Hello? It's me.

If there’s anyone out there: Hi guys.

So I went on an unannounced hiatus for the past year, and even before that I was getting jaded about blogging. It probably shows in my last posts. But why? It’s complicated.

First, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I never fully adjusted to the so-called “blogging world.”

Let me preface this comment by saying that there are some amazing ladies out there who are supportive, amazing and unique. I love reading about them and following up with their lives.

However, there's another aspect of the bloggersphere. There’s so many people out there pushing how tos, how to improve, how to increase readership. I loved reading blogs for years before creating my own. I never thought about the mechanics of writing posts and taking photos, videos, promotion, etc. It became daunting.

It’s almost like blogs are an extension of the type of social media posts, where everything is idealized and the positivity sends you into a lifelong migraine.

Essentially, writing blog posts evolved into a chore. It became a job rather than a hobby. I felt like after awhile, the posts I were writing were no longer reflections of myself. That’s why I created the damn blog. But after stepping away for awhile, I do realize there’s a void. I have a journal that I write in occasionally and I have Facebook, which hardly qualifies as an outlet, but those arenas have their limits. I love writing. It makes my ideas clearer, it brings perspective. I loved to blog. I liked having my own little speck of the internet that was all my own.

I already write for a living and adhere to strict deadlines. Why implement those standards on my free time for free? I want to pursue my own hobbies and thoughts.

I think to compound things, I got a new job that was a better fit for me, but requires a much longer commute. Long commutes eat into free time. Boo.

Looking back, I also put too much of a focus on outfits. I love clothes, and I love seeing outfit posts on other blogs, but I think I’m hardly an inspiration to others. I’m still wearing most of the same clothes I pictured myself in two years ago. Not to say that will go away entirely, but for now, outfits won't be happening as much.

The blog break also came right around the time I realized I gained an embarrassing amount of weight in a short period of time, about 25 pounds over a year and a half. It was showing in those outfit posts. I’ve always been size 12/14 and I’ve been slowly getting better with embracing that. But my old clothes weren’t fitting anymore. I’ve since lost the extra weight and I’m back to my old self.

Let’s get to the point here: I want to blog again. But this time, it’s going to be on my terms. I’m not so concerned about readership as much as just getting to share projects, archive my life, make it enjoyable for me.

I don’t have a crap ton of free time. There’s all that commuting and roller derby happening and housework to be done. (Since I’ve been gone, Mark and I bought a house! Yay!) I will adhere to a once-a-week blog post on Tuesdays. The arbitrary deadline will give me the push I need to generate content, but it will be whatever the hell I want because it’s my space. Even if only three people read it, I hope they enjoy it.

Why not rebrand? Thriftburgher has always been me. At it’s best, it’s pushed me to be better. I want this to be a fun project, but something that’s a little more unfiltered too. I mean, that's what it's all about, is it not? I don't want this space to be limiting for me anymore. I want this space to evolve with me.

That’s enough of that. Kudos to you if you actually read through all of that muck. See you soon. :)

All the Small Things; All the Fall Things

Donning our flannel and warm footwear, Mark and I made our way to Franklin over the weekend, a quaint Pennsylvania town that happens to be home to one of the biggest annual Applefests in the region.

We gorged ourselves with fall-festive foods like pumpkin funnel cake and apple dumplings, checked out more than 300 craft vendors, bought a few cheesy wooden ornaments, and checked out a few businesses in the downtown area, which was overwhelmingly crowded during the festival.

I've heard great things about Franklin, about an hour drive from where I'm living now, but had never been until now.

Last fall, I watched Gilmore Girls on Netflix for the first time. It's weird because I totally fit into that generation of girls who watched it religiously; I just wasn't one of them.

Anyways, I found myself cherry picking episodes to watch over the last week or two. I think the idea of living in a quaint small town and the crispness of a New England fall are so charming to me. I just wish Stars Hollow was real life. In my experience, small towns have a lot more racists and sexists. And other generally backwards thinking.

Sigh. Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to putting up the hoards of Halloween decorations around the house, go out driving to pick pumpkins once the leaves start to turn, and perhaps even hit up a haunted house. I have a roller derby friend who works at Scarehouse and a few of us got a sneak peek earlier this year. It made me realize how much I miss haunted houses!

What's on your fall must-do list?

Pierogi Love

For those who don't know, my heritage includes being half Polish.

Ever since I could stand at a kitchen counter, I helped stuff, pinch and fry pierogi, a delightful Eastern European dumpling, typically filled with potato, cheese, sauerkraut or cottage cheese. This was the only Polish tradition that was left in my family; we usually made them a few times a year.

In recent years, Pittsburgh has seemed to have an increasingly feverish obsession with pierogi. There's definitely a history here, and many bars serve them. But now, there are multiple food trucks that serve them, with traditional and non-traditional fillings alike. Naturally, when I found out about Pittsburgh Pierogi Fest, it piqued my interest. Pierogi are the quintessential nostalgic comfort food for me.

So Mark and I checked it out over the weekend.

A photo posted by Kate (@thriftburgher) on Sep 19, 2015 at 12:27pm PDT

A photo posted by Kate (@thriftburgher) on Sep 19, 2015 at 11:40am PDT

Although I left Pierogi Fest happy, (I won a Twitter contest that got Mark and I some free merch) I was a little disappointed by the execution of the event.

There's admission: $12 a pop at the door. Luckily I bought a Groupon ahead of time that cut that price in half. That doesn't cover any food -- just to get through the gate.

There was no shortage of pierogi options. More than 30 vendors were there, including at least a half dozen serving strictly pierogi: Pittsburgh Pierogi Truck, Gosia's Pierogies (Latrobe), S&D Polish Deli (Strip District), Cop Out Pierogies (Etna), and Perla Pierogies (out of Ohio).

Unfortunately, the lines were out of control. People were everywhere standing in lines. And there wasn't really anything else to do to break up the time. Mark and I had the patience to go through one line, which ended up being Pittsburgh Pierogi truck because 1.) their prices were reasonable, 2.) the line wasn't as bad as some of the others, and 3.) I wanted to try their food.

To be honest, I wasn't impressed with the pierogi there. But the haluski was bomb. Cop Out Pierogi looked amazing, however that line seemed longer than any other and looked like it snaked all through Stage AE. I figured I bought a Groupon for there too, so Mark and I would try their pierogi some other time.

Some things I wish would've been available: An opportunity to try a pierogi (or even half of one) from each pierogi vendor. Like, a $10 VIP pass to try them all and have an assembly line serve each one. Then cast a vote for best pierogi. Apparently there IS a best pierogi contest, but there's no way anyone could try them all with the kinds of lines with waiting 30 plus minutes in each one.

I think I demo about how their made, the background on their heritage, or even a couple cheesy pierogi filled games. (See what I did there?) I guess it doesn't really matter what I think; I'm sure they made their money and are all set to go for next year. But those were just some of the things I was expecting.

Mark always tells me the pierogi I've perfected over the years are the best he's eaten anyway. ;) After all, I've been making them since infancy, pretty much.

A video posted by Kate (@thriftburgher) on Jan 8, 2015 at 3:10pm PST