I want to tell you why I love my town. Better yet, I want to show you photos of my town. Pictures are better than words any day…don’t you agree?

My husband and I moved here in 2002 and rented an apartment for about 2 years. We moved here because … well, it was cheap. $700 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment was a steal. And for a poor newlywed couple, that was perfect.

We live in an old steel town in Pennsylvania. It was the home to a booming industry (making steel of course) decades ago and has since morphed and changed since those days. One thing that has survived is that vintage feeling – the homes especially. If you live in the “town” or “borough” as we Pennsylvanians call it, you can practically walk anywhere to get almost anything you would need. Pretty cool.

As I walked my daughter to her bus stop and home every day this year I would sometimes pause and remember how fortunate I am. I can walk to the library, grocery store, park, movie theater, restaurants galore, hairstylist, and so much more.

The older I get the more I realize it’s important to bloom where you are planted. We are trying to do that on our little stretch of neighborhood. It’s hard because our culture really has infused in us – in me – this idea of doing things for yourself and not really thinking about others much. Our family desires to fight that a little. I want to know my neighbors. I want to give meals to them. I want to interact and break bread together. I want to know their names and their pets’ names. When you live in a town like I do that’s a little easier. My challenge to myself is to intentionally love those around us. To pause more. To smile way more. To converse more (I believe my husband thinks I need to do less of this though).

So here are some photos of our town for you to enjoy. It’s just so charming…

I love the rounded doors on this home. So unique and rare to see these days.

This could be – maybe – the house of my dreams. Just maybe.

This is one of my favorite homes near us. I love the old brick and the newer looks that were added to it.

Our town held a huge Pumpkinfest this year. It involved a lot of pumpkiny things but the best was the pumpkin derby. You know…when you take pumpkins, stick wheels on them, dress them up a bit and race them downhill. Everybody does this right?

Yep we let our kids ride their bikes (and we walked) to the pizza shop. Love.

These planters are newer to town and line the “downtown” area. I believe these were either created using some old steel from the town or made to simulate that look. Either way the rustic/vintage/weathered look is pretty cool.

A local downtown business puts these beautiful fresh wreaths up on their doors at Christmas time. So festive! The home above still heats using old fashioned wood. The owner can be found outside – winter or summer – splitting logs and cutting firewood so he has enough to heat his home all winter long. See all that wood stacked up in the background. I am also a fan of the old wrought iron fence.

Psyche. Tricked ya…the above photo wasn’t actually shot in my town. This beautiful shot was taken this summer while Mr IG and I got away – sans kiddos – to Malibu, California for a dear friend’s wedding. We decided we should go sea kayaking on the Channel Islands and so glad we did. Just making sure you were paying attention. Bravo, you passed!