Another great weekend has come and gone. This weekend I passed up Fall Symposium for my longtime tradition of Homecoming at Slippery Rock University. I seemed to regret it at first because I learned that the parade was cancelled due to rain. Should I have attended the Fall Symposium and give up on Homecoming? Absolutely not. I was still doing this and neither rain nor snow nor sleet would be stopping me. 

I got there around 9:30 and ventured around campus in the rain. That windbreaker came in handy. I changed wardrobe as I made my way to the alumni tent for lunch. As I sat down I changed into my mint blazer and toted my pink Coach purse as I got lunch from the catering service. I won a door prize for answering one of the questions correctly. I bought a new sweatshirt and T-shirt at the book store and drank some Starbucks coffee. I could have gone home and labeled this day a bust but I continued to suck it up and got my ticket for the football game.

The football team was unimpressive in a loss to IUP. I got some compliments on my pastels and chatted on Messenger with second momma Paula. She made the afternoon much better. Once the game ended I made my way home and I got to hear about Mom’s trip to Harpers Ferry and Winchester. My cousin was a gracious host and it felt like this was a trip worth taking.

I shopped (online) at Nordstrom Rack and bought my shackets. They’ll be delivered in a week or two. My Instagram and beauty buddy Vanessa will be so happy when she sees pictures of me modeling them in an upcoming fashion blog. Here they are.

Later this week I will ordering these blouses on Amazon that I can’t wait to wear with my infinity scarves. The red blouse will look great with my leopard print scarves and the leopard blouse will have me slaying 🔥 🔥 🔥. It’ll look great with a Coach purse and a blazer. I’m also going to say yes to the dress 👗 meaning I’ll wear one. No wedding bells anytime soon for me.

Sunday was a quiet day and the highlight of the day was my Achievers meeting. We had two great speakers and we had a visit from our Division Director who gave his two cents and also participated in the meeting during our Round Robin evaluations.

Next week begins my “church tour” as I will attend services Saturday night at Community United Methodist Church in Harrison City. After so much activity the last few weeks, it’ll be nice to have to do anything this next weekend. Looking forward to the Fall Festival at Greendance on Halloween and upcoming fun events in Ligonier in November. Those will be mentioned in an upcoming blog post.

Life begins at 40 and with changes coming at work, it’s time for me to make changes in my life too. Is a career in beauty or as a makeup artist in my future? It’s possible. I’ll be firing up makeup tutorials on YouTube and studying up. Exciting times ahead. Believe IT.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

It’s been a few years since I attended Homecoming at Slippery Rock but today I made my return to the green and white school.

2021 even with its hardships (my health scare, my uncle’s passing, uncertainty at work due to the WIS-RGIS merger, fear of some people’s opinions over my being different) has gone well so far. Some of the great stories of this year include: Rob and Sara’s wedding, turning 40, Greensburg Toastmasters achieving Presidents Distinguished, finally celebrating my Distinguished Toastmaster award, and the best would be embracing my gender nonconformity.

Today instead of learning at the Fall Symposium, I made the drive up to Slippery Rock for the annual homecoming. It was nice to celebrate it after not being able to a year ago due to COVID.

It started out a little disappointing because there was no homecoming parade due to the weather. There was severe weather this morning in the area but overall I feel it was just a precaution. Still with the rain the parade could have gone on. I arrived at 9:30 and took a walk around campus. I signed up for the alumni lunch which they hold in the tent right by the football stadium. John Greaves continues to play the tunes during homecoming as their official DJ. There was great food which was catered by the university and beer from North Country Brewing. Most of the day I’ve been spending dodging the raindrops. I stayed dry in the tent ⛺️ during lunch. There were a lot of carnival games and even rides in the tailgating area which I never saw before.

After lunch I made my way to the Bob (the new University Union named after the university’s former President. He was my president when I attended in the mid 2000s. I bought a T-shirt and sweatshirt from the bookstore and then got my Starbucks fix. I ordered an Apple Crisp Macchiato.

I then made my way down to the stadium for the football game against IUP. It was halftime by the time I arrived and Slippery Rock was down 24-7. The 2021 Homecoming Court was announced and so were the winners. A chosen group of Slippery Rock’s best alumni were honored. The marching band put on a great show.

