Scenes from Vacation

This is my last post about our Maine vacation; then I'll be back to irregularly scheduled outfit posts and such.

All dressed up for the wedding in her Jason Wu for Target dress, "high" heels, and new hat

Enjoying some Mainely Meat at my father-in-law's 60th birthday party (Photo Credit: Sis-in-law)

The birthday boy snoozing with Bridget (Photo Credit: Sis-in-law)

Cellardoor Winery - We'll definitely be returning here on future trips. Our favorite wines among the ones we tried were the Gewürztraminer, Grenache, Petite Syrah, and Treasure, which is a blueberry dessert wine.

Savage Oakes Vineyard & Winery - We weren't big fans of this one; however, I did pick up a frozen peach bellini mix there to combine with their Georges River white wine, and that was delicious. I would've liked to try their blueberry dessert wine, but I must've been too distracted by the peach bellini mix because I forgot.

Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery - The highlights here were the port wines, especially Cranberry Smash. Their Back River Gin was also named the best gin in the US (by what authority, I don't remember). My husband is not usually a gin fan, but even he could appreciate this one. I could not. I also purchased some lobster cocktail bloody mary mix, which tasted about how you would imagine it would - like boozy cocktail sauce. My husband liked it; I wasn't that excited about it. But I did drink one anyway.

Tubing, trying not to get thrown off (Photo Credit: Sis-in-law)

Bridget tubing (very slowly and carefully) with her aunt

Right after this, someone convinced her to kiss the fish. She was not amused.

Attempting to ride a paddle board. I didn't fall off, so that's something.

Here are a couple more outfits from vacay that haven't made the blog yet:

Left - Shirt: Target; Tank Top: Old Navy; Shorts: MICHAEL Michael Kors via T.J.Maxx; Shoes: Converse

Right - Dress: Old Navy; Sweater: Target; Sandals: Prabal Gurung for Target

Until next time, Maine!

At a travel plaza somewhere in Maine

Accident Waiting to Happen

While my husband and FIL mounted a TV, and my MIL and SIL and her family went antiquing, Bridget and I headed into Bangor to do some more shopping. I picked up some clothes for Bridget at L.L.Bean and Old Navy and bought a couple maxi dresses for myself at Kohl's and Old Navy. Although I like the idea of this dress, I wasn't sure how it would work in life. My husband liked it, though, so I decided it could stay.

Dress: Kohl's; Sandals: Prabal Gurung for Target; Bracelets: Mexicali Blues

But yeah, it's not going to take any time at all before I snag this on something.

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target Wishlist

Phillip Lim, designer of the famous zippered handbag that every other blogger seems to have (I say that with envy, not snark), is the bringing his 3.1 Phillip Lim brand to Target for their newest designer collaboration. And I am pretty excited and scared for my checking account.

Here are the pieces I'm going to be checking out when it's released September 15:

Tuxedo Pant in Navy/Black, $39.99

Shirt Dress in Paper Floral Print, $39.99

Blouse in Floral Paper Print, $29.99
Silky Skirt in Navy, $29.99

Mini Satchel in Gold, $34.99

Any items you have your eye on? I will at the very least make that yellow bag mine! Check out the rest of the looks here and shop the collection on Sunday, September 15!

Vacation Style

I'm more than halfway through my Maine vacation, and I realized I probably should've lined up some guest posters while I was away.

So far, I've done some shopping around Freeport and Bangor with my MIL and SIL, jumped in the lake and went for a couple boat rides, and visited three new-to-us wineries with my husband. We also celebrated a cousin's wedding and my FIL's 60th birthday! It's been pretty great so far! Plus, I've had enough downtime to finally finish reading The Help (now I need to see the movie!) and start and finish A Wind in the Door. Next up is re-reading Bridget Jones' Diary and catching up on blog reading.

Today, my husband, Bridget, and I are hanging out at the house and maybe running some errands later, so I figured I could squeeze in an outfit post.

Tank Top: Old Navy; Skirt: Target; Bracelet: Mexicali Blues; Sandals: Prabal Gurung for Target

Bye from Bridget the Butterfly!

