Monday, September 13, 2021

My fun weekend!

Now that more things have opened up as the pandemic wanes (but still continues...), I can actually pack my weekends like I did in the "before times"! Here were the highlights of my busy weekend:

1. Goat yoga

I had heard of goat yoga a while back, and I knew Beth Wolfe had organized goat yoga events for some time. But I had never gone until Saturday! It's hosted inside a church, which I think is funny; I guess we were inside since the church doesn't have a fenced-in area for the animals to be outside but not run away. This event was special because there were six baby goats there who were only a few weeks old! They weren't quite used to people yet, so this was a chance for them to be around humans and see that we aren't going to hurt them. They are so adorable! I'd say in the hour I was there, five minutes were spent on yoga, and the rest of the time was watching/petting/taking pictures of goats. You can see how the goats would be distracting:



I had previously done kangaroo yoga with the same instructor. While I can't say these kinds of events are the most strenuous yoga classes, they are definitely the most fun! I want to try kitten or puppy yoga next!

Image found here

2. Van Gogh Exhibition: The Immersive Experience

My boyfriend bought tickets for this, and I was certainly curious what it was, especially since I love art by the impressionists. We were out near Ivy City, and it was this huge space that had been converted into an interactive museum for this exhibition. I really enjoyed learning more about Van Gogh; I didn't know much about his real life beforehand. I think my favorite part was when you entered a huge room where his art was projected all over the walls and even on the floor! The paintings had been digitized and then moved and morphed like animations. We were cuddled up on pillows on the floor just watching the art dance around us. If you've been to ARTECHOUSE before, then it's kind of like that. The tickets are a little expensive, so had I not been invited by someone else, I'm not sure I would have paid to see a famous artists' works be projected on walls (I'd rather see the real thing!). But it was a fun, different experience. But bring a sweater: it's cold in there (even though they aren't protecting real art...). OR you could get a taste of it from YouTube:


Image found here

3. Drinks and Dinner after Van Gogh

After the art exhibit, my boyfriend and I wanted to go out for cocktails. Right down the street from the exhibit, we found Metrobar (which he had read about). It was a fun outdoor space with lots of picnic tables (and cute dogs!) to enjoy your drinks al fresco. All of the cocktails use spirits from local distilleries, like Republic Restoratives, One Eight, and Cotton & Reed; I love all of those places, so I think that's a great idea. They also had hard seltzers from DC Brau, which I didn't try but want to at some point! It's a cool spot in an up-and-coming area of the city. 

Image found here

4. Dinner at Via Ghibellina

After looking at the art and having a drink at Metrobar, we went into the heart of Ivy City and had dinner at. I had never been there before, but that's because they opened during the pandemic. It was packed, so clearly it's a popular spot! Their cocktails are also good (and actually cheaper than a glass of wine?). They handmake the pasta there, and the pizza is delicious! I don't think of myself as a pizza snob by any means, but after having their pizza, I realized I hadn't had real, authentic pizza for a long time. I highly recommend checking out this place! After dinner, we briefly walked around the area. Now I want to go back there to visit Gravitas, City Winery, and a new brewery, Other Half; they all have great rooftop spaces!

Our other friend Emily took the picture. Her finger is there to represent.

5. Polo Match with the DC Polo Society

I went to this event two years ago before the pandemic, and it was so much fun! So when I heard it was coming back, I had to go. Four of my girlfriends and I piled into my car and drove up to Poolesville to watching the horses. The set-up was different from last time. Previously, they had this outdoor area with picnic tables and such where you could sit and enjoy food and drinks. But this time, we had to drive to the other side of the fields, where there is no structure; you had to be prepared to tailgate. I did not realize this ahead of time, but we lucked out: someone had paid for three private tents, but we got there early, so we took over one of those and acted like we owned the place (we figured we'd move if someone asked us to). Luckily we were able to sit in the shade there in chairs (not in the grass in our lovely outfits) the entire time we were there. And each party got a free bottle of wine, so that was a nice surprise! We had so much fun enjoying the beautiful weather, chit-chatting, and watching the horses run back and forth. Anytime I get to eat and/or drink outside, I'm happy!

Image found here

6. Windridge Vineyards

Although there were technically two polo matches, one is certainly enough. So we left early and drove just a little bit aways to Windridge Vineyards, a new winery that opened up during the pandemic. I was there a few weeks ago with my boyfriend for the first time, so I had already discovered it and had made reservations for my girlfriends after the polo. Thank goodness I did: the place was packed! We had a nice picnic table all to ourselves looking out over the vineyard and enjoying the sun sinking lower into the sky. I helped myself to a glass of their bubbly rose, and we had dinner from the food truck there from Bangin BBQ (very good, btw). It was the perfect way to end such a lovely girls day!

I packed a lot in this past weekend, and next weekend will be no different!

