http://www.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/ All Lifestyle en-us Copyright 2009, post-gazette.com. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:01:47 -0500 15 http://www.post-gazette.com/includes/2007design/images/150x30pg_now_logo.gif http://www.post-gazette.com/ 144 39 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1014797-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Besides a down payment, options are just what a first-time home buyer needs. That's exactly what the Victorian-era house at 613 Chestnut St. in Coraopolis (MLS No. 79066) offers. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:27:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015374-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml A marvelous painting of a gourmand at his table hangs in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris -- a portly, pink-faced figure happily gorging on a regal casserole, with a bottle of wine at one elbow and a luscious-looking soufflé at the other. It is traditionally believed to be a portrait of Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent Grimod de la Reynière, an aristocrat notorious in Napoleonic France for gratifying his palate with the same abandon as his contemporary the Marquis de Sade showed in indulging ca Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015375-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml "The big empty" is how my seatmate describes the landscape as our plane makes its descent to El Paso. To me it is the opposite: this is a place I've visited and lived in for the last 13 years, and it is a land filled with memories, adventure and possibility. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015376-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml INDIA is modernizing rapidly, sometimes too fast. You have giant malls, but grandmothers afraid to use the escalators. There are villages in the middle of nowhere, with ornate temples soaring into the hot sky. Still, old Rajasthan endures, evoking rulers with giant mustaches, harems of beautiful women in the finest colored silks and some of the most spectacular palaces ever built. They can be found in the state's three biggest cities: Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015377-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml BED-and-breakfasts are starting to man up, doing away with the lace bedspreads and trading high tea for brewskies. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015378-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml A hotel tapas bar located smack in the middle of one of Madrid's busiest tourist hubs? Easy to pass up, perhaps. But then I took a closer look. An artfully stylized pattern of filigree mantilla combs -- the restaurant's logo -- covered the ceiling and swept down the wall. The menu promised the classics, but with more than a whiff of innovation. I was hooked. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015379-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml WHEN I broke up with my live-in girlfriend of five years, we divvied up our things, helped each other move into our new apartments, and then stopped seeing each other altogether -- a cold-turkey breakup that I was sure was for the best. We didn't send e-mail messages, call or meet for coffee, and we certainly didn't go out for drinks. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015380-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Los Angeles Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015381-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml AS far back as "Father Knows Best," television has been an unintentional teaching aid for parents. To watch Mike and Carol Brady labor tirelessly to boost Jan's wobbly self-esteem, or Cliff and Clair Huxtable corral Denise's rebellious impulses with affection and wisdom, was to learn how to raise happy, healthy children. After all those hours in front of the set, you couldn't help but absorb the lessons. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015382-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml BABY boomers have lived during an era of unparalleled prosperity. So when this deep recession hit -- at a time when boomers were advancing to middle- and late-middle age -- much was written about them being too spoiled to cope. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015383-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml While finishing a meal at a French restaurant that we frequent, I spotted a three-inch water bug making its way down a wall, inches from my 14-year-old daughter's head. Happily, the bug ducked into a crevice. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1006966-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml VIENNA -- Sachertorte. Magnificent palaces. ... Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1012575-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire tourism department has started offering special deals to fans of its Facebook page. ... Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1014795-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml A prime location for the Villa of North Park neighborhood helped builder Carl J. Spagnolo weather the dual effects of high interest rates and recession in 1979. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1014796-28.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Real estate news in brief. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1014799-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Ceramic tile is one of the most versatile and attractive finishes for countertops, shower and tub walls, and floors. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015075-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Musicologist Mariana Whitmer and her husband, bank executive George Whitmer, have lived there happily since the summer of 1991. But the house at 838 N. Lincoln Ave. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015076-54.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml The 20th annual Butler Symphony House Tour serves dual purposes: raising money for a "note"-worthy organization and giving a glimpse inside some of the historic county's more noteworthy homes. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015077-62.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml The pug's big buggy eyes stare balefully from beneath the wide brim of an orange cowboy hat. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015086-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Two holiday house tours are scheduled Dec. 5 and you'll need to act now to get tickets for one. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09325/1015190-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Pittsburgh area real estate showed signs of a turnaround in October as last-minute buyers apparently scrambled to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit that was originally set to expire in November. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1015081-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Fill out the form to enter the Post-Gazette's Renovation Inspiration Contest. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:33:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1014920-455.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml A bumpy half-mile missing link on the North Shore Trail will be filled handsomely this winter by a $5 million elevated structure stretching near Millvale. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:13:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1015030-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Matanuska Glacier, Alaska -- THE temperature was soaring to 75 degrees, and I was walking on ice. Around me the Matanuska Glacier, about 100 miles from Anchorage, sparkled and shimmered in the afternoon sun. The only sound was an occasional rush of cool wind sweeping down from the towering Chugach Mountains and the crunch of my crampons as I made my way up a crevasse with a group of six other trekkers. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1015031-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml SEATTLE-- LIKE a reminder of theater's past, the face of the playwright August Wilson stares out from a gleaming glass door set in a 12-foot steel portal at the top of August Wilson Way here, a sloping side street behind the Seattle Repertory Theater. