Nothing in Moderation: Festivals

Showing posts with label Festivals. Show all posts

Thursday, September 19, 2013

I wanna talk about me

It’s just that there is so much to do and I want to do it all. If there are that many cuisines available for takeout, imagine the number of events: rock concerts, comedy benefits, book launches, TV wrap parties, art openings, restaurant openings, theatre openings, even the opening of the mail is a fete if you add champagne. – I Totally Meant to Do That, Jane Borden

When I read the line above, I thought it was the perfect description of one of my self-diagnosed illnesses. I have mentioned before that I suffer from FOMO, and this summer was a doozy for me. If you ask anyone in the Windy City, they will tell you that Summers in Chicago are the best time of the year. As mentioned in this previous post, there are limited weeks each year where Chicagoans can put on shorts baring their white winter legs, and enjoy beer gardens, festivals and baseball games in the greatest city in the world.

This year, I had 3 weekends from the month of May-September where I did not have plans. And you what I did those weekends? I made plans. There was just so much I wanted to do! Outdoor concerts, Entertaining guests, watching best friends tie the knot, being lazy at the lake, enjoying a street festival, going on a cruise…the options were endless, and I didn’t want to miss a beat! Scratch that – I couldn’t miss a beat, because I suffer from FOMO and it is out of my control. I must do it all.

Let's start by talking about the concerts this summer...

Note: Needed to wear the Ball State tee because the White Old Navy V was too big of a risk in the rain.

Here is a picture of Chad from the Dave concert 14 years ago.
The guy you are afraid of in the back? That's him.

I think all of you know that Carreen (my lifelong bestie) is a huge Dave Matthews Band fan. She receives email alerts about the band, cried the day one of the members passed, and NEVER misses a summer tour. And this year all of the ants marching aligned, and the DMB concert fell on Carreen’s birthday (6/22/13). What could be a better way to ring in 29 than eating, drinking, and being merry with your best friends? So Carreen, Ed, Chad and I hopped in the Rouge (Rogue-Trip!) and headed to Indiana for the ultimate birthday celebration. We drove 3 hours through the sunny Hoosier State, and just as we pulled in…It. Started. Pouring. We didn’t let that stop us (no way!) so we cracked open a few cans, and waited for the monsoon to pass – there was still a celebration to be had, and celebrate we will. In addition to Carreen’s birthday, we were celebrating Chad’s anniversary of his last DMB show at this venue, which happened to be exactly 14 years prior to the day. Overall, the show was amazing, but the best part about it was celebrating the birthday of my best friend in a way that so simply was “Carreen.” Oh, I forgot to mention we ate at TGIFridays the next morning. Now THAT is “Carreen.”

Don't Need Money, Don't Need Fame.
Do need to go to work the next day.

The next morning, we headed back to Chicago, took a brief nap, and rallied for another great concert. In the car growing up, my parents, always listened to “Oldies 104.3” (it’s more fun if you sing the jingle) and now I listen to it too. Except now the “oldies” is the best of the 70’s and 80’s, but I’ll take it. This year, the station hosted the first ever concert at Montrose Beach, which happens to be a short walk from my house. The show? Huey Lewis and the News…I know. I KNOW! I was just as excited as you are! Beach concert with oldies music? That has FOMO written all over it! So LT, James, Chad and I bought tickets to learn about the power of love. And you know what else we learned? We learned that Vodka Teas go down very smoothly on a walk to Montrose Beach. We learned that you can fit 2 of the skinny cans of Corona Light in each of Chad’s pockets, so buy them 8 at a time. We learned that cutting in line will get you told off by some mean girls. We learned that dancing in the sand is more fun if you are not wearing shoes. We learned that the heart of rock & roll is still beating (from what I see I believe ‘em). But the biggest lesson we learned, is that Sunday night concerts make for a rough Monday morning. That’s why I took off work following my Sunday show – Toby Keith.

Red Solo Koozie is almost as good as a Red Solo Cup.
Proceed to Party!

5% of the reason I started dating Chad was for easy access to Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. Ok, that is not true, but it certainly is one of the best perks to TP, besides TP only has 6% sales tax at Old Navy and Target. Looking at my summer, I was getting really nervous about the MWBA concert schedule – it seemed like I had a conflict every time there was a show I wanted to see! Plus Chaddy-poo is not that into country music, which limited the shows he would enjoy. Then it dawned on me…did I want to see Passion Pit? No. Did I go anyways because Chad wanted to? YES! He owed me one, and it was time for Chad to get drunk and be somebody at the Toby Keith concert. I mentioned that I’m not as good as I once was, so I took Monday off work ready to party. In addition to FOMO, I also suffer from a severe case of patriotism, so a Toby Keith concert is like a support group for people like me. This was not my first time seeing Toby, but every time I manage to tear up when he brings the men in uniform on stage as I belt out American Soldier on the top of my lungs….getting teary just thinking about it now. Even Chad said “the man entertained him for 2 hours.” Sounds like a good review to me, and a great way to kick off the 4^th of July week.

