Philz Coffee

Philz

my new favourite coffee shop. 

Philz is a special kind of coffee shop because they dont make espresso drinks, only single cup drip coffee. 

The catch is that there are different roasts and different styles of milk (creamy to foamy or plain)

It's delicious. 

It's also a little more expensive than other coffee shops so it's definitely a treat. 

I first heard of it from Arielle but I wasnt convinced. Really? a single cup drip coffee? how different can you make single drip coffee? 

Many Menlo- Parkians/ Palo Alto-ians/Stanford students all showed an interest in this coffee shop and I just could not be bothered. I loved Peets coffee and had settled there.

Finally I decided "why not?". Corrie took me for my first time. 

I dont know what I had but it was delicious. 

The environment is also very hipster. It's actually the epitome of hipster. All your senses tell you that you MUST instagram that cup of coffee or you will be judged. 

Youre  served by a very, hipster/hippie/chill/ free spirited barista who takes your order and starts making it right away. You pay afterwards at the cashier at the end of the line. The staff are very friendly and can carry on good conversations. 

The Palo Alto chain (yes! It's a chain!) is pretty big. There are a lot of comfortable leather couches spread out and a few tables too. However, it's ALWAYS crowded.  Also, it must be a rule to only use a macbook pro because that is the only laptop I have ever seen there.

Philz has a very chill, very relaxing vibe. Everyone is there to drink good coffee and be productive. A few people might be having a coffee date, but mostly from what I've witnessed, most people are there to work. 

One day, I took a lunch break and went to Philz. I felt adventurous and tried the Mint Mojito Iced Mocha. It changed my life. 

and thats one thing about Philz. You have to go in with a sense of wonder, some curiosity, and of course adventure. You never really know what you're going to get. There is such a variety of coffee that you dont want to hold back and settle for an everyday drink. Step out and try something new.

On a hot day, skip that frappuccino and opt for a Mint Mojito Iced Mocha. It will change your life.

Anyways, it's great coffee. I highly recommend it. I also highly recommend you taking me there. I could take you too. 

Chris Tomlin Concert

I found out about the Chris Tomlin before the pre-sale tickets had gone on sale so I had known about this concert for quite a while. I knew I wanted to go...but I didnt buy tickets.

Then I totally forgot about it until Randy (family friend) mentioned it in passing that he and his family were going. 

Then I wanted to go. 

Then I went online and found out the tickets were sold out. 

SOLD OUT. 

WHAT?!

Chris Tomlin.- good for him. bad for me. 

So then I went on Craigslist. 

No luck. Every email response I received was "sold. sorry". 

LAME. 

Thursday morning rolls around and I still dont have a ticket. I figured I'll purchase one off a scalper at the show. because if theres one sure thing about a sold out show, it's that there will be a ticket on sale by some mean ole scalper. 

Then Randy informs me that his family will no longer be attending the concert because his kids have tests the next day. 

So 4 tickets fall into my lap. 

for Free. 

Because Randy is awesome, kind, and generous.  

Marissa, my close friend who goes to San Jose State, automatically got one because we had been talking about going. I love Marissa. 

I invited Natalie. She says yes. I love Natalie. 

I still have one free ticket. That's right. free. No one took it. oh well. 

Got a text that Kyle and Lexi were going to be there. 

Basically an awesome night just waiting to happen. 

so the adventure begins with Natalie showing me all her new favourite songs. then we proceeded to sing along to a lot Imagine Dragons- but mostly " Bleeding Out" and "Demons" . This a very important detail because I want it to be known that Natalie and I love Imagine Dragons. a lot. 

We're thirty minutes away from the venue. I decide we're going to take a detour to Chic-Fil-A, the only Chic-Fil-A in the Bay Area. I figured it'd only be a 20minute detour. It took an hour. But whatever. Natalie and I were having a good time. 

We're pretty excited about Chic-Fil-A.

As we arrived to the venue, we realized we have to pay for parking. booooooooo. So we found free parking ... technically not free, but I have my ways...shout out to Jack in the Box ;) 

We had missed Kari Jobe but Natalie and I didnt really care. 

When we finally entered, Chris Tomlin was on his second song. Marissa joined us soon after. 

Now, Chris Tomlin is amazing in concert. like dude. exceptional.The perfect blend of worshipand rock n roll entertainment. Do you know how hard it is to do that? 

I wish I could describe the whole experience- it's not like any other concert Ive been to. Chris himself was very entertaining. He has an awesome stage presence. When he talked, you really felt like you were just hanging out with him. It wasnt an overwhelming "spiritual" show and he was "trying too hard to be cool".  Chris and his whole band put on a great show. A show a non-believer could go watch and say "wow. I want to be part of that." 

The lights. The sound. The crowd. Everything was perfect. 

I was worshipping an awesome God next to two of my favourite people while being thorougly entertained. 

He even had a song with Lecrae making a guest appearance on video recording. I'm a HUGE Lecrae fan. (blog on that coming soon)

His duet with Kari Jobe. WOW. 

For the encore, they released inflatable balls that everyone passed around.

After the concert, we met up with Kyle and Lexi. They're dating and they're super cute omygosh *sigh*. 

Ben and Jerry's after the concert.

haha. they're adorable. and they both dislike greek yogurt. so this is funny. 

love her!

everyone and their ice-cream (and Natalie being an individual with her cup of water)

the group. :) 

Chris Tomlin Concert- Success