New Beginnings

I’m FINALLY catching up with August events although this month is almost over!  Unbelievable!  I can’t believe how fast time flies.  It scares me sometimes.

I had an amazing day today.  I went to see the exhibit “The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg” at the MCA.  Takashi Murakami blew my mind!  I think this is what I needed to feel better.  Last night I couldn’t sleep because I started thinking about my trip.  This morning my stomach wasn’t feeling so great.  I’ve barely ate anything because I keep running to the bathroom.  My co-worker was worried I was going to bail out on our art date, but I toughened up.  We’ve been waiting for the perfect Tuesday to do this.  On Tuesdays it’s free at the MCA.

I will speak about our experience later on when I catch up on my blog.  But for now, let’s discuss the first week in August.  I heard about an unexpected death of someone my friends knew the weekend of my mom’s yard sale.  Prior to that, my mom had admitted herself to the hospital from an anxiety attack.  I was feeling overwhelmed.  A friend of mine called me up at work and wanted to have dinner with me.  I didn’t think it would be a good idea at first since I felt I wasn’t going to be good company, but then I thought, why not?

We went to Taylor Street for some Indian food.  Taylor Street is known to be an Italian neighborhood here in Chicago, but over the years, it’s grown to be more of a cultural environment.  Restaurants now serve more of a global cuisine.  My date wanted Indian food and suggested the Taj Mahal.  Lol.  Regardless of the name, we had a good time catching up with one another.  I definitely needed that.

I laid low on Friday once I received a text from my friend.  It looks like she needed some help moving into her brand new place!  I was very excited for her and agreed to help out once I got up.  I did my usual Saturday routine of chores and headed out there once I was done.  I had a going away party to attend to later on but I let her know I could help out for a few hours.

Her place was awesome!  Everything was brand new (which helps out a lot).  It was pretty hot that day, so we definitely worked up a sweat.  I felt bad leaving early but they had a majority of their stuff moved in by then.  Moving sucks!  Lol

I rushed home to get ready and headed to my friend’s place where they were having the surprise party.  Our friend was moving to Miami with her family, and my friends decided to throw a party for her pre-celebrating her birthday as well.  It was nice seeing everyone.  That weekend was also Lollapalooza weekend, but I wasn’t planning on going.  I didn’t have any tickets and figured no one I knew was going to be there anyway.  I found it funny when people were texting me to see if I was there.  Lol.  Next year I guess.

I had fun hanging out with my friends.  I’ve known them for close to 20 years, but they go way back since high school!  I love that they kept in touch for all these years.

The next day, I took a brief trip down to Lollapalooza, but only to hear the music from the outside.  It was still a hot Sunday, and I got a chance to hear Perry’s stage for some EDM.  I don’t know if I could do this fest again, but this Friday I have a one day pass for North Coast Fest.  Let’s see how long I can hang there…

Annual Summer Party

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I missed out on Lollapalooza this year but it was hard seeing everyone’s footage on social media.  Lol.  It’s one of my favorite music festivals but because of my mom’s house being on-sale, I didn’t want to commit to anything.  Regardless, there were plenty of memories I’ve had over the years and I posted a few of them on Facebook and Instagram.  I DO have a ticket for North Coast coming up Labor Day weekend, but I feel my love for music festivals might be winding down.  *sniffle sniffle

Over the years I’ve had some amazing times at music festivals but as I’ve gotten older, I hardly recognize the acts and have kept loyal to my favorite artists.  Oh well.

Back to recapping July’s events.  Following the event at the Warwick Hotel, it was our annual summer party at the firm.  We held it at the restaurant in our building, which works out for everyone since Union Station is down the street.  It was fun seeing people enjoy themselves.  We had people from our other locations fly in for this party.  It was nice seeing faces behind the voice.  Once the party started clearing up, we decided to head somewhere else to continue the fun.  We ended up at Parlor on Randolph Street and ordered some thin crust pizza.  It was delish!  I always enjoy our work parties! 

Lolla Recap!

My Lollapalooza recap is here!  As usual, it was pretty epic.  I have to say, it's definitely my favorite festival of them all.  You have all walks of life roaming Grant Park in our beautiful city!  What's not to love??
I've been attending Lollapalooza for over 7 years.  There were times I didn't purchase tickets and would sit outside the venue and picnic with my friends.  Although the majority of the crowd are young, you will see a range of all age groups as well.  I DO have to note that Lolla is NOT for everyone.  I'm always amazed whenever people purchase tickets to a massive festival, only to stay behind the side lines because they hate crowds.  lol.
Regardless, I found my way inside Saturday's concerts.  Luckily the weather had cleared up by the weekend, because for Day 1 & 2 it did rain as usual.  Mudapalooza strikes again.  I was hesitant on wearing sneakers because I did not want to ruin another pair of shoes.  I wore my studded motorcycle boots and a high low tunic with my black denim to "blend in" with the crowd.  It looks like I will be doing a spring cleaning of my closet once again since some of my items are outdated.  Regardless if they fit or not, I can honestly say some of my mini skirts have to go!  I'm also a fan of graphic tees and I hate to admit it but some of them look comical now. 

