Lollapalooza ’14

Hello, hello!

I think i’m fully recovered from this weekend to finally draft up this post.  *I think*

This past weekend was the infamous 3-day Chicago music festival, Lollapalooza.  A couple of my best friends and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to purchase a 3-day pass because you only live once, right?  Right.

Since the concert series started Friday afternoon, I decided to take the full day off of work so I could get some things done before heading out for the entire weekend.  Ie: I needed to fit in one good run because I knew I would wake up too tired each day to fit another one in.

I put on my Garmin and some sweet neon gear and headed out for a nice 4 mile jog around the neighborhood.  It was a really good run and I’m glad that I started my weekend on such a positive note because that kind of exercise would not be a high priority for the rest of the weekend.

If you’ve never been to Lollapalooza before, I’m just going to start off by saying it’s awesome.  A 3-day awesome marathon with tons of great bands, delicious food and GREAAAAT people watching.

(photo cred: Lauren) 😉

Each day my friends and I would arrive at the gates between 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. and start making our rounds to the different stages.  It was essential that we had some kind of idea of where we wanted to go because if anyone got lost from the group they were on their own to find us again.

Some band highlights from Friday were Iggy Azalea at Perry’s stage which is always a crazy stage to be at, Cash Cash, Lorde, Artic Monkeys and of course Eminem who brought Rihanna.  Eminem was by far one of the best shows of the evening because it brought back so many great grade school/middle school/high school memories – jeez how old is he?  🙂

After the last show ended, it was always a race to mass transportation.  I’m lucky enough to live right off Lake Shore Drive and there is a bus that literally expresses from Michigan Ave. to right in front of my door.  Transportation to and from Lolla was a breeze for me, which was probably not the case for many others.

Saturday highlights included some really awesome tamales from Chow Town, Martin Garrix, The Head and the Heart and Outkast.

And this view to catch the finale of Calvin Harris.

After Saturday’s tour I was struggling a little bit.  It wasn’t really the alcohol that was consumed, as I did a pretty decent job of staying hydrated – refillable water bottle for the win, it was more the constant walking, constant dancing and constant singing that just did me in.  I know I was oh so concerned about not getting in good workouts, but I must have walked 30 miles this weekend.

Needless to say, Sunday was a little bit harder to get into a good rhythm.  Plus, it was raining.  I did really enjoy a new-to-me band called Trombone Shorty & The Orleans Avenue – Totally funky and awesome to dance to.  Cage the Elephant and the Avett Brothers were also really fun to watch, but it was pouring for a good majority of them and luckily I was able to sport my super fancy poncho.

 

Our ponchos were a heck of a lot better than what I saw some girls wearing this weekend.  For the record, when did crop tops and the shortest shortest imaginable – so short I can literally see butts everywhere – become the new go-to for concerts?  There are really only a select few that can pull them off: ie: super skinny girls, and the whole female population at Lolla decided to give it a go.  Maybe I’m just getting old and grumpy, but c’mon ladies – class it up a little bit.

A trend I did enjoy were those metallic temporary tattoos everyone was sporting.  Next time!

Overall, I had a BLAST this weekend.  Would I buy a 3-day pass again… not sure. ha.  It’s seriously a marathon and I think I would have been just as happy doing two days instead of three, but no regrets this year 🙂

Until we meet again, Lolla.

A Perfect Summer Night

Last night was an awesome night.  I headed home after work to meet my dad at the tennis court complex by the lake.  It was an absolutely beautiful night – no clouds in the sky, a perfect 75 degrees.

My dad is the whole reason I started playing tennis as a young toddler to begin with.  Growing up, I knew it was always summer break when dad would have Wimbledon on every t.v. throughout the household so if I was doing chores, I could watch the match as I moved around.  It’s one of those sports I will always be grateful I got into at a very young age.  Tennis, like snowboarding to me, is a life-long sport that I will be able to play until I am old and gray living in Hilton Head Island.

We got to the courts with about 30 minutes to spare before the next round of play began.  If you’re not familiar with how to “reserve” public tennis courts, let me give you a crash course.

Play begins every hour on the hour.

If you want to reserve a court, place your racquet on the court-specific peg board.  If your reserving it for an ‘odd hour’, ie: 7:00 p.m., place it on the left.  Even hour, ie: 8:00 p.m., the right.

If for some reason the people you are waiting for on court 4 get off at 6:40 p.m., don’t you dare remove your racquet and go to that court.  Wait until 7:00 p.m., so you secure the full hour of play.

I hope that was helpful 😉

Dad and I got to play a whole hour between 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. which was the perfect time before the sun went down.

After tennis, we headed over to the local pub Wilde to grab a couple beers and grilled salmon sandwiches on their patio.

It was a perfect summer night.

Well folks, I’m off to Lolla Land starting tomorrow aka Lollapalooza! Being the type of person I am, I have already mapped out the bands I want to swing by and already packed my backpack.

Bailey is interested to know what’s in my Lolla backpack, so I’ll share with the class:

1. Cash money – I opted out of the ‘Cashless’ wrist band option because that feels dangerous to me.  I’m on a money diet, so I want to know how much I’m spending!
2. ID, credit card, medical insurance card – My mother taught me to never go anywhere without it
3. Sunscreen & chapstick – FYI you’re not allowed to bring spray-on sunscreen into the venue
4. A poncho – This is just for Friday… 40% chance of rain, so who knows what will happen
5. Portable phone charger – CLUTCH
6. Refillable water bottle – I have like 10 of these, so if it doesn’t make it home with me I won’t cry about it
7. Ziploc bag – If it rains, I’ll put my phone/charger in it
8. Sunglasses – Obvi.
9. Granola Bar – pretty sure this isn’t allowed, but I need snacks!
10. Mini deodorant – no body likes to stand next to stinky people.