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1006964-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml TORQUAY, County Devon, England -- She has been called England's most prolific serial killer, having disposed of some 300 victims during the course of a lengthy life of crime, in such a variety of ways -- poisoning, garroting, stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning -- that an FBI profiler would have been flummoxed. ... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1012574-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN, N.C. -- A mainstay of western North Carolina tourism is making a transition from attraction to a portion of a foundation. ... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1014886-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Where: Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, 4141 Fifth Ave., for nonstop dancing at the ninth annual PittStop LindyHop How far: 10-15 minutes from Downtown Pittsburgh How much: $20 at door for Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1014905-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Howard "Hoddy" Hanna III, chairman and CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, was honored recently by an organization of top real estate brokers for his work toward increasing homeownership and building better communities. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09324/1014974-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml WASHINGTON -- Flights over much of the eastern United States were delayed yesterday by a predawn failure in a fairly new communications system, which led to the shutdown of a computer that accepts flight plans from the airlines and feeds them to air traffic controllers. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1014858-51.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml When you return to Pittsburgh for the holidays, is there one place you have to go first? A favorite food you have to have? A person you must see? Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:17:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1004266-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml TAMPA, Fla. -- A spotlight on Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood in the October issue of Southern Living magazine reveals a vibrant blend of cultures. ... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1006962-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml LYNCH, Ky. -- Joseph Marzelli is glad for the cheerful canary singing in the darkness of an Appalachian coal mine. ... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1012571-287.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The Snowy Range Ski Area is scheduled to open in late November this year. ... Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09323/1014516-96.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Video game reviews. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014421-51.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Michael Buble's itinerary is listing a March 17 date in Pittsburgh for his Crazy Love Tour. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:58:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014396-51.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Do you dread the traffic and hoopla of Light Up Night and do whatever you can to stay away from Downtown that day? Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:17:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014232-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml When Holly Lattanzi married Jacob DiCesare in Heinz Chapel last year, her heart belonged to her new husband, but her earrings belonged to someone else. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:47:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014354-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml WILLIAM FAULKNER once said: "The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again, since it is life." Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014355-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml IN any marriage, there is a natural division of labor. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014356-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml The pale gold carpet in Bergdorf Goodman's shoe salon was pockmarked with hundreds of small indentations one recent Thursday afternoon. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014357-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Some are cyberexperts and others are technophobes, but most designers today embrace a variety of technology applications. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014358-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml It was not so long ago that the spread of the mobile phone sent waves of fear through the reserved world of fine watchmaking. The practicality of a portable phone that doubled as an accurate digital timekeeper made the necessity for a wristwatch vanish almost overnight. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014361-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml LOS ANGELES Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014362-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml A THREE-BEDROOM, 3000-SQUARE-FOOT HILLTOP HOME IN CUENCA Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014363-47.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml WITH Thanksgiving fast approaching, many hosts face a perennial challenge: finding enough chairs so that a special someone isn't relegated to the floor. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1006961-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml HOPE, Ark. -- The Bill Clinton First Home Museum will soon be a part of the National Park system, a designation that will give the modest structure on a busy street more visibility as a tourist destination. ... Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1010725-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Pittsburgh was in the midst of its first building Renaissance when Hyman Katz purchased a 1.6-acre lot in Squirrel Hill, tore down the stone Colonial that had marked it for decades and set about Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1010727-30.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml HIGH POINT, N.C. -- When it comes to freshening up a room the accent is on accessories. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1010729-47.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Using inexpensive shrubs and conifers in containers, which remain outdoors all year, is an easy way to stretch your gardening dollar. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1010732-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. In the past five years, more and more couture designers are partnering with corporate retailers to give the average buyer a chance to own an original design instead of the chop house version. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1010738-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml This winter, designers have created hooded scarves and detailed tights to make accessorizing your cold weather wardrobe reasonable and elegant. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1010758-323.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml The holiday season is upon us and it's time to start dreaming, celebrating and creating magical memories. This year, more than ever, is about being with family and friends. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1012569-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml OAKLAND, Calif. -- A new guide to Vancouver is just out from Lonely Planet's pocket-sized Encounter series. ... Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1012570-140.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- If the Adirondacks fall off of your vacation radar once summer ends and autumn's foliage fades, you might be surprised to hear that hotels, lodges and attractions stay open year-round in places like Lake George, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. ... Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014233-37.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml Art review and art news: In ways comparable to today's multitasking cell phones, a new technology began to change the way people envisioned and documented their environments, and one another, in 19th-century France. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500 http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09322/1014236-314.stm?cmpid=lifestyle.xml This holiday season, savvy shoppers are learning that the road to couture might run through their current wardrobe. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:01:00 -0500