Thursday, June 7, 2012

Live Music: From a Church to the Cliff

I'm digging the live music I've seen recently...
Last week Ramona and I got to see Diego Garcia sing his heart out along with a Spanish guitar and cello at a sweet little church in Koreatown.
It was inspiring!
His passionate songs about romance and relationships, love and loss, connect you to something beyond yourself, and you can't help but feel the music. The experience. The now.
While in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend to visit my sister, Natalie, we roadtripped for a day to the Sasquatch Music Festival that was about two hours away at the Gorge Amphitheatre.
This iconic concert venue sits on a cliff overlooking a river, with green foothills glistening in the background. Along with the Hollywood Bowl in L.A., I think it's one of the most spectacular outdoor spots to see live music.
Oh, I got to see Beirut and Bon Iver play, and they both rocked!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

High School Reunion in Vegas

Vegas has become a go-to spot for living it up with high school friends. I made the desert drive a few Fridays ago to see Ms. Erica, my partner in crime since sophomore year who trekked around Chicago with me when I visited in April (there will be a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" adventure Part II!).
Vegas was a last hurrah of sorts, since Erica had just graduated from law school and was starting her intensive bar exam classes that Monday.
Drinks. were. in. order!
We met up with the rest of her gang, including her sweet boyfriend Blake and brother Chris, and snagged a coveted booth at Holsteins at The Cosmopolitan for eccentric burgers and famous "bam-boozled" shakes that come loaded with alcohol. My oreo shake with Bailey's irish cream was decadent, Erica's birthday cake version just like the famous treat!
This joint was buzzing, but we made our way to the casinos to do some gambling and properly take in Friday night in Vegas. Erica and Chris have some mad card playing skills, and you bet I was taking notes!
The next morning we lounged at the hotel pool, and it was like no time had passed -- we had our girl talk, our usual stacks of magazines and a cheery outlook for what was to come, whether it be passing the bar or collecting more adventures.
It's these small moments that reel me back to an earlier day, connecting the dots between then and now, that bring loads more meaning to my life.
High school reunions in Vegas, you're on!
Erica and me before the bam-boozled shakes at Holsteins