#MusicMonday @Death Proof Coffee

Aaron from @ConcertPhotography208 is back with another #MusicMonday installment. This week, he is featuring Death Proof Coffee. It’s not your typical coffee shop. Checkout his blog below!

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It’s Music Monday! Lets visit a place that is filled with passion, created with local bands in mind, and is quickly becoming a staple venue in Boise, enter, Death Proof Coffee. Mike Verlennich, Nik Verlennich and Izak Izak have created a venue that can bring a professional edge to any garage band. This place is chill coffee house in the front and full-on fog and light show party in the back! The venue attached to Death Proof Coffee provides an environment for all ages to enjoy live music on a professional stage.

Death Proof Coffee and venue has been in the works for a few years and was perfected by the trio who each bring a unique perspective to the venue. Mike has the passion and leadership to guide his son, Nik, to create energy within the venue. Nik speaks about music, the local scene, and the drive to create a space for local bands in a way only an artist can express. The lighting design Izak brings during the shows can only be described as perfection. Not too over the top or too bright, taking photos into their lights was a concert photographers dream.

From the moment I walked into the venue I knew something was different, there was too much theater design in Death Proof’s venue. There was forethought and planning, this isn’t some slapped together pallet stage. I’m talkin’ perfect straight lines, and complementary color schemes, and finally some balanced sound, someone had theater experience I just knew it. I later found out that Izak has a background in theater lighting which explains all the attention to every detail. His lighting designs were inspired and not once over shadowed the performances. Another amazing aspect to Izak’s design is he does it all while being red/green color blind. Most would think this would be a determent to a lighting designer not being able to see colors “normally.” I will say the exact opposite is true here, Izak is able to create light schemes that many trained lighting professionals only dream of. His lack of being able to see colors makes him extremely unique and another part of Death Proof that makes this venue great.

Death Proof Coffee was literally created by the hands of Mike, Nik and Izak. These men hand-poured the countertops you see in the coffee lounge and created the sound panels on the walls within the venue. Each contributing their skills from theater, lighting design, and from the knowledge of owning previous businesses. The most impressive piece of this puzzle? The stage. The attention to detail can be seen by the painstakingly created light boxes these men wanted to fill the back area. They hand built the drum lift and worked tirelessly to make sure every line, device, or panel was perfect from the audience perspective.

If you are looking for a local coffee shop that wants everyone there to enjoy themselves and feel welcome this is your place. If you want a venue that wants to breed a diverse culture of creativity and grow the local music scene this is your venue. Finally, if you are a band that wants that next stepping stone, to know what it feels like to play on a raised stage, with technics, and a crew that wants you to succeed; this is your new home.

Death Proof Coffee is a much-needed addition to the local Boise music scene. I certainly look forward to seeing more shows, taking more photos, and doing many more blogs about Death Proof Coffee and Venue. See you at the next show!

Death Proof Coffee 
10481 W. Fairview Ave. in Boise, ID 83704

To book an event

https://www.deathproofcoffee.com/contact/
https://www.deathproofcoffee.com/events/

*All photos are owned by ConcertPhotographer208.

Boise Juice Co. 3-Day Juice Cleanse: What to Expect

Last week, one of my colleagues @boisibisphoto participated in the Boise Juice Co. 3-Day Juice cleanse. I was unable to because of my travel schedule.

Thankfully, she was able to document her ENTIRE EXPERIENCE. Here’s the good, bad & ugly of doing a Boise Juice Co. 3-Day Juice Cleanse.

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day 1: boise juice co. cleanse

                For anyone who’s never done a juice cleanse, you may find it terrifying. I sure did. Since having surgery in early September, I struggled to return to my normal healthy diet and the gym once I was able to. Even then, I kept finding excuses, and getting back into bad habits, like Starbucks every day. I found myself putting more on my plate, fugitively and literally, and using a lack of time as an excuse. Finally, I had it. I realized that I missed my old healthy habits of eating well and working out, but my current comfortable routine was hard for me to break. That’s when I decided a juice cleanse might be the perfect solution; a reset button.