In a World Like This: St. Louis

I posted about my outfit ideas for these shows before, but I had to switch it up earlier in the week because Backstreet Boys sent out an email requesting that all the Platinum VIPs wear white to go on stage. Nothing I already owned looked good enough, so I ended up picking up this dress from Kohl's for $20 after discounts. Right when I got it home, I took in the sides so that it would fit better on top; it wasn't perfect and it required shapewear, but it was definitely an improvement from anything I had in my closet. The lower scoop-neck back was probably my favorite part of it.

I had to safety pin my bra straps to the dress so that they wouldn't show.
This was pre-airbrush tan.

Standing in line, waiting to go to the soundcheck

On our drive down from Bloomington to St. Louis, we still had not received any details via email about the timeline for the day. We knew somewhat what to expect from reading about people's experiences in Chicago the night before, but things didn't go as planned for them in Chicago, so it was hard to know exactly what was going to happen. I think it was only a couple hours before they wanted people there that the emails finally went out.

We arrived at the venue early and stood in line for about an hour and half-ish before they started checking us in right on time at 3:30ish. The Jesse McCartney VIPs went in first, and then we got our turn. Since it was pretty hot out and we finished lining up in record time, they let us sit in the amphitheater while we waited for the soundcheck to begin. At about 5, the guys made their way on stage after Howie's adorable son came out and waved hi to us.

Brian was a complete goofball the entire time, and Nick seemed very focused. That surprised me at his solo concert, too. How incredibly different his real self and his stage persona seem to be. I like them both, but it is interesting. He's definitely a professional and extremely talented—that's for sure. Howie, on the other hand, was signing a stack of 8x10 photos while he was singing. It didn't bother me that much, but I was amused by his multitasking. The guys sang four or five songs and then took a few questions from the crowd.

Then, it was time for our pictures.

They led us out of the amphitheater and over to a nearby fenced-in tent area, starting with the Silver VIPs, then Gold, then Platinum. The Bronze level only included the soundcheck, so they left. The Silver level included a group picture with Backstreet Boys, so those were done almost instantly. T and E were in the Gold group, which got individual pictures with BSB, and I was anxiously staring at my phone in line, waiting for updates from them. The word was that it went super fast and that security was not allowing hugs.

When it was time for the Platinums to go, the 30 of us filed into the fenced-in area, and there were the guys standing together at the other end of the tent. I was near the end of the line, so I had plenty of time to see what everyone before me was doing. I did hear Kevin tell one of the girls, "It's an honor to be on your breast," referring to her Backstreet Boys tattoo. They also seemed to take time to read the homemade shirts a few of the fans were wearing. A couple girls got side hugs from Kevin; but otherwise, it was some quick conversations, hand shaking, and picture taking. Maybe half a minute of interaction per fan.

I walked up to Brian, who was standing closest to us, shook his hand, and told him my name. Next up was Howie, then Kevin, then Nick, and AJ last. I introduced myself to basically all of them (and I think maybe Howie introduced himself to me??), and I know AJ said, "Rebekah, nice to meet you." I can't remember what anyone else said. I squeezed in between Kevin and Nick for the picture and said, "I have to stand here because I'm real tall," which is a take on a quote from their All Access documentary video thing they put out years ago. Of course, no one got it, but after I thanked them, one of them said, "Have fun, sweetheart." I wish I knew who it was because he would be my favorite Backstreet Boy now. It was either Kevin, Nick or AJ. I think it was Nick, but I can't be sure. It really was a blur, but I really appreciated how each guy made eye contact and really made each fan feel special for those few seconds. From there, I headed into the adjoining tent to wait for further instructions. With shaking hands, I texted my friends about my quick but magical experience.

You can click the image if you'd like to see it bigger. 

Justin came in to lead us to the "green room," which was another tent on the other side of the venue. There, we picked up our posters and took advantage of the cash bar, which we were free to use until BSB went on stage. He also gave us some of the details about us going on stage—where and when we needed to meet for that. I stuck around long enough to buy a drink and grab my poster, and then I left to find the girls.

