Charlotte: A Night at the {Mint} Museum

I'm on a bit of a grown-up summer break right now before I start full-time classes at Winthrop, and I'm trying to get as much exploring and adventuring around Charlotte done while I still have free time.

Lucky for me, living in a new city makes it pretty easy to explore. Also lucky for me, I have a very willing co-explorer (Hi Torsten!). Unlucky for me, a student budget isn't the most conducive to fancy restaurants, weekend getaways or shopping trips.

That's why I was super excited to see that the Mint Museum Uptown in Charlotte has free admission to their permanent collections from 5-9 pm every Wednesday. And BIG BONUS, they also have buy-one-get-one free wine glasses in the gift shop! Sold.

Torsten and I ventured over to the Mint Museum around 6:30pm and promptly found the BOGO wine. Priorities. There were also free snacks! Be still my heart.

This was my first time to the Mint Museum in Uptown and I loved it! It's mostly contemporary art with some craft/design thrown in and some intriguing looking special exhibits (there is one on Body Art right now).

Me: "Torsten, take my picture with these ones! We match!"
Everyone else in the gallery: "What a dweeb..."

Here were some of my favorites from the collection, if you'd like to see!

I think this would make a good studying desk, don't you? 

This installation is one of 10 commissioned by the Mint Museum in 2010. Trippy!

The night ended as all of my favorite summer evenings do - with this ohsoyummy rose from the Winestore.

End of Summer Bucketlist

Hi friends!

Have you heard? It's August. Yes, August! I'm just as shocked as you are -- I don't know where this summer went! Between a move from DC --> Charlotte, a sojourn in Atlanta, my first grad school course and several weekends of travel, this summer has flown by.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm not *the most* excited for Fall. All things pumpkin, football, flannel, apples and cozy are calling my name right now. But in an effort to "live in the moment" etc. etc. blah blah blah, I've put together a lil End of Summer bucket list to make the most of these last hot, muggy days of summer. Here goes...

End of Summer Bucketlist

1. Walk to get ice cream after dinner. It's a classic.

2. Try a new brewery running club (I'm eyeing Triple C and Sycamore)

3. Eat a picnic on the beach (family beach trip in T-minus 4 days!)

 

4. Go to a drive-in movie screening (I've never done this and figure I better get to it before they die out -- sorry for being a Debbie Downer)

5. Stand-up paddleboard at the Whitewater Center (I'm cheating - I did this one on Sunday!)

6. Check-out the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on a Saturday

7. Make Strawberry Shortcake (particularly this Joy the Baker version -- drool)

8. Go for a BIG HIKE in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The 2-3 hour drive to most of the "good hikes" around Charlotte usually dissuades me, but I'm going to man up for at least one big adventurous hike this August. Roan Mountain and Black Balsam Knob are the current front-runners.

9. Read 3 books before classes start and my life is taken over by textbooks. Currently reading yet another Jojo Moyes book -- The Ship of Brides - and, unsurprisingly, loving it.

10. Make homemade granola! Eat it all!

11. After completing number 6, make these mouthwatering Open-faced heirloom tomato sandwiches for lunch.

12. Get my North Carolina license plate at the DMV! This isn't exactly the "most exciting" item on my bucket list, is it? Nothing says summer like an outing to the DMV!

13. Go to another boot camp at the Crossfit in Dilworth (Mondays @ 6:30pm for $5! What a steal!)

14. Drink a bottle of rose outside -- on a deck, on a patio, on a rooftop, on the beach, wherever. Not picky!

Flashback to last summer at a winery in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I would DEFINITELY drink rose here.

15. Play tennis!

16. Sign-up for a Fall half-marathon. So very excited for Fall running.

If I can accomplish even a fraction of those before summer ends, I'll be pleased as punch.

What's on your end of summer bucket list?!