Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Trying New Hair Techniques

When it comes to hair, I definitely fall into the category of Low Maintenance. I’ll get dressed and try to wear cute clothes everyday; I’ll put makeup on a couple times a week; but I rarely ever do anything with my hair besides wash, comb, and air dry. So I welcome any techniques that allow me to still be lazy but have better looking hair.

Sunday night after washing my hair, I tried out this no heat curl idea I found on Love Maegan. The original tutorial is on youtube, and you can find a couple other examples of it here and here.



The first headband I grabbed was too loose, and it kept slipping around, so I switched it out for a heavier duty headband. I slept on it no problem and everything stayed put pretty well.


The result:


I would definitely try this again with hairspray. By the time I got to work, my curls were kind of limp waves.

My second hair adventure involved finally trying dry shampoo. I’ve heard tons and tons of times how it’s better for your hair if you don’t wash it every day, but I just feel like a big grease ball whenever I attempt it. I happened to find a can of dray shampoo at the grocery store, so I figured I’d give it a shot. Clearly, nobody buys dry shampoo at the grocery store because the rebate coupon on the can expired in June 2010...

I sprayed the hair around my face and tried to evenly get the rest of my scalp. I’m happy to say that I didn’t feel like a grease ball today. Would I let my hair go for more than one unwashed day? I’m not so sure about that yet.

Sew Frustrated

Pardon the pun.  I actually hate puns, so the fact that I'm using one means I've really given up.

First, I was all gung ho about busting out a quick circle skirt tonight.  I made the pattern, washed the fabric, and was all ready to go until I realized I didn't have nearly enough fabric.  That's fine, I guess.  I certainly wasn't married to the fabric I bought, and I got it on clearance anyway. 

When that plan failed, I pulled out some vintage fabric I picked up at E-Collectique (awesome nearby resale shop) and embarked on the "super easy square top" tutorial from Cotton & Curls.  Disclaimer before I go on...it was easy, and it is a good tutorial--I'm just a bit hasty sometimes and don't take the time to measure. 

My lack of measuring resulted in a top that was too tight on the bottom and kinda got stuck instead of draping like it should.  But I'm not giving up hope yet.  I'm going to let out the bottom and hope I have enough seam allowance to make it work.  If not...it'll probably turn into a crop top...or maybe I'll sew panels in the sides...but I don't want it to come to that.

Anyway, I've concluded that I should only work from patterns from now on.




Top: DIY in progress; Pants: Gap; Bracelet: booth at a festival; Scarf: ?

During my sewing adventures, I went ahead and donned a scarf for Wear It Wednesday Head Scarf.  It looked pretty cute with my failed attempt at a square top.  I can't remember where I got this scarf from, but I'm pretty sure I bought it in 2005 before I went to Paris.  I was under the impression that everyone in Paris wore scarves, which actually turned out to be kind of true although most of the scarves I saw in France were of the pashmina persuasion.




Tuesday, August 30, 2011

My Trendy Tot in Colored Denim

I'm linking up with Trendy Tots Tuesday again today. This is what I tried to dress Bridget in yesterday:



Isn't she such a fashionista with her trendy colored denim?  I had to buy these jeans when I saw them at Buy Buy Baby.  The tank top is Carters brand, but I can't remember where she got it from.  When I put the jeans on her, they were way too big in the waist, so I had to change her into something else.


Here's what she actually wore.  I gave her my old paperweight of a laptop to play with, and she's got her daddy's frazzled overworked expression on her face here.  Hahaha.

MKE Fashion Night Party! RSVP only

Hey friends and Milwaukee area bloggers, wanna go?


Monday, August 29, 2011

Likes and Dislikes from the MTV Video Music Awards Black Carpet

Loves


Source
Selena Gomez - I seem to like looks that border on figure skater attire. This what definitely my favorite look of the night.


Source
Zoe Saldana - Very rock 'n roll.  Very appropriate for the event.

Likes


Source
Beyonce - I feel bad because I wasn't a huge fan of this look on her for the VMAs UNTIL I found out she's pregnant!  I love it as a maternity dress.


