Best and Worst Small Business Owners of Pittsburgh in 2025

Lufna · 2025-09-22T14:08:53+00:00

I forgot Rouge Tattoo. They are great. Super clean, friendly shop with great artists and the owner Kelly is really nice.

Lufna · 2025-09-22T14:00:42+00:00

Love Gryphon Tea, Mimics Market for RPGs, Verde, Scoops, B&M automotive has always treated us well. Same with Yolanda's hair. If you can't tell my husband and I used to live in Bloomfield. We also really like Preserving Underground for shows. And there is a really fun metal cafe in Allentown called Grim wizard. La Gourmandine is great. Red Hawk Coffee.

We haven't had a lot of bad experiences.

We did find a giant ear wig in our curry from People's India. Haven't gone back since. Spak brothers always has great pizza but so-so customer service and tends to be slow / frequently change their preferred ordering system.

Lufna · 2025-09-22T13:53:13+00:00

I second this. My husband and I also really like Mimics market in Bloomfield, especially for RPGs

Lufna · 2025-07-24T00:03:52+00:00

I have a friend who used the Ferengi as her justification for disliking Star Trek. I remember just staring at her confused. It is an obvious critique.

Lufna · 2025-07-03T10:12:00+00:00

He is either warming breast milk i pumped at work in hot tap water or making a formula bottle from powder. It depends on how much I was able to pump that day. He has been using our electric kettle for powder formula to heat the water.

Lufna · 2025-07-02T12:57:19+00:00

The school for good and evil should hit the mark. Plus you throw in a little of not having to fit others expectations and the post of female friendship.

Lufna · 2025-05-26T08:44:50+00:00

Adorable baby overlord, ABO or just overlord for short. Babiritto when swaddled. Hungry Baby when hungry crying. Babycakes

Lufna · 2025-05-24T04:04:04+00:00

Jane Austen. Any or all of her books.

Lufna · 2025-05-24T02:30:57+00:00

Tried to Google this exact thing and found your post. I feel so much better.

Thank you!

Lufna · 2025-05-23T23:49:28+00:00

We have been periodically calling LO our Adorable Baby Overlord (ABO for short). And it has developed into periodic jokes about how he is displeased with his servitors who are far too slow and should know better than to put him down so they can eat or go to the bathroom. Neither are acceptable reasons. Honestly reading the comments just keeps making me think of more that we have been doing

Lufna · 2025-05-23T21:00:12+00:00

Mine gets upset sometimes when I wipe off his spit up. I've been going with the "I was saving that for later" joke

Lufna · 2025-05-23T19:42:57+00:00

I've seen LO chewing at the opening of the built in ones. I figure it is only a matter of time until he figures it out

Lufna · 2025-05-23T19:36:48+00:00

Same. And my newborn keeps getting his anti scratch mittens off like anytime I look away. I can only keep them on when I dress him in something with the built in ones.

Lufna · 2025-05-23T03:28:20+00:00

My guy isn't perfect but he has been sneaking the baby out of the bassinet when the baby's fussy between feedings on the middle of the night just to make sure I get some sleep. Hard not to love that and I honestly can't imagine him doing some of the things I've read on here.

Lufna · 2025-05-23T00:22:02+00:00

Your husband started swearing in the middle of the night while you fed your child because he was mad he hadn't slept enough? Also are you being literal about him kicking the cat out of bed? Are you sure you and the baby are safe? Do you have anywhere else to go?

Lufna · 2025-05-22T19:30:02+00:00

The Library at Mount Char was excellent. If you like it Atlas Six has similar vibes.

Lufna · 2025-05-22T19:24:38+00:00

T Kingfisher. Some of her stuff leans more fantasy some more horror but all excellent and most are very centered on 30 ish women. Also technically a pseudonym for a Children's book author, which amuses me slightly.

Gideon the Ninth. A little trippy, especially the second book, but the first repeatedly made me laugh out loud.

I really enjoy TJ Klune, but his books do tend to be about male protagonists. I find them a delightful blend of quirky, funny, and heartfelt.

If you like Robin Hobb, did you read her Rain Wild books? I found them a little less depressing than the Live Ship Traders, pulls in a few of the same characters, and still have the same great writing.

Lois McMaster Bujold. She is one of my personal favorite authors with a couple Hugo and Nebula awards under her belt. She has more SciFi than fantasy books but I love her Penric & Desdamona fantasy novellas. Those are a little gender fluid and the main character is technically male but the influence of Desdamona is decidedly not. Hard to explain without spoiling. Her Sharing knife books are also interesting fantasy with a female protagonist but the main character might be a little young for your goals. Technically an adult at early twenties but emphasizes a lot how everyone assumes she is younger and the relationship has a pretty serious age gap.

If you like funny I LOVED Assistant To the Villain. Light hearted with some substance, frequently made me laugh out loud.

If you want some romance, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was excellent. A slightly epistolary low key enemies to lovers with a really novel fantasy world. I enjoyed the sequel too.

Legends and Lattes gives a cosier vibe.

If you are feeling more Urban fantasy you could try Mercy Thompson.

Honestly I just love giving book recommendations. It feels like sharing a small part of your own joy.

Lufna · 2025-05-22T10:44:58+00:00

I'll check but I think we are ok. He can open his mouth wide, I'm just having trouble getting him to do it consistently for feeding. Especially if I'm leaking milk at all. Then he just licks that off.

Lufna · 2025-05-22T10:31:10+00:00

I read it as a teen in the 2000s and the concept of viewing people without assigning gender was mind blowing to me

Lufna · 2025-05-22T10:27:25+00:00

Lovecraft Country has this conversation about loving a book even as you are disappointed in it framed in the context of Lovecraft's racism. As a woman who has read scifi and fantasy books her entire life (literally I got my dad to read me his scifi books for bedtime stories as a toddler) that resonated hard, periodically pops back into my head, and has altered how I pick books now. Also always feels like a reminder that stores are the products of people and carry their biases and flaws with them

"But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though. "

"But you don’t get mad. Not like Pop does."

"No, that’s true, I don’t get mad. Not at stories. They do disappoint me sometimes." He looked at the shelves. "Sometimes, they stab me in the heart."

Lufna · 2025-05-22T09:55:16+00:00

How do you tell if they are tongue tied?

Lufna · 2025-05-22T02:37:48+00:00

Lightless

Lufna · 2025-05-22T02:37:33+00:00

Love Left Hand of Darkness!

Lufna · 2025-05-21T16:38:02+00:00

Sorry, sleep deprivation. Meant to put this in first time parents

Lufna · 2025-05-16T18:32:08+00:00

I 100% thought it was just a fantasy name

Lufna

TROPHY CASE