Home Holiday Decorations

Do you want to decorate your apartment for the holidays?  Everyone wants to be festive, but you do not want to spend a lot of money if you are leaving for the holidays.  Here are some great inexpensive tips on how to make your apartment a holiday wonderland.

• Personalize and hang stockings for your family. – this can be a fun project and very inexpensive. Purchase plain stockings and paint, glitter, felt, etc. and create your own designs for your stockings.
• Remember in Elementary School when you used to make paper snow flakes in art class.  Flashback to those times and make your apartment a winter wonderland with this easy art trick.
• Hang ornaments from the stairs and or ceiling.  Just make sure you do not damage the walls or ceiling while doing this.
• Use some ribbon and ties to put around chairs and lamps.  This adds some festive spirit to even the smallest furniture.
• Make a giant present out of your door by using some wrapping paper and a bow.  It instantly looks festive and adds so much holiday spirit to your apartment.
• Use holiday cards that you receive to decorate the walls in your apartment.
• Play Christmas music on your ipod or on Pandora!

I Made it! Bakery Square Market

Make sure to check out this great Holiday Event at Bakery Square on November 30th and December 1st.  There will be a craft market held with Pittsburgh regional artists selling their work at the first floor space of Bakery Square.  Bakery Square will also be lit up red in honor of World Aids Day on Friday Night.  Make sure to check out all the details below.

I Made It! for the Holidays {our 6th annual holiday market}

Shop with us: Friday, Nov. 30 from 5 pm – 10 pm

&  Saturday, Dec.1 from 11 am – 6 pm

Inside the first floor space @ Bakery Square (map)
6425 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, FREE Indoor Parking

Visit our Facebook Event for updates!

I Made It! for the Holidays announces its sixth annual handmade arts marketplace to be held on Friday, November 30th from 5 pm – 10 pm and Saturday, December 1st from 11 am – 6 pm at Bakery Square. More than 90 Pittsburgh-regional artisans will offer handmade goods including children’s items, house wares, clothing, jewelry, plush, ceramics, sweets, photography, toys, bath & body products and much more. Saturday brings TAPPED Pop Up Beer Garden and Santa! To learn more about the artists or for event details, visit www.imadeitmarket.com.

For more about the event and our sponsors, visit the I Made It! Market blog. Sponsors include: Assemble, Bakery Square, City Paper, Cotton Factory, Green Light Wireless, Indie Foundry, MailChimp, Outright, Play Unplugged, Port Authority, Quiet Storm, Square, Revive Marketing Group, SouthSide Works, 82 Concepts.

We are excited to announce that Friday night the Delta Foundation will be lighting Bakery Square in red in honor of World AIDS Day. On Saturday, Santa will be onsite for photos from 12 pm – 3 pm and Tapped brings a pop up beer garden from 12 pm – 5 pm. ABOUT BAKERY SQUARE: Bakery Square is a new mixed-use development located in the East End neighborhood of Pittsburgh, built out of the existing site of the historic Nabisco Factory. Offering an exciting lifestyle center environment while hosting numerous free events to connect with its neighbors and guests, Bakery Square is home to Google, UPMC, Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Active Fitness, Coffee Tree Roasters, Learning Express Toys, Jimmy Johns, Springhill Suites Marriott Hotel, Massage Heights, Boxwood, University of Pittsburgh, Veteran Administration and the newly opened Panera Bread.

For more information see I Made It.

Thanksgiving Decorating Tips

Do you have company coming over for Turkey Day?  If you want to decorate without tons of hassle, here are some great quick and easy Thanksgiving Decorating tips!

It's turkey time and this time of year isn't just for eating, it's also for decorating! Give your home a quick and easy facelift for the Thanksgiving holiday.  
 
Fall and Thanksgiving Colors
Check your home for items that are in the rich hues of fall--red curtains, orange throw pillows, brown rugs.

Local thrift stores can also provide inexpensive items to decorate with. Look for blankets that are in fall colors. These can be used as throws on the back of a couch, a drape over a chair, even a cloth for your kitchen table. You can also cut blankets up and sew them into slipcovers for throw pillows.