Source
Katie Holmes - I want her dress and her hair, but I'm not sure about those shoes.

Dislikes


Source
Kreayshawn - I don't believe I'm familiar with Kreayshawn's work, and I'm not a fan of her style either.  I'm not hating on Mickey either--it's the shoes and the hair I could do without.


Source
Deena from Jersey Shore - Where do I start?  I'll try to be positive--I like her lipstick.


Source
Justin Bieber - His whole look was pretty cool except for one thing...the snake around his hand named Johnson.  Also, Demi Lovato is a gorgeous girl, but she kind of looked like Mariah Carey with her styling.

What were your favorite and least favorite looks at the VMAs?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Pictures and Video from My Weekend

Saturday:

-Went to a Mary Kay career breakfast and fashion show (more on that in a later post), and we were surprised and delighted when the first model/consultant stepped out to this song:


Here's what I wore. My choice in footwear was a little casual for the venue, which was the Wisconsin Club. Gooorgeous place, by the way. If anyone is planning a Milwaukee area wedding in the future, I highly recommend at least looking into it.

Dress and Sandals: Target; Belt: Walmart

-Went to the zoo with my mom, hubs, and Bridget. Bridget was obviously too young to appreciate it all, but she did seem to enjoy the flamingos and tigers.




Sunday:

-Brought Bridget to the dog park for the first time.




Oh, and upon paying for some expensive maintenance on my car, I declared myself on a shopping ban for the next month.  In related news, I created a smashion store.  I'm not done adding stuff yet, but there are six things in there at the moment.


Mommy and Me Monday at Really, Are You Serious?
Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Friday, August 26, 2011

My Favorite Clothing Item/Accessory

I racked my brain trying to come up with a favorite item of clothing for today’s Visual Friend Friday, hosted by Ashely Getting Dressed. I think because I don’t spend that much on any of my clothes, I’m not super attached to any one particular piece. Some items did come to mind: my printed Kohl’s dress that may just be the most surprisingly versatile item in my closet, my new black pleated skirt that’s already proven to be a workhouse, maybe my one-shoulder top that I wore to both my 25th birthday party and a friend’s bachelorette party, or possibly one of my two H&M dresses that I love but will probably never fit in again (and frankly, I can’t remember if I’ve already Goodwilled them or if they’re still safe in the basement). Even my wedding dress came to mind, but A. that’s not even at my house, and B. it seemed like a cop-out.

When I saw a couple other people go with accessories, I knew exactly what my item would be--my bright blue Michael Kors bag I bought this summer, which I’ve already mentioned on this blog several times before. It’s really the first investment piece I’ve ever bought. My husband taught me the value of quality over quantity (although it still hasn’t sunk in clothes-wise) and the concept of “going big.” Plus, I’m proud of this bag and how I earned it. I hiked up a freakin’ mountain! Besides all that, it’s just pretty. I do believe I’ve gotten more compliments on this bag than anything else I own besides my stunning and unique wedding ring.




Fashion Beauty Friend Friday

Fall Fashion Trending to the Extreme

Check out my fall trend report on The Caffeine Coquette:


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Pattern Mixing with My Baby

Sweater Vest and Shorts: New York & Company; Cami: Kohl's; Sandals: Target; Necklace: ???

When I changed into this after work, my conversation with my husband went something like this:

Me: Does this look ridiculous?
Him: No.
Me: Do I look like I'm going golfing?
Him: Yeah, kinda.
Me: Should I take the necklace off?
Him: No.

So there ya go!  I knew he was telling the truth because I don't have one of those husbands who holds back to spare my feelings, which I think is a good thing most of the time... 

What the heck?  Bridget knows how to find the light better than I do. She's already got her blogger looking into the distance pose down!


I'm linking up with Wear It Wednesday Patterned Shorts and Trendy Tots Tuesday today.  Because as you can see, Bridget wanted to play along, too.  Both her T-shirt and shorts are from Target.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Fun Girly Weekend

I had a really fun weekend filled with girly activities.

My weekend consisted of lots of fun girly times! Having a baby at home, I know I don’t get to do friend-packed, going out type weekends all the time, so it’s nice to have the freedom to do one every once in awhile.