… and obviously my 3 day pass will be on my wrist.

See you next week!

Lolla Weekend

Lolla Weekend has come and gone…

Seriously though, I had an amazing experience at Lollapalooza this weekend.  What started out as a semi-stressful morning turned out into a fun-filled, music-packed day.  Going into the weekend, I had nightmares about large crowds, unbearable weather and losing my friends – but none of those became my reality!  I survived.

First off, I don’t think there could have been a more perfect weekend for this festival – Sunny days with temperatures in the mid 70’s.

When we arrived at Grant park the energy was so intense and crazy, I’m fairly certain I walked around with a huge smile on my face looking like a goon.

Once we got our bearings on where all of the stages were and bought a few beers, we headed over to our first concert – Ellie Goulding.  I absolutely love her, but was not too impressed with her show.  I think it was partially because I had a hard time hearing her voice over her bass.  Nevertheless, we had a ton of fun dancing to her songs and screaming the words.

By the time Ellie finished, it was almost 6:00 p.m. and we had some time to kill before we posted up for the next performer.  My friend and I were pretty hungry at this point, so we headed over to ‘Chow Town’ and grabbed some pulled pork sandwiches from the Smoke Daddy tent.

This sandwich hit the spot.

After we ate, we headed back to the Bud Light stage to see Kendrick Lamar perform – he. was. awesome.

I had a lot of fun ‘people watching’ at lolla, especially the people who were in charge of carrying their groups “beacon”.  Beacon meaning, the item (usually a large balloon or sign), that could identify them in the crowds if someone was to be looking for them.  Unfortunately, I was too busy stalking to take any pictures of these magnificent items, but some of my favorites included:

– Honey Boo Boo’s face

–  The Simpson’s characters

– An inflatable monkey who was carrying glow sticks

– A piece sign balloon

After Kendrick, we headed over to the ‘Lakeshore’ stage which was where The Lumineers were playing.

We stayed for a while, but decided to cut out early so we could get prime standing position for the main event.  Mumford & Sons!

They were so amazing live, seriously one of the best concerts I have ever been to , plus I find Marcus to be super dreamy 😉

I will definitely be returning to Lolla in the future.  I had an amazing experience with great friends, and could definitely now see myself dropping over $200 for the 3 day pass.  It is really hard to see every aspect of the festival in just one day!

After a day like that, the majority of Sunday was spent on the couch watching episodes of ‘Orange is the New Black’ on Netflix and planning out my workout’s for the week to get back on track after a crazy weekend.

Cheers to a productive Monday!

Stretch, Strength & Savor

Hello, Hello!

Yesterday was quite the eventful/stressful day at work in part because…

I GOT SATURDAY LOLLA TICKETS!

My coworkers are the best and all had different browsers and computers up at exactly 10:00 a.m. – constantly refreshing and holding our breath.  Right after mine was purchased, we started blasting Mumford & Sons.  Can’t wait!  I have a good handful of friends who were able to get the Saturday tickets and I also have a good handful who were too late.  I believe they sold out in about 10 minutes!  Crazy.  What’s even more crazy is that people are reselling their tickets on Stub Hub and Craigslist for double and triple the cost.  Don’t do it people!

All the anxiety must have revved up my appetite because by the time lunch came around I was famished.

Lunch included leftover turkey sausage and a salad with bell peppers, avocado and balsamic dressing. I love the Tupperware that has compartments  – It really helps with portion control and keeps everything separated.

After work, I headed straight home and was greeted by this bundle of joy!

I love that no matter how long you have been away from your dog, every time they see you they act like it has been forever.  Lot’s of Bailey Kisses for me!

Once Bailey settled down and Brian left for the gym, I rolled out my yoga mat and took the time to stretch and strengthen.  My legs were a little tight from Tuesdays tempo run, so the yoga stretches felt amazing.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to incorporate some rest/stretch days into your weekly routine, especially when you are training for races.  You need to give your muscles time to recover and stretching helps prevent injury tremendously.  If you have never practiced yoga before, there are a ton of free online videos that can show you some of the basic stretches and poses.  I am by no means a ‘yogi’, but I do enjoy going to class and taking the time out of my busy schedule to savor the hour or so I give to myself just to focus on my health and well being.

Dinner last night was quick, easy and satisfying.  I made Tex-Mex Burrito Bowls in under 30 minutes!  Don’t you just love those kind of dinners?

Tex-Mex Burrito Bowls

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 15 oz can black beans – drained and rinsed
• 1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 package of your favorite taco seasoning
• 2 cups of organic brown rice
• 0% Greek yogurt
• Guacamole
• 1 cup diced lettuce
• Hot sauce

Directions:

1. In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and ground turkey
2. Saute until turkey is cooked through breaking the meat into bit-sized pieces
3. While the meat is cooking, prepare the brown rice according to directions on the package – set aside
4. Add the diced tomatoes, black beans and taco seasoning to the turkey. Mix together, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until heated through.
5. Assemble your burrito bowl!  Rice on the bottom, 1 scoop of the meat and beans mixture, handful of lettuce, 1 dollop of Greek yogurt, 1 dollop of guacamole (reduced guilt for me!) and a dash of hot sauce
6. Enjoy!

What is your favorite dish to make in under 30 minutes?