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

My 2021 Labor Day Weekend

I always like to travel for long weekends, but with the pandemic still looming, I didn't want to go too far. So my dad and I went to New York City for a quick trip. We of course visited my grandma, but we had lots of other fun adventures, too! Here were the highlights of my trip:


1. Yankees vs. Orioles baseball game

Going to baseball games is one of my favorite summer activities, and after more than a year without sports, I want to go to as many games as possible! I'm from Maryland, so when I saw that the O's would be playing against the Yankees, I had to get tickets. Yankee Stadium is beautiful, and they actually allow you to bring your own food in so you don't have to pay $20 for some chicken tenders and fries. So we enjoyed a sub from a local deli as we watched the game. It started off slow, but in the end the Orioles won! They've had a pretty bad season, so you could hear the disappoint of the Yankees fans, since their team is so much better. I heard one guy say, "Come on, it's Baltimore!" But I was happy my team won!

2. Dinner at Ben's Kosher Deli

We used to always go to Ben's Best on Queen's Boulevard, but that has sadly closed. So we went to this restaurant, which is a chain, but still has very good food. We enjoyed all the classics: matzoh ball soup, half-sour pickles, knishes, corned beef sandwiches...the only thing missing was the black-and-white cookie! But since Rosh Hashanah was coming up, my grandmother had a yummy coffee cake for dessert waiting at home. Such good food!

You can see the globe for the 1964 World's Fair in the background.

3. The U.S. Open

I had gone to the U.S. Open for the first time three years ago, also during the Labor Day holiday (how convenient that this tennis tournament always takes place over a long weekend!). I was excited to go back again, even though I didn't recognize the names of the players we would see. We arrived early so I could buy my souvenir towel (smaller than the one you get at Wimbledon), and we watched two general admission matches. The match between Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens in Louis Armstrong Stadium was very good, especially knowing that they are partners in doubles and have won tournaments together! Then we saw the up-and-coming Carlos Alcaraz beat Peter Gojowczyk in the Grandstand. We finally made our way to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the evening's main event. Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada defeated American Frances Tiafoe; I normally would root for any American, but it was getting so late I wanted Auger-Aliassime to win so we could get it over with. By the time the match was over, it was nearly 11:00 p.m., so we didn't even stay for the women's match. But we still got to watch three matches, so we certainly got our money's worth.

Such a fun weekend! I'll be heading back to NYC next month and do totally different things. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Alanis Morissette Concert

Image found here

I originally bought tickets to see Alanis Morissette at Merriweather Post Pavilion not necessarily because I like her music (though I do!), but because Garbage was opening for her. My dad and I have seen Garbage perform multiple times*, so I wanted to get us tickets to see them again. But by the time I looked into tickets, lawn seats were sold out! So I  ponied up the dough to treat us to real seats; my dad had never had real seats at that venue before, and I think I only had once before, so I figured we'd pamper ourselves.

Last night we arrived just as gates opened and enjoyed our packed dinner (so nice that they let you bring your own food in!). We wandered the grounds a little after we ate, and then we moseyed our way to our seats. We were pretty close, too!

Cat Power was the first opener. I had heard her name before, but I wasn't familiar with her music. I felt bad that she was up on stage all alone and the half-empty crowd wasn't even listening. I think most of us were just waiting for her 30-minute set to be over with. But Garbage was next, and we were psyched! I didn't realize they had a new album out (No Gods No Masters), so unfortunately I didn't know most of the songs they sang. And they didn't sing any songs from their Bleed Like Me album, which is my favorite one (or Strange Little Birds for that matter). But here's a taste of their set list:

The Men Who Rule the World (probably my favorite of their new songs)


Personal Jesus (I liked their choice of cover song.)


And of course they did perform some of their hit songs:

Stupid Girl

I Think I'm Paranoid

Push It

When I Grow Up

I'm Only Happy When it Rains (Great encore song)



Then Alanis came on with her long blonde hair, wear an oversized orange, bedazzled T-shirt. Since 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of Alanis' huge album, Jagged Little Pill, I knew almost all her songs. She sang all the hits from that album, and even songs from there that I thought for sure she wouldn't do. It was fun singing along, and the crowd loved it! I liked how her band would play soft introductions before each song to give you a clue to what song to expect next. And on the large screen behind her, mini music-videos were playing that related to each song, which I enjoyed watching as well.

All I Really Want


Right Through You (I LOVE this song!)

Hand in My Pocket

Ironic (The crowd probably sang half the song for Alanis; we were so loud!)

You Oughta Know (HUGE hit!)


Ablaze (A song for her daughter. I had never heard it before, but I liked it a lot.)

You Learn


Perfect (I wasn't expecting her to perform this one.)


Head Over Feet (The crowd loved this and we were singing along the entire time. Such a romantic song!)

Uninvited (This song always makes me think of the movie, City of Angels.)

Mary Jane (Another one I wasn't expecting to hear)

Your House (I hadn't heard this one before. She mostly kept singing the chorus repeatedly, but the band changed up the style of music each time for a sort-of repeat medley.)

Thank U (An odd choice for an encore, I thought. But I guess it was to express thanks during this whole COVID time when we are all thinking about what we are thankful for.)


Such a fun concert! I hadn't been to this venue since August of 2019, and it was great to be back for such an amazing show!

*Here are the links to my previous blog posts about Garbage:

Garbage at Lincoln Theatre (2018)

Garbage at Wolf Trap (2017)

Garbage at Lincoln Theatre (2016)

Garbage at the 9:30 Club (2015)