Let's skip the charades. Can we just speak plain?

69. Go to Lollapalooza

Becky here! As some of you may know, my best buddy Scott lives out in Chicago. We decided that it was a great opportunity to go to the three day epic concert event that is Lollapalooza.  Unfortunately all the 3-day passes sold out real fast. So Scott and I looked at the lineups and chose which individual day we would like to see the most. And Sunday it was! We still had the whole beginning of the weekend to play, however. It was filled with great times, including:

A soft opening at a new bar in Wrigleyville called Deuces. 

 And

Dinner at an awesome old bank

 Finally, the day we've been waiting for had arrived!

 But not before a quick trip to Millennium Park to see the Cloud Gate. Or the Bean as the people of Chicago call it.

 

The day was going great so far. We saw sets by Noah and the Whale and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. It was soooo hot! Almost unbareable with no shade or relief in sight. THEN, when we were waiting for Cage the Elephant to go on, we saw what we thought would just be some relief from the sun. FALSE.

The clouds came rolling in...

Then came the 45 minutes of torrential pouring rain

But luckily we were able to see Cage the Elephant for a couple songs before we ran over to another stage to see Portugal, the Man, in the POURING rain

And we did get a nice double rainbow out of the horrible situation

This is the first round of mud that we had to endure. We were totally unaware that the worst was yet to come

After the rain, we were able to catch a set by Manchester Orchestra. But then, it started again. Rain. This time even worse than before. There was no where to hide from it. All 250,000 people that were there learned to embrace it, and party in the rain!

 

All I wanted to do all day was see Cold War Kids play. I didn't care what happened as long as their melodies filled my head. When we got to their stage after the rain let up, I was greeted by all of their equipment covered in tarps and no one but roadies on stage. After a couple of minutes of confusion and chanting from the crowd, CWK front-man Nathan Willett, came out and said they were going to try to go on as soon as they could, even though there was a risk of them getting electrocuted. True to his word, they came on about 20 minutes later, and completely stole my heart.

 

All in all, with the rain and everything, Lollapalooza was an absolutely magical day and it made this trip to Chicago one of my favorites to date! I will definitely be going again next year. This time, I'll buy my tickets far enough in advance and go for all 3 days. So, start building that lineup for me Perry Farrell!!

70. Learn how to blow glass

Once again, our friends at Groupon really stepped up! This time with a wonderful glass blowing experience for only $25!! Even though we were extremely hungover and it was raining all day, we road-tripped up to Asbury Park, NJ to hang out at Hot Sand for a little bit. 

Really? "Wait, are you 18?"

Rain, rain, go away!

 Hot Sand is this awesome little glass studio right on the boardwalk, with an even more awesome staff. It got pretty crowded in the shop for a while, mostly people looking for a great indoor activity to get out of the monsoon that was taking place outside. So, we had a little bit of a wait before it was our turn. But we spent it wandering around the shop, taking in all of the gorgeous pieces they had for sale. 

You think she gets her crystal balls from Hot Sand?

Then, our turn arrived! Jamie went first, then me, Anthony, and last but not least, Sam. Alonna was our glass blowing liaiso, taking us through all of the steps which included blowing and glory holes. Who knew glass art could sound so kinky! 

The Studio

The "Glory Hole"

Aww yeahhh, molten glass!

Jamie, twisting her bubble

Jamie, blowing her bubble

Me, putting the twist design in my bubble

Me, blowing my bubble

Anthony, blowing his bubble

Adding broken bits of glass to color the glass

Sam, blowing her bubble

The pieces have to hang out at the studio for a couple of days before they can be shipped to us (they can't cool down too fast or they will explode. No lie.) But in a few days they should be at our doors! 

We want to thank Hot Sand for showing us such a good time and putting up with us! They were great and everyone should go pay them a visit if you get the chance!

They also do sand casting, which before it dries, kind of looks like a glowing alien fossil! It's pretty sick!

Hot Sand is definitely "Bubblicious!"

 This experience really got me excited about the art of glass blowing. So much that I actually signed up for a class at The Crefeld School in Philadelphia! The classes aren't until October, but I'll be sure to keep you updated on how they go, and give you a peek at what I create!

After a weekish of anticipation...our bubbles have arrived! They're beautiful!

71. Experience/live through an Earthquake. 

Not a lot to write about this one. I sure you all heard about it. And if you were like Sam and I, just realize it was actually an earthquake; not your fat coworkers stomping around. If you live somewhere between Virginia and Boston, feel free to check this off your list too!

And hold on to your butts, kids, because the Go Getters are strapping in for the next act Mother Nature is throwing at us.  We've got enough wine and bagels to last a week.  So here's hoping Hurricane Irene doesn't wash us away!

Can't wait until the next post? Want some exclusive Go Getter previews? Make sure to like us on Facebook for some insider info on the Go Getters!

So until next time, good luck exploring the infinite abyss.

xoxo
The Go Getters



I'm reading: Let's skip the charades. Can we just speak plain?

Blog Swap 2011 (Part 2!)

Hello Oh, I've Done That readers! I am so pleased that the fab Go Getters and I are swapping blogs today. Well, best to be upfront about it: we are going to talk about summer. The blogosphere is abuzz (that's a word right?) with fall, fall, fall, but people: summer isn't over yet! We can rejoice in two more full weeks of glorious sunshine and popsicles on the porch!

{all images were found on pinterest}

Summer is just the best.

