newport folk festival

Kurt and I recently took a voyage to Rhode Island to attend the Newport Folk Festival. Apparently it's a pretty big deal...like my parents even know about it big (no offense, Mom and Dad!). We just heard that Band of Horses was playing and that was enough to convince us to buy day passes for Friday. When the weekend rolled around, we took a bus to Providence Thursday night, and rode with friends to Newport on Friday morning. As soon as we got into town, the car got parked at the hotel and we immediately rented bikes to explore Newport.

Shandy was the theme of the weekend, starting here at Midtown Oyster Bar.

Tooling around Bowen's Wharf

If shandy was the theme of the weekend, lobster rolls have been the theme of my summer. I can't get enough! This was a tasty one from Smokehouse.

Biking was such an excellent way to get around Newport and to the festival. We zoomed past so many suckers cars sitting in traffic and got prime parking right by the festival gates. There was quite a crowd of bikes, so thankfully there was oodles of parking provided by Bike Newport.

Once Kurt and I got our bearings of Fort Adams and the stage setup, we watched a great set by Phox.

Cornhole at the beer garden

The park juts out into the water on a peninsula, so we were surrounded by water and got to watch sailboats all day. It couldn't have been more beautiful!

Next we saw Jenny Lewis. I only know a little bit of her work with Postal Service and Rilo Kiley but she was excellent. I'll have to study up some more.

Band of Horses came on next and they were soooooo good. Their sound is certainly more twangy live than recorded but it was still excellent and the lead singer has an incredible voice. These guys were worth the trip alone.

Apparently everyone else and their brother was there to see Ryan Adams. He was okay and kind of a funny character between songs, but his music wasn't all that thrilling to us. To each their own, I guess.

There were so many tempting festival eats being offered but somehow we limited ourselves to corn and ice cream :) And we only ended up getting a single beer because it was so hot and sunny. Lots of water though!

Once the festival was over, we joined the bike mob exodus that was leaving the park. It was pretty incredible to be in a bike group that size and revel in the fact that all the people who drove to the festival would be sitting for hours in traffic waiting to leave.

We rounded out the evening exploring a few bars around Newport before heading up to Boston the next morning.

Every previous time I've been to Boston, I've tried to see the Boston Public Library but have always missed the open hours. Not this time! I finally met with success and was very impressed with what I saw. I might have to do a separate post because I've got so many more photos of the gorgeous building to share.

Touring around Newbury Street

On previous visits to Boston, we've done the Harpoon Brewery tour (which is excellent) but the owners have since opened a beer hall which we of course had to try. Surprise, surprise but our favorite brew was the UFO Big Squeeze--a grapefruit shandy! At least we are consistent :) 

Thanks again, New England! You've been good to us!

weekend in review

Kurt and I have a couple friends who live in Astoria and have mentioned good things about Singlecut Beersmiths in their neighborhood. Kurt and I are not ones to shy away from a good brewery, so we enlisted a group to make the trek to Queens last Friday night for a few beers and music.

The brewery is a bit of a hike from the train (and across the street from a strip mall) but the vibe is fun and laid back with indoor and outdoor seating.

The beers were awesome. My favorites were the 19-33 and the Jån. 

Kurt's brother Erik had a connection with one of the employees and was able to talk someone into giving us an impromptu tour. I always love hearing about the beer making process and how every place got its start. FYI, the brewery is named "singlecut" after a type of guitar and most of their beer varieties are named after musicians. 

Way back in 2013 Kurt and I bought tickets to see Arcade Fire here in Brooklyn. The show finally rolled around and it was fantastic! Worth the wait! I'm such a big fan of their music and was thrilled to see it live. There was even a cameo performance from one of the Ramones.

On Sunday, I ran a bunch of errands around Brooklyn while Kurt and Erik made a big batch of their famous jalapeño mustard (thanks to Silvia for the photo!). 

We spent the afternoon at a cookout at Supercollider with some friends before getting re-hooked on Homeland in honor of the new season starting in October! Don't get me wrong, I love love love summer and the hot weather, but there is something exciting about new TV shows on the horizon in the fall. Bring it on!

Enjoy this last week of summer, people!

drinks to die for

This summer, the Brooklyn Historical Society has teamed up with Green-Wood Cemetery and Brooklyn Brewery to host a monthly happy hour on the cemetery grounds called "Drinks to Die For". 