One of the color guards looked like Jason Momoa. I was in full gender nonconformity mode today with my mint blazer and matching scrunchie and pink Coach purse. I chatted with an alum and she was all about my jacket and Coach purse. I mentioned the color guard to Paula and that got us started chatting on messenger. She even changed her theme to Love and that got us started on a tangent as well. We talked about what our messenger themes would be.

I made my way home in a good mood after one of my better homecoming experiences in a long time. Forever I was remembering my college days and wanted them back. This was the first time I’ve actually felt content at where I am in life.

I think my homecoming experience was reborn today and I owe all of that to the recent success in my life.

Tomorrow morning is the 2021 District 13 Fall Symposium. Many of my fellow Toastmasters have already signed up and should have a great time via Zoom learning how to be social and find their voice. I have great memories from the past couple of years attending these events. 2019 had me enjoying Aaron Beverly fresh off his world championship and hearing great presentations from our own Fred Vornbrock and District 10’s glitter ✨ queen Jenilee Taylor. Last year I was only there for the awards ceremony but it was worth it to hear my name called for the Spirit of Toastmasters award. I also got to show off my bling, or my DTM medal.

While tomorrow is the fourth annual Fall Symposium, being held virtually, I will not be in attendance. I will be enjoying an old tradition that seems reborn this year because of everything happening in my life. I’m choosing Slippery Rock Homecoming over Fall Symposium. Nothing personal.

The question is: Why am I attending homecoming which seemed played out a few years ago over Fall Symposium which seems more interesting?

My decision to drive up to Slippery Rock instead of sitting at home for the virtual Fall Symposium could have been weather related. The forecast does call for scattered rain showers especially in the morning. It shouldn’t be a washout for the afternoon football game vs. IUP (Slippery Rock’s biggest rival). But despite the wet weather I’m enjoying my Saturday in green and white, or mint (my blazer and scrunchie will match).

The reason I’m going to the Rock tomorrow is because I’ve felt like I’ve achieved success over the past few years. I finished the requirements for Distinguished Toastmaster in 2019. I started my blog (and I’ve really become passionate about it this year as it’s grown a lot). I’ve gained a love of fashion and, I’ve embarked on a quest of gender nonconformity. The result is that I’m happier and more confident than I’ve ever been and I’ve found myself.

For the longest time, I went to homecoming to relive the past (I chased education for the longest time because I always felt my time in Slippery Rock was so disappointing; I thought going back to school would fix that). After enjoying high school and the first leg of college, I got lazy when I came to SRU. I took a lot of things for granted. Once I finally hit my stride, it was all over. I played Coulda Woulda Shoulda forever. Now I’m happy with how it all turned out. Go figure.

Eventually the tradition got old and I needed to take a few years off. There are homecoming celebrations that I could have missed but it is what it is. Obviously last year was awash because you know, COVID.

Not sure if this will be back to being a yearly thing. Only time will tell. Tomorrow, I’m going to celebrate my happiness, confidence, gender nonconformity, and of course my Alma mater.

For my Toastmasters friends, enjoy Fall Symposium. I’ll be there in spirit.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

The time has come. It’s Fall Symposium weekend in District 13 Toastmasters. For those of you who signed up, I hope you have a great time Saturday morning. I hope the Tech team does it magic and posts portions of the event to the District 13 Toastmasters YouTube channel. I won’t be in attendance as I will be en route to Slippery Rock University for their annual homecoming. More on why I’m attending that in tomorrow’s blog post.

Registration is now open and is $15 for Toastmasters and $25 for non-Toastmasters. There will be an awards and recognition ceremony during the event. The District will celebrate the 2020-2021 achievements and accomplishments of our Toastmasters family and friends. If you missed last year’s ceremony, it was posted a few days later to the District YouTube channel. I enjoyed playing back how I won the Spirit of Toastmasters award and showing off my DTM medal and Spirit of Toastmasters award.

Featured speakers will include Jackie L. Gartner-Schmidt, Ph.D., and Karen Issacs, DTM. Dr. Gartner-Schmidt is co-director of both the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center and the Upper Airway Exercise Breathing Center. Ms. Isaacs serves as the Region 6 Advisor.