 
Small Accents
Small items can add accent touches to any room. Scented candles (pumpkin spice, apple cinnamon, cranberry) that are in fall colors or come in decorative candle holders can add small spots of color and texture while creating the smell of the fall holiday.
 
Curtains
Just for the holidays, do a changeup with the curtains in your home. You don't need to do the whole house to make a decorating statement--your kitchen and living area will suffice. Choose rich colors that reflect the cooling temperatures and hues of fall.
 
Throw Rugs
If you normally have carpet or bare floors, decorate for Thanksgiving by adding a large, festive throw rug. Smaller throw rugs can be used as accents or can add spots of color if you can't use a large area rug.
 
Towels
Hang decorative towels for Thanksgiving in your kitchen and bathroom to making drying your hands and your dishes more festive. Local stores usually have inexpensive kitchen and bath towel sets for the different seasons and holidays. Sure you only pull them out once a year but they add to the look and feel of your home at Thanksgiving.
 
Thanksgiving Dishes
If you have room to store them, special decorative Thanksgiving dishes are perfect to use at this time of year. Don't wait until Thanksgiving Day, use them during the whole month of November and enjoy them. If you don't have Thanksgiving dishes, check the local thrift store for dishes that are fall-colored. Mix and match to create fun meals and enjoy!
 
Rearrange Your Furniture
While there are no specific "Thanksgiving furniture arrangements" moving your furniture around always gives a room a fresh update. Since Thanksgiving is a fall holiday and is all about reconnecting with family, try arranging your furniture to create cozy areas for friends and family to gather and chat.

For more information see Yahoo.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Spend some time with your friends and family and remember everything in life that you are thankful for.

Pittsburgh Light Up Night

Pittsburgh Light Up Night is this Friday and Saturday downtown.  Fireworks, free activities, and events to get you in the mood for the Holiday Season.  Make sure to check it out with your family, and remember it is free.



 Event: 52nd Annual Light Up Night & First Holiday Saturday
 

Location: Various locations throughout Downtown Pittsburgh
 

Date: Friday, November 16 through Saturday, November 17, 2012
 

Time: 5-10pm Friday, noon-8pm Sunday
 

Cost: Free
 

Description: Free and open to the public, this is Pittsburgh’s official kick-off of the Holiday season. Light Up Night – Light Up Weekend! For up to the minute Light Up Night – Light Up Weekend goings-on, please visit the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s website. Enjoy lots of live performances on multiple stages, the Bridge Party over the Allegheny River, the ceremonial lighting of six trees, an all new stage show – Celebrate Santa, and of course a grand fireworks finale.

For more information check out Living Pittsburgh.

Mix @ 6

 Make sure to check out this great event sponsored by the Pittsburgh Public Theater.  You can see a great show, taste delicious food, and network with young professionals all for $20.00.  These are all held at the O'Reilly Theater downtown on the Thursday before each show's opening night.

 Mix @ Six is a young professionals event that combines networking with theater. It’s held 6 times each season the Thursday night prior to the Opening Night of each performance. The pre-show party starts at 6 p.m. with complimentary hors d’oeuvres, complimentary Miller products and Starbucks coffee tastings. There are also special offerings from local groups and businesses.

Tickets are only $20, including the show. Full time students (and those 26 years of age and under) are only $15, but must show their ID. A district fee of $.50 will be applied to each ticket. (Normal price is usually around $35-$55  just for the show.)

2012-2013 MIX @ SIX Schedule
Born Yesterday - Thursday, October 4, 2012
Good People - Thursday, November 15, 2012
1776 – Thursday, January 31, 2013
Thurgood – Thursday, March 14, 2013
Clybourne Park - Thursday, April 25, 2013
Other Desert Cities- Thursday, June 6 , 2013

Pittsburgh Public Theater, at the O’Reilly Theater

621 Penn Avenue, Cultural District
Pittsburgh, PA  15222
412-316-1600

For more information see Living Pittsburgh.

Steelers Overcome Adversity

Everyone in the country is rooting for New York and New Jersey to help them overcome the tragedies of Hurricane Sandy.  However, that did not stop the Steelers from playing with all their heart against the New York Giants on Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a yard to convert a fourth-and-1 from the New York Giants' 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter, and coach Mike Tomlin decided against a run up the middle for a first down, a pass for a touchdown or even the easy field goal to tie the game in favor of the backward flip to kicker Shaun Suisham.

