Challenge Day 1- Southend Gallery Crawl, Plan B

Hey Y’all, day one of the challenge and doing great! 

I went to the awesome Southend Gallery Crawl this evening and I definitely recommend it. At Ciel Gallery, they were doing the Community Mosaic Project. I had the opportunity to create a part of the mosaic that they were doing, which will eventually hang on the outside of their building, so in the future when you drive by and see the mosaic of the color wheel, I did the light yellow part (see photo beside and imagine it with grout and near a brick wall). Everyone who was there participating was fabulous and I had a wonderful time. Thank you! I also went into Caleidoscope Gallery and saw all of their wonderful displays. If you haven’t been there, this is a great place! The artists are often there working on their art and they are very happy to talk to you and tell you about their inspiration. I spent some time talking to a brilliant artist named Julie L. Bowles and she was telling me about a trip she took to Paris and showing me the photos she had taken and the paintings that she had done from them. I will definitely be going back to her for gifts in the future. 

I then went and met some friends at Plan B on East Blvd. to enjoy some $1.50 Coors Light drafts. This place has the best outdoor seating in Charlotte, and a fantastically fabulous wait-staff. A great Friday night!

How this experiment of mine got started...

So, like many people right now, my husband and I have been trying to find ways to cut down on our expenses. One easy way to cut down is to limit what we like to call the "entertainment budget." Easier said than done because I'm not one who is really happy sitting at home and doing "nothing." I live watching TV as much as the next person (probably more) but I start to go a little stir-crazy. I'm definitely a person who likes to be on the go and living life to the fullest (and having as much fun as possible). I started thinking to myself, I live in this great city, what opportunities are out there that I am not taking to have fun for free or at least for very little cost? So, I came up with the idea to challenge myself for 1 month to see how much fun I could have and how many different things I could experience for how little money. I've been doing a lot of research, mostly on the Internet and in free newspapers, and, let me tell you, there are a lot of great things to do here in Charlotte for little or no money. It has been a busy summer, so I needed a month where I was in town every day, and August it is. So, my experiment/ challenge begins August 1st.