Wearing black and white for Lolla...

We got in around 5:45pm in time to catch Oliver Heldens set at Perry's.  Afterwards we made our way to see the ones who started it all at Lolla- Jane's Addiction!  We were conflicted when it came down to the closing sets, but settled on watching Disclosure open, and seeing Red Hot Chili Peppers finish the night.  I was exhausted and too tired to do anything else.  I went home to start it all again the next day.

Love Buckingham Fountain

As close as we can get!

The infamous Perry's Stage

For Sunday the temperature got warmer to the low 80s.  This time I wanted to wear something sleeveless and definitely NOT jeans.  I settled for my boyfriend shorts and another pair of flat boots which weren't so heavy to lug around.  My motorcycle boots weigh a ton and tired out my legs the night before.  I will advise although people choose to wear flip flops or sandals, I am not a fan of having my feet exposed at a music festival.  People be tripping (no pun intended) and I rather wear sneakers or boots.
I found an old fringe top and decided to pair that up with my outfit.  It's an interesting top and where else would I wear such a thing anyway?  On to the festival!
This time we arrived with a larger group around 2:30pm.  It took us a while to get in through security and we were sweating up a storm waiting in line.  We all agreed to check out some bands later on, and decided to walk around to see what Lolla had to offer.  I was impressed with the Lolla store.  My friend bought a tank top she switched into, and I purchased a Disclosure recyclable tote bag. 
The rest of the day was interesting.  We got a chance to hear Silversun Pickups, Yellow Claw, and Flatbush Zombies before ending it with LCD Soundsystem and Ellie Goulding. 
Now that it's over I'm a little bummed out, but I know I cannot do more than 2 days of this.  I was thrilled to see people older than me jamming out to the music.  I have a sneaky suspicion this will not be my last Lolla.  hee-hee



YES!!!

Lollapalooza Weekend is here!!

Chicago is infected with Lollapalooza fever!!  For the next 4 days, people from all over the world will be coming to the Midwest to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of this massive festival.  They are anticipating 400,000 people to attend this momentous occasion.  Lolla holds a special place in my heart.  I've been coming for the past 8 years and figured for this Throwback Thursday, I would reminisce my special moments I've encountered.  Let's begin!
Back in 2008 me and my ex-boyfriend attended a soccer match at Soldier Field.  After the game we took a stroll down Michigan Avenue and that's when we stumbled upon Lollapalooza.  It was nearing 8pm and we decided to see if we could score some last minute tickets.  There are always people around selling tickets at outrageous prices but we decided to stalk patrons leaving the venue.  We figured maybe they were willing to sell their wristbands.  We lucked out on a couple driving back to the burbs.  We offered to pay for their parking and that's when they handed over their wristbands.  They were done for the night so we figured we would give it a shot.  Once we walked in we raced over to the stage where Kanye West was set to perform and the rest was history!  We were hooked!
The following year we lucked out purchasing Friday single day pass tickets for Depeche Mode.  I was super excited to see one of my favorite bands perform.  Lollapalooza was something I looked forward to during the summer.  It became a way of life here in Chicago.  Although we didn't have tickets for Saturday or Sunday shows, we would still make our way downtown and listen to the acts from the outside.  We would have a picnic and stay til the whole show was over.  We loved to people watch and there was always something going on from the outside as well.
2010 we scored the 3 day passes.  You have to understand how difficult it is  purchasing tickets online when they are released.  People from all over the world are trying to obtain tickets at the same time.  The website would crash over and over again.  It's a treat when you get to purchase them.  My ex brought his daughters along too and they had a blast.  My friends also got in on the action and had tickets.  It was fun experiencing Lolla with a bigger group.  We watched Lady Gaga's performance and it was surreal!



Los Amigos Invisibles had beach balls at their stage!



Doing our best monster impersonation for Lady Gaga...

2011 Perry's stage was the place to be.  This time Lolla announced more international djs to entertain the ravers.  The music world was taking notice on EDM and their huge following.  Me and my friends scored single day tickets and I watched both Foster the People and Skrillex for Friday's lineup.  Of course you can't be in Lollapalooza and miss out on some rain.  Every Lolla I've been too, it's always turned into a mudfest.




