Recapping: Waking Windows

Ah yes, another one has come and gone (plus one day if you folks start your weeks on Monday like normal people). This past week was crazy at work and I learned that I am officially the most awkward interviewer ever. I told one fantastic applicant that I didn’t like NYC (where he’s from) very much and that “I have a lot of feelings.” Yeesh folks, yeesh. (He took the job p.s. so all is not lost). Anyway Friday night til Saturday afternoon I was pretty much working so I haven’t got much to say on that part of the weekend except YAY hotel busy season 😉

Saturday afternoon Zach and I met some friends at Waking Windows, a local music festival that takes over Winooski. The festival which has certainly grown since we went last year, took place at various businesses around the town of Winooski including a main stage and food truck area in the downtown area.  After meeting up we headed over to Four Quarters Brewing to catch a band called Iron Eyes Cody and grab some beers. The band was awesome and totally worth having to wait in line for the majority of it. Some of the beers put out by Four Quarters aren’t usually my style as some of their more popular options tend to be a bit too sour for my unrefined pallet… sue me. I was so excited to try their White Peach IPA, it was so crisp and refreshing and paired so well with being at an outdoor music festival. We all talked about how we easily could drink it all summer. This was the first Derby day that I didn’t do anything special for which felt a bit odd, I guess that’s how you know you’re really out of the south! Though there was cornhole at the brewery so I was real freakin’ pumped about that.

After the brewery we hung out at the main stage for awhile and rocked some delicious pulled pork poutine from one of the food trucks. I liked the layout of food options along the water this year and I wish we had gotten there sooner to check out some of the local artist’s tables. It’s awesome that Waking Windows is a 3-day event so you can pick and choose the day and the kind of music you want to hear at the different venues around town. I’m glad we got tickets for Saturday because all of the bands we heard were great. Though I will admit 5:40pm Kari was much more pumped for listening to new bands than 12:40am Kari… I made it 15 minutes into that show before casually stepping out to call an uber. Guess my Bonnaroo days are behind me…

Sunday was officially my first day off in 12 days and all I wanted to do was sit around the house and do absolutely nothing so that’s what I did. I debated doing something active knowing that I’d feel better about the day but the furthest I got was to the corner store for some coffee and I’m quite okay with it.

Monday I had set up to be filled with appointments and getting my cleaning/laundry done but that was quickly turned upside down when I managed to completely throw out my back. 26 going on 86, I tell you. I forced myself to get out of the house for groceries (had to ask for help carrying them to my car at Trader Joes) but other than that I binge watched Happy Valley on Netflix all day. So that was a win at least.

What’s your beer style?

Have you been to any fun outdoor events lately?

I Just Don’t Understand…

How has it been a month since my last post? I feel like I say “oh i should blog about that” to myself every single day and yet getting it to actual post just seems to be a real big problem lately. Let’s do a mini recap of the weekend, shall we?

I don’t normally have Saturdays off but I took this last one off because I was signed up to run the Half Marathon Unplugged. While I was signed up- I did not actually compete. This is the first race that I’ve not competed in after signing up. It was a really hard decision but I hadn’t been getting the mileage in to make it a pleasant experience and the thought of “pushing through” just to say I did it felt wrong. Fear not (I tell myself) I have a new half at the end of June to focus on and that training plan is coming along very nicely.

There are quite a few great brunch options around Burlington but one of our favorites is definitely Henry’s Diner. Typical greek style diner tucked away on a side street it’s always packed and for a very good reason. The food is delicious, the portions are huge and it’s all pretty inexpensive which is amazing for myself and all the college kids that frequent it. Post brunch Zach and I had some friends over to watch the Masters. While we watched, Maria and I made cupcakes for her boyfriend’s birthday.

May I present to you, the very first cupcake made by the newest addition to our family- Charlie Conway the KitchenAid mixer (as seen on my Instagram). It’s a Bourbon Chocolate cupcake topped with Maple Buttercream frosting and Bourbon Candied Bacon.

After baking, Zach and I headed out to dinner at Pizzeria Verita which was packed but they squeezed us in to the pizza bar station. It was a little weird to have our backs turned to the restaurant but I was so fascinated by watching those guys make pizzas right in front of our faces that I quickly got over it.

