Exploring Ohiopyle

This summer on two separate occasions we took a drive out to Ohiopyle. For one of the trips we also rented a cabin and invited family to join us. We were going to be in town for a wedding at the Barn at Fallingwater and decided to make a weekend of it. My parents, sister, and mother-in-law all came with us which was really fun.

This post has many more photos (enough to require a page break) and an overview of the trip after the jump.

What to Wear to an Amusement Park

This summer Chris and I made use of season passes to Kennywood. Kennywood is a beautiful, historic park located along the Monongahela River just south of Pittsburgh. It provided the dreamy  backdrop of Adventureland and if you grew up in SWPA you probably feel at least some nostalgia for the park and its many classic rides.

 
Chris and I are both lovers of Kennywood. As a child my hometown's community day at Kennywood was also my most highly-anticipated summer event. For all of these reasons we were so excited  to take Emilia to Kennywood. In 2013 she was too tiny but in 2014 she was able to ride plenty of things.

We managed to buy our season passes for a song on Black Friday the year prior. Because she is under 2, we could bring Emilia with us for free so we went often, usually at the end of business on random summer week days. This way Emilia could have her normal mid-day nap, during which I wrote and worked from home. We'd pick Chris up from campus where he was working and be on our way for a few hours of fun and stimulation before bedtime. But planning an outfit for an amusement park has always stumped me. I don't want to be too hot or impractical but I also want to feel like myself.

 

My gut on one of our first trips was to reach for a casual dress and flats but dresses make it a bit difficult to get on and off of rides with modesty. So by the end of the summer I was wearing khakis, a tshirt, and sneakers. I was comfier for it. 

Sometimes we would meet family there which made for even more fun AND bonus child care flexibility that enabled me and Chris to ride a few roller-coasters!

 
We developed our own Kennywood routine this summer. We'd head to the back of the park, ride the train, get some Potato Patch Fries, go to Kiddieland, ride the swings, airplanes, and rockets, get in line for the cars and hope they don't break down before our turn, split an ice cream cone, ride the carousel, and say goodnight. I already miss it! 

I'm fully prepared to purchase season passes next year, Black Friday deal or not!

Outfit Details:
Anthropologie "Readymade" dress (old)
Gap factory cardigan (old)
Chloé flats (old)
Gap tee (old)
Old Navy pants (old)
Catherine Popesco jewelry* c/o Perfect Details



Remember, there's still time to enter my eShakti giveaway! 

*From reading my previous posts on Perfect Details, it probably seems like their selection is best suited for formal occasions like weddings and glamorous evening events. But that's only part of the story. I found these cute costume jewelry pieces by Catherine Popesco on the Perfect Details website a while back and they've become my workhorses. I dress them up and down and they're great staple pieces.

Left to right: bracelet, necklace, necklace

I especially love the art nouveau touches on the vintage-inspired bracelet. I also noticed that the Perfect Details website mentions that rental options are "coming soon." I think this is a really great idea because often special occasions might make you want new, fresh accessories without making a huge financial investment. Thanks again, Perfect Details!

Scenes from our weekend in Cleveland (part 1)

Chris just started a new job and while this is fantastic news for our family, it also means that our schedules have become a little less flexible. Naturally, he has to accumulate vacation time and is beginning from scratch. But that doesn't eliminate our shared travel bug! We decided that in the meanwhile, we would utilize any long weekends we could to take short trips. Our first voyage was over Memorial Day weekend, when we drove up to Cleveland to eat, shop, and explore.

We visited the newly remodeled Cleveland Art Museum, which is pretty fantastic and free to the general public! While there, we saw so many wedding parties taking photos, which always makes me feel a little wistful. As a spectator, I was reminded of the strangers who wished me well and snapped photos from the patio outside of Heinz Chapel, while I waited to walk down the aisle on my own wedding day.

Chris put his art history degree to use as he took Emilia on her own private tour. It was fun to compare her reactions to the art on this trip vs her previous museum visit at the National Gallery of Art (when she was two months). At six months old, she was less into impressionism and cubism. She was more into portraits of women and girls. She still liked the mobile sculptures of Alexander Calder. But she also appreciated multisensory and multimedia pieces.

 

We loved the West Side Market, where we shopped and had lunch. Because it was a Saturday on a holiday weekend, it was very crowded. Thankfully, we opted to wear her rather than try the stroller. She loved looking up at the architecture of the space in the main terminal.

There was certainly a lot to see!

 

We took a break to eat our hand pies from one of the vendors. We also gave Emilia a break from the Ergo so she could stretch her legs.

We ate at some amazing places too. I can't wait to go back!

Outfit details
Me:
Tory Burch Warren ruffle trench
J. Crew anchor dress
Old Navy leggings
Lucky Brand Emmie flats
Marc Jacobs Mercer hobo
Norman Childs glasses/Etro sunglasses

Chris:
Vince sweater
Marc Jacobs jeans (note that these are way cheaper in the mbmj store than online for some reason)
Vans slip ons
Lifetime Collective sunglasses

Emilia:
Osh Kosh cardigan (similar hoodie set she also has here)
Tea Collection dress (same in another colorway here)
Old Navy leggings
Trumpette socks
Handmade hat

By the way, I'll be drawing the Shabby Apple Giveaway winner later today and contacting them via email. The winner will also be posted in the Rafflecopter widget. Thank you to everyone who entered and to Shabby Apple for providing the prize!

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend I met with my family for the annual visit to our favorite local farm. We picked pumpkins at Triple B across the river from Monongahela, PA.* It was crowded but we still managed to find pumpkins and apples and more.

After my visit I felt even more impressed by all the style bloggers who wear beautiful outfits to photograph at their local pumpkin patches. My mom thought I was overdressed enough in sequined flats rather than beaten up sneakers, so I applaud the boldness required to wear a dress and pumps for such occasions. Although I clearly lack that level of dedication when it comes to clothes, every October when I comb through my blog reader, I enjoy seeing the beautiful, idyllic fall scenery playing backdrop to the outfit blogging of so many well-dressed ladies.

BTW, I bought a new camera and I was so excited to use it for the first time to take family photos. OF COURSE I accidentally (amateurishly) had it set incorrectly (to accommodate low light rather than bright light), hence the graininess. I meant to double check it beforehand but plum forgot. I will still use my point and shoot in a pinch and for any office/campus photos because I have no desire to lug a tripod, etc. to campus in the name of my own vanity. But I do expect this purchase means that the quality of other off campus photos will improve.

*Since I mention Mon City, I also way to suggest a wonderful history blog for any SWPA folks (and ex-pats), titled Lost Monongahela. It is interesting to think about the ebbing and flowing of industrial and post-industrial development in the corner of the rust belt where I grew up.