After work on Friday, I headed to a friend’s place for a Hanson filled night. One of the girls brought over her new Hansonopoly game (Hanson themed monopoly), and we played that while watching Hanson DVDs, eating pizza and snacks, and drinking wine (minus the pregnant lady). It was just what we all needed--a night of giggling and acting like we were 15 again. And bonus, I won Hansonopoly (only by $1,000--close game).

stolen from Facebook

I didn’t get home until 2 AM, and hubby let me sleep until 11. It was gloooooorious. But I was somehow still exhausted all day. I got some caffeine in me and met two of the girls and my mom for the Danny Gokey (from American Idol) concert at the Dodge County Fair. I was actually really impressed with the Dodge County Fair. I don’t think I’ve been to a county fair since high school, and this one way exceeded my expectations, mostly because they had chocolate covered cookie dough and deep fried Oreos!!!!!!! I thought the cookie dough was better than the state fair’s, but the deep fried Oreos were not as good. They were way too doughy.

The show itself was really good. Danny Gokey is a country artist, and I am definitely not a country music fan, but I still enjoyed the show. It wasn’t too country, and he did play some covers. We were front row, too, so that didn’t hurt.

stolen from Facebook

stolen from Facebook

Top: used to be a dress from Fred; Shorts: New York & Company; Shoes: Kohl's

After the show, Danny signed autographs for a really really really long line of fans, including us. My mom had him sign one of the 8x10s of him they were selling, and she asked him to write something religious on it so that she could hang it up at church. He thought about it for a few seconds, which I thought was really sweet, since my mom was blatantly holding up the entire line, hehe, and then he wrote his favorite Bible verse down. When it was my turn, while he was signing the CD I just bought, I said, “You make me like country music.” He looked up and was like, “You make me like you!” Awww, heart him. Hehe.

I kicked off Sunday by finally mowing the lawn and then met the girls for some lunch and shopping.

Dress: Kohl's; Slip, Sandals, Purse, and Watch: Target; Scarf: Dodge County Fair

For my baby shower, my coworkers got me a gift certificate to Coquette Cafe, and I was finally getting around to using it. I got a grilled tuna sandwich and a bloody mary, both of which were good. They had some really tasty mimosa options as well, but I had been craving a bloody mary for awhile now.

Then it was time to shop. We started off at shoo, where they now sell TOMS shoes! A couple of the girls bought themselves a pair, and I got a pair of cute printed T-strap flats on sale for $25. Normally $80, I think they said.

We also had quite the adventure in Anthropologie. I basically went around grabbing things for people to try, stuff that was outside of their comfort zone. Some of the things I picked out were completely off. Like, I had one of the girls try a color blocked look with blue pants and a yellow shirt, but the shirt happened to be the least flattering thing. Maybe tucking it in would’ve saved it, but I don’t know. I got one of the girls to try on purple skinny jeans, which looked good on her, but they were waaaayyyy outside her comfort zone of boot cut, normal colored denim. The hits were definitely a Mad Men-esque black and white pencil skirt with red sweater combo (also way outside her comfort zone, but it looked awesome), and a super cute green corduroy-ish 50s style halter dress, which I can’t find online, for another one of the girls. At the end, only one of us bought a top there.

Other than that, I got a tie blouse at Fred and two items for Bridget at H&M.


Speaking of Bridget, she was quite the handful all weekend. Last night, she cried for almost an hour and a half straight until I finally gave up and gave her a bottle. On the other hand, she also recently started crawling with her stomach on the ground!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

On This Day in 2003 - 8/20/03



Here's a continuation of a post from my Livejournal that I wrote a few days after I met Hanson for the first time in 2003!

We went back to our hotel and slept. In the morning, I was still probably saying “He talked to me!” We hopped in the car, and Katie started out driving. This trip went a lot faster for some reason. Erin, Katie, and I wrote down our experiences and shared them with the others, so we could reminisce about the previous night. Katie mentioned that she could see the appreciation in Taylor’s face when they shook hands. I found that super cute.

