#OOTD: Pub Crawl Pizzazz (Feat. StyleWe + SheIn)

One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is all of its local pubs and eateries. I'm not talking the big chains that I have been known to frequent such as Houlihan's or Primanti's (though the latter is a total staple of the 'Burgh) but the smaller places ranging from The Library, The Micro Diner, and my favorite little place, Hollywood Cafe, which I talked about in yesterday's post.

Well, the little pub I enjoyed lunch at today is no different and is right in the heart of Pittsburgh's North Shore, across the street from PNC Park. This gem, is called The Local Brewhouse, and it is also affiliated with one of the 'Burgh's other popular restaurants, Local. And I have to say, this little joint will be somewhere I will be frequenting because not only is it just a short walk across the bridge from my college, Point Park University, it is also only one block away from my favorite spot in Pittsburgh: The Andy Warhol Museum.

Enjoy A Pint

As I said earlier, after a very busy morning of running errands and photographing for my internship with CollegeFashionista, I actually had a leisurely afternoon ahead of me. So since it is Friday after all (TGIF!) I decided to just kick back and enjoy my lazy afternoon, and stopped by this cozy little bar for a pint and some food. (The Greek salad I had was delicious by the way!)

For my day out and about downtown, I decided to wear one of my very versatile pieces, but style it for a more casual look. I'm sure many of you are thinking "Gee that sweater and belt look awfully familiar." and that's because they are! You see, the sweater is actually the top half of a dress that I received from my sponsor StyleWe earlier this year, and have since styled the top and bottom together as well as separately on a few occasions! Much like I said in the original post, the reason why I love this dress is because it truly is a piece that just keeps on giving.

To style this chic but casual outfit, I decided to stay true to the top's kicked back style and simply style it with some dark blue skinnies that I got from my sponsor, SheIn, topped off with my trusty knee high boots. The reason why I made these simple style choices, is because for one, it was a bit chilly out today and I did want to keep warm, but also because I love how effortless, yet put together this outfit looks. I also have to say, that these jeans from SheIn are giving my favorite Levi's a run for their money, because they are so comfortable.

To put the finishing touches to this outfit, I decided to pair this sweater with a basic white blouse. (Okay, it's actually this blouse, so it's not quite plain, but hey it works!). The reason why I chose to layer the sweater with this blouse is because I like the bit of contrast it adds to the sweater and adds some extra polish to the piece. Then to further style this look, I chose to pair this ensemble with my Jenny Bird Flagstaff Earrings, compliments of Rocksbox.

One Last Look

What are some of your favorite local pubs and eateries? I'd love to try them out! So let's chat about it in the comments below or tweet me about it at @StarkRavingChic! Have a picture of one of your favorite local spots? Feel free to tag me in a post or in you Instagram story at @StarkRavingChic. Later, dolls!

Xx, Bree

P.S. Psssssst! If you love the jewelry I styled in this post as much as I do, you can try Rocksbox for a whole month 100% FREE when you sign up using my promo code "starkravingchicxoxo". Don't know what Rocksbox is or how it works? You can learn more here!

Also, In case you haven't heard, I am now a proud member of rewardStyle and LIKEtoKNOW.it! Meaning you can shop straight from my Instagram feed when you click here or here. Don't know what LIKEtoKNOW.it is all about? Learn more, here!

Hollywood Cafe: St. Paddy's Day Celebration

For anyone who doesn't like in the 'Burgh, you may not know that St. Patrick's Day is a huge deal for us Pittsburghers. Every year, we actually have a "St. Patrick's Day Week" which is filled with various celebrations, parties, parades, and admittedly a ton of alcohol, personally, I think the holiday is an absolute blast. As I've mentioned here before, my heritage is predominately Russian, but I actually do have a little touch of Irish in my family tree too, so any reason to celebrate, right? With that being said, in celebration of the holiday, last Friday I decided not to venture out into the city, but instead headed to where I was born and raised, and celebrated at a little hole in the wall pub in Beaver County.