Other than historic trolley tours, the cemetery doesn't often hold events (you can't even bike or run through it...walking only), so this sounded like a pretty interesting opportunity. They even had a band playing in the chapel. Rock n roll?! At Church?! My inner Catholic was a little distressed. Oh, but the alcohol in church? I'll let the Protestants sweat over that one :)

Sadly, as soon as we arrived, they ran out of the good beer and had to offer us Coors Light instead :( And then they eventually just ran out completely even though we still had drink tickets to burn. I guess they weren't expecting such a crowd. Who wouldn't want to hang out in a graveyard to have a few drinks? I think they've struck gold with the idea. And the proceeds benefit the Brooklyn Historical Society, so I guess I can't be too bummed about my "donation".

Here is Kurt looking really upset about his sub-par beer. What. A. Hipster.

There's only one more Drinks to Die For event this season. Don't miss it on August 22nd! Get there early for the good stuff and to find the best tombstone to hang out by!

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Because we are crazy and can't seem to sit still/stay in one place for a few days, Kurt and I are travelling with friends to Portland, Maine this weekend to explore and eat our body weight in lobster. I! Can't! Wait! Wish us luck! Maybe I'll post some pictures...right after a few Charleston posts...oh, and our apartment updates...sigh...one of these days! Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend!

christmas in alabama

I hope everyone has been having a great holiday! It's been pretty stellar over here in Alabama even though the weather has been incredibly lame--cold and rainy ALL. THE. TIME. I've never just wanted it to snow so badly. Anyway, what good is a holiday if it's not an excuse to eat an drink ridiculous amounts? Apparently that's all I choose to photograph as well.

k+p got hitched, day one

A couple weekends ago, Kurt and I were lucky enough to head back down south to Birmingham, Alabama to see Keely and Patrick get married. It was a busy weekend packed with lots of activities, but I was so happy to see lots of old friends from architecture school. We were so lucky to stay with my dear friend Jessica who was the ultimate hostess. Not only did she take a half day off work to pick us up from the airport, but she and her boyfriend Eric proceeded to chauffeur us around all weekend. Thanks so much!

Kurt and I arrived on Friday and had plans to make a tour of all the new breweries that have been popping up in Birmingham recently. Our first stop was Cahaba Brewing Company. Each of us got a flight of the several beers they had on tap. They have an awesome Alabama-shaped tray for each flight. Absolutely perfect!

when tuesday = friday

Last week since (pretty much) everyone had the Fourth of July off work, Kurt organized a trip down to Rocky Sullivan's in Red Hook to celebrate the midweek break. Conveniently, Rocky's offers half price pizzas on Tuesdays if you ride your bike. The pitchers of beer are cheap and led to a few (too many) rounds of flip cup. Apparently I spent too much time studying in college and didn't work hard enough honing my flipping skills because I was by far the weakest link on my team. Regardless, it was a blast and we got hang out on a rooftop and enjoy each other's company. You can't really complain about that.

summertime in the city

Great things that happened this week:

Kurt returned from his trip to Samoa and New Zealand!

I got word I passed the last test I took!

And the weather is finally gorgeous here! 

On Monday, Kurt was in need of some greens after his travels, so we went to Bar Toto to celebrate his return and my passed test with an enormous pile of arugula.

Kurt was sweet and brought me back an awesome bottle of wine from New Zealand. This is only a picture of his fabulous wrapping job. The bottle will have to be revealed in a later post. My imported present is seen here propped up against another gift Kurt found on the street for me...

It's this awesome flat screen TV with a sign that says "it works :)" In fact it does work but has a smashed screen :( It seemed too good to be true. Thanks for thinking of me, Kurt. I will just have to stick to plan of buying myself a TV once I pass all my AREs. Sigh.

This week I had a work meeting at the Plaza Hotel. Our office mainly does residential work but has a great relationship with a French chocolate shop and do all their New York boutiques. The Food Hall at the Plaza will be opening in a few weeks and I had to check in on our almost-completed shop there. 

I can't wait to see it when it is all finished (and all the kinks are worked out)!

Central Park is across the street. I make it up that direction much too infrequently.

All the horse drawn carriages line up at the park right near the Plaza. This shot is for you, Mom!