It never fails, rain is always the forecast for Lollapalooza.

Don't forget your ponchos!

2012 was a difficult Lolla for me.  Me and my ex broke up earlier in the summer, and I knew attending this year without him would be hard for me.  My friend came along and we made the most of our time together there.  I absolutely adore her for coming with me. 

Cheers!  I'm having a glass of white wine instead of beer.  lol

I prefer wearing sneakers instead of sandals for Lolla.  Your feet taking a beating out there!

Me and my friends are addicted to lobster corndogs from Grahamwich!

2013 and I was still going through post breakup drama.  lol.  I can't believe we were still experiencing this together, but it was hard for us to be apart.  We were together for 7 years and we loved going to music festivals together.  We also had mutual friends which was sometimes hard for us to deal with.  On this occasion, a friend of ours had access to the backstage of Perry's stage and we couldn't pass up this opportunity.  We experienced Lolla from a different perspective and we loved it!  I missed dancing with the crowd, but at least backstage you viewed the crowd interacting with the djs.


2013 Lolla!

Made our way backstage at Perry's



Ran into playboy model Crystal McCahill backstage.  She's a babe!

This one is for the books!

2014 me and my friends got 3 day passes again.  It's funny because this is the Lolla I decided I couldn't do all 3 days again.  It's exhausting being out there for 10 hours!  Let's be honest, me and my friends would show up later for the main headliner acts, but still, it takes a toll on you.  I am fine not being able to rage all weekend.  We had a blast but at least we went out with a bang!

Iggy Azalea at Lolla!



Zedd's performance was amazing!





And now last year's Lollapalooza recap.  I did not manage to purchase any tickets.  I knew I was going on my Paris/ Italy trip and figured I'll just skip it that year.  Yeah right.  On Saturday I made my way down there to picnic outside the Bud Light stage.  I wanted to see Sam Smith and lucked out hearing him live from Lake Shore Drive.  What a treat!  He literally stopped traffic altogether.  People flocked to the streets to hear his voice.  The following day, I met up with a friend who was heading down to Lolla.  He had been there the whole weekend and we decided to see if we could score a ticket for me for Sunday's show.  We lucked out!  Once inside we danced the night away at Perry's stage for Nicky Romero and made our way to the Budlight stage for Bassnectar.  I had a blast as always.


Lolla 2015

Nicky Romero at Perry's



This year was a hassle again to purchase tickets online.  I ended up with a Sunday single day pass.  I'm not crazy about the lineup, but I will be definitely streaming Lolla at home to watch the rest of the acts.  I'm thinking of making my way down there to picnic on Saturday to listen to the music.  Watching people head over there was hard for me today since it's officially Day 1 of Lolla.  I guess you can say I'm in love with this festival.  I've had so many memories here that I will cherish forever.  I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to see some really great acts perform.  Like I said, Lollapalooza is a lifestyle!  And I love every minute of it!

Lollapalooza 2015!

In the real world, October is almost over.  But in my blogging world, I'm finally entering the month of August.  This was a pretty eventful month for me; probably the most of the whole year.  It's hard to put into words what I have learned in 2015 so far.  So many things have changed in my life yet  somehow nothing really happened to me.  I feel different inside.  But let's get this blogging-party started with Lollapalooza! 
Lollapalooza for me is by far the best music festival in Chicago.  I love the fact they have different music for different genres.  I did not get tickets this year because I knew I wanted to save up for my upcoming trip.  I ended up watching the live streaming online for TheWeeknd and Kaskade on Friday.  It gave me the itch to go down there Saturday and find a spot outside the venue.  I heard Sam Smith's sweet voice, and danced to Alesso and Tove Lov.  The energy from the outside is just as magnifying as being inside!  People have picnics and listen to the music.  There's a lot of people watching, and sometimes it gets pretty entertaining.  I always get a kick out of seeing folks try to weasel their way in. 
I had a friend who purchased the 3 day pass, and he wanted me to go with him on Sunday.  But with no tickets, that was going to be difficult.  We checked online for stub hub and they were still pretty high.  Eventually, as the day went on, the prices started to drop.  We gathered up enough cash and headed our way down there.  In the end, we ran into someone selling their wristband.  Yes it was risky, but for me, it's a risk worth taking to be a part of this party!  We ran inside and danced the night away at Perry's stage.  I had a blast, and although I only had a few hours to experience it, I had so much fun!  Until next year Lolla!

In my happy place!!

Lol.  This did not last long!

Perry's Stage was insane!



This picture sums it up!  I had a blast again at Lollapalooza!