Winter Lake House Trip

In late November Kevin and I journeyed back to upstate New York to hang out at his family's lake house for a long weekend. We were celebrating his birthday and taking a little break from the hustle and bustle of city life.

We arrived with snow flurries in the air, bare trees all around us, and a freezing cold lake to look out to. Even though the weather and surroundings were completely different from our summer trip, meaning less outside adventures, it was still fun and relaxing its own way.

We spent the weekend cooking up festive recipes, drinking delicious brews, and enjoying the calmness of the lake. Till next time lake house!

Favorite Moments

Favorite Concerts of 2012

After attending 70 concerts 2012, including #100 of my lifetime, it's hard to pick a specific favorite so here are a few that I couldn't imagine not seeing in the past year.

January 13, 2012 - The Bright Light Social Hour @ North Star Bar, PA

Source via The Swollen Fox

Hands down my favorite music discovery in 2012, The Bright Light Social Hour knows how to rock the house and literally brought me to a state of euphoria throughout their set. I hand learned of the band only hours before the concert and became an avid fan by the end of it!

March 30, 2012 - Delta Spirit @ TLA, PA

Source via The Swollen Fox

After over a year of listening and obsessing over Delta Spirit I finally got to seem them live in 2012. It ended up being the first of four times seeing them in the year but it was certainly worth the wait. Rocking out to a live version of "Bushwick Blues" was definitely one of my favorite music moments of the year.

July 20-22, 2012 - XPoNential Music Festival @ Wiggins Park, NJ

This might be slightly cheating since it was a festival but XPoNential's lineup was exceptional this year! Including performances from Wilco, The Avett Brothers, Dr. Dog, Dawes, The Lumineers, Delta Spirit, Kaki King, Kathleen Edwards, Delta Rae, JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound, and J.D. McPherson...See! I wasn't kidding when I said their line-up was stacked.

August 17, 2012 - My Morning Jacket @ The Mann Center, PA

Source via The Swollen Fox

Can anything top hearing My Morning Jacket cover "Rocket Man" as the skies open up to an epic downpour? I don't think so. This was my third time seeing MMJ and they once again did not disappoint.

Favorite Trips 

2012 was full of big and small trips in and out of the country. Here's a look back at some of my favorite frolicking adventures. 

After realizing there isn't much to do in Cleveland besides the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame Museum we headed to Pittsburgh to explore a much more exciting city. Fries on their sandwiches, Cathedrals that could be mistaken for Hogwarts, a jokester named Andy Warhol, gorgeous skylines, and fun ice cream games I must say this city is pretty awesome. 

Bonnaroo is more than a music festival, it is truly an all around experience. From the 14 hour drive down to Tennessee to the camping, endless music, silent disco dance parties, and the epic stories that come out of the four day festival exceed your expectations every year. 

My epic two week adventure with my twinnie Elizabeth was unforgettable but I  have to say Portugal is my favorite place we visited. Portugal it's the hidden treasure of Europe; A rich history, beautiful culture, and some of the most hospitable locals I've ever encountered, it's impossible not to instantly fall in love with the country. 

Tanning, Swimming, Kayaking, Music and of course craft-brews it was a great way to spend one of the last weekends of Summer. 

Favorite Festive Recipes

Vegetarian Chilli

Spaghetti Squash

Vegan Ice Cream

Black Bean Burgers [recipe forthcoming]

Favorite Random Moments 

2013 Adventures Coming Soon!

Pamplona

Elizabeth and I left the last three days of our trip open for us to decide what to do with once we were in Spain. Once we realized we were in Spain at the same time the running of the bulls were happening in Pamplona we knew we just had to go! So off we went by train to Northern Spain for the craziest 24 hours of our lives.

As soon as we hopped off the train we grabbed some red and white running of the bulls gear and jumped right into all the festivities.

Crazy enough another friend of Elizabeth was also in Spain and met up with us in Pamplona for an epic night of dancing, drinking, street music and just all around unforgettable moments at this insane tradition.

People and booze were everywhere you looked. We literally ran into this parade that turned out to be one giant musical bar-hop where drinking in the streets very much encouraged. America get on Europe's level when it comes to alcohol.

The whole night was full of so much happiness, it could possibly be one of the best nights of life: great people, unforgettable memories, live music, dance-offs and dance-parties. We some how managed to stay up the whole night (to avoid needing to pay for any where to stay, ha!) and grabbed our front row spot for THE running of the bulls.

Everyone was extremely tired as we patiently awaited the running, which took about all of two minutes to watch. There are two sets of gates, the first being the actual barrier between the bulls and runners and the second being where people could start lining up to watch. The gap in between is used for press and emergency medics when the drunk runners get hurt..SMH

I nearly ran with the bulls myself but was convinced by a local that it was more than dangerous, it would be stupid to participate in the actual running. He himself had lived in Pamplona for over 35 years and never ran it because it's more than just the bulls you have to worry about, the biggest issue is avoiding all the drunk careless fools who are also running. No matter what it was an amazing night that I won't ever forget. Plus, it was the first all-nighter ever! Bucket List, Check Check

Cacais

After a great tour by Annibal Elizabeth and I took a train out to a beach town, Cacais, for a nice stroll and a little bit of sun.

It was a total tourist area with a ton of hilarious British-themed restaurants, but coastline views were totally worth the train ride.