When we got to Katie’s, we watched the footage and ate things. We also watched The Newlyweds, which was really cute. But anyway, the next morning, Erin, Theresa, and I were all about going back and doing it all again. Theresa hopped online and learned that they would be doing a TV show that morning, so we rushed to get ready and made our way to Chicago. We found the TV station pretty easily, but we saw no tour bus, so we headed to the venue. We also found that pretty easily. As we were looking for a place to park, Theresa saw the tour bus. I spun around and followed it. They parked right in front of the venue, so we continued on to find a spot. We found one not too far away and hurried to the venue. The guys hadn’t come out of the bus yet. We waited a really long time, but no one came out…they weren’t even in the bus. They came in a back way. But they did go to and from the bus a couple times after their sound check. Ike looked kind of cranky still; Taylor looked nice as always; and Zac looked a little like he was scared of the fans. I don’t know—there must be some reason he hardly ever comes out. But anyway, Taylor’s wife Natalie and baby Ezra were there, as was Zac’s girlfriend Kate. Both girls were very pretty, very skinny, and very nice.

Teitur walked right through the crowd to try to get inside. We had our bag of food on the ground, so I told him he could walk right over it. He ignored me and walked around the crowd instead.

At about 6, Erin and I lined up, and Theresa hung out with the big group of people who didn’t get tickets. As we stood around, Micah came by and asked the girl RIGHT BEHIND ME, “Have you ever met Hanson?” She said no, and he whisked her away to meet and greet land. I was livid, so I went back and complained to Theresa about it. At 6:30ish, they let us in, and Erin and I got about the same spot we got in Pontiac. Pretty darn good for getting there at 1ish. It was a really small place, which ruled. There were only a handful of rows behind Erin and me. Teitur came out on 7ish, walking right by the crowd as he walked onto stage. His show was good again. A few people yelled out questions between songs, and one guy behind Erin and me yelled, “Who’s your favorite band?” A fan yelled, “Hanson!” and Teitur was like, “Aside from Hanson?” He never really did answer the question.

Hanson came on at 8ish, looking all good. They opened with “Strong Enough to Break” again, and I could tell right away that Taylor’s voice was the only one I could hear. “River” was next, and no one could hear Ike. He shared Taylor’s mic for the whole song while they fixed the problem. It was pretty cute. I was worried, though, that the mishap would make him cranky. He seemed good-natured, though, when Taylor called to him “Show us your boobies!” before he sang “Love Song” as a solo. Also, Zac said, “Didn’t he say that like five times?” when Ike mentioned the Acoustic CD. Ike clarified that it was twice by holding up two fingers. In a French accent, he also said that it was the screw you sign or something. I don’t really know, but it was funny. They sang mostly the same songs as in Pontiac, just in a different order. Taylor also sang “Crazy/Beautiful” instead of “Never Let Go” for his solo. His version of “Crazy/Beautiful” seemed slower live than it did on the video on the hanson.net CD. Erin told me that Zac kept yawning, which I missed both time he did it. Poor boy. They ended with a very upbeat “Rip It Up,” which I giddily danced along to.

Afterwards, Erin and I linked, and we rang outside. On the way out, I grabbed Teitur’s arm and said, “Awesome show!” I realized I probably should have said something like “You were awesome” because it might have sounded like I was complimenting Hanson, not him. But maybe that’s just my paranoia. We joined Theresa outside. Hanson was already in the bus. They had Pizza delivered to them, which I found amusing. Ike peeked through the curtain that divided the driver from the rest of the bus a couple times. Then, they came out and signed autographs. I was a few girls back, so I tried to stretch my ape arms far enough to reach. Theresa got Taylor and Zac’s autographs, and Erin got Taylor’s, I believe. Ike mocked the little unauthorized book a fan had, saying how he felt sorry for the people who believed those. “I didn’t even know I loved that!” he said.