I will admit I felt uncomfortable every time I made eye contact with them -which was a lot because I was staring like a stage 6 creeper- but after a Focal Banger you’d be surprised how comfortable you can be. The pizza itself was one of their nightly specials that had turkey, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, basil and a balsamic reduction. It was great but I have enjoyed other pizzas on their menu just a tiny bit more in past visits. It’s such a great restaurant though I’d highly recommend it!

We headed over to meet some friends at The Archives, Burlington’s newest downtown “barcade.” I believe this was their first Saturday night open to the public (?) and there was quite the interest. The beer and cocktail list was extensive, we both ordered a can of Boom Sauce IPA which we’d had before and loved but I think the $9 charge was a bit high even for a craft-beer oriented town such as Burlington. They had quite a few old school arcade games and though it was a crowded Saturday night, they were all pretty accessible. I’m literally horrendous at arcade games but I have fun trying. Any new spot has it’s kinks (the token machines kept emptying and waiting for a beer took a lot longer than it probably should have) but I really see the potential in this place. I definitely can’t wait to go back!

I worked on Sunday morning but made it home in time to catch the crazy day that was a Sunday at the Masters. I can’t even believe all of the magic that happened on the 16th hole! My boy Rory left himself too much to do but the Danny Willett story line is why I love sports so much. Monday was my day off which meant thousands of loads of laundry, grocery shopping (because I refuse to go on the weekends) and trying out a new recipe for “Cajun Chicken Pasta On the Lighter Side” from Skinnytaste It was so good!

Is everyone having a good start to their week?

How are your arcade/video gaming abilities?

Fun Facts Friday: Birthday Weekend Edition

Well hello there!

3 posts in 3 days? Quite the jump back in to blogging and it probably won’t happen often but I’m just so excited. This Sunday I turn the big 26 so I thought I’d share 5 fun things I’m looking forward to this birthday weekend of mine.

1. Being a Mascot.

I have definitely mentioned this before on the blog but if it wasn’t clear enough then, let’s just make it clear that I want to be a mascot so very badly. Last year a few friends at Hotel Vermont pulled some strings to get me into their Penguin costume for a few minutes on my birthday. This year, they asked me TO BE THE FREAKING PENGUIN one of the nights at their Ice Bar event. So yeah, don’t mind me just about to have the time of my life.

2. Penguin Plunging for an amazing cause.

Saturday morning a few of my co-workers and I are jumping into chilly Lake Champlain to raise money for Special Olympics Vermont. I have a few close friends who have worked closely with this organization and I have many more who have taken the plunge so I’m honored to be a part of it this year. I’ve never done a penguin/polar plunge before so I’m a little nervous but I know it’ll be a blast!

3. Attending Hotel Vermont’s 4th Annual Ice Bar.

This will be my 3rd time attending one of my favorite events of the year. Ice Bar is a great combination of sampling local foods, beer & cocktails all while listening to fun music and checking out amazing ice sculptures. Most importantly it’s the perfect event to celebrate a birthday with some great friends 🙂

4. A Casual Sunday Morning.

I can’t wait for a relaxing Sunday morning. I’ll be irrationally happy to stay in bed and watch Netflix in our Penguin (keeping on trend) PJs til we head to lunch.

5. Super Bowl!!!

I love being a Super Bowl baby, you get an automatic excuse to overeat junk food (forget yesterday’s post cough cough) and hang with all of your buddies watching football. What could be better? This year we are going to have a pretty small gathering which will be nice (and easy to clean up after). I’m so pumped to see my Tennessee Volunteer Peyton and the insane Broncos D take on superstar Cam and the Panthers offense. Peyton winning and then instantly retiring (come on bro don’t make me sit through another season terrified of you breaking in half) that would be the best outcome. Though I wouldn’t be too upset seeing Carolina take it, they’ve played Golden State good this season!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend 🙂

Fun Facts Friday

I am still training for that little old half marathon, even though I haven’t done a Training Day post in a couple of weeks. Next week I’ll get an update out, I promise!

On to the fun facts for the week!

1. My Fantasy Football team “Eric’s Berries” is absolutely going to CRUSH this league.

As you know I am a college football girl through and through, however I do love me some NFL. Even better? I LOVE my former Volunteers in the NFL. At the bar on Sundays during the season, my friends pepper me with “where did they go to school?”