So far I had seen some of my faves – country music and oldies…but something was missing. What music do I love more than any other? 90s music, of course!! (If you didn’t know that, how did you stumble across this blog?) And the BEST band from the 90s is inarguably Matchbox 20, led by the gorgeous and talented Rob Thomas….ah. This was the first time the band had toured together in YEARS, and the last time I saw RT perform, MB20 came out and joined him and I cried. Actual tears (Jen Zei can vouch). So clearly I was online and ready to be the first to buy tickets when they went on sale…and yet somehow both of their shows sold out in minutes! For any of you that are surprised by that, I should tell you that they were touring with the Goo Goo Dolls. If I die and go to Heaven, I imagine I will be greeted by the Dolls assuring me they won’t tell no-one my name, and then MB20 will hand me a raincoat. They’re always worried ‘bout things like that.

This isn't from the show.

It is when I first fell in love with Rob Thomas.

Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised that the tickets sold out. After a “ticket-liquidator” debacle, I got 3 tickets to the show for the ultimate sisters night a Ravinia, where you bring your own food and wine, and (if you are really fancy) table centerpiece. Kim is also a huge fan and turned me onto MB20, and Pam is a lover of all 90s and anytime she can eat and drink outside. When RT played Bright Lights (Trivia – my #2 fave song of all time) I did not know what to do with myself. I belted it out until people were staring while Sober Pam took a video. Turns out Pam didn’t get to drink outside… That was “Babys’ First Concert,” and the first time Pam would use the pregnancy card to skip the shuttle line. I bet Pam will deliver the babies at 3am. Just a guess.

I tried to make a pizza. I failed.

Wrigley Field is one of my favorite places in Chicago. And second to drinking a few too many beers in the bleacher seats, one of my fave things is going to a concert at Wrigley. Being that it is 4 blocks from my house, I host a little get together before and we all walk over together. This year’s show combined 2 of my faves – Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean. Kelly holds a very special place in my heart. The Season 1 American Idol star was the reason I pierced my nose, she helped Pam and I get through the beautiful disaster Summer of 2003, and whenever “stronger” comes on during one of my workouts, I can always run for a few extra minutes (seconds). Her show was incredible and I’ll tell you what, my life would suck without Kelly Clarkson. Jason Aldean also put on a great show, from what I recall…things were a tad hazy at this point. But one of my favorite things about that concert? The attempt to cook a pizza when I got home, which resulted in a burnt and cheesy potholder (what did I do?) and then recapping the night with Kim and Schmelter, who were lucky to be alive based on their tales…per the us.

My last concert of the Summer was a tribute to the city that contributes to my FOMO – Chicago. As a belated Mother’s Day present, we got my mom tickets to the Chicago concert at Ravinia. We learned from our past experiences and brought more food, more wine, and got there early. Just a Saturday in the Park (it wasn’t the 4^th of July) filled with hours of drinking in the sun with my family – Mom, Kim, Pam, Keith, Autumn, Schmelter and Chad. You probably don’t think you know many Chicago songs – you are wrong. Just YouTube them and I think you’ll be surprised. “You’re the meaning in my life, you’re the inspiration. You bring feeling to my life, you’re the inspiration…” See? You’re singing along! The horns echoed through the park as Keith got "geese" and we sang and danced, especially Autumn. It was that nugget’s first concert and I think she liked it almost as much as the ranch dip.

This little dancer loved the showwwwwwww.

Music, sunshine, and the best company I could ask for…that’s summer in Chicago.

This post was brought to you courtesy of the red, white and blue.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

I'm driving slow on Sunday morning, and I never want to leave.

Sundays are often a day of rest. People call it the Sabbath, and by people, I mean my dad. There are several songs about relaxing on Sundays…and even a song about using the day to clip coupons. It is a great day.

I should probably be embarrassed to say that about 80% of Sundays I am a little hungover. That statistic is based on the fact that I have been slightly hungover three of the past four Sundays, and I will likely be hungover again this week. 4/5 = 80%. I am good at math. NBD.

Now, anyone who knows me when I am hungover knows that I usually wake up early, hungry and craving lettuce. After eating, I will go back to bed where I will sleep until at least noon. Take it or leave it, that’s Carrie Keller at her finest. This Sunday was no different. But I guess first I should fill you in on my Saturday that preceded it.

