Happy Saturday! How was your week? Winter decided to make an appearance yesterday with a thick coating of snow, and I can’t say that I’m mad. The snow is beautiful when there is nowhere to go. Although it does interrupt my plans for a run. We’re almost through watching the Best Picture nominations. Will you watch the Oscars this weekend? We watch every year and fill out ballots. Whatever you have planned, I hope you enjoy your weekend! Here are some items of note from the last week.
Podcasts
The Daily is a news podcast produced by the New York Times. As its name suggests, it comes out daily and quickly (usually in about 30 minutes) covers one really important news topic for the day. If you feel like you never have time to catch up on the news, this is a really great way to understand at least one really important topic. I’ve especially enjoyed their 2020 election coverage.
Movies
JoJo Rabit tells the story of a young German boy whose imaginary friend is Hitler. He must reconcile with his beliefs when he discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic. Although it sounds serious, and it certainly is, it is also really, really funny and incredibly poignant. It’s based on Christine Leunen’s book Caging Skies and is written and directed by the Taika Waititi, who plays Hitler and also directed What We Do in the Shadows. It’s very well done and everyone is good in it, including the young boy.
Pittsburgh things
We finally had the chance to try Jean Louis, a newish French restaurant right in Dormont. We were both very impressed. I had the filet of beef and Chris had the braised veal short rib. My beef was like butter. I alternated bites of it with sips of red wine, and I could not have been more pleased. We also ordered a side of the truffle fries and sautéed mushrooms. That was definitely more than enough food. We probably could have done without the sides, but I’m glad we tried them. The vibe was energetic and fun and the décor is perfection. I would recommend sitting in a booth because it’s a little bit quieter.
Blogs
And lastly, here are two great blog posts:
One woman celebrates turning 50 by requesting letters from friends and family from all stages of her life and the responses are life-affirming and endearing.
If you are trying to live more sustainably, here are 20 easy plastic-free swaps for every day.
Christina Darling 