When the excitement died down, Theresa and I agreed to the fact that we were tired and might as well leave. But we so didn’t. The tour bus started up, so we ran to the van, literally ran, as Amanda called my phone. Theresa and I talked to her, a little out of breath, and followed the tour bus, maybe 4 cars behind it. It was crazy trying to follow the bus in downtown Chicago. They have way too many stoplights there. There was a car from Florida that was literally risking his life to keep up with the bus. He was running red lights, cutting people off; it was crazy. I didn’t go that far. At one point, I thought we had lost it, but luckily that bus goes pretty slow. After a lot of turns, dozens of swears from Theresa and me, and way way too many lights, the bus slowed to a stop at Hotel Monaco. I think that’s what it was called.

We parked and hopped out of the van. There were some fans that were there the other day in Detroit, a quiet girl, and the man from Florida. Eleven of us in all. Ike came out first. I really can’t remember if he signed autographs before or after he went into the hotel. I think it was before. He came right up to us holding a sharpie. Girls held out things for him to sign, but I stood right next to him and asked a couple times, “Ike, can I get a picture with you?” Yeah, he was ignoring me at first, but he finally gave in! I swung my arm around him and grabbed onto his waist. I have no idea where his arm went, but it was so awesome! All the other girls posed for a picture with him, except for the quiet girl who missed her opportunity. After that, I kept lecturing her to be more aggressive.

Taylor came out holding Ezra with Natalie behind him and Kate and Zac behind them, holding hands. We awesomely respectful fans just stood back and watched as they went in. Taylor came back out in a bit, holding Ezra. We asked if we could take some pictures with him, and he put Ezra on his shoulders. I was just thinking, was that safe? He put Ezra in the bus and came back out. He was like, “Hey guys and girls…or girls and girls.” I said, “There was a guy here before, but he left,” I said as Taylor and I MADE EYE CONTACT! Then he said, “it’s a nice night for sitting outside,” or something like that. I agreed and said it was breezy. I stood back and let all the Taylor fans have their fill. Someone asked him if he was tipsy last night, and he said, “No, I wasn’t tipsy.” Haha, ‘cause Ike was. As Taylor was getting ready to leave, Theresa and Erin asked me if I wanted to get a picture with him. I decided I did, so I stood by him and tried to get his attention. “Can you do one more?” I put my arm around him, but I don’t remember his waist like I remember Ike’s.

Let’s see, Zac came out of the hotel and hang out with us the longest. I couldn’t even remember what Zac said the whole time. Some girls were trying to get him to take a picture with them with their thumbs on their foreheads. I don’t know, but Zac didn’t want to do it until he knew what it meant. It was so cute. I was the last one to take a picture with him, and of course he was ignoring me again, like his brothers, so I stood next to him and started squeezing his upper arm a couple times. “Me next, me next.” Theresa scolded me, “Bek!” As Erin was taking our picture, I said, “I’m annoying.” Zac said, “That’s OK.” Haha, I freak out about that the most. Zac said it was OK that I was annoying! He also put his hand on my back in the picture. Zac's hand touched my bare back! Hehe, OK, so Zac went to the van, hooting and yelling on his way. Then we’d yell, then he’d yell, then we’d yell. It was amusing. He’s still hyper like he was back in the day. I’m glad he hasn’t lost that.

So we left, all extremely happy. We left the hotel, following the bus, but this time we weren’t trying to stalk them. We just used them to get back onto the highway. Florida was still following them, though. Haha. Anyway, I drove by them and honked, hoping they would see the “Honk if you like Hanson,” and honk back. We drove back to Wisconsin and unsuccessfully looked for a one-hour photo place. Eventually, at 4:30 AM, Erin and I got back to Whitewater.
Two hours later, I woke up for work. I survived, though, and after work, Theresa came over to show me her pictures and watch my footage. When I got back to the apartment, she was parked there, so I asked how my picture turned out. She said that when she first saw it, she gasped and then started giggling. I thought that was so cute, as was my picture! Holy hotness! Holy yellowness! OK, end of story. Can’t wait to see the other pics.

Friday, August 19, 2011

These Dreams Go on When I Close My Eyes

We're talking about dream jobs today for FBFF.  You know, like the awesome Heart song.



