post card: brooklyn

In light of Miss Sandy, I thought this post would be appropriate. Rp and I were supposed to be staying in the East Village for this short NY trip, but the storm forced us to pack up and leave (again!) and head to our friends' apartment in Brooklyn. So, we're hunkered down with water, flashlights, rice crispy treats, peanut butter crackers, champagne, and wine to ride out this storm.

I wanted to come back to Brooklyn, but not exactly under these conditions. 

I made all of these "post cards" one day in the van. Being in constant motion is great, but can also lead to some serious heartache for things you love. One of my last days in the van, I compiled a very incomplete list of things I miss:

Non Starbucks coffee

my girls

Reading Vogue on Saturday morning

Meeting for brunch after 1pm

Weekend mornings alone

YogaVida

Getting my mail

My printer

Small dogs

Vegan restaurants

Dinners that turn into drinks that turn into "Oh my God, it's 3AM & they are kicking us out"

Grape & Grain//Lychee bellinis

a routine

blaming lateness on the subway
my bed

Saturday afternoon college football games with friends who also wound up far from the South

Sunday night HBO + take out ethiopian food (while wearing PJs and a hoodie)

All of my clothes being in one place

Having more than 2 pairs of shoes

Simply walking outside to grab a cab

A book in the park

Complaining about how the neighborhood has changed

Really good Indian food

Delivery.com

Finding fashion inspiration on the streets and on the person next to you in the subway

my bodega

So, Sandy, lets go ahead and get this over with, OK?!? I'd like to get back to my regularly scheduled things.

photo: bike ridin

post card: new york

"I’ve spent more nights sleeping in a hotel room than most people ever need to over the course of an entire lifetime, and I’m not even 30 years old yet. I know which hotel chains have soap that I like, and which places will make you smell like a little old lady when you wash your hands. I’m alone in a big bed with my glasses on, listening to Tom Waits, trying to come down after the show. There’s only one more date left in the US and I’m thinking about how this tour has played out. One night like tonight can make up for fifteen miserable ones…the fans were locked in with the band, and it was powerful. All the nonsense I have to deal with to get onto that stage (unsavory promoters, poorly managed venues, twelve hour drives in the van, missing my family, etc etc etc) feels absolutely worth it when the fans show up like they did tonight. The energy in that room was palpable and it drew a strong performance out of everybody in the band. The reason why I tour is so that there can be more nights like tonight. Thank you New York; you’re like no other." 

- Rp's Tumblr post on the New York show last night

eat: John Madden Mexican

somewhere in the middle of nowhere Texas we found this gem. 

no, it wasn't the best Mexican food I've ever had... but it WAS the only Mexican restaurant that I've ever been to that paid homage to one John Madden. Plus, we all know I love a good John Madden Haul. (what?)

I'd give this place a strong "decent" as a rating, but it earns extra points for being the only restaurant within 50 miles. 

we're goin' places

February/Paris

a call for help! We've got lots of travel coming up for this ridiculousness that is our job... and I need some suggestions for things to do! I've never been to 99% of these places and I'm more than ecstatic to go.

A few things to keep in mind: we will have a limited time in each of these places (usually just a day!), so if you're familiar with the area let me know if there is something specific that I just have to see/eat/do. Also since we are going to these places on tour, we have a limited budget - so please don't tell me the only/best thing to do is eat the world's greatest caviar. [and please don't tempt me with amazing Champagne! I will surely cave & we'll be stuck in whatever city I find it in. Then I'll be asking for help to bust out of champagne rehab... and we just don't want to go there.]  One other request - I'm talking local shops and food. If it's a major tourist attraction, you don't have to tell me about it (i.e. the eiffel tower).

Ok? and go!

((also, come see us at the shows!!! Tickets: RonPopeMusic.com/Shows))

November: Australia!

1. Melbourne
2. Sydney
3. Brisbane

January: UK/Europe!

1. London, UK
2. Leeds, UK
3. Birmingham, UK
4. Manchester, UK
5. Glasgow, UK
6. Belfast, UK
7. Dublin, Ireland
8. Paris, France
9. Zurich, Switzerland
10. Munich, Germany
11. Antwerp, Belgium
12. Cologne, Germany
13. Frankfurt, Germany
14. Amsterdam, Netherlands
15. Hamburg, Germany
16. Berlin, Germany
17. Copenhagen, Denmark
18. Stockholm, Sweden

I'll be doing my own research, but since some of you are also frequent travelers, why not ask you... ya know? 

