good counsel friary

anyone want to buy a castle? there is one for sale in morgantown...
this beautiful structure is home of the good counsel friary. it was put on the market in march 2008 and has yet to be sold.
ferdinando pitassi, an apprentice stone mason from the age of 7, began construction of the friary in the 1920's. pitassi moved to the pittsburgh area from italy to live with his brother. pitassi was later known as thoney pietro due to immigration officers not being able to pronounce his name. (pietro means stone in italian)
after visiting morgantown pietro decided that he and his family would move here. pietro found morgantown to be reminiscent of the italian town he grew up in. he also built walls and stone houses in the south park area of morgantown.
this magnificent structure was built without the use of any blueprints. construction took five years to complete.
pietro and his family lived in the castle until 1949 when he donated it to the franciscan friars. the friars decided to sell the structure until father jude mili convienced the other friars that the center would be used retreats. father mili moved in the castle in 1968 and stayed there until he died in 2007.
if you wish to find out more, please check out our lady of good counsel friary blog. there is a ton of historical information and musings regarding the friary.
also additional information can be obtained by visiting the light of life community who holds regular meetings and programs at the good counsel friary. also, the charleston daily mail had a wonderful article here.
(i obtained information from the above listed sites to provide this blog post.)

dog day at marilla park

today was dog day at marilla park in sabraton. we didn't take our pooches because we had other plans for them but i couldn't resist stopping by and snapping some pics.

morgantown photo op

my parents spent the weekend camping at cooper's rock. while my mom & i were hiking around i noticed a nature made heart in the rock. (more pics of cooper's rock to come soon.)

new day bakery

aahhh, the new day bakery. i've written about getting yummy pizza from the new day bakery before. but what i haven't blogged about is their fantastic selection of breads, scones, cookies and muffins. (click here to see their bread schedule and descriptions of each bread they bake.)

ryan and i are addicted to their scones. fortunately they are on the way the mornings i drive ryan to work. when we do stop in for our breakfast scones there are always different options to tantalize our taste buds. being the pigs we are, we always get 3 scones. we get 1 each and then we split 1. yeah, i know, but if you've ever had their scones before you would know exactly what i mean! :) the other morning we split a strawberry scone and had a plum scone each.

here is chocolate chip scones and cherry vanilla cream cheese scones (and they were so delicious - as i'm sure you could imagine!) fresh out of the oven.

puglioni's

tucked away in the corner of the chelsea square shopping center on the evansdale side of morgantown resides puglioni's homemade pasta & pizza. if you want good italian food, this is the place to go. puglioni's is the perfect place for a date night with your loved one or for hanging out with a group of friends.

dinner comes served with the biggest, best loaf of bread glazed in garlic butter & salt

you get a salad with your choice of dressing. i love their homemade creamy tomato basil.

for dinner this time i chose their special - manicotti (more than enough to take home)

and i simply cannot pass up my favorite dessert - tiramisu - especially if it's this good

if you are in the mood for good italian food, trust me, pass up going to the olive garden and try puglioni's instead. you won't be disappointed!

puglioni's is located:
1137 van voorhis rd
morgantown, wv 26505
(304) 599-7521
see their menu here

the bookshelf

the bookshelf is the independently owned and awesome local bookstore. if you are from the area you will remember they used to be over by keglers and suburban lanes. the bookshelf has been located on 139 greenbag rd in morgantown for 3 years now. after labor day they will be beginning their 36th year in business in morgantown! and they say that local businesses can't make it. jim sachse (pronounced sax) owner of the bookshelf proves that local businesses can survive.

there are lots of great things about the bookshelf. here are just a few:

• get 10% off new books everyday (with no silly membership card to buy)
  
• purchase used paperback books at 60% of the publisher's price
• take advantage of their book trade policy
  
• special order books at no extra charge (some exceptions do apply - see store for details)
  
• local artist's can display their work
• if you are a member of (or want to start) a book club you can hold your meetings at the bookshelf for free
• receive friendly and well-informed customer service (julian has been working at the bookshelf for 10 years and knows what he's talking about.)

hours are: monday through saturday 10:30am-9pm
thanksgiving to christmas hours are: monday through saturday 10:30am to 9pm and sunday 12pm to 5pm

new book display

just part of the new book section

row after row of used books

be sure to check out the bookshelf if you haven't already!

morgantown photo op

driving around town yesterday we came across an interesting cars display at university motors. this was too good to pass up.

ogawa

ogawa is the best sushi in morgantown period!! the sushi chefs know what they are doing and they do it well. ryan and i decided to meet at ogawa for lunch on monday. monday's lunch special is the sushi bento box. it's fast, it's cheap ($7.95) and it's fantastic.

i will do another post from a dinner aspect of ogawa at a later time. but trust me, if you are in the mood for sushi, go to ogawa. ogawa is located 2920 university ave in the evansdale part of morgantown.

my partially eaten bento box before i realize i forgot to take a pic

the sushi chefs at work

dining area of ogawa

a row of bonsai trees