A disclaimer first.  My lifelong dream has been to publish a book, but I’ve decided I should give up on that one because I haven’t actually sat down and written something outside of school work that was longer than five pages since...I don’t know, probably since I was 16?  Maybe I’ll finally do it someday, but not anytime soon.  I don’t have the inspiration or time (or even the talent anymore) to do it.  These answers do reflect my dreams, too, just not the lifelong one.

1. Fess up - if you could do anything professionally what would it be? I have three answers: one serious, one only halfway serious, and one kinda funny.  Either doing video editing on movies/TV (serious), working for TMZ (halfway serious) or being a second second assistant director (just being silly).

2. What draws you to this? All of the above - because famous people fascinate me.  It would be fun to be around them all the time.

TMZ - Because my friends and I have been known to sit in one spot for a really long time and watch for famous people to come out so we can meet them.  So I basically already do the job a couple times a year; I just don’t get paid for it.

Video Editing is an interest I developed in high school, and I got to do a little bit of it in a class and found it fun.  I’d be really good at spotting inconsistencies, too, since I’m already an editor in real life, just a different kind.  It’s definitely my most realistic dream.

Second second assistant director is an inside joke.  I found that title amusing whenever I’d see it in credits and decided that’s what I wanted to be.  In fact, I probably wouldn’t mind having that job because I’d still get to be on a movie set.  Which is weird because I’m not a big movie person.

3. When did you first start dreaming about this ideal? I became interested in video editing when I was 15.  The second second assistant director joke came a few years after that, then TMZ a few years after that.

4. What's holding you back from going all in? I don’t want to move to Hollywood.

5. Sometimes the first step is the hardest... what's one step you can take now on the way to realizing your dream? I’m actually content where my life is now, but seeing as I did change careers just last year, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did it again in 5 years.  Maybe by that time, I’ll be ready to write that book.  Or, maybe I’ll look into taking classes for video editing.  In the meantime, I fully intend to keep following celebs around when they’re in the area.  Heh.


Fashion Beauty Friend Friday

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Sewing Project Conundrum - Help Me Decide


You can click for a bigger version of my awesome cell phone taken picture to sort of see more detail.

I bought this vintage pattern after seeing it on What I Wore, and I've been trying to find a fabric for it ever since.  Now, I have two fabric options, but I can't decide what to do.  I was originally set on the polka dot, but I bought it on a whim and didn't get enough of it.  So at this point, here are my options:

  1. Go with the blue one (assuming I have enough of that) and find a new dress pattern for the polka dot.
  2. Find a contrasting fabric for the polka dot and make the dress on the left of the package instead of the one on the right. (If you pick this option, what contrasting fabric would you suggest?)
  3. Go back and see if I can find more of the polka dot fabric.

Which do you think is the best plan of attack?

Follow-up question, which is an even bigger conundrum.  For each fabric, what color bias tape should I use (bias tape being the red strips on the blue dress shown on the pattern package)?

On This Day in 2003 - 8/18/03

A page from my scrapbook, made in 2008

Here's a post from my Livejournal that I wrote a few days after I met Hanson for the first time in 2003!

OK, so Sunday morning, I woke up at home, hurried to get ready, and picked up the van at church. I headed to Amanda’s house, was greeted by her yelling, “Bek!” from her room, and we went to Katie’s, ready for Hanson. Katie wasn’t there yet, so we sat out in the van and waited for her. While we waited, my old neighbor, Kathy, came over and talked to us. She was super nosy, so we just wanted her to go away. Eventually she did, but she came back again. Luckily, Katie and Theresa came back, so we pulled into the driveway. They loaded their stuff into the van, and we went back to Amanda’s to decorate the car with car chalk. After the car looked all clowny and Hansony, we went to Erin’s, stopping at McDonald’s for 39 cent ice cream cones. When we got to Erin’s, we took a couple pictures of us in our cute/dorky matching shirts and the van. Then we left! I drove first.

Of course we got many priceless reactions to the van. The memorable ones, we captured on video kind of. One was a small green bus that drove by. A girl was driving, and some guys were in the back seat, videotaping us. I can’t remember why, but I thought they were a band, and we would be on their tour video. Maybe they had instruments in there. There was also a woman who took our picture. That was amusing. Then there was a guy—I wasn’t really paying attention at this point—but apparently, Erin was flirting with him. I’m sorry I missed that! But I know he was wearing light a t-shirt on his head or something, and his car had lots of weird crap in it; I don’t know.

