O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

December 08, 2014 in Personal

We decided that we wanted to pick and cut our own Christmas tree this year so this Saturday Sara and I drove out to a farm in Great Falls. I'm not sure if we were too late in the season or if this particular farm just wasn't very good, but they didn't have a single tree that was acceptable to us. Fortunately, there were several nurseries selling Christmas trees right before the farm. We got ourselves a nice 6'6'' Fraser Fir. After driving it home we spent the rest of the afternoon putting it up and decorating the rest of the house. Christmas!

Slim pickings.... Very slim pickings....

Putting our number one candidate through a very stringent smell test

NYC

November 17, 2014 in Personal, Travel

There are great cities in this world. And then there's New York City.

For more on my weekend trip to NYC, including a bunch of iPhone pics, visit my Bonjournal.

Capital Cities

November 03, 2014 in Personal

You know it when you see it

You know it when it’s there

Like Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Like Farrah Fawcett hair

It’s good shit

So goes the hook for Capital Cities’ single, Farrah Fawcett Hair, a song that is quite simply about the good shit in life. I think it’s safe to add Capital Cities’ live performances to that list. From the moment they took the stage at 930 Club to the end of the encore, the L.A. duo, Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian (joined on tour by Channing Holmes on drums, Manny Quintero on bass, and Spencer Ludwig on trumpet) were electrifying. Opening up with Tell Me How to Live (“aint nobody gonna tell me how to live!”) was a great choice and one that set the mood and energy for the remainder of the show. The guys kept at it, intoxicating the crowd every step of the way with their energy as they ran through every song of their single LP. Standout moments from the set included the duo guiding the crowd through the “Capital Cities Shuffle” during Center Stage, Halloween giveaways (which included things from fabric softener to an Xbox 360 game), a cover of Staying Alive, the fan favorite I Sold My Bed But Not My Stereo, and the opening of the encore with Farrah Fawcett Hair (including one of many kick-ass trumpet solos by Mr. Ludwig). I’m so glad I got to see these guys live and can’t wait for them to roll through DC again.

No interchangeable lens cameras are allowed into 930 Club unless you have a press pass, so I brought my X10 to the show. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get very close, so I was pretty restricted with the angles I could get (and being on the far right side meant I had more trouble getting good shots of Sebu, who was stage right). All shots are straight out of camera JPEGs, except for the few with black and white conversions.

Spencer Ludwig ripping it on the trumpet.

Sweet lens flare!

Take a very well deserved bow, gentlemen.

And finally, here is the official Farrah Fawcett Hair video for your viewing pleasure.

Cross Keys Vineyard

October 27, 2014 in Personal, Travel

Cross Keys is a beautiful vineyard located 10 miles south of Harrisonburg, VA in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. I first visited this place back in 2009 and have made an attempt to go back to it any time I'm in the area or passing through it, so I was excited when Sara told me one of her college friends was getting married there. As I expected, the place made for an amazing venue. It also helped that the weather was absolutely perfect that day.

Here are a couple of photos I took on the iPhone with the VSCO Cam app.

Pumpkin Season

October 12, 2014 in Personal

I'm not one of those people who freak out in the fall because of all the pumpkin options. Pumpkin pie! Pumpkin beer! Pumpkin latte! As a matter of fact, I can't think of a single "pumpkin" food that I like. I do, however, love halloween and jack-o'-lanterns so Sara and I headed to a pumpkin patch in Alexandria to get ourselves some carving canvas today. We picked a medium sized one and headed to my parents where we got our carve on. I figured it'd be easier to do it there since they have a back yard and we don't. It turned out to be a good idea because my mom had never seen a pumpkin carving in action. She didn't get her hands dirty but she sat there watching and ended up loving the whole process.