This year my fantasy football team is named after Kansas City Chief’s 5th overall draft pick in 2010 (and you guessed it, former Tennessee stand out) Eric Berry. This year the “Berries” which I will of course refer to the team as from here on out, are freaking stacked. I mean AP AND Cordarelle Patterson?? Game. Over.

2. If you are looking for seafood in Burlington, you must go to Bleu Northeast Seafood.    Oh man what a way to spend an anniversary meal. Bleu opened recently and I still had not tried it so off we went. We started off with one of my favorite new drinks (that I of course forgot to take a photo of) the Garden Tonic. “House infused cucumber Vodka, lemon juice, honey simple syrup, celery bitters with cucumber, mint, thyme, and lime , topped off with tonic water.” AMAZING.

The gave us the best seat in the house- we must know people or something 😉 Our meal began sharing the Blue & Greens salad which the kitchen so generously split for us (they must have known we don’t share well) and for main course I got the Cedar Roasted salmon pictured above. I substituted the potato salad for their cheddar mashed potatoes because when given the option I will always choose cheddar mashed potatoes.

Zach tried the Steak Frites and loved every bite.  When the plates were served he made it a point to tell me “You can even eat the flowers on top!” Love that guy.  Overall it was a great experience, I am so happy we went!

3. Scavenger hunts are the coolest.

I got home from work on Wednesday to find a scavenger hunt waiting for me through the living room and kitchen. Here were some of my favorite clues…

I love Peyton and I love iced tea. This kid knows me.

Charleston Chews and Rory? Keep it coming…

I appreciate that he censored himself on this one haha… who says fudging??

4. I FINALLY bought the perfect dresses for the wedding we are attending next weekend in Connecticut.

The couple were gracious enough to invite me along to the rehearsal dinner (out of town girlfriend of a groomsman, you know the drill) which meant I had to find a dress for that as well. Had to is a stretch but still, I wanted to 😉

So yesterday I stopped in to Francesca’s and found this lovely dress for 40% off final sale in addition to 10% off with my student ID. That means $23.00 folks! I think it will be perfect for the rehearsal dinner. I actually saw the dress on La Petite Fashionista’s adorable blog before I walked into the store and I absolutely love what she did to style it! Be sure to check it out!!!

Also, I was really hoping I would find it online to do the dress justice but instead you will just have to take this dirty mirrored selfie that was only meant to go to the best friend for opinion.

I’ll keep the dress I found for the wedding itself to myself for now but just know, I typically hate shopping online for dresses but Lily Boutique I freaking love you!

5. Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer is my new best friend.

Tarte BB Cream via Sephora $35.00

I’ve been in search of a good BB cream for awhile now and I may have met my match. It feels amazing on the skin, blends so well and actually covers amazingly. Plus a little goes a long way which makes the price totally worth it. According to the lovely lady at Sephora, this BB cream plus a little loose powder and you’re good to go!

Happy Weekending Friends!

Do you fantasy football?

What is your go to cocktail?

Do you prefer in store shopping or online?

Fun Facts Friday

“It’s finally Friday I’m free again
I got my motor running for a wild weekend!”

Yes, I did just start this post with some George Jones lyrics… welcome to my life. I’m not cool.

1. Sangha Studio in downtown Burlington is my new favorite yoga studio.

  If you read my last post you know I signed up for my first class in quite some time yesterday and it did not disappoint! In Colorado I had a yoga instructor through the school’s gym that I thought was amazing.  She was so patient but very focused on the words she used and knew exactly how to get you into that yogi mindset.  Yesterday at Sangha Studio’s 12pm Flow Yoga class I felt that exact same connection to the style as well as the instructor.  The music started out very traditionally and then it progressively got more hip-hop focused, a first for me in a yoga class but I absolutely loved it!  I wondered if the other lady that attended the class enjoyed it because it was definitely a different soundtrack than what is expected but at the end even she said it was great!