Humidity is not only a friend to Summer,
but also a friend to Carreen.
Check out those amazing curls!! #jeal

Three weeks ago Summer finally decided to stop by Chicago for a visit, and this week her (yes, Summer is a girl) friend humidity came along for the ride. So what do Chicagoans do when Summer finally arrives? We go to the beach. Now, I know that I have at least three Floridians reading this thinking a beach in Chicago is ludacrous, and you know what I say to that? I say, “No, Ludacris is a talented rapper from Atlanta…a beach in Chicago is GLORIOUS!” So Saturday, Chad and I headed to the beach with a half a bag of pretzels and three extra-large, extra-strong, lukewarm vodka and green teas. Yum! After catching a nice buzz, and a little snooze, we continued our day by meeting up with Carreen and Ed at BurgerFest. BurgerFest, while known for their burgers, proved not to disappoint due to the cold 312, and most importantly, a performance by Sister Hazel! The 90s classic “All For You” and the fact they are from G-Ville make them one of my faves.

After BurgerFest, we went to meet up with Chad’s best friend Chris and his girlfriend Bernadette at Galaway Bay, a bar with free popcorn, old-school Nintendo and $2 PBRs. Not mad. I heard stories of Chad’s younger years, got to know them better, and we finally got home and to sleep around 3:30am.

It's hard to say what it is I see in you. Wonder if I'll always be with you.
Words can't say, and I can't do enough to prove that it's all for you.

When I popped up at 7:30am, you can guess that Chad didn’t want to wake up. So I stayed in bed for a bit too…texting with friends about how much I wanted lettuce. More specifically, how much I wanted BLTs. I even made the mistake of Google searching BLTs and you should see the yummy images that came up. So I rolled out of bed, still rocking a small buzz from the night before, and walked to the grocery to start my Sunday.

As we all know, a BLT should really be called a BBLTM: Bread, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo. That way, when you go to the grocery store to make a BBLTM, you know EVERY ingredient you need to get. In my case, I was only after the BBLT, because, for those of us who have not yet met, “I am Carrie and I love mayo.” Never a shortage of it in my house.

So off to the store I go in search of the missing four ingredients. Along the way, I picked up some fruit, some olives, and some new salad dressing to make a little side salad with all the lettuce I was planning to buy. Did I mention how I crave lettuce? Upon checking out, I reviewed my basket, and seeing all 4 necessary ingredients, I checked out salivating.

I started first by cooking the bacon. Actually, no, I started first by taking a few delicious pictures, and then proceeded with the bacon. I figured that the bacon could cook while I cut the veggies, plus, I really thought that smell would wake up Chad without me having to go in and jump on him. Spoiler alert: It didn’t. I had to jump on him.

D-Lish. And actually the makings for a BBCTM.

While slicing up the veggies, I noticed that something seemed off. What is with this lettuce? I never buy iceberg lettuce, but I have eaten enough to know that it is not usually so rubbery. And then it dawned on me. I had bought the ingredients for a BBCTM. CABBAGE. It looked just like lettuce! You can see my confusion…its little things like this that historically have made me uneasy around identical twins. They look the same on the outside, but really, they are different! Guess this was God’s way of bracing me for the new little twins about to enter my life – more to come on that in future blogs.

Anyways, I returned to the store, picked up some actual lettuce (you almost got me again, cabbage!) and I have to tell you that my BBLTM and side salad were as amazing as I imagined. So crispy and salty – I want one right now! I then turned down for my usual 2 hour post-food nap, and started my day around 12:30pm with some QT at the pool with some faves (thanks, Mike and Jen!).

Man, I love Sundays.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Start spreadin' the News...I'm leavin' today.

Today is my last day at News America Marketing. It is the end of an era.

First and Last Sales Summit.

I have worked at News America since September 11, 2006. I remember driving into the office on my first day and listening to 9/11 memorial coverage and crying….no surprise, I was also running late. I am sure I made quite the first impression.

Most people think that my time at News was spent as a slave to Dollar General and Walgreens. And while that was certainly true on some days, there were times that the hardest part of my day was deciding between which two pairs of boots to buy (odds are I bought both) or choosing where to go to lunch (so many options in the pedway). But regardless, it balanced itself to be all-in-all a pretty good gig.

MCo - My bestie and fave NAMer of all time.

But the thing about News that I thankful for is the friends I have met while I was here. Some of my very best friends I have met through News and I will thank Uncle Rup for that every day. Actually, I should probably thank Melissa Cohen, without whom I would NEVER have gotten this (or maybe any) job after college. “I’m so good at interviewing” was one of my fave lines in college. Guess what? I was not.

I am totes obsessed with these girls.

I realized today that I have spent more time with in my NAM chapter than with any other chapter in my life. More time than college, more than high school. And I learned a lot here…Maybe more than college, more than high school…nevermind, that’s a ridiculous statement.

But really, News has been a great first chapter in my life and I am walking away with few bad things to say and plenty of great memories. Cheers to the next chapter!