It didn't work. And Foote was livid.

With the execution, not the call itself.

"I'm more mad we didn't execute it because we've been running that play for about five years now! And in practice, Heath Miller comes off and blocks me every time!" Foote told USA TODAY Sports, though he yelled it for about half of the Steelers' locker room to hear after their 24-20 victory at MetLife Stadium.

"We finally ran it and didn't execute!"

In a more measured tone, Foote then added, "That's football."

Foote's reaction summed up the way the Steelers handled a difficult Sunday that certainly wasn't easy for anyone â?? the away team, the home team or the fans.

The Giants were dealing with the worst problems, of course. Some of their players are still without power and have suffered severe damage to their homes because of Hurricane Sandy. Some of the fans lost their houses but showed up at MetLife Stadium on Sunday hoping their team could provide a reason for them to smile at the end of a long, difficult week.

The Steelers had their own comparatively minor issues.

They had to overcome an extremely questionable call that gave the Giants a 70-yard touchdown return on a fumble that should've been ruled an incompletion. Their defense needed to force a stop after Tomlin's head-scratcher of a call resulted in Suisham's easily being tackled by the Giants' Michael Coe, who didn't rush hard off the edge as the Steelers had hoped.

And all of this came after the Steelers flew in the morning of the game instead of arriving a day early because the hotel they'd booked was without power.

Again, compared to what others have been dealt, it's petty stuff. But as it pertains to what happened between the lines, that was a tough, gritty performance by a team that has for years prided itself on being mentally and physically strong.

"It was one of the craziest things ever," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said of the day-of-game travel, "but we might be doing that every week now, I don't know."

Said Foote, "I saw a lot of NFL superstar millionaires sleeping on the floor pregame in the hotel (lobby) with rolled-up shirts as pillows. But, hey, football's football. You put the ball down on the grass, and we'll play."

That's the kind of attitude a championship team needs to have. So when his team shows such a mentality, it's easy to see why Tomlin is encouraged.

"We combated a lot of adversity tonight, and were able to pull it out, particularly with a solid performance in the fourth quarter," Tomlin said, adding this of the failed fake field goal: "They overcame bad coaching sometimes, and that's on me."

But Tomlin's bad coaching might've had some solid reasoning.

You see, the Steelers' defense had just forced a three-and-out that ended with a sack of Eli Manning 
on a third-and-11. On the previous Giants' possession, Pittsburgh had held the Giants to a field goal despite Manning & Co.'s taking over at the Steelers' 33-yard line. Not since Andre Brown's 1-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter had the Giants crossed the goal line.

Tomlin, who was immediately clapping for his defense to get the ball back as soon as Coe tackled Suisham, must've had an inkling his defense would bail him out if his gamble didn't pay off.

"Making that call?" cornerback Ike Taylor said. "Yeah, of course."

Added nose tackle Casey Hampton, "To even do something like that in that situation when you can take the three (points) and tie it up, that lets you know he's got a lot of faith in this defense."

And why not? In their five victories, the Steelers have given up a total of 10 points in the fourth quarter. In their three consecutive wins, they've given up only a field goal in the final period.

They outscored the Giants, who tied an NFL record with seven fourth-quarter comebacks in their Super Bowl season last year, 14-0 in the fourth quarter on Sunday.

"They're one of the best teams in the fourth quarter, and we were probably one of the worst teams in the fourth quarter (early in) the year," linebacker LaMarr Woodley said, referring to the combined 40 points allowed in the fourth quarters of the losses to the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans. "We weren't doing a great job closing out games and playing against one of the best fourth-quarter teams, we answered today."

A bad decision by Tomlin? Overcome. Adversity? Overcome. A 1-2 start? Overcome.
Now, here they come. The Steelers are title contenders once again.

"We're just getting back to playing sound football, we're getting back to closing in the fourth quarter," Taylor said. "The games we lost, we didn't find a way to finish, but we did today."

For more information see News Press.
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