Isaacs is a Business Consultant with over 30 years ofexperience at a major health insurance company. Karen holds a B.S. in BusinessAdministration from Duquesne University and a Certificate of Paralegal Studies from College of Mount St. Joseph College (Cincinnati, Ohio). As a Professor of Otolaryngology, and Director of Speech-Language Pathology-Voice Division at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Jackie’s clinical and research focus specializes on care of the professional speaking voice, as well as clinical effectiveness of voice therapy and respiratory retraining.

Karen joined Toastmasters in 2004 to improve her communication skills and found copious opportunities to utilize and develop her leadership skills. Jackie is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences and has also presented a TEDx Talk on voice and perception.

It’s a joy to have both ladies presenting at the upcoming Fall Symposium.

Monday night saw another excellent meeting at PROMasters!

Past International Director and Distinguished Toastmaster Russell L Drake started the meeting off with his speech “How to Make Quicker and Better Decisions”. This presentation was full of tips and tricks that people can use for making any decision, big or small, short-term or long-term.

Next was past District 13 Humorous Speech contest winner Sally Chopping who entertained everyone with her speech entitled “British is a Foreign Language”. I would have loved to have heard that speech.

Table Topics Master extraordinaire Elizabeth Burnette challenged the club to answer questions that people ask (but probably shouldn’t). All the participants were so gracious, and turned what could have been a disastrous conversation into a positive and uplifting one. Thanks for giving me inspo for a future Table Topics session perhaps.

Toastmaster Jackey Collier, Timer Catherine McCarron and President Stephanie Scott ran the meeting. That’s quality District Leadership there.

The next meeting will be via ZOOM on Monday, October 25th!

Finally, a big shoutout to the Bayview Toastmasters Club for achieving nine of the ten annual performance goals in just 90 days! That’s a lot of awards and new members!

When asked how they did it, club president Siva Devarapalli said: “Teamwork. We knew it would be very challenging, but we agreed to try it. A special shoutout to Fred Vornbrock and Mike Bloeser; their experiences helped define our strategy and execute it flawlessly. We frequently met to discuss progress, found solutions to our barriers, and we did it. It was hard work, but we had fun!” Bloeser is a past District Governor.

Charter member and immediate past president, Mike Bloeser, added: “As a club, we’ve achieved President’s Distinguished before, but we’ve never earned nine goals in the first quarter. As a Past District Governor (Director) Mike notes: This is historic.”

Chartered in 1991, Bayview just celebrated their 30th Anniversary this past May. The club was formed as a community club, hosted by Hamot Hospital (what is now UPMC-Hamot). Bayview has produced several District 13 leaders over the past 25 years. Club membership had waned recently, and due to the pandemic, meetings are only held virtually. Special recognition goes to former club coaches Chad Adams and current Area 15 Director Bandana Raj, as well as most their recent coach, Fred Vornbrock!

Congratulations to everyone on their recent achievements! Your fellow Toastmasters look forward to helping you celebrate your success during the Hall of Fame at the 2021 District 13 Fall Leadership Symposium on Saturday, October 16, 2021.

The District 13 Leadership Team looks forward to celebrating with its members. Keep up the great work!

What could be better than yesterday’s stellar Gaffron Family Reunion? How about Ligonier Days? I was there last year during CoVID when Fort Ligonier Days was cancelled but the storefronts remained open. This year, a much different story. My little Stars Hollow was packed.

I made my arrival around 11:30. I boarded the shuttle (first school bus ride I’ve been on in almost 20 years; last time I was on a bus I was still a student at Slippery Rock University). I cancelled my restaurant review blog this week because there was too many food trucks in town to try out. I passed up a chance to get Pickled Chef and had Chinese instead. Not the best choice but I made up for it later.

I made my way up Main Street which was crawling with people. Soon after I made it into town and made my rounds. I sat in the Diamond and got ready to hear one of the main acts. Not getting much out of the Chinese I had earlier, I got the Grilled Chicken on a stick. I put some barbecue sauce on it and voila! I got a lot more mileage out of this meal than I did the sesame chicken.

