Musik Mundi: AWOLNation

AWOLNation
Album: Megalithic Symphony (2011)
Song: Kill Your Heroes
Song: Jump On My Shoulders

Every morning as I drive to work, I'm usually listening to 94.5 The Buzz cos I like Rod Ryan's morning show. Or I'll switch to npr if they start playing that foo fighters song. I dunno why they always gotta play foo fighters in the morning. So roddy always talks about how great the AWOLNation album is. Even though i like the song they have out on the radio, i kept forgetting to give it a listen. Well, i finally got that chance i like what i hear! These two songs in particular are my fave from the album. I like how their music talks about things other than love. They were supposed to perform at buzz fest a couple of weekends ago but had to cancel cos the lead vocals guy was sick. So now I don't have to feel bad for missing it! I prolly wouldn't have gone anyway.

*photo courtesy of amazon.com*

Trippin: Washington D.C. - American History Museum

With so many free museums to choose from, I had a hard time narrowing down which ones I wanted to go to. I initially didn't have plans to go to the The National Museum of American History. I dunno. I thot it would be boring for some reason? But after miss antsymama told me she really liked it when she went, i was like okay we're mos def going. Since the parade was abruptly ended by fire, miss flower child and i went on over to the American History museum. I loved it! We got to see the original flag that inspired Francis Scott Key's lyrics (not the tune!) for The Star Spangled Banner. I love the way everything was set up. No pics were allowed. I got yelled at for attempting. My other faves included seeing Julia Child's kitchen and the dresses that all the first ladies wore to the inauguration ball.

Restaurant: Americas

1800 Post Oak Blvd
Houston, TX 77056

It took me more than a decade but i finally ate at Americas for my very first time. And I was right to trust my instincts on not wanting to eat here cos i'm not sure i like that type of food. The food here isn't horrible, but it's just not that great especially for the price point that they're at. I don't remember any of our entrees being all the remarkable. What i do remember is eating way too much of those fried plantains and that chimmichurri sauce. So good! I literally just kept eating and eating. I love the whimsical decor of the restaurant but you never want the decor to outshine the actual food. That's why there's such a great in appeal in hole-in-the-wall places. When the food is that good, nothing else matters. We dined at the galleria location which is now closed. That evening, it was a saturday night and we were the only people in the entire restaurant. Their time had come.

Musik Mundi: Katie Herzig

Katie Herzig
Album: The Waking Sleep (2011)
Song: Free My Mind

I'm so excited about Katie Herzig's new album. I was a huge fan of her last album, Apple Tree. It's been kinda hectic lately so I haven't had the time to go through all of the songs. I'm not expecting the new album to be better than the last but hopefully there are a couple of tracks that i can enjoy. Of course, as with most things in life, not everyone shares the same tastes and/or interests so this album will obviously not be everyone's cup of tea. Let's try not to judge or impose aggressive opinions on other people's preferences. Moving on from my cryptic underlying message, I had a weekend of indulgence of the caloric kind. I love those kinda weekends. Makes me feel crappy on Mondays though. Friday was delicious chicken pita with extra garlic sauce from Island Grill. Saturday afternoon was delicious xoi chien with honey garlic sauce from Kim Son. Saturday night was delicious hk style french toast with condensed milk from House of Bowls. Sunday afternoon was delicious croissant breakfast sandwich from Fountain View Cafe followed by a delicious iced mocha from petite sweets. I wanted to make sure all that milky goodness that i had the first time wasn't a fluke and went back to get another iced mocha and it was just as good as the last time. Something about using amaya roast coffee beans. I want one now. Real coffee drinkers may not agree cos it's not particularly strong and on the sweeter side. I need to control this sweet binge that I've been on! Big poppa got a vanilla latte and he guzzled it like a baby. Which means he really liked it and this is coming from someone who supposedly does not like coffee. I did the moonlight ramble bike ride this past weekend. I want to say it's a good thing we did the 20 mile route but I'm sure it only took off maybe 1% of the total calories consumed. So bad.

*photo courtesy of amazon.com*

Event: LUMA

If i could, i would love to watch a show at Miller Outdoor Theatre every weekend. I would pick a spot on the lawn, lay out a blanket, relax and enjoy the show. I wish it were that simple. These free shows here are always crazily packed. People here arrive an hour plus early to get a spot cos as it gets closer to show time, it seems as if every inch of the lawn is covered with people. There are some true veterans here with fancy low lawn chairs and coolers filled with sodas and beer. Finding a parking spot is also kinda annoying. I got an e-mail about some light show called LUMA and from the fotos i saw on their website, it looked so COOL. But in reality, it wasn't so much. Fotos doctored much? So deceiving! I mean, overall, i guess it was just nice to be out there that night. It would have been nicer to have had more room to stretch the legs. But when it's free entertainment, why sweat the little things.

Trippin': Washington D.C. - Cherry Blossom Parade

I didn't have high hopes about being able to catch the cherry blossom parade. As with any parade, arriving early to nab a good spot is key. But. Could I wake up early enough? By the time we got ready, had breakfast and navigated the public transportation, the parade was well under way. Pooey. For some reason, we were still able to find a gigantic unoccupied cement potted plant that we could stand on top of to get a great view of the parade. Yayers! I was first to try to climb up and miss flower child being the ever so helpful person tried to give me a boost up but ended up using her super powers to launch me across. I flew forward, shin hitting the cement edge and hands in the dirt. There were a few gasps from the people around us and then people telling miss flower child how strong she was. Haha. I bruise like a prune so this huge welt and hematoma formed in mere seconds. We eventually got settled and enjoyed the floats that came by. You see one parade you've seen them all. Marching bands, antique cars, unimportant people waving. Then suddenly, the floats stopped coming even though the parade technically wasn't over. As we made the decision to ditch the parade and darted across the street, we saw smoke coming from down the street. I guess one of the floats had caught on fire! How crazy! Oh well. Good thing I'm not a huge parade person. Argh. Such bad luck.