That time I met Chris Carrabba

If I died tomorrow, I'd be okay with it. Because not only did my fabulous husband get me a Vitamix for my birthday (reason number 18 I know I'm getting old.. my ideal gift is a fancy blender), but I also met Chris Carrabba on Friday.

I think you need to let that sink in for a minute.

Because I finally. finally. finally. met the man of my teenage (ok.. and current) dreams.

If for some silly reason you have no idea who I'm talking about.. most folks know him as Dashboard Confessional. Some recall him from also being in Further Seems Forever - and now he is currently a part of an awesome little folksy band called Twin Forks, which I have now seen twice in as many months.

A little history: as with many women my age, I fell in love with Chris & his gut-wrenching music and insane voice in my teens, with the release of his first album, The Swiss Army Romance. I actually firmly believe that my first experience with his music was when I was 15 (around 2000/2001) when my friends and I went to this small, hole in the wall venue on Long Island to see New Found Glory, who just came out with their first album and still only charged $10 for a show they were headlining. One of the first "bands" to perform was this fairly cute guy, just sitting on stage with an acoustic guitar (and by stage, I mean a slightly raised platform in a catering hall type place). He was the first opener, so I paid some attention, but was more interested in what NFG merch I could get my hands on and feeling oh-so-cool for being at a hip show with an up-and-coming band.

About a year later, I would realize that the opening act was actually Chris Carrabba in his early-early days, and I had no idea what I was witnessing. The SHAME. (Also - funny story - we ended up not even seeing New Found Glory that night, as my dad came to pick us up and dragged us out of the venue at 10pm before they even came on. I wouldn't end up seeing them for over a decade until their most recent tour last year. Womp.)

Anyway, shortly after that show, I remember my friend burning me the Dashboard CD, which I wore out playing in my car every chance I got. Thus, my love affair began, and as he got bigger and bigger, I would go to see whatever show of his I was able to.

The last one I saw was a few years ago, for the 10 year anniversary of The Swiss Army Romance. Scot and I even ended up using one of his lesser known songs - I Do - in our wedding ceremony a few years ago. Yes, the love is real.

So when I heard that he had started another side project - Twin Forks - I was both intrigued and beyond ecstatic that I still loved his music (bonus: it was mostly happy stuff!). They opened for a larger band back in May that I was able to catch in DC, which was amazing and wonderful and gave definitely gave me my Chris Carrabba fix (especially when he played a few Dashboard songs). I was hopeful I might be able to meet him and the band at their merch table after the show, but I had no such luck. Such is my life.

But THEN. Then I noticed that they were doing a second leg of their tour - but this time, they were playing much smaller venues, and headlining. And their Instagram was showing tons of meets-and-greets. And they were playing in Philly a few days after my birthday and ohmygodyouguysthismightbemymoment.

I think you can guess the rest. I went, I saw, I conquered met Chris (and the rest of the band).

I told him aaaaalllll about my first experience with him and his music.

We became besties. He signed my CD.

And it was magical. I mean, the pictures show him smiling and having fun but he was kind of all over the place and maybe not the most friendly person in the world at the very moment, but I can hardly blame him. Lots of things to do and people to see and he has like 15 years of this under his belt. I think this pleased my husband, as he was fairly certain I was never coming home.

No matter! I finally met the man who helped define my teens and 20's (I'm really not exaggerating) and it was all sorts of magical. Le sigh.

(Sidenote: I totes wrote a Top 5 post a few years ago.. guess who was number one? #hestillis)

Have you had a celeb crush that you just can't seem to shake? Any luck meeting them??

weekend recap + BB brownies

I don't do a lot of weekend recaps.. mostly because my weekends have been a bit boring and work-filled lately.. but this past one was definitely deserves a few words! Well, Friday at least.

I started off the day with a hot power yoga class - which is always my favorite way to start a Friday morning. My fave local studio features $5 Friday's, so when I can squeeze in a cheap class and grab a few more Goûter tonics? It's a good day.

The next stop of the day was to see our tattoo guy, Chris, at Low Tide Tattoos for my newest ink - a cat paw. Something I haven't talked much about here just yet is about the passing of my sweet kitty, Tully, back in December. The reader's digest version is that he developed lymphoma last year, and it was just a matter of time before it took over his body. We had to put him to sleep just after Thanksgiving, and god help me, it was one of the hardest things I've had to do. I still think about him everyday.

When he started getting sicker, I decided that I wanted to eventually "commemorate" him with a tattoo of his paw print. The interesting part was actually getting the print, but after several tries (and lots of wet food as incentive), I was able to get a few decent ones. It took me a few months to actually schedule an appointment, but I was feeling especially inspired last week and set something up for midday Friday.

I sent Chris two of the best paw prints - and seeing as he's also done five out of my seven tattoos - I trusted him completely with it. And guys? It's beautiful.

Safe and Sound

It's my opinion that simple pleasures are what make life great. With all the other craziness that we all inevitably deal with every day in one way or another, it's what gives us some respite. Some happiness and joy, no strings attached.

You know, like reading a book. Doing a crossword puzzle. Long walks on nice days. A really, really good glass of wine. (Ok yes, these all happen to be very specific to me.. but you get the idea!)

While I try to fit as many of these simple pleasures into my daily life as possible, I experienced one a few weeks ago that was extra nice.. and all it consisted of was listening to a relatively new song with a new ear and a new sense of appreciation.

Here's where you ask what the heck I'm rambling on about.