I am sure that the Go Getters would agree with me when I say that summer inspires. It inspires us to be creative and to step outside our comfort zones. What better way to do that than a Summer Bucket List?! I created mine at the start of summer and have crossed off about half of the things. I'm not bummed out about it, infact I am super excited! I got to try new things, go new places and most importantly, have fun. Plans change, goals change, life happens. Working your way through some fun goals during the summer is an excellent way to live in the present moment and take advantage of the opportunites that life gives us. So, there are still two weeks left of summer, what are you waiting for?! Get bucket listing!

Make sure to twirl your way over to check out how I made out with my bucket list here.

Happy Twirling!

I'm reading: Blog Swap 2011 (Part 2!)

Pizza, pilsner, and painting OR beer, bitching, and body paint?

Hola chicos!  Sam and I have had an eventful couple of weeks. Busy with work and life in general. But we don't let that stop us! However, I started off this post without Sam because she was away last weekend but the rest of the post has the complete duo. Well let's just jump right into it!

66. Visit Grounds for Sculpture

For those of you who aren't from this area, Grounds for Sculpture is a 35-acre sculpture park in Hamilton, NJ. It was founded by the American artist Seward Johnson. If you Google his work, I'm sure some of you would recognize it. Especially because he just installed a 3-story tall Marilyn Monroe in Chicago, so you might find news articles. I've always wanted to visit the Grounds and explore their collections and the perfect opportunity kind of just fell into my lap. Jamie actually just landed a pretty sweet job at the Johnson Atelier, which is where artists, particularly Seward Johnson, send their models to be made into their large scale counterparts. Once the molds are cast in bronze, steel, etc., the pieces are welded together. Which is where Jamie comes in! She's what they call a "chaser"; she goes over the seams and cleans up the welds and then creates the textures on the pieces.  One perk of having this awesome job is that she knows where all the secret gates are, so we didn't have to pay! Clearly I, being the cheap-ass that I am, couldn't resist the chance to do something fun for free. So, Eamonn, Jamie and I jumped in the car and cruised up the highway to Hamilton, with the top down of course! (We clearly needed to soak up some sun.)

Once we found our way inside the Grounds, we wandered around for an hour and a half-ish taking in all of the works and the beautiful landscapes that went along with them.

Jamie and the main man, Mr. J (Seward Johnson)

 

 All was going well until we accidentally left the accessible area and when we tried to get back in, we were denied. Because remember, we didn't have wrist bands because we were too busy cheating the system. They thought they were inconveniencing us, but little did they know they actually did us a favor. Besides the fact that we were lost in the Grounds, we were also dying of heat exhaustion. Luckily, the spot where they kicked us out at was equipped with misters for plants and effects for a sculpture. So, it was actually the nice little cool-down that we needed.

After wandering our way back into the Grounds, we swung on over to the Peacock Cafe, which was rightfully named, since the Grounds are crawling with peacocks!

Baby Peacocks!

 Once we refueled, we finished off the rest of the Grounds, clearly taking advantage of all of the "Kodak Moments!"

The middle guy is actually a sculpture

  It was a great time and I will surely be going back. It is a wonderful spot for a picnic/date/get together. Or if you're Jamie, it's the perfect spot for your afternoon nap during your break.

67. Paint a room

This one I found to be a bit strange. Some of us were over at Jamie and her boyfriend, Anthony's new apartment the other day to help them paint, when Sam let's us know that she's never painted a room, house, walls, nothing like that. This came to a shock to Jamie and I as our mother always seemed to use us as child slaves when it came time to paint a room in the house. So naturally, we put her to work!



















She picked it up in no time, even though I think she got more paint on her than on the walls!

 

68. Go to a beer tasting/pairing

As many of you may have figured out already, Sam and I love to eat out and try new restaurants/cuisines. The other day Sam sent me a link to an event happening at the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. The World Cafe, in its own right, is an awesome place. It is a combination music venue/restaurant. And once she sent me this link, it got even more awesome! It was to a Grilled Cheese & Craft Beer Tasting Event!! Two of our favorite things celebrated together, and with music!! We didn't waste one minute: we bought our tickets, the vegetarian option of course, and got Jamie on board too. But I mean it's not that hard to convince someone to indulge in two of the best concoctions created by man! I was counting down the days for a week, and it had finally arrived!

 

We started off the evening with a "cocktail half-hour" with our first beer at the bar and a sampling of Stoudt's cheeses. Once we took our seats, their resident music man, Jonah Delso, started his serenades.

 

He played the whole night while we ate but took a short break to announce the raffle winners. Sadly, none us won anything. Typical. But that's okay because the food and beer were to die for!! Here's the pairings they put together. They were yummy!

Beer: Sly Fox Rt. 113 IPA

Sandwich: Sharp cheddar and omelet on sourdough bread

 

Beer: Roy Pitz Best Blonde

Sandwich: Buttercup brie w/ smoked strawberries and burnt onion jam on olive bread

 

Beer: Stoudts Heifer-In-Wheat

Sandwich: Smoked Lady Bel Swiss w/ portobello mushroom, Jersey tomatoes and fresh mayo on rye

 

Beer: Weyerbacher Merry Monks Ale

Sandwich: Birchrun Brie with fresh cherries and walnut butter on cinnamon raisin bread

 

Beer: Dogfishhead Festina Peche

Sandwich: Mascarpone and peach ice cream sandwich

Oh yeah, we also got interviewed for WHYY Radio.

It was a fun night and we will definitely be going to the next event. Can't wait!

So until next time, good luck exploring the infinite abyss.

xoxo
The Go Getters

I'm reading: Pizza, pilsner, and painting OR beer, bitching, and body paint?