                I have never done a cleanse, or anything like it, so believe me when I say, I was scared. Luckily Jes at Boise Juice Co was totally transparent with me, letting me know it wouldn’t be easy. She also wanted me, through this blog, to show the good, bad, and ugly of the cleanse. So bear with me…

                Day one actually starts the day before in the preparation. A Boise Juice Co employee and pro at juice cleanses, Journey, gave me some good insight when I went in to sample the juices. She said to start cleaner eating the day before starting, as it will help the digestive system during the cleanse so it isn’t working overtime trying to clean up the food while also not eating food. This little bit of advice I think made day one go so much better than it could have. She also helped me choose what type of cleanse to do. I chose the intermediate cleanse, that consists of 3 green juices, 2 fruit, and one protein. This is the most common make-up of the juices, but it can be adjusted to fit your needs.

                Since it was Sunday, I slept in (thankfully) and didn’t get to my first juice until about 9:30 am, when I typically would have breakfast on a weekend. There are six juices each day, and are split up by approximately two hours between each, so starting later in the day, made for a more consistent frequency. The first juice I had was TropiKale, a green juice that was a nice wake up juice. There isn’t one juice that I tried at Boise Juice Co that I really didn’t like, so I’m not ever dreading any one juice, good taste goes a long way when there’s no food.

                The next juice, Turn up the Beet, was one of my favorite, and no side effects hit me yet. With the third, I was beginning to get hungry. So I drank the RePear (another fave) and drank a lot of water. I wasn’t very active this day, which was slightly my own doing (homework procrastinator here) and also because I was feeling kind of tired. I’m writing this on day two, and I am definitely going to throw in some light exercise today, to use all of the nutrients and move it around my system. I began to get hangry at juice four, Vanity Pear, and wasn’t focusing on homework or really anything at that point. I was getting distracted by my cat, my boyfriend…SQUIRREL! I really felt out of sorts and extremely cold. I read in my handy Boise Juice Co book, that hot baths are good to help break a sweat and deliver the nutrients to different organs and tissues. So hot bath it was! I had the stomach pangs which I get when I’m not able to eat, but the bath soothed them some.

                Juice 5 was reserved for going to my parent’s house, for dinner. Sunday dinners are common with my family, but it also happened to by my brother and sister-in-law’s first anniversary. So…they shared their cake top from their wedding as tradition has it.  Willpower was strong last night, it was tough but I made it through, sipping on my Holy Kale of juices.

                I was pretty tired at the end of the day, but I had my last juice to drink, Mai Chai. This was the juice with a concentration of protein in it so that I wouldn’t go to bed feeling hungry, and man was that right. This was actually the hardest one for me to get through because I was feeling so full. I don’t know how that happens! But each day has anywhere from 1100-1300 calories according to Boise Juice Co, so it is definitely possible.

                Day one is done…on to day two!

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DAY 2: BOISE JUICE CO. 3-DAY CLEANSE

                So I made it to day two…and finished day two! I’m so excited!

                As excited as I was, I don’t think day two was as hard as day one. The biggest difference was the headache that was close to breaking me. This is the most common complaint of a juice cleanse, so I reached out to Jes to ask what she does to remedy that excessive feeling. She asked if I was a coffee drinker before the cleanse, and I told her I was. Then, she asked if I was drinking any coffee during the cleanse, which is recommended for us addicts to help fend of the caffeine withdrawal symptoms, and I admitted that I had not had any coffee (black coffee scares me). She then suggested that when I went in to get my third day of juices to pick up a mocha shake or get some black coffee and use one of the “mylks” they press as a creamer. So I got a small black iced coffee and it did the trick (and didn’t taste half bad!). It kicked in about an hour after drinking it, and the headache was gone. But I also drank a TON of water as well. Let’s just say that if you are NOT going to the bathroom at least every two hours, you need more water. At least this is what happened for me…

                Since I’m two thirds of the way done, I have gathered some of my own tips to remember or think of when considering a cleanse:

Accountability: I am so glad that I am sharing my experience through IG and through BoiseBucketList’s Blog. Telling the social media world, and my family of course, has kept me accountable for following through. Consider having a friend do a cleanse with you if you are like me and need someone to hold you accountable. Having a support system will make it easier. Or, post about it on your own social media. This will cut down on the temptation of “cheating.”

