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!

running tunes

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Since getting over being sick, preparing for my half marathon has been going pretty well. Thankfully, Jenn has been training with me (until she can resume biking) so I've had some accountability to get up for morning workouts. Mostly, we've been meeting at the gym, running on the treadmill, and watching HGTV to pass the time. However, once it starts getting warmer and I start upping my mileage, I'm going to need hours and hours of good music to keep me motivated while running through the park or around Brooklyn. I tend to lean towards upbeat pop stuff or repetitive sort of techno. Anything that keeps me moving! I've put together a preliminary list of songs I want for my runs, but I need more! I need your help! What are your favorite workout song(s)?

Nighttiming - Coconut Records

Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding

Thrift Shop - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

I Love It - Icona Pop (feat. Charli XCX)
Suit and Tie - Justin Timberlake

Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars

Die Young - Ke$ha

It All Began With a Burst - Kishi Bashi

Midnight City - M83

Who's That Chick? - David Guetta (ft. Rihanna)

Calabria 2007 - Enur

Tongue Tied - Grouplove

Last Friday Night (TGIF) - Katy Perry

This Head I Hold - Electric Guest

Cracks - Freestylers (ft. Belle Humble) (Flux Pavilion Remix)

Ghostwriter - RJD2

Ghosts n Stuff - Deadmau5

Bass Cannon - Flux Pavilion

Dance Yrself Clean - LCD Soundsystem

The Re-Arranger - Mates of State

Tony and the Beat - The Sounds

Madder Red - Yeasayer

Mondegreen - Yeasayer

Too Close - Alex Clare

Please leave your music suggestions in the comments. There is no judgement here. The trashier the pop songs the better :) Thanks!

late night concert

Earlier this week, Kurt, Erik, Silvia, and I went to a Damien Jurado concert after work. I had never listened to his music before and I was a little worried about the late showtime (I need my beauty sleep!), but Erik and Silvia both gave rave reviews of the music.

We began the evening with dinner at Oaxaca Taqueria in the East Village. I've been to both Brooklyn locations and was looking forward to trying one in Manhattan, especially since the restaurant is tucked at the end of this really cute alley. Extra Place is very atypical for the city and a nice pocket of calm. Oaxaca has great food and are byob, which I love. After dinner, we hit a bar on Avenue A because we still had a ton of time to kill. I can't even tell you what the bar was called but I do know they have a 2 for 1 happy hour. Avenue A at 2nd Street, check it out.

central park summer stage

I didn't go to near as many concerts this summer as I would have liked (not a single one in Prospect Park!) but we did make it to one a couple weeks ago in Central Park. I'm normally a fan of sitting comfortably in the grass with a picnic (usually with some inconspicuous wine), but this time we opted to actually purchase tickets to see The Lumineers and Old Crow Medicine Show (sorry opening band that went on before I could get out of work!) at the Central Park Summer Stage.

happy feaster!

I hope everyone had a great Easter! Here's what happened in the past week or so:

ASLA awards ceremony followed by drinks at Vu Bar under the Empire State Building.

Kurt and I had a date night during the week. We began with drinks at the rooftop bar at Hotel le Bleu in Brooklyn. Great views of the sunset! We were the only souls there.

After drinks, we went for thai food at the new Sai Thai in Park Slope. We were the only ones there too! It's so strange for places to be so quiet! However, we got excellent service and I rekindled my love for green tea ice cream, so it was a good night :)

I'm drowning in tile samples at work. We've been on a mission to find the perfect pink penny tile for a little girl's bathroom floor. I think we're almost there.

On Friday night, we went to a show at BAM in my old Fort Greene neighborhood. We went to see Dr. John in collaboration with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. We've always been fans of the Black Keys but now have a new appreciation for Dr. John. Plus, I've solidified my love for big bands. The more people on stage the better!

Saturday night, someone had the bright idea to do a 5th Avenue bar tour in Park Slope. We started at Bar Reis at 6th Street and ordered in some poutine from the nearby Corner Burger to hold us over until dinner. 

Our next stop was Smith's Tavern at 9th Street for some dirt cheap beers. This place is definitely a neighborhood establishment.

Our stomachs got the best of us, so we skipped over Fifth Estate and headed straight for Der Kommissar at 15th Street. There were six or seven of us at that point, so we decided to go crazy and order their family style sampler which gets you everything on the menu. We should probably cut back our sausage intake for a while but it was totally worth it :) 

Our next stop was Buttermilk Bar at 16th Street. After a botched attempt at Pac Man, we kicked back with a few Miller High Lifes and Kurt and I planned some travels for the fall. Doesn't Nashville in October sound lovely?

After Buttermilk, we stopped in (new) Freddy's at 17th Street but I was tired and freezing (anytime, Spring, really), so we quickly called it a night and headed home.

On Sunday, Jenn put together a lovely potluck called FEASTER complete with egg dying, tons of delicious food, and gorgeous sunshine in the backyard. I think I may have even gotten some color! Hooray!

Oh my. I get full just looking at this plate of food. It was all so good. Well, maybe except for the grilled chicken heart I tried. Not my favorite part of the meal.

I was lacking food inspiration when planning my Feaster contribution, so instead I brought jelly beans (most of which ended up in Kurt's backyard) and punch. I made a variation of summer beer and good Lord It has a lot of booze in it! I hope everyone enjoyed :)

This masterpiece is a strawberry meringue cake that Jenn created. It was as delicious as it is gorgeous. That girl sure knows her way around desserts!

After all that yummy food, we were all about to fall deeply into a food coma. Instead, a walk around the neighborhood was in order to soak in the last bit of sun. We peeked on the progress at a new beer garden nearby. We've been waiting for it's opening forever! I can envision lots of summer afternoons spent in that courtyard.

Other big news from the weekend? I got word that I passed my first ARE! Construction Documents and Services down, only six more to go :) Woo hoo!

film at bam + sufjan stevens

A couple months ago, Jenn sent around an email about an event at BAM somehow involving (my love) Sufjan Stevens. Not wanting to miss out on another BQE, Kurt, Christian, and I agreed to go without really grasping the details.

Apparently Jenn was the only one who really knew what was going on until we convened at the BAM Opera House. Turns out we would be watching a documentary on the screen while Sufjan and another musician (Raymond Raposa of the Castanets) would be playing the soundtrack.

I think my favorite part of the night was when Kurt leaned over to me and said, "Now, which one is Sufjan?" Great. Didn't I just go 400 miles to see Kurt's favorite band...again?! He can't even identify one of my favorite artists?! Jeeez!

The film was called Beyond this Place and documents a "son's attempt to reconnect with his perpetually stoned father by taking a 500 mile bike ride through the Pacific Northwest."

I can't say it was the most exciting hour and a half I've ever spent but it wasn't too bad. The topic wasn't so interesting or relatable but the film was done pretty well. The music was good but really only in the background. I think I enjoyed the Q&A with the director more than the actual movie. It was interesting to hear about his motivation for starting the project and how his relationship has changed/not changed at all with his father. Eventually we learned that Sufjan and the director grew up together in Michigan and that was how they ended up collaborating. 

Needless to say, the evening was nothing what any of us suspected, but it was great to get out and do something different. Thanks for the heads up, Jenn!