Sadly the instructor for that day was a fill in and does not normally teach any classes. I was super bummed that I didn’t get her name because I really did enjoy her style of teaching but oh well I’m looking forward to many more classes at Sangha. Bonus each class is only $10 AND on Sundays they do community yoga where each class offered is by donation. Definitely check it out 🙂

2. I could eat a sandwich at every meal and be perfectly happy.

Ah yes, the beloved Mirabelles’ sandwich. So happy you made it into my stomach yesterday.  I normally reserve a trip to Mirabelles for their amazing chocolate macarons but post yoga class I decided I need something more substantial (in addition to the chocolate macarons of course) and this Avocado and Cheddar sandwich was awesome.

Seriously though, we have a sign in our kitchen that I made that just says “We eat a lot of sandwiches…”

3. 9 mile bike rides with these peeps are tough.

Of course I’m talking… when am I not?

We hopped on to the bike path last night after work to head to my parent’s camp in Mallets Bay and it was a great windy summer evening for it. I wore my vans instead of sneakers because I’m a total rookie and I paid for it. Hello slipping and shin pain.

4. Handwritten notes are the best.

How cute are these? They were a dollar at Michael’s a few months ago and I love them.  Who doesn’t love getting a handwritten note? I’ve been trying to get better about sending thank you notes and it certainly helps when I’ve got these adorable suckers sitting on my desk.

5. I’m happy it is still summer but I can’t wait for fall boots!

Durham Boot $39.95

Barnes Boot $69.95

 

I’m sort of in love with JustFab! So far the two pairs of shoes I’ve purchased from there have received so many compliments and are holding up great for as inexpensive as they are. While I’m sad to see summer coming to a close I’m oddly excited about fall fashion. Time to start shopping now 🙂

Got a good fun fact?

Are you good about writing thank you notes?

 

What’s your favorite season to dress for?

Namaste & All That Good Stuff

Hello there, friends!

I know how important it is for you to find out that our softball team is going to the Championship game after a hard fought battle against the Hilton last night so I will lead with that.

Anyway on to the real subject of the post…

This past weekend almost 400 yogis took over Burlington’s Church Street for a free event open to any and everyone who had a mat and the desire to practice.

How freaking cool does this look??? Photo credit from Sangha Studio’s Facebook page.

While I was unable to attend this event hearing about it got me thinking.  Freshman year of college I decided to take my first yoga class and it taught me what I had always suspected… I am the least flexible human on the planet.  Upon returning weekly it also taught me many other actually helpful things that I use in my everyday life.

Yoga has taught me various breathing techniques which I use not only when running but also to calm myself when I am feeling stressed.

Yoga has taught me tricks for falling asleep faster and more importantly, getting back to sleep once I have woken up. This has been a real problem for me lately, I keep waking up 2 hours before the alarm goes off. When I am having trouble I try to combine breathing patterns with focusing on each body part individually as I slowly (most of the time) drift off.

Yoga has taught me how to stretch out certain problem areas to the point of even reducing some of the problems. Lower back pain be gone!!

Yoga has taught me that pushing outside of my comfort zone (i.e. signing up for the class in the first place) can create some of the best consequences… like my pants fitting better. WIN!

So why don’t I go anymore?

I struggle to do yoga on my own, like many exercises I am much more likely to push myself when I am in a class setting.  I genuinely enjoy the feeling of being in a studio with others practicing together. I also probably make people feel better about their flexibility based on my complete lack there of… I’m a humanitarian what can I say?

That being said, yoga classes tend to be on the expensive side.  Rationalizing the $10-15 a class on my budget has pushed attending classes to the wayside.  I have been thinking about incorporating a class or two into my schedule/budget for awhile now because I know how much I have benefited from consistent practice in the past.

So this week I have skipped the 3-4 trips I normally make to the coffee stop in the office building for iced tea #addictionproblems and tomorrow afternoon I will replace it with my first official yoga class in I don’t even know how long!

Wish me luck 😉

Do you practice yoga?

Do you prefer fitness classes or can you rock it by yourself?

Recapping: Vermont Brewers Festival

Happy Monday All!

As some of you already know, Friday evening I attended the Vermont Brewers Festival so this morning I thought I’d recap some of the festivities! Last summer was my first time attending and it quickly became one of my favorite nights of the year. I mean what could be better than an evening with great friends, gorgeous summer weather on the waterfront and of course, the copious amounts of amazing beer!