We grabbed dinner in the concession area and headed in after Jesse McCartney's set was over. This time, our seats were about 10 rows from the stage, but way on the right side. They were still decent seats, but it was hard to get good pictures.

When "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" began, it was time for me to get ready to go on stage. I geeked out with my friends, reapplied my lipstick, and headed to our meeting spot on the other side of the stage. After the next song, which was "Breathe," Justin and Q came out to line us up and prep us. They told us that cameras were not allowed and that we needed to stay seated on stage until they came and got us. If we tried to get to the guys, we would be removed. Then, they divided us in half, and I realized I was going to be in the last/third row on my side. Not ideal, but still exciting. It was still on stage, so I wasn't going to complain!

At the end of the next song, the stage went dark, and we filed in guided by flashlights. When all 30 of us were seated on risers, the guys came out and sat in front of us at their instruments for an acoustic set. They turned around and smiled or waved, but that was about all the interaction they had with us. I spotted T and E in the crowd and sang along and smiled in hopes that they could see me, too. At one point, the girl next to me leaned over and said how excited she was or something, and I told her I could pop up a tent on the stage and just live there. It was great even if I was just watching the guys' backs. After three songs ("10,000 Promises," "Madeleine," and "Quit Playing Games"), we had to go. A couple lucky girls in front got a hug from Brian, and then the guys walked off the opposite side of the stage we did.

I gave Justin a well deserved high five, high fived a couple other fans on the way back, and rejoined the girls. I was happy we got to experience the rest of the show since Chicago had been cut short.

After the show, we went straight back to the car since I had to bus it back home, and the girls were headed to Indianapolis for the final Package Tour show, which ended up rounding out a weekend they would never forget! T was picked to go on stage during the 98 degrees set! The guys sang to her, and she even got a long hug from Drew, her favorite!

Finally, I feel as if I should recant ever saying that people should not wear the T-shirt of a band they're going to see or a homemade shirt to a concert. I've been thinking about it for awhile, but I hereby take it all back. Some fans may give you the sideeye, but it can help you get noticed by the band. Plus, I think opening bands kind of dig it because then they know you're there for them. T's 98 degrees shirt in Indy may have played a part in getting her on stage, and the Backstreet Boys did acknowledge the homemade shirts the VIPs had worn for them. So yeah, I'm going to be less judgy about that in the future.

Also, Lou Pearlman.

If you missed my post about the Chicago concert the night before, you can see that one here.

In a World Like This: Chicago

Well, my summer concert fun has come to an end with two Backstreet Boys shows this past weekend. In a way, I'm relieved because it's exhausting and expensive; but on the other hand, I'm sad that I don't have any concerts coming up until the end of October. This was turning into a pretty huge post, so I broke it into two—night one in Chicago and night two in St. Louis.

Before I get into the recap, I should tell you the story of the airbrush tan that I got Thursday right after work. My reasoning for the tan, which I think I have to rationalize because I'm a pale person, was that part of my Platinum VIP package I purchased for the St. Louis show (on Saturday) included going up on stage with the Backstreet Boys. With the stage lights and all that attention, I wanted to look my best. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen me freaking out about the results of my airbrush tanning session. Let's just say I should've gone with the lighter color instead of the darker one. People kept telling me it wasn't as bad as I thought it was, but it sure was a shock to see myself go from pale to that dark. My friend said that she's seen better results with the automatic spray tan booths rather than when someone uses the airbrush gun or whatever; IF I ever felt the need to get a quick tan in the future, I'd try that route instead. Thankfully, it looked more natural to me on Saturday than it did on Friday.

Anyway, Friday afternoon, my friends T and E picked me up from work, and we slowly made our way through rush hour traffic in both Milwaukee and Chicago. It ended up taking us an extra hour to get to our destination, but luckily, we had left early and had time to spare. Plus, we didn't know it at the time, but everything at the venue was running super behind apparently due to getting the stage set up.

We parked, finished getting ready in the car, and then took a convenient and free trolley from the parking structure to the amphitheater.

