Summer Splash Swap!

Hey guys!

I am taking a break from my Taylor Swift recap to announce that I am partnering with some wonderful ladies, Meighan and Allie, to bring you the Summer Splash Swap! 

Hosted by:

Heavens to Meighan

Tales of a Twenty Something

Keeping Up With The Cyperts

The Rules:

1.  SIGN UP!  Be sure to sign up below using the Google form.  We will announce the swap partners by June 10.  If you want to do the swap, make sure you sign up by June 10, that is the cut off date! 

2.  GO SHOPPING!  We want you to buy your swap partner a bright, fun beach towel.  Along with the towel, buy your partner lots of goodies that they can use at the pool, the beach or just out in the sun! 

3.  DON'T GO NUTS!  Try to keep the spending limit around $20.  If you want to spend more, feel free!  But you don't have to go crazy spending tons of money on the goodies.  Wal-Mart and Target have so many miniature goodies in the travel section that would make great box fillers!  Please remember:  the $20 limit does NOT include your shipping cost.

SIGN UP HERE!!!

The Best Day. Like Ever. Part 2: The Concert

Hi sweet friends!

I have been recapping my trip to Austin/my amazing experience with Taylor Swift, so if you haven't read those two posts, check them out! They will get ya all caught up.

After getting ready to head to the concert, and taking pictures with the cool things outside {like Taylor's trucks}, it was finally time for the concert to start. I was literally shaking with excitement. I had already told both my mom and sister that I would probably cry and that they couldn't laugh too hard. It's a crazy and surreal feeling to see someone in person that you have been a fan of for so long. To be in the same room with them and to breath the same air. Crazy I tell ya!

At this point I was feeling pure excitement. Grinning from ear to ear with tears in my eyes. 

*I just realized that there are going to be spoilers in this post. So, if you are planning on seeing her show and don't want to know details, maybe don't read this post just yet.*

Taylor opens with State of Grace. 

She is standing behind a huge red curtain for the first few lines of the song and then the curtain falls and there she is! {Sidenote: On Sunday Garrett and I are going to see her here in Denver and we will be in the 4th row! Looking at that second picture, and seeing how close we will be...I can't even.}

After State of Grace is Holy Ground.

She had flying drummers and all kinds of dancers and lights going on. In the middle of the song she bangs out a drum solo. It was badass.

Next is Red. 

As you can see, I took some of these pictures from the Frank Erwin Center's Facebook because they were actually able to get good pictures. Lucky people that can bring in nice cameras!

How gorgeous is she?

You Belong with Me was next and was one of my favorite performances of the night because it was quite a bit different from the original song. I won't go into detail, it was just different and neat.

The Lucky One was next and boy was it our lucky song! During this song we found out that we had been chosen for Club Red! I hate to do this again, but if I don't this post would be way too long. So, I'm leaving it at that and will explain what Club Red is and what happened in my next post. But let me tell ya', it's exciting!

During "22" she makes her way through the crowd to a second stage where she performs several songs as well as a "secret song" at each venue. It's just her and her guitar. In Austin she played Safe and Sound which is a song she wrote for The Hunger Games. She dedicated it to the people in Oklahoma who had just suffered a horrible tornado.

This isn't my video, but I wanted to share it.

Super sweaty and gross from dancing around and singing the whole time. Plus my eyeliner was close to nonexistent after the tears I cried when I found out we got Club Red.

Tay flew across the audience while singing Sparks Fly on her way back to the main stage.

Then, one of my all time favorites of her's, I Knew You Were Trouble. Production wise, this song was my favorite. She starts off wearing this white ball gown and during the middle of the song rips it off and has on a black corset top with black shorts. I love the dramatic costume change, and she looks hot in that little black number! 

White ballgown:

A very blurry sexy black corset:

Several songs later, All Too Well was played. Pretty sure that is my favorite song off of the Red album and the performance of it is perfect. She plays the piano and sings with such emotion in her face and voice, it really is amazing. 

Again, not my video, but if you want to check it out {you won't be sorry!} there ya go! 

