State College, Pennsylvania

We love traveling. Check out some other travel spotlights or watch our four favorite travel documentaries on Netflix.

katie-2liveseasoned_summer15_konnarock-8-3liveseasoned_summer15_konnarock-2-6

It’s Wednesday! It’s time to procrastinate and daydream about traveling and visiting spaces you’ve never seen before.  I must admit, I wasn’t always in love with State College, Pennsylvania.  Growing up, I thought of it as a drinkers’ paradise where sports fans would flock on the weekends to watch Penn State football.  I was absolutely right about those things, but State College is so much more than that.  It’s Happy Valley, an adorable little city nestled between mountains in the middle of beautiful central Pennsylvania.  As an adult, I was reintroduced to State College when Katie and her husband bought a home there.  They both worked at Penn State University and I had just returned from Thailand when they convinced me (it wasn’t too hard) to move away from Philadelphia and move in with them.  I spent the next eight months working as a delivery driver, walking their dog. readjusting to life in America and learning my way around town.

fern valley-1-2

After a couple weeks, I knew the streets better than Katie, but she introduced me to a lot of the goodness on this State College city guide list.  State College is a completely different space depending on what time of year you are visiting.  During the summer, it is usually calm because many of the students are gone. The city actually halves in population!  It goes without saying that summer is my absolute favorite time to visit.  In the Fall, during football season, downtown is crazy crowded with students and fans that flock from across the state and nation to watch Penn State football.  If you’re a female delivery driver that means stacks of cash and lots of traffic.  In the dead of winter, State College is cloudy, icy and cold. I try to avoid winter in State College at all costs, but really, I try to avoid winter everywhere at all costs.

Continue reading

Two Bits

We want to break down these internet barriers and invite you into our lives and we’re hoping you’ll do the same.  You are welcome to share a bit of your week or day in the comments, or if they’re better represented by a photo, tag us on instagram @liveseasoned.

Sarah here :

This week went by in a blink! The pottery studio was extra sweaty this week, but I cooled off by drinking jars of iced cold chia seed water.  Staying hydrated is key to staying happy while working among 2300 degree kilns.

_DSC3628

I also had a few friends visiting Chapel Hill.  It’s always fun to entertain visitors and overload them with suggestions.  Yesterday we went for a hike with Catahoula_Cash near the Haw River.  It was a muggy, sweaty hike, but it was fun to get out into the woods and splash around in the creeks and river for a bit.  After the hike we headed into town to eat at Al’s Burger shack, arguably my favorite grub in Chapel Hill.  Then we trotted down the block to Beer Study for a couple brews to end the night.

This weekend I’m going to State College, Pennsylvania for Arts Fest. I love walking around in the sunshine and seeing what our Pennsylvania artists are creating.  I’ll also stop by my favorite yoga studio in town and the Simply Health salt spa for some relaxation.  Hope you find a bit of relaxation yourself this weekend!

Katie is not here!

Why? Because it’s her birthday! Happy Birthday Katie! I wish I could give you a big squeeze!  Katie tried to contribute to this post, but her hard drive and her internet are malfunctioning so let’s all wish her luck for this coming year!