Life lately

Believe it or not, things have actually seemed to have slowed down just a bit. I'm still out and about most nights of the week and of course I'm always planning every weekend detail, but at least things at work have slowed back down to a manageable pace, and so has the freelance work.

One recent Thursday night I made the trek to my hometown to catch one of my nephew's soccer games and even got to see him score a goal. He actually looked pretty good out there. If he continues to play, Aunt CeeCee is gonna have to brush up on her soccer knowledge! (ie. start from scratch).

J and I also made the trek to Tuscaloosa one Saturday to see the Bama vs. Ole Miss game—it was a relationship divided game for us, but we managed to tailgate with friends, have a good time and both come home in one piece without any hurt feelings over a win vs. a loss.

It turns out that October is the month of birthdays. We have already celebrated my friend Torry's bday and also J's dad's birthday and we still have three more family birthdays to go. Who knew?!

Oh and of course we've made it to a couple of shows including Gregory Alan Isakov (le sigh. soooo good!) and The Lumineers, which I talked about yesterday. All in all, it's been a solid couple of weeks!

Music Monday: The Lumineers

Chances are that some of you probably know by now that I'm a pretty big Lumineers fan. I mean, I do have part of one of their lyrics tattooed on my wrist. (and no, the tattoo is not because of the band. It's because of the amazing song/lyrics.)

And I also saw them earlier this year and once or twice last year—and yes, one of those times I went alone. Yeah, see, big fan.

Anyhow, I was clearly pretty excited to see them this past week at the Tuscaloosa Ampitheater, even if it did mean getting home at midnight on a "school" night (yep, rockstar! scratch that, coffee for the win).

And yet even though I was excited, I was a bit nervous because lately when I go to shows at larger venues, I feel so separated from the artist(s) and the music. I was really worried that seeing The Lumineers at a show like this would ruin the usual experience I have at their shows.

But I have to say that from the second the chandeliers starting lowering before The Lumineers even took the stage to the moment after the encore was complete, I was all in. I was connected. I was entranced. And most of all, I was in my happy place.

Everything from their debut album sounded great—as it always does—and I even got to hear a couple of new songs as well as a couple of covers. And they also came out into the middle of the crowd to perform a song. Definitely a good way to make everyone in the ampitheater feel like they are a part of the performance.

All in all it was a great night spent outside listening and singing along to some of my favorite songs with some of my favorite people—J, Joy and Justin (yes, that's a lot of J's).  Totally worth the sleep deprivation :)

Life lately

I usually let the photos pretty much speak for themselves with my "life lately" posts, but I thought maybe this go round (and maybe even going forward) I could give a little bit more insight as to what I have been up to these days. And after looking back at my pics, I feel like it's been a pretty busy couple of weeks! 

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned it was Birmingham Restaurant Week, so my friend Ashley and I took full advantage and hit up a three course meal at 26. It was amazing, especially the company! And yeah, the dessert clearly wasn't too bad either. 

One day after work, I was lucky enough to squeeze in a little reading time out on my back patio. It would've been a lot better if the mosquitos weren't all trying to suck the life out of me. 

Last weekend was my niece Callie's first birthday party. It was hot, but still a lot of fun. Even if Callie didn't quite know what to do with the smash cake. 

After much debate, I finally decided on hitting up the Milk Carton Kids/The Lumineers/Old Crowe Medicine Show concert at the Alabama Theatre on my own. It was definitely a wise decision even if it did cost a bit more than I wanted to pay. Even so, I am so much more excited that the Lumineers are coming back alone to the Workplay theater on Oct. 18th...and yeah, it's already sold out! Super glad I got my ticket the second they went on sale. 

The very next night after the show, I met my friend Joy and her husband back at the Alabama theater for the opening night of the Sidewalk Film Festival. Joy works for Regions bank, who is a big sponsor of the event, so I was lucky to snag one of her free comp tickets. It's always good to see Joy and Justin and the film turned out to be a really good, too. 

Then this past weekend was the opening of college football and I have to say I was pretty well pleased with the finish of the Bama vs. Michigan game...Roll Tide!

Grooveshark picks for May

Artist: Jason Mraz

Album: Love is a Four Letter Word

Why I love it: It's Jason Mraz. I think I'll always love everything he does. But mostly I love it just because of the one song "I won't give up." If you listen to it and don't want to cry, you don't have a soul. 

For fans of: Jason Mraz, Matt Nathanson, Mat Kearney

Artist: The Lumineers

Album: The Lumineers

Why I love it: Obviously I have a soft spot for folky-pop type bands. I really can think of a great way to describe these guys or their sound but I truly, madly, love it and think everyone else will, too. 

For fans of: Of Monsters and Men, Ben Howard,  The Head and the Heart

Artist: Rosie Thomas

Album: If Songs Could Be Held

Why I love it: So what if this album is 7 years old and I am just now discovering it. It's really pretty and girly and mellow and I like it so I'm sharing my knowledge in case anyone else is just as behind the times as I am.

For fans of: Patty Griffin, Racheal Yamagata

Artist: Vintage Trouble

Album: The Bomb Shelter Sessions

Why I love it: I get to see these guys open for the Alabama Shakes in a few days when I head up to Portland. Super psyched. They are gonna rock it out just like this album of theirs rocks. 

For fans of: Alabama Shakes, Ghost Hounds






And don't forget that today is the last day to enter my Vedette Shapewear giveaway!