As always, I'll be photo documenting for you, so if there is something you just WANT me to do, feel free to include it! 

thanks a mill & a trill.

-b

waking up in Montana

we drove through Montana and couldn't help pulling over to watch this sunset. nothing short of spectacular...

snooze

by now, it's clear that my body hates me. waking up at 7am is not exactly how I planned to spend this Sunday (before an 8+ hour drive). I wish this was a once in a while occurrence, but it seems my brain doesn't ever want to sleep anymore. I need a non hotel bed, a dark room, a small puppy, and 18 hours of snooze time.

help!

(photo: bar in the East Village - B Side)

do: Lake Shasta!

Oh, hello people of my internet! Glad to see you haven't gone far.

I've decided that instead of another cop out post, I'm going to post a real-live adventure! Whoooo/ hoorayyyyy/back flips!

no pain, no gain in handstands

So, back when we were driving in and around the Pacific North West, we decided to do a little sightseeing and give ourselves a break from the van walls. At this point in the tour (over a month in), we're all a little on edge, and not completely rational. The guys might disagree with me, but that's just their irrational side kicking in. We found ourselves four hours north of San Francisco - the farthest north I've been in Cali. So, what do I do when I find myself in a new place? A handstand of course! However, the grass was so dry here that it actually cut my foot. Ridiculous. Anyway - a couple tours back (before I was a part of the crew), the guys discovered Lake Shasta. They swam in the lake, they jumped off a rope swing, Zach hurt his wrist - you know, the things little boys dream of. So, we went off in search of this magical place. One major problem: that lake they swam in? WASN'T THERE.

Was it a figment of their imagination? Had they gone so tour crazy at that point that they were swimming in dirt and Zach hurt his wrist doing cartwheels? WHAT WAS GOING ON? Nothing made sense anymore. Ron was not discouraged in the least and made us all set out on the had-been lake bottom to find this water.

The beautiful, Lake Shasta

Ron attempting to convince us he was not crazy

Oh, look. There's the water. Lovely. A cesspool of mosquito crap

So we climbed a lake-bed mountain//Dom is king of the world. 

Ahhhh there's some real water.  

Ron isn't completely nuts. Thank God.

Due to the aforementioned cut on my foot, I had to sit on these rocks while the boys swam. I don't mess with flesh eating bacteria, y'all

So instead, I went on a walk alone.

SHASTAAAA

I found boats! and a lovely scene. 

the closest you'll get to my no-make up face (PS - why is that a thing in instagram?). That's reserved for my boys in the van. Lucky guys.
Don't go too far! I've got more just waiting in the wings. However, maybe you should go get a snack or something. I've been known to not post when I say I will. 
Happy Saturday!
comment/love me in the, duh, comments.

postcard

seriously. I never know anymore - even with all of my fancaaay technology.

more pretty pics & updates coming soon.

in the meantime, click on ron's tour dates - buy tickets - and then suggest things for us to do in Australia and Europe. thanks thanks thanks!

stay tuned! 

-b

(btw - photo is in Montana)

Question time!

I got this one on tumblr and thought it was interesting enough to post here. Happy Monday!
wait - what day is it? 
crap. Thursday.
Happy Thursday!

Anonymous asked: Hello! I just have a general "girl" question, I suppose you could say. My boyfriend has started a band and they've been doing local shows and gaining attention (mainly from girls). I never used to be the jealous type--and I'm certainly secure in our relationship--however, I can't help but get a little jealous with all the wannabe-groupies that have been lining up after the concerts. Is there any advice that you're able to hand down to ignore the groupies? Btw, love your blog!

Ahhhh, yes. The groupie question. I actually get this one a lot, so I’ll address it here!

1. break up with your boyfriend & find someone with a normal job.

Doesn’t work? Ahhh, ok. Just realize that dating a musician is not for the faint of heart. It sounds like you guys have a pretty strong foundation since you say you’re secure in the relationship (mostly). So here is real advice:

1. Realize that he is just talking to and taking photos with these girls. Unless you see him slip them a number, that’s all it is. He leaves with you.

2. Don’t freak out when you see them give HIM a number. It is what it is. These girls have been here since forever and will be here until forever. If you guys have a secure relationship, he won’t act on it.

3. If you start to feel really jealous and worried - consider your boyfriend and what he’s like as a person. If you are actually worried that he will sleep with/make out/whatever with a girl who would likely do that with any dude with a guitar who rolls through the city… then you should probably reevaluate your relationship. If there isn’t trust, there is nothing. 