Arguably the worst part of brew fest is far before the actual event when tickets go on sale… these tickets sell out SO FAST! This year I read that they sold out in less than 20 minutes! In fact, the day the tickets went on sale Zach had an accident on an ATV and had to be taken to the ER for what we thought could be a broken hand. Of course I took him to the ER but not before making sure we had secured both of our tickets… priorities people, priorities.

The gates opened just before 5:30 to let people in to the food area where Maria and I consumed a much needed and incredibly tasty gyro… Ahli Baba’s, you never disappoint me. Shortly after 5:30 the horn sounds, the gate drops and it’s off to the brews! A massive bag of kettle corn, 15 drink tickets and a lovely souvenir glass in hand we made our way through the crowd.

Another festival, another festival selfie with this lovely lady

In terms of lines there were definitely some long ones for a few places- Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, Lawson’s and surprisingly (to me anyway) Burlington Beer Company. I opted out of waiting as I am fortunate enough to have most of these at my disposal but with a good “line beer” I am sure the wait would have been worth it. I believe I counted 35 Vermont breweries and 14 out of towners, pretty impressive for a tiny state 😉

My handsome date, without a broken hand

Some of our favorite local brews were…

Drop In Brewing Company: These ladies looked like they were having a great time, which I loved. As for the beer, Zach and I are big hops fans, so we tried their Supernova IPA. Zach loved it, I thought it was solid but I didn’t enjoy the aftertaste. I tried some of Maria’s Sunshine and Hoppiness and that was amazing!

14th Star Brewing Company: I’m pretty sure this was the only place I spent two drink tickets for one beer and it was completely worth it for the Double Honey IPA. Sweet but stilly hoppy, I was a big fan.

Kingdom Brewing Company: I was just kidding about that previous statement, I also spent two drink tickets on the Kingdom’s Out of Bounds IPA and it ended up being my favorite beer of the night. It was smooth and easy drinking but definitely packed a punch of hops. I would get into trouble drinking these all day!

As for the Out of Towners:

Portsmouth Brewery: I’ve actually been to the brewery in New Hampshire but I had never tried their I.L.L. which was quite literally a hoppy lager that I really enjoyed.

Brasserie Dunham: These guys from Quebec had some of the coolest names for their beers, Maria tried a Leo’s Early Breakfast IPA which combines guava puree and earl grey tea… what??

Taking photos with these attractive babes in front of the bathrooms, because there wasn’t a gorgeous lake right next to us or anything…

As I’ve said before, this is one of my favorite events of the year. I feel like the 5:30-9:30 time slot is the perfect amount of time for going at your own pace and enjoying the evening with friends. The 15 drink tickets always seem to be too little at the beginning and then by then end you still have 3 left and are well on your way to that beer-induced “happy place” for the rest of the night. I love that people from all over come to join in on the fun and the location (though poorly documented in my photos) is hard to beat!

Not sure why I have two full beers in my hand

Also, just an important fact about me… I am a sucker for swag- coaster swag, sticker swag, I’m down with all of it. If you share this feeling with me then the brew fest is absolutely a must!

Swag for days

So there you have it, my time at brew fest was just as awesome as I hoped it would be and (insert incredibly dorky terminator voice) I’ll be back!
Yep, I did that.

Side note: I’m quickly realizing that this blog started as a fitness/lifestyle blog and has quickly turned into “Kari drinks at various fun events across the state, oh and sometimes she works out.” I mean when in Rome, right?

How was your weekend?

Have you ever attended a Brew Fest?

A Weekend at Home

As much as I love traveling and getting away for the weekends I can’t help but really appreciate weekends at home.  If I’m lucky they end up with the perfect amounts of fun and relaxation, this weekend was certainly no exception!

On Friday my sister, Katie and I went over to the newly renovated taproom at Switchback Brewing to hang out with our cousin who is a brewer.  The new bar is gorgeous and I was surprised by how spacious it was in there, even when the after-work crowd started pouring in they definitely had the space and the staff to keep up!  In terms of beer, my friends and I aren’t exactly beer snobs (read: we sort of are and can’t help it) but if we are at the bars Switchback is our “easy drinking” choice.  I really love their new Pale Ale and I get excited to see it on tap around town.

  

We weren’t sure if you could have dogs in the taproom but they quickly informed us that Maggie was welcome so we brought her in and after being pretty forward with a few humans she calmed down.