Drink Water:  I know I mentioned this multiple times, but water is seriously important during the cleanse. I tried to get at least 16oz of water per juice, usually drinking between the juices.

Caffeine: Like I mentioned, if you are a religious caffeine drinker, do not stop cold turkey. I realized that drinking a black cup of coffee is not cheating your cleanse. Keep it small though, just enough to keep that headache at bay. If you still have a small ache – see the above importance of water.

Exercise: Day one, I was pretty tired. I didn’t want to do too much activity, but I wish I did more. If anything, go on a brisk walk. I did this on day two, and I felt livelier afterwards. I was kind of babying my body on day one, and I think part of it was I didn’t think I was getting the nutrients to keep active. However, the amount of calories in the cleanse is still a highly functional amount of calories. Maybe don’t go run ten miles, but still try to hit your 10k steps.

Attitude: You might be cranky. I was cranky, especially on Sunday. I warned my boyfriend to tread lightly. But we are all adults. You are doing something that is different than your routine, so just make sure you check yourself. If anyone hasn’t tried box breathing, this is a great time to learn.

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BOISE JUICE CO. CLEANSE: DAY 3

Day three was the best. I probably sound like I’m gushing …but I’m being totally serious. I was sad it was ending.  Part of this may have been because of how easy it was to know exactly what I was “eating” every day, with no prep work. But part of it was with how good I was feeling. My body was feeling so light yet still nourished. I had just as much energy as I was used to having. I was feeling good.

                So on day 2, I gave some tips, but I think some things people want to know is the stuff no one ever wants to talk about. My mom is awesome, and asked the important questions. So here are some answers.

Q: How irritable were you?

A: Day one was the worst, I’ve said that before, and headaches were the second factor. However, my overall mood was not abnormally different.

Q: How were your bowels?

A: Ahhh the question everyone is thinking but no one was asking. Here it is. My assumption is everyone will have a different answer. I think what helped was the advice to start eating cleaner the day before I started the cleanse, to help my body not work as hard once I was eating less and giving my digestive system a break. So I think I was one of the luckier ones. I assume that when people hear cleanse, they think a similar experience to the process before a colonoscopy. My experience was better than that. Once again, drinking water is important here. But the honest truth, every few hours I would use the bathroom and the cleanse did a solid job. The second day had a similar but less frequent experience. If changing to a cleanse is a drastic change from how you normally eat, this may not be as smooth of a transition.

Q: Did you like the juices?

A: Yes! There wasn’t a juice I didn’t like. The joy of Boise Juice Company also is the ability to sample the juices and cross of any that you may not like. I had too many favorites to name!

Q: Was it hard?

A: Any challenge is hard, or it wouldn’t be a challenge. If you are determined and have willpower and accountability, it will be easier.

Q: Did you lose weight?

A: Yes, I lost about 7 lbs, but granted, a lot of that is the cleanse seriously getting rid of crap in your body. I lost about an inch around my middle, but I would chalk it up to the same stuff. This isn’t a weight loss program, but it is a good start for anyone who is ready to take the reins on a new healthier eating regimen.

Q: Would you recommend it?

A: Absolutely! If you have motivation and curiosity, it is definitely worth your time.

Q: Is it worth the cost?

A: Yes. The cost from Boise Juice for a cleanse is $48 per day. If you can afford it or can plan and save for it, I think it is worth it.

Q: Would you do it again?

A: Again? For sure! My inside friend at Boise Juice does a cleanse quarterly, and it sounds like a good idea. I could see using it myself whenever I feel like I get off my good eating habits and need that extra help to reset my body (say…after the holidays?). 

                For anyone who has any other specific questions, or just want to chat DM me on Instagram @boisibisphoto.

20 Fall Activities to Cross Off Your #BoiseBucketList

Fall is in full effect here in Boise. From the foliage, to the pumpkin patches, to the cool, crisp weather, there’s no denying Boise is an amazing place in Fall. Here are 20 activities I feel you should cross off your Boise Bucket List this fall:

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Do the Scarecrow Stroll @ Idaho Botanical Gardens:

Looking to see all types of scarecrows throughout a beautiful garden? Throughout the entire month of October, you can head over to the Idaho Botanical Gardens to checkout scarecrows created by local community organizations. You can vote for your favorite, as well as visit the pumpkin patch.

