the highs can be high, but the lows can also be low at a yo la tengo show. in case you haven’t been to a recent concert of theirs, they bring out a wheel featuring different options for them to play. an audience member spins the wheel and whatever it lands on is the bands first set. the options include: songs that start with s, the name game (songs with names in the title), freewheeling (their vh1 storytellers type setup), as well as sets from their alter ego bands and the score to the sounds of the sounds of science. after an intermission, they play a second set of their hits.

all sounds great on paper.

after first landing on spin again, the lucky atlanta contestant landed on spinner’s choice at the recent variety playhouse concert. i totally thought i was in for a classic yo la tengo show, i mean, how could this go wrong? well, this particular fan chose the second half of the sounds of the sounds of science and things got boring quickly. i couldn’t believe when given the option of hearing a set of classic yo la tengo songs, someone would pick the second half of a score to an underwater science documentary. don’t get me wrong, the score is great, but such drony instrumental music has its time and place.

after 45 minutes of the film score and another 40-minute intermission, i was not very pumped about the show anymore. although they did open up the second set with autumn sweater and let’s save tony orlando’s house, waiting that long to hear actual yo la tengo songs was definitely an evening spoiler.

i will think twice about going to another concert where a wheel determines my potential for fun.

– ryan

have any growlers from a brewpub or other large bottles sitting around your house? try filling them with various vinegars or cleaning products like bleach to get more use out of them! we had a few empty ones taking up space in our kitchen so we decided to find another purpose for these cool bottles. our growlers were just collecting dust anyways since georgia doesn’t allow brewpubs to refill them. lame.

– ryan & gub

happy groundhog day! looks like punxsutawney phil didn’t see his shadow, so we can look forward to an early spring! in celebration, i woke up early and watched groundhog day, which is one of my favorites!

– ryan

we found out we are having a baby girl! how exciting! to make the news a little more special, we had the doctor write down the gender on a sheet of paper and seal it in an envelope for us. we then went out for a nice dinner at fritti, where we opened the envelope to find out the amazing news!

– ryan & gub

fritti

309 n highland ave ne
atlanta, ga 30307
404-880-9559

we grabbed some sweets for a gathering today from sublime doughnuts! you can find this great local doughnut shop on 10th st near georgia tech on the westside. they always have a ton of unique flavored treats you won’t find at any doughnut chain. today we went with fresh strawberry ‘n cream, reese’s peanut butter cup, butter toffee with caramel chocolate, orange cream star, gnutella, and caramel apple fritter. they were some of the best doughnuts we have ever had!

for some amazing doughnuts you will be thinking about for days, definitely try out sublime doughnuts!

– ryan & gub

sublime doughnuts

535 10th st nw
atlanta, ga 30318
404-897-1801

one of my favorite beers around, and one of the hardest to find for that matter, is hopslam ale by bell’s brewery out of kalamazoo, michigan. this citrusy, floral, and insanely-hoppy double-IPA is brewed with honey and is one of the smoothest 10% beers you will find. hopslam is the winter seasonal release by bell’s and is a real treat when around. for some reason they don’t ship too much of it down south, so most stores sell out the day they receive their shipment.

last winter i was able to find this beer for the first time and was quite impressed. the problem was when i discovered its greatness, atlanta was already completely sold out. this year i have yet to find the six-packs, however i did find this beautiful mini-keg! having five liters of this tasty treat in my fridge is great to come home to after a long day of work!

– ryan

bell’s brewery

355 e. kalamazoo ave.
kalamazoo, mi 49007
269-382-5712

today is gub’s birthday! yay!

– ryan & gub

so we ended up having the entire week off from work due to the snow/ice storm. quite crazy! the snow is finally melting and the roads are slowly getting back to normal, although many are still covered in ice. we can’t wait for warmer weather!

– ryan & gub

today was our fourth day off from work due to the snow/ice storm. we finally broke out and went on an adventure to ikea. we quickly realized that our street had deceived us and was way less icy than everywhere else. driving was slow moving and slippery. we did find some great deals and the outing was much-needed, though! plus, we had ikea all to ourselves. it was like a ghost town.

p.s. – we bought a crib!!!!!

– ryan & gub

today we spent our third day in a row cooped up in the house because of the snow storm. third day is a charm… i guess. it was our first day with some sunlight and we were actually productive and did some cleaning. work is called off again tomorrow. crazy!!!

– ryan & gub