This also happened…

After Switchback we did a quick costume change and went over the the South End Truck Stop, as I mentioned in my VT Bucket List post, I have been wanting to get over to the truck stop this summer so I was pretty excited to make it happen.  I didn’t take any pictures but just know that the food trucks smelled delicious but I will admit it was very busy, like almost too busy.  I ate a pulled pork sandwich from Southern Smoke and it was one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I’ve ever had!  After living in the south I have semi-high standard but it was literally incredible!

I promised my friend Tori (who writes the Hotel Vermont Blog) that I would stop by their Milonga Tango Argentine dance party, so Maria and I headed over to the courtyard to listen to some great music and watch the very impressive tango dancers!  We arrived at the tail end of the party, long enough to get asked to dance but not brave (read: boozed) enough to say yes… but we still had a blast sipping on a couple glasses of wine in the beautifully decorated courtyard and chatting away.  If you get to the Burlington area and need a place to stay definitely check out Hotel Vermont and the Courtyard Burlington Harbor! Seriously can’t go wrong with either- but I’m wicked biased 😉

On Saturday Katie and I walked down to Church St to test out a new Italian restaurant, Pascolo Ristorante.  Pascolo was opened by the Farmhouse Group who already have one of Burlington’s darling restaurants (and one of my personal favs) with The Farmhouse Tap & Grill. The service was great and all of our meals looked excellent.  I had accidentally eaten breakfast an hour before so I wasn’t starving by any means but I did get this pretty boss caprese sandwich on focaccia bread. I also just ate a piece of leftover Margherita pizza that was excellent cold… I think I’m the only person on the planet that enjoys cold pizza over hot.

After lunch (and a quick stop at the Shaved Ice cart on Church St) a few friends and I gathered our stuff and headed out to another stop on my bucket list, Niquette Bay!

We went sort of later in the day so it wasn’t as packed (score!) but we still managed to have a blast swimming around in the surprisingly warm water and jumping off the cliffs! The sun had moved beyond our spot so we didn’t get scorched out there which was a super nice change to my recent burns.

On Sunday we had people over to our oven of an apartment to watch the World Cup Final, 2 box fans between 10 people means things got real sweaty real fast. Props to my friends for sticking it out 😉  Zach is obsessed with the Germany squad so I definitely leaned towards them over Argentina… sorry for your loss Messi- welcome to being cursed.  I knew I wanted to make some sort of dessert to fit the theme (I am all about themes people- ALL about them) but I literally had an hour to prepare so I went with this recipe from CookiesCakesPiesOhMy for Black Forest cupcakes… Germany- Black Forest- World Cup- Cupcakes, you get the theme.

The recipe could not have been easier and while I was worried when the batter was so thick they came out perfectly moist and got rave reviews from the friends and family- even Zach ate one and that never happens. Please ignore my happy birthday cupcake liners, I forgot I didn’t have any regular ones when I started making them.  Seriously though, make these cupcakes, they will not disappoint!

Did you do anything new and exciting this weekend?

Did you watch any of the World Cup games?

VT Summer Bucket List (Part One)

You guys I struck THREE people out last night in our company softball game… I should be receiving an invitation to join the US Women’s Softball team any day now because that NEVER happens.

A team of happy Wombats post win!

Onward,

Vermont in the summer is amazing. Plain and simple, it totally rocks!

I mean look at this, just waiting to be loved.

After working for a thousand years (read: 6) in the hotel industry I am so excited that my new jobs allows for weekends off. The list of things around the area I’d love to do this summer is crazy long but I thought I’d share a few that I plan on getting to in the next couple of weeks.

Niquette Bay or Colchester Cliffs

…I was not aware until last summer that these two places were the same… oops!
Living in downtown Burlington we are fortunate to be a couple blocks off of Lake Champlain with a few great beaches but when I want to try something a little different I love hitting up Niquette Bay a short drive away. Once you park you “hike” in about half a mile to the lake front where you find a series of cliffs big and small. There isn’t a ton of land to hang out on but what is there is beautiful and a great way to waste an afternoon in the sun. These are a few photos from two summers ago, I can’t wait to get back!

I do believe this ended poorly for Joe…

I actually think this one turned out okay for Jared…

Just proud of my pansy self for doing it!