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 Linder Farms Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch

Who doesn’t like a good corn maze and pumpkin patch? Linder Farms is wildly popular and a must-see place for fall. From hayrides to pumpkin patches to petting zoos – there is no doubt you will have your fair share of fall fun.  You can visit Linder Farms Corn Maze the entire month of October.

Source: Linder Farms

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Farmstead Corn Maze and Pumpkin Festival

For the entire month of October, you can visit Idaho’s “original corn maze.” Nestled in Meridian, the Farmstead Corn Maze gives its fans so many offerings, including the traditional hayrides, a huge slide, and the Field of Screams.

Hoptober Freshtival, Downtown Boise

Beer lover? Look no further. Boise Brewing is hosting its annual Freshtival in downtown Boise. You will have a variety of beers to choose from, games to play, and downtown Boise as your backdrop. Event is October 6.

GO VISIT A PUMPKIN PATCH
Boise has its fair options for pumpkin patches. You can visit Linder Farms, the Farmstead Corm Maze, Idaho Botanical Gardens, or Jordan’s Pumpkin Patch and Tree Lot. Who else likes to carve pumpkins and roast the pumpkin seeds?

See Spot Run

On October 6, come out and support the Idaho Humane Society for its biggest fundraiser of the year! There will be lots of vendors, contests, and food to enjoy.

See a Classic Movie at the Egyptian Theater:

 This fall, Boise Classic Movies has some of your favs coming to the Egyptian Theater: Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hocus Pocus, and The Shining - just to name a few. What’s fun about going to see a classic movie is that attendees are encouraged to dress up. For more info and to purchase your tickets, visit: https://boiseclassicmovies.com.

Binge during the Idaho Horror Film Festival

If horror films are your thing, I strongly suggest you checkout the Idaho Horror Film Festival. Its 3 days of films across 10 venues.  All the binging you can take starts on October 11.

Crawl around Boise Bars for 2nd annual Crawl-o-Ween:  

Crawl-o-ween is back! Come bar hop with fellow bar hoppers dressed in your favorite Halloween costume. Event is on October 19th and starts at 8pm.

Go Apple Picking

Within driving distance from Boise, you can head to Emmett and enjoy picking your own apples. Candy Apple Orchard, Tyler’s Rocky Point Orchard, and Williams Fruit Ranch are examples of local places where you can go apple picking.

Hike Table Rock and See the Beautiful Fall Foliage

With all the amazing outdoor recreation, you cannot help but to be outside during this time. Seeing the leaves changes colors is one of my favorite parts of fall (aside from the cooler weather after a hot summer).  Hike up Table Rock (or any hiking trail, TBH) and enjoy the scenery.

Freak Out at Freak Alley

Freak Alley is one of Boise’s largest tourist attractions.  On October 5th, they are hosting their 1st annual fundraiser, a night where art, stories, and entertainment are combined.  The huge part is the story-telling from the artists, including a tale from the founder himself.  Click HERE for more info

No Escape at The Haunted World

Haunted World is proclaimed to be the scariest haunted house in Idaho. And I don’t doubt that! Since 2000, Haunted World has perfected the art of fear. It includes an indoor and outdoor haunted attraction. Tickets are only purchased at the door (NO online purchases). Click HERE to see for yourself. I will be going with a group - why not join me?! Join my New to the BOI Group for more info.

Become a bartender at Mai Thai’s Bartender School

Each month Mai Thai has hosted a bartender school, where you can learn how to mix our own craft cocktails. This fall, they are hosting a class on Sunday, October 28th called “Spooky Spirits.” Each attendee gets 3 cocktails, 3 appetizers, and enjoy learning how to mix drinks.  Follow Mai Thai on their Instagram page for more info.

Do a Halloween Boise Trolley Tour

Drive around Boise on the vintage trolley called Miss Molley Trolley. You will enjoy a narrative Halloween-themed tour for 90+ minutes. Tickets are $18. You can purchase your tickets HERE.

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Make sure you TAG @boise_bucketlist on Instagram or use the hashtag #boisebucketlist so I can share your adventures! Do you have ideas or suggestions of activities to cross off your Boise Bucket List? Email me at info@boisebucketlist.com