So I drove for a very long time. We were stuck in Chicago traffic for 5 hours—no exaggeration. Yikes is right. OK, so in Indiana, Erin started driving. We stopped at a Burger King, and I got a bacon burger in memory of Sorority Boys. Haha, Doofer rules. We stopped at the visitors building or something and got directions to where we needed to be because an exit was closed or something. So eventually, after stopping for directions again in Michigan (darn Michigan), we finally made it to our hotel.

I wasn’t tired yet, so I modeled all my outfits and one of Theresa’s. Hehe. I was a little wired and excited. Well, we planned on getting up at like 4:30 AM, and we got to hotel at 2:30 AM. That didn’t happen. We actually woke up at 5:30, I believe. We didn’t get to venue until 8ish. There were already about…oh I don’t know, 20 people ahead of us, maybe more, maybe less. We would’ve been in the same place even if we had gotten there at 6 or 7 because the people in front of us got there at like 5:45 or something like that. But anyway, the fans were all pretty cool at that point. One fan named Kendal danced for the cars and sang along to the This Time Around. She was entertaining. We played one game of Bullshit, and then Theresa and Erin interviewed some fans. We didn’t do a whole lot, I don’t think.

The excitement started at about 1:00. Hanson’s tour bus pulled in! I had my video camera in tow. Yay! We had to wait awhile before Hanson actually came out of the bus. In the meantime, we chatted with fans and shimmied around and stuff like that. But finally, the guys did come out! It was pretty exciting. They just kept walking to and from the bus. Well, mostly Ike and Taylor. I think Zac just went inside once and stayed there. Once when Ike was going back to the bus, he turned around and shot the crowd a sexy look, but I missed it on the video. Taylor was awesome enough to sign some autographs for us psycho girlies. Amanda got his autograph then! And we actually weren’t that psycho. I was very proud of the fans. We were all pretty calm—no screaming really, and no crowding the tour bus. We just stood by the barricades and waited for something to happen. Everyone was going click happy with the cameras, that’s about it.

At one point, those PHP members without a meet and greet pass tried going to the front of the building to sit around and wait for Micah, who was Hanson’s friend giving out passes. Apparently you’re supposed to bug him about going backstage, and we didn’t know that. We were under the impression that you have to be not annoying. We suck. But ah well, we found Theresa again and lined up soon after that.

Some people who had come there late started lining up, so Erin and I went to warn Kendal. She gathered her crew and got us all a nice spot in line. Theresa joined the other meet and greet peeps and went in to meet Hanson. A few minutes later, she called me and related the whole thing to me. Cuteness! You’ll have to check out her experience for that part.

Soon after, we were let in to the venue. We saw Theresa right up there in the front row. Lucky, lucky girl. I think Katie, Amanda, Erin, and I started out about 6 people from the stage. After awhile of listening to John Mayer’s and Ben Folds’ CDs, Teitur came on stage. I liked his stuff, and he had a great voice, but a lot of the Hanson fans were being stupid and gabbing away during his set. I felt sorry for him. At one point, he’s like, “So which Hanson do you fancy the most?” Haha, he’s so foreign. He assured us that they were all nice guys.

About 15 minutes after Teitur’s set was over, Hanson came on! Holy crap! Awesomeness! They kicked off the show with one of my favorites, “Strong Enough to Break.” Other songs they sang were “River,” “Runaway Run,” “Deeper,” “Underneath,” “Penny and Me,” “MMMBop,” “This Time Around,” stuff like that. They also each had a solo. Taylor sang “Never Let Go.” Now, I love this song, but I didn’t even recognize it at the concert! I’m dumb. Zac sang “Tightrope,” I hear it’s called. Ike sang “Call Me,” I think it’s called. He looked and sounded so sweet. I couldn’t stop staring at his arm, though ‘cause he was wearing short sleeves. Oh, they also sang two covers—“Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash and “Rip It Up” by Little Richard. In the middle of their set, I was getting parched, so I went to the back of the place to get water. I looked over by the merchandise table and saw Jessica Hanson and Micah selling things. Teitur was nearby, looking all lonely, so I approached him and asked, “Where can I get your CD?” He turned around and dug around in a duffle bag. “What’s your name?” he asked. I told him, and he autographed the CD to me. I handed him my money and thanked him. He thanked me back, and I shimmied away all giddy. Katie came out of the crowd, and after stopping in the bathroom, we watched the last few songs of the Hanson show at the back.

