Posts Tagged ‘Scared Panda’
“Up North”
I’m about to head “up north” for the weekend. It’s been brought to my attention that when I refer to the little town of Battle Lake, Minnesota as “up north” that it’s a bit unclear to people where that really is. It’s a quaint, peaceful, beautiful town where the air and water are clean, people are overly trusting and at night, on the dock, you can see stars for miles. It’s also so remote that I’ll have no access to the internet during my couple of days there – and I’m kind of excited about it (no offense, internet). I’ll report back next week on what it really means to be “up north.”
Have a great weekend!
Kate
Re-Discover Chicago Sunday Morning (midnight – 5 a.m.)
This weekend is one of my favorites of the summer – on Saturday night my friends and I will go on a late night, 25-mile bike ride through Chicago. The L.A.T.E. Ride is a really great way to explore the city after-hours – from midnight until 5 a.m., the streets are closed off to vehicles and we’re free to bike, hang out and discover some of Chicago’s hidden gems.
We’ll finish the ride around 3 a.m. on the lake front and will stop somewhere to get some breakfast (Pick-Me-Up – hello pancakes!, Tony’s Burritos, perhaps a night cap at Carol’s?) then catch a few zzz’s before heading to one of our favorite soccer bars to watch the World Cup (go Netherlands!). All-in-all, sounds like a pretty awesome day to me.
If you’re at the L.A.T.E. Ride, look for the group of people decked out in Scared Panda gear and come say hello!
- Kate
Get Your Pizza On
When you’re in a city famous for a particular food or cuisine, it can be overwhelming when trying to decide where to get the BEST of that specialty food. Luckily for you, there are a few companies in Chicago who will take you around to some of the best pizza places in the city.
Chicago Pizza Tours stuck out to me because they take you to different neighborhoods and allow you to sample a variety of pizzas (they even stop at Italian Fiesta – a favorite of the Obamas). On this tour, you’ll get your deep-dish craving satisfied and you’ll get to experience some of the best non-deep dish joints in the city, including one of my favorites, Coal Fire.
For those of you partial to Chicago-style deep dish pizza, check out Slice of Chicago Pizza Tours. This company takes you to some of the most famous deep dish joints in town and, it’s a walking tour so you won’t fall into a pizza coma when you’re done with your journey.
Don’t forget to wear your Pizza Fight t-shirt as you explore Chicago’s pizza scene.
- Kate
Win a Free Shirt!
I recently had some time to get to know another local entrepreneur, Jess of Jess LC. I’ve been admiring her jewelry and reading her blog, Make Under My Life (try the Throw Out 50 Things Challenge!) for awhile now and have learned a lot about starting a new business, living life with intention and finding joy in everything you do. We decided to do a three-month ad run on her blog and part of that package is a t-shirt giveaway. Head over to her site, check out the interview I did and throw your name in the hat for a free t-shirt.
- Kate
Happy Summer!
Yesterday was the first day of summer and we celebrated by going to Yogen Fruz. I suppose it’s more accurate to say we half-celebrated, half-sought relief at Yogen Fruz. On a 15 minute walk home we managed to get incredibly hot and uncomfortable and needed SOMETHING to cool down. Yogen Fruz is one of my favorite places in the city and, for me, it was a pretty easy decision to stop in and grab a cool treat. We were greeted by a long line of hot, happy Chicagoans enjoying the first night of summer. Something about it made my heart smile. Maybe it’s because I know that in a few weeks people will be grumbling about the heat and the lines. But, for now, everyone seems to be taking their time and enjoying all that summer has to offer (including the sweat). Where is your favorite place to cool down in the summer months?
Food Trailers + Cupcakes
A couple of weekends ago, Scared Panda and friends headed south to Austin, Texas. One of our favorite things about traveling is, of course, the food. If you can’t tell from the three food-themed shirts we’ve produced, we love to eat. And searching out local food is such a great way to learn about a particular culture and social scene. During our time in Austin, we discovered, and fell in love with, food trailers. If you haven’t experienced this yet, please make it a point to do so. The best food we ate during our four days in the city was produced in a food trailer – tacos, crepes, snow cones, cupcakes and more. Here is a short video of Clint destroying a strawberry cupcake from Hey Cupcake! Enjoy.
- Kate
Why yoga helps me stay sane
Over the past couple of months I have been working with Danielle Baird to create the Chaotic Peace t-shirt and I wanted to give a little more context behind the design.
More often than not, I have too many things to get done in one day and go to bed feeling like I haven’t actually done anything. Sure, I crossed a few things off my to-do list, but in the end, have I done anything that really matters?
Yoga helps keep me in check. When the little tasks of the day overwhelm me, I can go to a yoga class or focus on my breath and it helps ground me. It reminds me of what really matters and helps me focus on my larger goals in life. When my practice ends, I’m no longer worried about my growing inbox, the pile of laundry waiting for me or the errands I need to run. More importantly, yoga makes me a nicer person – I find that I strive to be more compassionate, selfless and nonjudgmental.
We created this shirt to depict the art of staying peaceful in life’s craziest moments. 10% of the proceeds go to Imerman Angels an incredibly inspiring and important organization that matches a person touched by cancer with someone who has fought and survived the same type of cancer.
How do you stay sane when life overwhelms you?
Tamale! Tamale! t-shirt be jammin’
Tamales in Jamaica
A couple of months ago (where has the time gone?!) I went to Jamaica with my mom for a few days and I thought I should bring a Scared Panda t-shirt along for the journey. The tamales loved the beach as much as I did (if you ever have a chance, GO to Negril), but we were both excited to come home to Chicago.
- Kate
Two new t-shirts!
Wow, what a day. Last night after munching down two wicked awesome burgers from Kuma’s, Matty and I picked up the new t-shirts from Art Factory Printing. The new t-shirts are now up and available for purchase on our products page. Stayed tuned through the weekend as we’re going to be updating the site with new blog posts and updated t-shirt descriptions.
The Inspiration Behind the Shirt
Last weekend I wore my new t-shirt out and was delighted to run into Claudio at Huttenbar in Lincoln Square. Our friend, who speaks Spanish, explained the t-shirt to him and he loved it. He even brought me around the bar with him to show everyone the shirt. Unfortunately, we didn’t have his shirt with us, so I’m hoping our paths will cross again soon.
The picture isn’t awesome, but you get the idea.
The inspiration behind the shirt