Beaver County?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, Beaver County is made up of a bunch of old mill towns, the most prominent ones being Aliquippa, Monaca, and Ambridge, the last one being where I am from. And though these towns do seem a bit run down and not much to look at, in recent years the cities, Ambridge specifically, have been working hard on a gentrification project, to bring life and culture back into the town, and I have to say thus far, the community has done a knock out at bringing back businesses, specifically restaurants. Though I may be biased because I am from this area, I have to say the some of my absolute favorite pubs and eateries are in Ambridge, and one of them being Hollywood Cafe.

Hollywood Cafe

That little hole in the wall pub I mentioned earlier? Yep this is the one. Hollywood Cafe is hands down one of my favorite places to eat as well as to just stop by on my way home from to unwind after a fraught day at work. And though I do not remember the first place Hollywood Cafe called home, my mum does and that was no other than the main street of Aliquippa, back in the 1930s. 

Though Hollywood Cafe moved from Aliquippa to Ambridge back in the mid 2000's for location and spacing reasons, the interior, recipes, and ownership are all still the same. Though the original owner has since gotten out of the restaurant biz, his son, Chip, has kept the family business booming for the past 8 years after the move from Aliquippa. The place itself is laid out and much how you would expect a mum and pop type bar to be, but the thing that makes Hollywood Cafe stand out is their absolutely excellent food.

Though Hollywood's menu is small compared to other places in the Pittsburgh area, they still have quite the variety. From appetizers and pizza, to burgers and salads, it's a guarantee that you'll find at least one thing you'll love, and in my case, my absolute favorite thing on their menu is actually what they are most known for, and that is their wings. However, since this isn't a restaurant review and I am far from being a foodie, just take my word for it, and give them a try for yourself! Hollywood is open 12PM-2AM (Food is served from 3PM-12AM) 7 days a week and is located at 2917 Duss Ave, Ambridge, PA 15003.

The Green Scene

And of course since this was a party type occasion, I took the opportunity to dress up in one of my favorite dresses from the Pittsburgh local boutique, Terry Jolo. The reason I chose this swing dress for the occasion, was due to it's festive green pockets as well as its laid back look. To style this look, I simply paired it with some simple opal earrings along with my green and navy, plaid flats.

Sláinte! 

And last but not least, here are a few of my favorite outtakes from Hollywood Cafe's St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

Though I am not normally one to drink beer, I did have to get in on the fun for this party.

Patron at the St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Hollywood Cafe also was all dressed up in green to celebrate the big day.

Patrons playing pool during the party.

Bartender, Niece, went all out for the affair.

One Last Look

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so how did you spend it this year? Let's chat about it in the comments below or you can tweet me at @StarkRavingChic! Love my dress? Be sure to check out my article on Terry Jolo Brand here, and be sure to visit Terry's website here!
 

And lastly, remember if you wanna check out Hollywood Cafe for yourself, their hours are 12PM-2AM (With food being served from 3PM-12AM) and they are located at 2917 Duss Ave, Ambridge, PA 15003. Later babes!

Xx, Bree

#FREEDAY: Winghart's Recent Charity Event

All throughout my college experience, I took a great interest in both photojournalism and documentary photography. The reason this is, is because I wanted to be able to raise awareness of social issues as well as help people through my art. However as we all know my career took quite the left turn when I started working for DSG's visual merchandising department and then started this blog. And while I love both, I'm beginning to feel slightly unfulfilled. 

This being said, with my blog rapidly approaching it's two year mark, I've decided it's time to start tackling some more prominent issues on here, while continuing my normal style and beauty posts. The first being a cause that has been near and dear to me since my college Junior and Senior thesis classes, and that would be helping the homeless. Long story short, my last two years of college were spent photographing, interviewing, and making friends with people who were living on the streets of Pittsburgh (I mostly concentrated on the Hill District and South Side). So needless to say, when I was notified that Winghart's Burger and Whiskey Bar was having an event to help feed the homeless as well as raise money for The Light of Life Mission, Pittsburgh Charity, I knew I just had to cover it here.

