity to attend an outdoor concert for the first time in more than a year. This show was very special to me, because the lineup consisted of one of my favorite recent musical discoveries (Lucy Dacus) opening for one of my old favorite bands from high school (Bright Eyes). My friend and I traveled to Bethlehem, PA to see the show, and not even a tornado warning along the way could stop us!

For my recommendation today, I want to urge everyone to check out Lucy Dacus's third studio album, Home Video, which came out in June of this year. Every single song on this album is dripping in nostalgia and sincerity; Dacus draws inspiration from her own coming-of-age experiences, never playing a character or putting on a persona when she sings.

My top song recommendations from the album — "VBS" which is about Lucy's experiences of meeting her first boyfriend at vacation bible school; "Cartwheel," which unpacks the feelings of being left behind by friends who grew up too fast; and "Partner in Crime," a lush song about a relationship with an older man that employs auto-tune in the most artistic way.