After eating my Grilled Chicken on a stick and hearing some of what East Coast Turnaround had to offer (great band and great music by the way), I walked over to Second Chapter Books (actually I shopped outside where the authors were selling their books). One of them was a local author from Latrobe. The other was one whose books I’d read before.

Chris Rodell has written multiple books and he actually visited one of our Toastmasters meetings a few years ago. I don’t think he recalled as it’s been a while but we got to talk. He’s doing his hometown proud writing about some of the town’s favorite sons (Fred Rogers and Arnold Palmer). Now I love Ligonier but, Latrobe is a close second.

Next up was Jim O’Brien. I needed no introduction to him as I’d read plenty of his books over the years, dating back to the days when Waldenbooks was in the mall. The first book of his I read was We Had ‘Em All the Way which was about legendary Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince. I learned about his many phrases in that book. His first book was Doing It Right which covered the 1970’s Steelers teams that won four Super Bowls.

I bought my books and had the authors autograph them and then I was on my way. I ran into Vanessa and her fiancée Rachel outside the Diamond. It was my second time meeting Vanessa in person and first time meeting Rachel. She was all over my outfit (she loved my blazer and my Coach). She’s been all about my gender nonconformity and doesn’t want me to quit. She suggested I get a Shacket. She wore hers and told me how stylish they are. I told her that Wight Elephant sells them but from reading her stories, I see she’s a big fan of Nordstrom and Target (I love Target too).

I asked her opinion about blouses and dresses and she’s all for me wearing them. Like I said, she loves my gender nonconformity and as long as the way I dress makes me happy then that’s all that matters. My problem is I want to please everyone and we all know damn well that’s not going to happen. I sent her pictures of the shackets I found on Nordstrom Rack as well as some blouses and dresses I found on Amazon. Also, that pink cherry dress that I’ve loved since I saw my coworker wearing it when we were working in Ashtabula two years ago. I think I’m going to ask her opinion on secondhand stores too. I definitely want to meet up again with these two in Pittsburgh in the future. Maybe a strip district trip or somewhere in the city.

Vanessa even suggested getting something from the Sand Hill Berries truck and I did just that. That sundae with the Sand Hill raspberries was delicious and I enjoyed it while listening to the second act at the gazebo, the Flood City Brass. The band played some of the greatest hits. I ended my day in Ligonier with a Musket Mocha from Abigail’s Coffeehouse.

What a perfect weekend. Fort Ligonier Days was so worth it. Yesterday I had an amazing time at the Gaffron Family Reunion. Today, I got to meet my Instagram blogger friend Vanessa in person. She is such an inspiration and very encouraging. With her and Rachel and joyfullyyoursamanda, as well as many others, I think I found my true friends.

As for this gender nonconformity, it’s staying and I’m slaying 🔥 🔥 🔥. I’m going to continue being my unique self.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

I had said earlier on Saturday that this would be one of the best family reunions we’ve had in a long time and boy, was I right? I drove separate since my parents and Katie and Matt had their own stuff to take care of pre-reunion. It gave me the opportunity to stop and get a Pumpkin Chai from GetGo in New Stanton. I also got to take the scenic route into Laurel Hill, driving through Mount Pleasant and Donegal and up the mountain. I was blessed with seeing the changing colors and greeted by the cooler temperatures in the Laurel Highlands. I passed Kooser en route to Laurel Hill. After about ten minutes of driving, I found the lakeside pavilion. I arrived at 1:30 and made my rounds talking to family before we heard the bell and got our food.

The spread consisted of great picnic food including pasta salad, Mac’n Cheese, pulled pork, chili, and Chick Fil A nuggets. We sat around, laughed, and told stories of family members who have since passed away. There’s always laughs we when we get together. It was great to see some of our family like Uncle Skip and his kids who made it down from State College; Andrea (my mom’s cousin) and Rick whom we haven’t seen in forever; Jason and Shannon, whom I never got the chance to talk to because I was busy elsewhere. Aunt Lorie was there with her bean dip and I made the promise to visit the Coach outlet and find what she wanted.

