Lifestyles category, Page 17

It’s the hottest week of the year and Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor isn’t serving up cones, sundaes or milkshakes. The shop in Pittsburgh’s Strip District isn’t even open. A note on the door dated Feb. 8, 2024, reads: “Hey Yinzers, Klavon’s is going to be closed for a couple of...

It’s that time of year when everyone’s looking forward to some fun in the sun. Too much sun can be dangerous, though. Exposure to UV radiation from the sun damages your skin, and children are especially vulnerable because they tend to spend more time outdoors and can burn easily. Skin...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is maturing, like the fine whiskeys it showcases. A new-look Bourbon Trail unveiled Thursday will lead visitors to large and small distilleries alike, linking relative newcomers and age-old brands in a collective strategy to build on bourbon tourism’s popularity. It began with seven...

As peak summer approaches in Sicily, Anna Fiannaca prefers the peppers, eggplants and zucchini her brothers grow over the packaged food in the supermarket. The 89-year-old cooks everything from scratch and eats mostly vegetarian. But she attributes much of her continued good health to adjusting her diet to what is...

It was a night Annalese Kimberly Bartolacci often dreamed about. Wearing a beautiful gown and dancing with Prince Charming, just like in a fairy tale. Her dream came true. Bartolacci, a recent Fox Chapel Area High School graduate, was selected as Cinderella at the 98th annual Cinderella Ball on June...

Greensburg Pride Prom is back and bigger than ever this Saturday at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. The event, held each year during Pride Month in June, is an opportunity for the LGBTQIA+ community in Westmoreland County to get together, let loose and have...

Never stop wishing. No matter your age. Because sometimes those wishes do come true. “If feels so nice to be able to give back to people who have given back their entire lives,” said Baliegh Butler, an Allegheny County ambassador for the Twilight Wish Foundation, a nonprofit based in Doylestown...

Editor’s note: This story first posted on April 8, 2020. Government agencies advise residents to throw out meat, poultry, fish, eggs and leftovers in their refrigerators if they have been without power for more than four hours. Residents should carefully go through their refrigerators to pitch items if they have...

Angela Stribling and Shawn Alfonso Wells were walking out of the council building following a Juneteenth committee meeting, and they were able to hand Swissvale’s Juneteenth flyer to a few young children. Stribling recalls the young girl shrieking as she said, “Oh my gosh, the Bill Henry Band! My grandma...

Endings create new beginnings. That philosophy inspired Karin Mayr to launch Sabika, a Pittsburgh-based, woman-owned jewelry company. For 23 years, the business has sold sparkling necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings through stylists who specialize in knowledge of the brand. That beginning has now reached an end. Mayr and her daughters,...

The grilling season is upon us, and there’s a technique for Dad to try: the smashburger. Smashburgers entered the cultural zeitgeist as early as the mid-20th century. While they may seem like a modern culinary trend, initially the smashburger was a practical solution for making a small piece of unrefrigerated...

CHICAGO — Vacationing in Chicago this week from Europe, Jelle den Burger and Nirusa Naguleswaran grabbed a bite at the Dog House Grill: a classic Italian beef sandwich for him, grilled cheese for her. Both think the way their genders lined up with their food choices was no coincidence. Women,...

LONDON — For summer trips overseas, a smartphone is essential for most people. How else will you check Google Maps to find your Airbnb, post an Instagram video from the Eiffel Tower, or WhatsApp friends and family back home? Of course, if you’re using apps that gobble up data while...

A garden club founded in 1924 is hoping to grow its membership as it celebrates 100 years of gardening outreach and fellowship in Western Pennsylvania. The Linden Garden Club, founded on May 15, 1924, by the late Mrs. William H. Mercur, originally welcomed women residing in and around Linden Avenue...

Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop has officially closed one of its three locations in Pittsburgh. The Point Breeze location on Penn Avenue, near Braddock Avenue, shut its doors indefinitely last week, according to owner Lou Bosser. The Strip District and North Side shops remain open. Bosser said an offer for...

Prince Bhojwani never thought of himself as a negative person, until three trips to the hospital in one month forced him to reconsider. Before May 2018, he was a healthy but chronically worried start-up founder who regularly did 20-mile (32-kilometer) bike rides. When he suddenly became barely able to walk,...

WINNETKA, Ill. — The home of Kevin McCallister’s hijinks is changing hands. And if the new owner wants to watch “Home Alone,” there’s a movie theater inside, one of many upgrades since the suburban Chicago property was renovated and expanded in 2018. Sale of the Winnetka house, portrayed in the...

When Marlene Fait-Schmalz bought her childhood home in 2011, she reclaimed a piece of McKeesport history. The unique Victorian-style residence, once the Richard L. Fait Funeral Home, boasts a parlor, chapel and grand entrance on the main level, while the upper floors offer cozy living spaces. Now on the market...

The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium in Highland Park has a new resident — a wallaby joey, born to mom Ava. A wallaby is a marsupial, a pouched mammal in the kangaroo family. When they are young, they are called joeys. The animal is spending a lot of time in the...

Jennifer and Eric Mauchan live in a Cape Cod-style house in Framingham, Massachusetts that they’ve been cooling with five air conditioners. In the summer, the electric bill for the 2,600-square-foot home can be $200. In the winter, heating with natural gas is often more than $300 a month, even with...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The pink house where Muhammad Ali grew up dreaming of boxing fame — and where hundreds of fans gathered for an emotional send-off as his funeral procession passed by decades later — is up for sale. The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Louisville was converted into a museum...

Specially trained service dogs helped ease PTSD symptoms in U.S. military veterans in a small study that the researchers hope will help expand options for service members. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs provides talk therapy and medications to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and runs a pilot program involving...

BERLIN — When Michael Bommer found out that he was terminally ill with colon cancer, he spent a lot of time with his wife, Anett, talking about what would happen after his death. She told him one of the things she’d miss most is being able to ask him questions...

For decades, native plants were relegated to the “weed” section of many American gardeners’ minds. Most nurseries didn’t stock them. But that’s slowly changing. Native plants provide food and shelter for bees, butterflies, birds and other beneficial critters. They effortlessly grow healthier and stronger than exotic species, seldom need fertilizers...

Nothing screams summer like a scenic alfresco picnic. Take your sweetie on a “datecation” outdoors for a fresh-air experience that doesn’t break the bank. Outdoor-inspired destinations abound in Western Pennsylvania, and those seeking an adventurous date are sure to find the perfect picnic spot. So pack a picnic, pile into...