Since we didn't have much interest in seeing Pauly D, who was the first opening act, we checked in to get our passes for the after party and then got some drinks and food to kill time. And we had a lot of time to kill. I don't think Jesse McCartney went on until 9. When he did, we made the trek up to our bleacher seats, which would best be described as treacherous. Whenever people would start to dance around, the bleachers would sway back and forth, to the point that T and I were holding onto whatever we could in fear that the whole thing would collapse. It didn't help that she had just had a dream about bleachers falling down at a concert. We ended up living, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed the show even from as far back as we were. That is until they had to shut the whole thing down early.

Chicago has a curfew, which we knew about from past House of Blues shows, and they (I don't know who "they" are exactly) literally turned off BSB's microphones so that they could not continue the show. The guys were on stage trying to negotiate and pump the crowd up, but nothing could be done. Eventually, they bowed and walked off stage. Justin, the guy who runs the meet and greets, was saying the next day that the guys were pretty upset about the whole thing. The three of us, however, weren't terribly broken up about it since we had the after party to look forward to and the St. Louis show the next day. By the way, while Ground Control, the company in charge of the fan club and VIP packages, kind of sucks sometimes for being so last minute and disorganized, Justin and Eddie, whom I presume are Ground Control employees (but maybe they work for BSB), are awesome. Those two were the ones getting us organized and making sure we weren't freaking out too much. So high five to them for keeping all of us crazy fans in line while being very friendly and patient.

Our view from the treacherous bleachers—pretty skyline though

Zoomed in—I believe this was during "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely"

Vying for more time on stage

On our way to the after party tent, we acquired some free beer (free beer!), which up until that point was probably the highlight of the night. I had another highlight when I realized that there was a red carpet at the entrance of the VIP tent. Woohoo! My first red carpet! Nevermind that it was just my friends and me taking pictures of each other—it was still exciting.

Most of these pictures are mine, but a couple of them are from T's Facebook, like her red carpet pic.

We didn't really know what to expect since there was supposed to be a meet and greet included with the after party (with the more expensive package that we didn't purchase), but that meet and greet didn't end up happening until the very end. Before the party really began, we waited outside the tent and watched Howie, Kevin, and Nick walk from the buses to the tent and take the stage.

Nick spent pretty much the whole time DJing while Howie and Kevin mingled, which basically entailed them working their way through mobs of people and taking pictures. It took awhile and some effort, but we all three got pictures with Kevin! I have to post T's and E's, too, because they're too cute not to. Kevin told T that she has the softest skin ever.

I'll try to remember how our conversation went:

Me: I've been waiting to dance with you!
(We start kind of dancing and face the camera. T or E takes the picture and shows it to us.)
Kev: It looks like I'm doing the face from that one movie. (He sucks in his cheeks and reenacts the face.)
Me: (poking him in the chest) Blue steel!
Kev: Yeah, that's it.
Me: Do you need another drink or anything?
Kev: (looking at his half-full cup) No, I'm good.

And then I probably thanked him for the picture, and that was about it. We tried to get to Howie, but they announced it was time for the meet and greet and had all of us non-meet and greeters leave before we had a chance to reach him. We lingered a little bit afterwards and were about to leave before we saw AJ milling around by the buses. I called out to him, and he made his way over to us. E got a hug, and I got a picture right as his security guard was saying "no pictures." Whoops? I mentioned something about the show being cut short, and AJ said, "That was not our plan" or something like that. Knowing how upset they were later, I kind of regret bringing it up. Must've been a sore subject.

By that point, Nick, Howie, and Kevin had apparently finished their meet and greet because they were heading back to the buses. We hurried over and T got a picture with Nick before we left. After that, we walked back to the car and drove a little ways down the road before stopping for the night in Bloomington, where there was a baseball tournament going on and we had to check three different hotels before we found a room. Less than five short hours of sleep later, we were back up and getting ready for our VIP day in St. Louis!

Concert Attire Guest Post at Animated Cardigan

What does one wear to an outdoor music festival? Well, my friend Erin and I compiled all our outfits from Summerfest (she went a lot more than I did) into a guest post over at Animated Cardigan, and I included some of our Dos and Don'ts. Check it out!

What I wore - after the Fun concert and before the Package Tour concert