While shopping for greeting cards two years ago, I walked into Nota Bene, a fine paper boutique near my home in Aspinwall. I was impressed by the incredible collection of custom invitations. If you’ve ever shopped for a wedding invitation or holiday card online, everything looks flat, making it difficult to choose what card you want. You may be asking “what is the difference between these invitations?” and “what is letterpress?” At Nota Bene, you can sit down in their showroom and view thousands of actual samples. While you’re there, you can also find personalized stationary, personalized wedding gifts, and greeting cards. This year I returned to Nota Bene to…

Caitlin and Steven were setup on a date by their mothers. It sounds old-fashioned, especially since their mothers were childhood friends. Steven had traveled in Egypt with the help of some travel guides. Since Caitlin was planning to study abroad in Egypt, their moms thought that they should get together to exchange books and information. Caitlin did receive the books before her trip, but she and Steven didn’t meet until her semester was over. When she returned to Pittsburgh, Steven had no interest in meeting “some college girl” in Pittsburgh, but he was eager to hear about her trip that coincided with the Egyptian Revolution 0f 2011. Obviously, they both…