Summervale

This is one thing I have never been to but can’t wait to go! Held at the Intervale Center in Burlington on Thursday evenings, Summervale is a community event that combines incredible locally sourced food, great beer and of course fun music. It is a free to enter, learn if you want to, bring your own chairs to hang out and take advantage of the amazing food and drinks sort of event. While I don’t necessarily fit the “Vermont- eat local or die” wave of humans I do appreciate all that this little state has to offer by way of food and drink. I will one day be a foodie I promise…

South End Truck Stop

Another great way to spend a Friday evening from 5-9 in the summer is at the South End Truck Stop. Located at Arts Riot, and literally stumble distance from my office, this event brings everything I love all in one place. A bunch of food trucks (WHAT?! YES!) Great beer from Fiddlehead Brewery (one of my personal favorites… second fiddle, get at me) And of COURSE some live music! I haven’t gone yet this summer but I went last year and it was awesome, I’m planning on venturing over there this Friday so I’ll be sure to give it a good ole’ review for you guys 🙂

Brew Tours

I’ve been to a bunch of breweries but I just cannot keep up with all the awesome ones popping up all over the state (not a bad problem to have) This summer I’d love to hit up a few that I haven’t made it to yet.

Hill Farmstead Brewery… In 2013 CraftBeer voted it the Best Brewery in the World!

Lost Nation Brewing… I’m a fan of their Rustic Ale.

Otter Creek Brewing… Hop Session for the win!

Tilt Arcade and Ale House

I am basically terrible at video games, except for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2013… I CRUSH TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 2013! It had to be said, it’s incredibly important that you know this about me. I also enjoy the heck out of some arcade games which I am legitimately bad at. I also enjoy drinking beer… obviously. So now that Tilt Arcade and Ale House is open I am pretty excited to get over there with my nerd friends (read: handsome boyfriend) and let the good times roll! The menu looks delicious, the beer list is on point and the games are going to keep me occupied for those rainy summer days.

This is a throwback to Zach and one of my very best friend’s Heather (who’s coming home for a week in 37 days!!!!!!!!! Not that I’m excited or anything) getting their video game on hard. They NEEDED to wear the jerseys to get into the right mindset. Nerds 😉

Now I must go make all of these things happen…

What are some of your favorite local things to do in the summer?

Indie Coffee Passport: Vermont Edition

Good Morning Folks!

I can’t freaking wait for the soccer game this afternoon… literally can’t wait. As you know I’m a pretty massive sports fan and World Cup is one of my favorites! Fun Fact: I’ve been a Clint Dempsey fan since I was 16 (circa New England Revolution/before it was cool) and even own his Fulham jersey.

On to to the point of today’s post:

Yesterday morning I was walking to the little cafe in our office building and noticed this sign chilling by the elevator…

While I’m actually not the biggest coffee drinker I was certainly intrigued (where there is coffee there is tea and where there are both there are pastries) so I decided to ask the gentleman at the register.

The Indie Coffee Passport was created by a couple in Toronto to give people a chance to try out coffee shops and cafes around the city.  It grew from there to Ottowa as well as Montreal and just landed in Vermont.

For $12 you receive this adorable little passport to receive a cup of coffee (or tea according to the website) at 10 locations around the Burlington area.

I have been to a few of these places but never really for a cup of coffee so I can’t wait to work through the list! I keep telling my friends it would be cool for us to be the “meet for a cup of coffee one morning” type of friends but so far we have only mastered the “wanna get a beer after work?” I think this will give me the perfect opportunity to push us along don’t you think??

I’m a big fan of “passport” type deals, I’ve been trying to crush the Vermont Brewery Passport but have not had luck getting to all of them.  I’m actually pretty sad about this, but don’t you worry! I’m going to keep trying 😉

This morning I checked off the first one on the list and grabbed a cup of iced coffee from the Bluebird Coffee Stop (conveniently located in my office building so I didn’t really have to work for it)

I normally get an iced tea from Bluebird (cough cough or a maple creemee from the cart on Church St) but the coffee was nice and strong! Perfect for a Thursday morning after I stayed up all night to finish a book… more on that later though.  Definitely get yourselves an Indie Coffee Passport and do some caffeine-induced exploring of these lovely little coffee shops:)

Now it is time to get ready for some soccer watching, let’s do this USA!!!