All of us gathered inside and sang Happy Birthday to Uncle Bob. I think he was pleasantly surprised. We had cake and many pies to choose from. We took home the Dutch Apple pie Elizabeth brought up from Winchester and I took home my pumpkin roll left intact because Annie brought one of her own.

The best part of the food was the charcuterie and boy we went to town on that. I ate my share of cheeses from the #boujeeboard.

I was greeted by my youngest cousin Olivia and she complimented me on my fashion sense including my nails 💅 and my lavender scrunchie (boy I’ve really rocked those things lately). My family has really gotten behind me with my gender nonconformity. I even showed off my new Coach purses to my cousins and they were impressed. That pink one got a lot of attention at work this week as did my pink scrunchie. I might have even gave Olivia a little bit of inspiration. Next up is the pink cherry dress 👗 (just kidding or am I serious 😉 ) or a pink flowy blouse (maybe; I’ll look like Xo from Jane the Virgin).

But social media is not real life. What is keeping me from looking ahead and why do I look back? I’m used to feeling alone (I left a birthday party in tears in 2012 because of the Obama bashing); I’m used to rejection and hearing no all the time; and in the past when someone made fun of me or shamed me for carrying a crossbody I just gave it up. In the past it was no more, but now it’s not anymore.

I’m enjoying this year of going against the status quo but it’s not always easy for me. I’m thankful for those who have had my back and encouraged me to do me and be me. It also helps that I’m stronger now than I was in the past. I’d have never been able to pull this off a few years ago because others would have made me feel so discouraged that I would just close up shop.

Back to the reunion. The kids all got together and ran around. Annabelle was so happy to see Patrick and Pappy took them on a walk during our reunion. Lucas was decked out in his Cleveland Browns jersey and had his football with him. Andrew threw him the ball from atop the deck. Henry was just having fun being a three year old. We stuck around until it got dark and then we had to go home. I’m glad we were able to all get together regardless of the weather after so much time apart due to COVID.

Neither rain nor snow nor sleet kept us from having a great Gaffron Family Reunion. After the grief I got last month for my gender nonconformity, I’ve never loved my family more.

We’ll kick off this week’s edition of Toastmasters News and Notes with a shoutout to my favorite club in District 13.

Cranberry High Noon congratulates the following members for completing their pathway levels. These accomplishments will go toward another successful year for the Cranberry High Noon Toastmasters club. Right now the club is at 29 members strong with four goals met. That number will grow. Here’s the people who have achieved success in CHN.

Willie Mae Starr-White: Leadership develpment Level 2
Jyoti Khare: Presentation Mastery Level 3
Maha Maharajan: Presentation Mastery Level 5

Congratulations members on your achievements! Will Cranberry High Noon win club of the year honors at the Fall Symposium? We’ll just to wait until October 16 to find out.

That leads me into my next topic, the upcoming 2021 Fall Symposium. The agenda has finally been set and it looks like a great event has been planned. It will take place October 16 online and will run from 9:30am to 3:00pm. Registration is now open and is $15 for Toastmasters and $25 for non-Toastmasters.

There will be an awards and recognition ceremony during the event. The District will celebrate the 2020-2021 achievements and accomplishments of our Toastmasters family and friends. This was big for me as I won the Spirit of Toastmasters award along with Tina Kramer and Nate Stephens. That translated into having a panel discussion at the Winter Club Officer Training last December.

Featured speakers will include Jackie L. Gartner-Schmidt, Ph.D., and Karen Issacs, DTM. Dr. Gartner-Schmidt is co-director of both the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center and the Upper Airway Exercise Breathing Center. Ms. Isaacs serves as the Region 6 Advisor.

Isaacs is a Business Consultant with over 30 years ofexperience at a major health insurance company. Karen holds a B.S. in BusinessAdministration from Duquesne University and a Certificate of Paralegal Studies from College of Mount St. Joseph College (Cincinnati, Ohio). As a Professor of Otolaryngology, and Director of Speech-Language Pathology-Voice Division at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Jackie’s clinical and research focus specializes on care of the professional speaking voice, as well as clinical effectiveness of voice therapy and respiratory retraining.

Karen joined Toastmasters in 2004 to improve her communication skills and found copious opportunities to utilize and develop her leadership skills. Jackie is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences and has also presented a TEDx Talk on voice and perception.

