we weren’t expecting trick-or-treaters at 452 baltic so the lucky pair that knocked on our door got…2 fun dips, 5-6 chocolate easter eggs, a broken and very hard york peppermint patty and some sort of candy toy…i’m still not exactly sure what it does…at least we didn’t go to the drugstore and buy a giant bag of twizzlers to pass out (UNWRAPPED!) like my boss did today. we told her no.
the weather was PERFECT.
the food was obviously disgustingly delicious.
annnnd we had the most fun in raleigh! [almost enough to move back]
saturday started off with our favorite noah.
then off to the fair grounds
bloomin onion followed by….
a turkey leg, corn on the cob, cajun chicken wangs, fried mac n cheese, funnel cake, fried oreos, country ham biscuits, candy, kettle corn popcorn, lemonade, frozen banana with peanuts and that’s about it.
until supper time at sono!
dancing at neptunes…
and bloody marys at tir na nog- look at all that garnishing!!!
until next time…. we love you, raleigh!
mahalia and i are all packed to head down to our ole stompin grounds!!! here’s what we’re taking with us…
fair style
mahalia & her fringe boots!
was subconsciously thinking about the wolfpack when i bought these jeans [really hope we win saturday]
favorite thing about this outfit….
a little acorn!
nightlife…
check out mahalia’s baller ring.
bringing my new shoes from mexico with me. [they’re so comfortable]
raleigh people, see you in a few days.
nyc girls, get.ready.
we’re going the the fair yall! a bunch of girls are heading down south with us to see what a. raleigh is all about b. see a mullet or 10 for the very first time & c. eat everything fried under the sun. i.can’t.wait!!!
fam and friends are probably a little confused about my newly developed love for the fair. i must admit, that i haatteeddd the fair up until a couple of years ago. i used to blame it on the noise, the crowds of people and the overpriced food, but let’s get real, i live in nyc. those things don’t really bother me. it had everyyything to do with my very first experience.
i was in the second grade. my friend anna, her mom and i went for her birthday. we drove an hour to raleigh for this BIG event. i wore an all jean outfit [whoo! canadian tuxedo!], got a unicorn painted on my face, ate everything in sight- because i was a total porker, bought my mom some hideous heart earrings and signed up to sing karaoke.
i have to give a little background on this so you can understand the reallllll reason behind my hatred for the state fair. that summer i had performed in my very first musical. i was gretal in the sound of music and because of this, i was going to sing on broadway one day. so naturally, i haaadd to sing karaoke because they recorded you and gave you a tape as your “prize”. this was going to be my demo, i was going to be a star. i sang my heart out to some country song that i didn’t know the words to and ran to the car to listen to the tape. we popped it in, turned it up and much to my dismay, there was no recording. my audition tape was blank and i wasn’t going to be a star and for that reason i hated the fair and didn’t go back until four years ago.
i finally gave in to the fair and ate a turkey leg, funnel cake, corn on the cob, fried cheesecake, went to see the livestock and LOVED it! i went back again the next year and did the exact same thing except this time i added kettle corn popcorn to the list. i loved the fair so much that i was a carnie for halloween!
packing pics on the way!
before we could really get settled in, we had to make the most out of the space in our TINY closets. my rod was too high so i lowered it and we added shelves for storage. we bought a really long plank of wood from lowe’s and had them cut it to our specifications. then we went to work!
the tools
step 1: measure & screw the shelf rest in [on both sides]
step 2: make sure the shelve fits & is even
step 3: screw the rod in place
step 4: jam in all your clothes
voila!
mahalia chose to use the bottom space for storage and she used brackets from ikea.
acl pluses:
1. it was SUPER clean. the port-o-potties could have been a nightmare and they were shockingly nice? [oxymoron?] it wasn’t trashy either! they made a deal that if you could fill up a huge trash bag with recyclable items you could get a free shirt. not bad & it worked. smart!
2. the food was great! don’t get me wrong, i am alll about fair food- funnel cakes, turkey legs, fried everything, especially oreos, but there was none of that to be found. the booths were run by local businesses, which was very cool. there was everything from homemade pecan pies and coffee to pork bbq nachos, the famous mighty cone and gyros!
mighty cone!
strawberry icee!
3. every single show was on time. if the schedule said 1:35PM, the band started at exactly 1:35PM and the band on the stage closest to them stopped at 1:34PM. it was amazing. i am by farrr the worst with time management and i have never experienced anything like this. clock work. literally. i felt inspired to overcome my bad habit!
highlights of the weekend:
day one: ha ha tonka. check them out. they were definitely a new favorite.
it rained!
cold war kids.
braving the heat.
ray lamontagne!
santigold
day two: in the shade. it.was.HOT.
who in their right mind would bring a baby to acl?! but this is too cute!
STEVIE WONDER!!
day three: my motto.
graffiti 6. lead singer. yummmm. annnd they sounded soo good.
ryan bingham & the dead horses
i could go on and on with pictures but i will tell you… acl did the BEST job picking a huge variety of bands. there was so much raw talent. for a lot of the bands it was their first festival and i definitely felt lucky to be there to experience it.
bands i heard that you HAVE to check out [if you don’t know them already]:
ha ha tonka
kurt vile and the violators
futurebirds!!! [reallly goood]
the secret sisters
james blake
smith westerns
delta spirit
ray lamontagne
santigold
bright eyes
cowboy and indian
phosphorescent
aloe blacc & the grand scheme [total wedding band]
city and colour
young the giant
FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS [if you can ever make it to a show. GO!!! the most entertaining band everrrr]
iron & wine
cut copy
graffiti 6 [think maroon 5]
the head and the heart
dale earnhardt jr. jr
gomez
the walkmen
ryan bingham & the dead horses
empire of the sun
fleet foxes
arcade fire [last night headliner for a reason. video to come]