A couple more songs and then the finale, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

The finale was awesome! Red confetti everywhere!

At this point I was getting SO nervous! I knew in about 30 minutes I would be meeting Taylor which is something I have daydreamed about so many times. No, I am not a 12 year old girl, I promise. 

 And because I have alot to say about Club Red as well as quite a bit of pictures from it, I'm going to leave you hanging one more time. I keep doing that don't I? 

The Best Day. Like Ever. Part 1

You guys!

I've been thinking about this post and what I would say and how long it would be for the last week! So, I apologize in advance for the length, this is gonna be a long one. I won't be mad if you just scroll through and look at the pictures. 

Yesterday I wrote all about my Austin trip! Well, I left out Tuesday because that day gets it's very own post. This one. : )

Tuesday was magical.

Tuesday was the Taylor Swift Red Tour concert.

After finally finishing our sign for the show {we had been up literally all night!}, mom, Alyssa, and I started getting ready.  I had known exactly what I was going to wear, down to the 13's on my hands, red nail polish, and cat ears, for a long time. I had daydreamed many nights about how this night would go. 

About a month ago, Garrett and I went up to his workplace late one night and made t-shirts. I thought of exactly how I wanted them to look and he made them real. We made three Austin T-shirts and two Denver T-shirts. One of the Denver shirts was for Taylor in case I got to meet her. 

 It took us around 4 hours to make all of the T-shirts but afterwards I had exactly what I had envisioned. *Thank you honey for doing all of the work and for making something I had in my mind a real, tangible thing! You are perfect!*

Alyssa, mom, and I in our shirts! : ) Yes, one side of my hair is curled and the other is not. My dad thought he had to leave for Cabela's right that moment and since he was taking the picture I had no choice. 

The sleeve:

 Come Back, Be Here is one of Taylor's extra songs on her Red Album. It's good, listen to it if you haven't!

It was like prom. Getting ready and mom taking pictures!

I got the cat ears idea from Taylor's 22 video. She wears them in that video.

The concert didn't start until 7 but I wanted to get there early. We left Alyssa's apartment at 3 and were there by 3:30. I told ya I wanted to go early.

Diet Coke recently partnered with Taylor so there were people handing out Diet Coke for free! Score! There were also different posters/signs with Taylor's Diet Coke campaign pictures.

Us with our sign!

I guess now is as good a time as any to explain our sign. Yes, it says MEOW. No, it doesn't stand for anything, it's just meow. One night, while daydreaming about this concert, I thought of this idea. I was scared to tell anyone because I knew no one would understand. Alyssa was like, "ummm, I'll try to think of something else" when I told her. Bless her heart. She came around though.

My explanation: Taylor loves cats. All three of us love cats. It's unique, hadn't been done before that I had seen, and would get us noticed. So there you have it.

Meow.

After our Diet Coke drinking, we walked around the venue to see Taylor's trucks. I don't care who you are, these trucks are cool. How many people have 30+ trucks with their face on the side?

Coolest trucks I have ever seen.

Taylor's tour bus was parked near the venue door so we waited as close to it as possible in hopes of catching a glance. And, let's face it, we had time to waste.

This guy guarded the door the whole time and we never saw her. We did see her mom Andrea though! 

At 5:30, the doors opened. We got in line early and were some of the first people inside. There were all sorts of booths set up. Keds, Wonderstruck, all kinds of Taylor related goodness.

We took this picture at the Keds booth for a chance to win pit passes. We didn't win.

A photographer for the Frank Erwin Center took this and it ended up on their website, so I stole it.

After exploring for a bit, we headed to the arena and found our seats.
The very top in the very last row.

Mom and Alyssa tested out our sign.

I went and explored a little more before the show started. This is as far as they would let me get to the stage since I didn't have floor seats.

After Ed Sheeran and before Taylor. I didn't get any pictures of Ed because I was saving all of my camera battery for Taylor. : ) 

Annnnd....that's where I'm going to leave you hanging. I didn't realize this was going to be so long. So, tomorrow, I'll post about the actual concert.

Thanks for hanging in there, I know I talk alot.

