5 things i love right now

1.  this shirt

in general, i've been really into t-shirts that say things lately. and when i saw some dude wearing this at governors ball a few weeks ago, it really just spoke to me. basically because it really encapsulates my personality in a nutshell. er, t-shirt.

...the joke is that it's a picture of hanson, guys!

2. joe machi on "last comic standing"

kind of weird, incredibly hilarious. bit starts at 1:24. 

3. this potato salad recipe

well, sort of. my mom has the best potato salad recipe of all time, and i can't seem to find it anywhere on the internet. also, i'm way too lazy to type up the recipe. but this one is VERY close. just put in less mayo and throw in some pickle relish. i've been known to eat this for a meal, it's that good.

4. the new trey songz album

mr. songz is totally the underrated king of the summer jam (have you forgotten about "say aah" or "bottoms up"?) and my summer spotify playlist is slowly being taken over by his new album, trigga. there's the sexy singles "foreign" and "na na" -- let's just ignore that it's a total fugees rip-off -- and my favorite raunchy deep cut/current solo dance party number "touchin', lovin'," which features the one and only nicki minaj. perfect carefree R&B for cruising with the windows down.

5. speakeasy-style bars

i know that this trend is kind of old news now, but whenever i discover a new "secret" spot, it makes me ridiculously happy. saloon in somerville has been one of my favorite local hangouts for a while now, but last week i made my first visit to backbar in nearby union square. much like my first visit to saloon, it took me a solid five minutes to find the entrance, as it was down an alley and looked like a restaurant service entrance. after you go down a long, dark, creepy hallway, you finally arrive in a bright, open, funky space. the friendly bartender set some spicy caramel popcorn down on the table and gave me some pointers after he discovered that i was a backbar virgin. my whiskey sour (called "choke up!" here because it's cool like that) was delicious, and the staff was so unpretentious and nice.  shh, don't tell anyone i told you how to get in!