4. Just give it time. It gets easier. Groupies are a fact of life when you roll with a talented dude. 

DO NOT EVER: Roll your eyes at them/give them an attitude/make fun of them/berate your boyfriend for talking to them.

Fans are what make an artist successful. Embrace it! You’re the one who gets him. I love all of Rp’s fans & definitely feel the love in return - that’s why you’re here asking me this, right? :]

PS - you need to get over this now or when/if he goes on tour you will want to jump off a building from anxiety.

see: ugly face

what is this??? is this the world's ugliest Real World cast? Yes. Yes, it is.

Or. OR have we gone so tour crazy that we played my favorite game of "make the ugliest face you can make" game?

While having a few (too many) post-show drinks at Cheer Up Charlies in East Austin, this magnificent thing was accomplished.

You can tell that Ron and I have played this game before by our use of hand gestures to make not just an ugly face, but an entire ugly being. Don't judge us by our hobbies! We don't judge yours!

A big shout out to newbie player, Carl, who gave a dramatic ugly face. A big non-shout out to a poor showing by Meghan. What is that? How does she manage to still look cute while attempting ugly? However, I think the clear winner is me... or Ron. But we're veterans, so that's expected.

What do you think? Vote on who you think is the ugliest in the comments below.

see: live-ness

up close and personal with some live show shots. Happy Sunday!

©DancePanda Photography 2012

the right nows.

Dana Lamarca (@crazyfreshdana) (aka: danja) + Kyle McCammon (@kylemccammon) at the 

Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, Oregon

hair help.

Unless you've been living under a blue rock on this blog, I dyed my hair partially blue. I love it. I really do. However, i'm wondering if it's time for a change. Above, I took two photos of it for you to get a real, live feel of what it's like. I don't want to dye my entire head hot pink... but a little hint is nice. Just something to remind me that I don't have to sit at a desk all day, ya know? So if you were me, what would you do? Keep it blue or go with something else? Baby pink? Violet? Turquoise???? I DON'T KNOW. You help. 

And if you were worried about my hair's health, you can rest your pretty head. I use Manic Panic (yup, that kind from the 90s) to test out these colors, so they don't damage your strands. For real - look it up. 

Let's do this and make my Gwen Stefani dreams come true. 

road food: Buraka

food posts! I can't get enough. I am just now leaving LA, so I have things to say about that, but I'm going to take a step (couple weeks) back for this post. One of the best parts of riding around in a van across the country is trying out different non-chain restaurants. Trust me, I get enough of the chains also... to the point that Subway is literally making me gag just thinking about it. And it's far too early to be tired of Subway. Here's to another month!

However, when we land somewhere with something awesome, I'm gonna tell you kids about it. Enter, MADISON, WISCONSIN! One of my favorite college towns. I actually care nothing about the school, but the town is amazing. You've got your standard college bars, but they actually have above decent food also (woooo, happy crazy person dance in the street). PLUS, everyone is SO excited to be there. You can just feel college in the air. If you don't know what I mean, you haven't been to the right places.

I avoid sound check at all costs, so I took a walk from the hotel to meet Rp for dinner. I slid past the lovely capital building and successfully avoided harassment from their resident crazies that park themselves on benches outside of it. We discovered an Ethiopian joint, Buraka, so we were pretty content to try that out (as always).

Have you tried Ethiopian food? Well ya should. This is, hands down, Ron's favorite food & is pretty high up on the list for me. So, let me walk you through this.

1. You eat with your hands. While they will give you a fork if you ask for it - don't. It's better this way. Have I EVER misled you???
2. It's served with the perfect scooping tool - spongey bread called Injera. Tastes similar to sour dough.
3. If you order meat, beware that there are little bones floating around! Nobody wants to do the heimlich at dinner.
4. The vegetables might look gross, but THEY ARE NOT. Trust me on this one. Nothing is weird about them and you won't be sick all night from them. GAH. Grow up and eat your veggies!

Another cool thing about eating Ethiopian in various places is that it isn't standardized. Every kitchen is a little different and takes different things from where they learned to cook the cuisine. For instance, this one put potatoes in all of their vegetable dishes, haha.

So if these pictures do not totally gross you out (and you aren't a total wuss), you should go! We've been in New York, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Columbus, and now Madison. Take my word for it.

love/hate/comments below.