Austin Trip = Great Success!

Hi y'all!

Whew, I feel like it has been awhile since I have been this excited about a blog post!

Last Sunday I left Denver and headed to Austin, TX to stay with my sister for several nights.

I literally had the time of my life.

Sunday, after I arrived, we talked at Alyssa's apartment for several hours, I met her boyfriend, and then we headed to the King of Mexican Fast Food = Taco Bueno. : ) Oh, I had been seriously craving some Bueno. I'm sad to report that while I was there I only had it one time. That's not enough. And on top of that I didn't even eat at Whataburger! Not that you care, but whatever. 

We ended Sunday night with several episodes of The Big Bang Theory. It sure was nice.

Monday, our mom and dad arrived! How nice it was to be in a town that was within driving distance for my parents! We visited with them for a bit and mom had a couple of surprises for us from her recent trip to Amsterdam. I got my very first pair of real diamond earrings from Antwerp as well as some Belgian chocolates! Thanks again mom! : ) 

After visiting for awhile we headed to dinner at a Mexican food place that for the life of me I can't remember the name of. It was pretty good. Not Bueno good, but good. Mom and dad met my sisters boyfriend for the first time and that went well. I'm pretty sure he gets our approval ; ).  After dinner we headed back to Alyssa's apartment and looked at some pictures my mom had from her trip and then mom and dad headed to their hotel.

Monday night was a loooong night. You see, the reason I went to Austin was because mom, Alyssa, and I had tickets to see Taylor Swift. I wasn't about to go to the concert empty handed, so we spent literally all of Monday night making our sign. I knew I wanted to make a sign that lit up because we were at the very top in the very last row and wouldn't be noticed otherwise. Alyssa and I went to 4 different Walgreens and were out until 4:30am buying the lights for our sign. 

While we were out I decided we may as well drive by the Frank Erwin center to see if Taylor's trucks were there yet. THEY WERE and I got SO excited! We drove by 3 times looking and then I made her pull up to one of them and I asked the guy who was outside if it would be possible for us to meet Taylor anytime that day. I realize it was 4:30am and we probably seemed like crazy people, but you never know if you don't ask. So I asked. And basically he said no.

I snapped a picture of the Texas capitol building while we were out. It is SO pretty.

When we got back to Alyssa's apartment we worked on our sign until sunrise. I went to sleep around 7:30am and woke up at 11:30am to finish it and get ready to go to the concert. 

I'm going to skip over Tuesday which was the day of the concert. 

Y'all, I have SO much to say about Tuesday. I'm not sure I can even find the words to explain the amazingness that happened that day. I'm still in shock. You'll see tomorrow...

Anyways, hello Wednesday!

Wednesday I was lazy and I didn't feel good. I slept in while my family had lunch. Mom and dad headed back home that afternoon and Alyssa and I were lazy all evening. We went to Pluckers for dinner and it was so good. If you live in Austin and haven't gone, go! Unless you are trying to be healthy, then definitely don't go. We loaded up on deep fried deliciousness.

Fried pickle spears.

Wings with macaroni & cheese.

And...drum roll...fried Oreo's!

And, one more notable thing about Pluckers, they serve their sweet tea in Mason Jars! 

Perfection.

After dinner we went to an outdoor bar called Moon Tower. Once again, if you live in the area, go! It was the best atmosphere. Picnic tables, camp fires, lights strung in the trees, perfect for a Texas summer night!

Alyssa's boyfriend was sweet and bought us drinks. We just talked, sipped our drinks, and listened to Texas country. It was perfect.

We didn't get home until late Wednesday night, I scarfed down the rest of my wings, which was a huge mistake, and went to bed. 

Thursday I slept until the very last minute and then was dropped off at the airport. 

We had so much fun, and Taylor on Tuesday was magical. I can't wait to tell you guys about it!

*Thank you Alyssa for having me, entertaining me, feeding me, and driving me all over town for poster lights! I'd say it was well worth it! ; ) I hope you had fun and I can't wait for our next adventure, although I doubt it will top this one!*