On Thursday, we went to see This American Life LIVE at BAM in Brooklyn. I miss taking a train over the bridge everyday. That view of my beloved Brooklyn never gets old.

I have a feeling I am going to have an over the top relationship with Habana Outpost this year. We're off to a good start!

Bikes lined up at BAM. Hipster parking :)

This American Life LIVE was amazing and hilarious! We had such a good time. All the guests had great stories, we saw a funny short film, watched some impressive dance performances, and even took part in an interactive musical performance with Ok Go! 

Friday night, we took an excursion to Carroll Gardens/Red Hook. After drinks and snacks at Abilene, we made our way to Jalopy for the Bayou N Brooklyn Festival.

My main complaint with Jalopy is that they don't have a great dance floor because it is always taken up with seating. I was pleasantly surprised to see they had moved the salvaged church pews out of the way so all the Zydeco lovers could bust a move on the dance floor all weekend.

Red Hook must have been the theme of the weekend because we rode bikes down again on Saturday to take part in the Total Red Hook Immersion. WE. HAD. THE. MOST. GORGEOUS. WEATHER. EVER. I can't even tell you how ecstatic I am. I put up with crazy NYC weather for most of the year because of two or three months that are like this. I am in my element. If you need me for the next few months, you can find me outside working on my tan.

Our journey began at Rocky Sullivans where we learned they were giving away free beers! A special card entitled you to one free beer at four different bars. We took that as a challenge and set off on our beer crawl through Red Hook.

Our next stop was the Brooklyn Ice House. They have great backyard which was packed. The last time I was here, I think Kurt and I were the only patrons. I guess free beer tends to draw a crowd :)

Even free beer on an empty stomach is bad news, so we waited in line at the Red Hook Lobster Pound which was offering discounted lobster rolls.

Huge tanks full of crustaceans!

Jenn and I split a Maine style lobster roll. In hindsight, I could have probably eaten one on my own. Actually, they were so good, I would have enjoyed multiple :)

Our next stop was Fort Defiance for a complimentary drink. Red Hook is so off the beaten path that people were just hanging out on the sidewalk with their beers. I love how laid back it is.

I was incredibly excited to make it to Botanica for our final beer of the afternoon. That place is gorgeous. I want to go back soon--like tomorrow. It is next door to a chocolate factory called Cacao Prieto. I hear they have tours!

Not only did we drink on the sidewalk, we ventured out to the middle of the street, the cobblestone street, mind you. 

Not ones to turn down a deal, we also ran by Steve's Authentic Key Lime Pie shop. We all got "shwingles" which are key lime pie tarts dipped in chocolate. We ate ours on the pier and it was delicious!

I love Red Hook. I just wish it wasn't so hard to get to. But then it probably wouldn't have the same remote character if it were easily reached by public transit. So I will continue to enjoy it when I am ambitious enough to take the bus or ride my bike down there.

If an afternoon beer crawl wasn't enough entertainment for Saturday, we had to rush back to Jenn and Kurt's apartment for our newest culinary competition: the Pizza Off. 

Ever since Jenn sent out the Pizza Off invitation, I had been bookmarking pizza recipes I came across online.  I finally settled on an Egg, Prosciutto, and Asparagus Pizza (adapted from a recipe from How Sweet It Is). I  cut a few corners and used prosciutto instead of bacon in the original recipe and used a store bought dough from Trader Joe's. I was excited how pretty they turned out!

The pizza spread in Jenn's backyard. There were so many yummy options! I'm always impressed at people's creativity and the variety we always get at the Cook Offs. There were sweet and savory options using all sorts of interesting ingredients.

The taste testing. We take it very seriously. Isn't there some joke about sex and pizza? That even when it's bad, it's still pretty good? I'm no comedian but I think there is some connection there :)

The aftermath. Only a few crumbs were left.

After some secret ballot voting, I came away with Best Overall! It feels good to have an Off trophy back in my possession (I have to give up my Lemon Off title after falling in the Beet Off competition :( ). Chris and Pilar took the Best Savory award for their Mexican Pizza and Hillary conquered the Sweet category with her Nutella Calzones and Strawberry Dipping Sauce. Great job everyone!

And now here I am enjoying a mint julep while studying for my Programming, Planning, and Practice test. Summer weekends are may favorite :)