Just a Little Background Info

Winghart's South Side location, 1505 E Carson St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203

Winghart's is a local restaurant that first opened it's doors back in 2011 and it's first location was located in the heart of downtown in Market Square. Later they went on to open their South Side location which is where Free Day was held. Zach and Colin (they're the owners) started a restaurant to serve fresh, never frozen food. If you would like to read their "About Us" and check out their menu for yourself, just click here or here.

Owner's Colin Smith and Zachary Winghart (names ordered respectively from left to right).

Also while I'm talking about the restaurant, ever since I was in college, Winghart's has been one of my favorite places to eat downtown. They're food is great, reasonably priced, and their cocktails are spot on as well. So, to my readers who live in and/or plan on visiting the 'Burgh, I highly suggest putting this restaurant on your list of places it visit! (And if you want my recommendations on food/drink, these are my faves: O.G. Mac & Cheese, the Percephone Salad, and the I Don't Care Whatever Burger. As for sips? I love their Gram Positive, and their seasonal drink 2 Monkey's 1 Banana, which features Monkey Shoulder Scotch, banana liqueur, muddled banana, and a slice of banana as a garnish.)

The Event: FREE DAY

While at the event, though I did not get to talk to Colin much, I did get to chat with Zach about what prompted them to do this fundraiser. Much like myself, Zach and Colin both really want to give back to their community and see the growing homeless population as a very pressing issue. Though I'm not going to go through all of the statistics here, as we all know the homeless epidemic has been on the rise in the U.S. since the bursting of the housing bubble in 2007. And unfortunately many of these individuals are not getting the help that they need. So obviously, Zach and Colin wanted to help in anyway they could, and that's how they ended up with Free Day.

The event itself took place this past Monday at Winghart's South Side location on East Carson street. For the event that they dubbed "Free Day", is exactly how it sounds: Their entire food menu (And remember, it's all made from scratch folks, and is absolutely delicious!) along with soft drinks was 100% free (excluding brews and spirits) in order to make sure people struggling could get a great meal. Free Day, however, wasn't just exclusively for the homeless, it was also opened to the rest of the public. Meaning anyone could get a kick-ass meal on the eatery's dime! But the charitable cause didn't just stop at feeding the people of Pittsburgh for free, as I stated earlier, Zach and Colin were also working with The Light of Life Mission, Pittsburgh Charity and collecting donations at the diner's discretion.

Final Thoughts

In closing, I just have to note what my favorite part of this event was and that was simply all the empathy I witnessed that day. Not that I don't [like to] think that most people are empathetic, but the sad truth is many of us have a hard time putting ourselves in some one else's shoes. However, while in attendance at Free Day, I noticed there were people from extremely different walks of life and backgrounds just sitting shoulder to shoulder and talking like old friends. Seeing this reminded me why I love being from Pittsburgh so much, how it's strong community of overall friendly people shaped me to be the person I am today. Whoever thought a little bit of free food would have such a big impact? As I heard Colin say in his interview with Channel 4 News, if one restaurant in the downtown area per week had a "free day" just think of the great strides this community would make in helping our fellow Pittsburghers that are in need, I personally think it's a great idea.

How about you? Would you like to see Pittsburgh's (or your city's) restaurants begin holding weekly free days to help the homeless? Sound off in the comments below, or tweet me at @StarkRavingChic with the hashtags #FreeDay and #Pittsburgh (or the name of your city) and I will retweet you to get the word out! 

Xx, Bree

**Note, if you didn't get a chance to make it down to Winghart's on Monday but would like to make a donation to help the cause, you can donate here at The Light of Life Mission, Pittsburgh Charity.