It’s a joy to have both ladies presenting at the upcoming Fall Symposium.

This red carpet event is not to be missed. I’ve been really wanting to attend a club meeting but it’s been hard to with my work schedule. Regardless of whether or not make this event, I plan to attend a regular meeting on November 23. Deadline to sign up is this Sunday, October 10.

I had the opportunity to meet the faces behind this new Toastmasters chapter in Fayette County at the DTM Gala held at Westmoreland County Community College. They’re a budding club and I hope they have continued growth in this Toastmaster year. To date, Laurel Highlands Toastmasters is at 25 members, up from their base of 21 members. They have two goals met so far and six of the officers were trained at the summer club officer training. Here are the faces responsible for getting the club chartered.

That was a great night at WCCC when we celebrated the DTM’s and danced so hard that we set off the fire alarms 🚨. That’s my Toastmasters News and Notes. Enjoy the Fall Symposium next week and remember that contest season is just a month away. I’ll cover that in next week’s Toastmasters blog.

I must say, it was a fun three day weekend and I’m sure more will be on the way as things slow down at work with the holidays coming up. Enough to keep me busy without wearing me down.

Saturday I ventured out to Ligonier and ate lunch at Forks before finishing the trip at the Diamond and having a latte at where else, Abigail’s Coffeehouse? I’ll be back there this Sunday during Ligonier Days. I was even witness to a wedding party getting some pictures in front of the gazebo. I went to church afterwards and had a great time. This weekend, I’ve been watching the Halloween Baking Championships on my Discovery+ app. I’ll continue into the Holiday Baking Championships later on this Fall.

I would also like to add cooking and baking to the blog. I have some great ideas for the holidays and comfort food for those chilly late Fall and Winter days.

Today we celebrated Annabelle’s 9th birthday. The pavilion we were at was overrun by little kids until they retreated down to the playground. We had pizza from a local restaurant. It went very quick. The cake was a marble cake and it tasted really good. Annabelle received a lot of nice presents. You expect it when you’re turning nine. While today had more kids than adults, Saturday’s big events will be a reversal. It’s a big week for my family and I’m looking forward to everything this week and this month.

It’s a well balanced week at work with two Targets, Dollar Stores, and a Rite Aid. I don’t talk about my job or personal matters on the blog so I’ll spare you the boring details and the drama. It’s a Toastmasters week though and I hope we can get some more speakers for a quality meeting. Annabelle’s real birthday is this Thursday at 4:56AM so I’ll wish her a happy birthday on the way to work. I hope to find time to get my pumpkin flavored drinks this week. Dunkin’, GetGo, and White Rabbit are on my Pumpkin Radar.

This coming weekend is going to be a big one and I can’t hardly wait. I’m looking forward to catching up with family at our reunion Saturday at Laurel Hill. I’ll be showing off my Coach to my family. Everyone is behind me in this journey of gender nonconformity and dressing non traditionally. We will be celebrating my uncle’s birthday as well. This is a month of birthdays in my family and this year it’s milestone birthdays.

Sunday I’m coming out to my little Stars Hollow for the Stars Hollow Autumn Festival. I hope for good weather and I hope to see some color change in the leaves this weekend. I plan on spending most of the day in town and I will be visiting Carol and Dave’s for lunch. I’m also trying to decide what blazer I want to wear Sunday. I think I’ll need a white shirt to go with my blazer and jeans.

This weekend was great. Next weekend will be even better.

Forks wasn’t my original stop for lunch today. I had plans to go to the Kitchen on Main but that will wait until they’re fully staffed. I got out and was greeted by the smells of the place. It’s a nice Saturday and the Harley riders were out in full force today.

They have a nice bar area with a lot of great choices for liquor (Jameson and Fireball as well as Wild Turkey). They also have the formerly local Rolling Rock as well as Coors. Judging by the signs, they also have Samuel Adams. One of these days I’m going to buy myself a six pack of Pumpkin Beer or their holiday pack. I was here for lunch and didn’t drink (playing it safe) but I’ll give their selection of liquor a 9.5/10.