When it was over, we all reunited and headed outside back by the buses. We watched people walk back and forth and chatted with Micah and sang Hanson songs in front of Jessica. She was amused. Ike was signing autographs in the front of the bus, so we hurried over there. I was way in back, maybe 4 people away from him, so I knew I wasn’t gonna get any Ike lovin’. Theresa did, though. She got her Underneath Acoustic CD signed. Ike was being funny. He may have been a little tipsy. He told us to stop taking pictures, and right after he said that, Amanda’s crazy flash went off. Ike warned us that his Oklahoma accent might come out, saying, “Don’t piss the man off, asshole.” Amusing. Well, Ike left, and I was all bitter, but we had work to do. I hurried to the van and hopped in with the girls right behind me. We peeled off right behind the bus along with a few other cars. After making several weird turns and going in a circle, the bus arrived at a Hilton. We parked and hurried to the entrance where maybe 10 people were waiting. We sat on the curb and waited for something to happen. Ike came out of the bus and walked into the building. A few people said hi, and he just said in this dejected voice, “Hi, guys.” Katie said that he shook his head after that. Aww, he hates us! Mrs. Hanson also came out with their dog, Bravo. It was so cute! Some others came out, like Jessica and maybe Micah. But then Taylor came out and came right on over to us. “Looks like a party,” he said.

“A streaking party!” said Amanda, referring to a joke made during the concert.

“No, not a streaking party,” I corrected.

“Which is it?” Taylor wondered.

“Well, which do you want? Streaking or not streaking?” I asked as he LOOKED RIGHT AT ME! Eye contact rules. It really does.

“You guys don’t want to see me streak,” he assured us. Boy was he wrong! Mr. Hanson came along and told Taylor they had to get going. Taylor said, “It’s OK, it’s OK.” It was so cute! He wanted to hang out with us! But he did go inside. While we waited for something else to happen, a couple of the girls went to the bus to try to get Zac was coming out. He closed the blinds on them. Har har. Ike came out again and said in his bitter voice, “Goodnight, guys.” Aww, sadness! But the second he walked on the bus, he started dancing. He also started chugging some beer. Must have been tipsy. Who knows. Taylor came out again, so we swarmed him right by the entrance. He stuck around and took a few pictures with people, and one of the PHPers kept asking if we could take a group picture with him. He said sure, but Micah came along and told him they had to go. Katie was brave and asked him for a handshake. We all followed suit. I was the last one, so as the PHPer before me was shaking Taylor’s right hand, I grabbed his left one. Well, he was leaving, so I had to hurry. He has such soft hands. I was shocked.

So the five of us made our way back to the van, giddier than ever. I had said earlier that day that Taylor was my least favorite, but that changed completely! I now have no favorite, or least favorite. How can I choose? Even though Ike was cranky, I can’t blame him. But that’s not where my fun ends!

To be continued...if you actually read all of that, I should give you a prize.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

All Neutral for Once

I so seldom wear all neutrals that I figured I should document it.

Top: Kohl's; Pants: New York & Company; Shoes: Target; Necklace: Maurices

Hubs thinks this top looks like scrubs...I can kind of see it.  I bought it last year when I was pregnant since there was extra room in the belly area.  Plus, I couldn't resist the cute (but pointless) lace pocket.  I actually almost put my credit card in the pocket today when I went to buy lunch, but I thought that'd be silly.

In somewhat related news, I first tried to take outfit pictures in the backyard, but the lawn is super long and jungle-like right now.  It's my turn to mow, though, so I'm not bringing it up.

Proof:


Ugh, maybe tomorrow.  Or Saturday.