After a few minutes waiting to be served (I understand the being short staffed plus you had a bunch of Harley riders here today), my server took care of. She was patient as it took me a few minutes to decide on what I wanted. I got the bacon cheeseburger (well done). Though someone did hand me a Reuben because they thought I ordered that (I’d have happily accepted it) but they got it right. I was well taken care of and at least the motorcycle riders kept this place hopping. Service gets a 9/10

Menu has a great list of appetizers, more than some places I’ve been to. They all looked pretty good to me. Great choices on the favorites but I decided on the Bacon 🥓 Cheeseburger. You have some choices for a great meal and great experience. Menu gets a 9/10

Food was superb. I’d have taken that Reuben but my bacon cheeseburger was perfect too. The right amount of bacon and cheese melted on the patty. Great fries too by the way. I’m a steak fries enthusiast but these were just as great. I thought about Chicken Parmesan but learned my lesson after Jaffre’s. It took me two days to finish that Fettucine Alfredo. Food gets a 9.5/10.

Forks kind of reminds of that restaurant I ate at in Lexington that was by our Red Roof. We stayed in Kentucky for a week to count their Rite Aids that were being acquired by Walgreens. That place had great chocolate pie. It also takes me back a couple of years to when we ate at the Clay Street Grille during our overnight trip in Ashtabula. Yes that trip. I was disappointed that I couldn’t have brunch at the Kitchen on Main but Forks eased some of the pain. I give Forks an A.

Quickly I’ll do my post about Pumpkin Spice stop #2 but judging by the picture I’m sure you know where I went 😉. Abigail’s is a favorite of mine when I visit Little Stars Hollow. I’ve never had a bad experience there and the staff is really nice. They’ve jumped into the Pumpkin Spice game as well (who hasn’t) and they had some great choices to pick from.

I didn’t get the Pumpkin Spice this time but tried my hand at a Bourbon Caramel Apple Latte. I was not disappointed at all. I took my drink and enjoyed myself in the Ligonier Diamond. I got to witness wedding party pictures taken, so that means someone got married. Reminds me of when Kati took my picture in front of the gazebo in the rain with my pink handbag and Gilmore Girls tote. I think I’ll get another pic done like that next week with my Coach purse. I’ll be wearing a blazer next week instead of a Stars Hollow sweatshirt. Nothing personal but I want to look more stylish.

Abigail’s gets an A+ for an excellent drink, excellent service and an excellent staff. Best little coffee shop in the best little Stars Hollow I know.

My weekend began early as I had a extra day off on Friday. I planned on going up to Somerset as I had some matters to attend to. Aunt Sue even treated me to lunch at Stairs Restaurant in Somerset. We even went to an antique shop in the dead Georgian Mall. I finally got to see the new kitten and he has really grown. But my aunt’s house doesn’t seem the same without a dog.

After my brief visit to Somerset, I ventured to Latrobe to visit the new coffee shop in town located on Ligonier Street. My review is on the previous blog. It’s a really nice place and I suggest you go sometime. I sat on the porch and enjoyed my pumpkin spice latte and my muffin. One of the employees complimented me on my boots 👢. It was the first time I wore them for an extended period of time but I think I finally broke them in.

It’s off to Ligonier tomorrow for a Stylish and Hungry segment. I’ll be going to Forks Inn. I originally wanted to eat at the Kitchen on Main but that’s not a thing right now as they’re temporarily closed due to short staffing.

Sunday is the big day as we will be celebrating Annabelle’s 9th birthday at Mammoth Park. Lots of little kids will be in attendance. We were there back in October 2013 for her first birthday and it was a very warm and mostly sunny day. Sunday’s forecast will call for a few showers but it will be mild.

I’m switching Coach purses for the month of October. I bought two at Tanger Outlets on Labor Day weekend (another tote and a satchel). I think I’ll give the pastel pink its turn this month and wear the pastel blue on the weekends and at Slippery Rock homecoming on October 16 if I go. I’ll be bringing them to next week’s family reunion to model them for my cousins

Here’s the picture of Sara, her flower girl, bridesmaids, and Maid/Mom of Honor/Best Mom. Also an extraordinary pic of the bride and groom.

Have a great weekend. ❤️ you.