THE TIME THAT KARA, MARIA AND I SAVED THE BABY MOLE FROM THE CHINESE FOOD RESTAURANT PARKING LOT (and other stories.)

Hooked?? Keep reading!!!

But first, some song lyrics:


and now i just don't know what i should do,
i'm twisted all around like some cartoon, but i don't mind.

I forgot that this song is one of my favorites until it came on my iPod the other day and now I can't stop listening to it. PHANTOM PLANET, man. I miss those guys. And their hilarious blog videos.

Sooo I'm in bed now. Bed blogging, as I like to call it. Kinda got sad tonight. Stupid.

Ruby Tuesday has been keeping me company, though. She brought her toy up onto my bed and was playing with it. It was really cute.

Had to work in the coffee shop today. Made $11.50 in tips! Not bad for 6 hours. And - someone was nice to me! This guy comes in. He's cute. Got lots of tattoos. Ya know. And, a few minutes later his friend joins him and they order some food to go, and then I ring them out on the cash register on their way out. And the tattooed guy says to me,

TATTOO GUY: You know, I just have to say that I think you are the perfect person to work in a place like this.
JULIE: Wow!!
TATTOO GUY: You just have the absolute right personality.
JULIE: Aw, I really appreciate that. Thanks.
TATTOO GUY: So, I just felt like complementing you.
JULIE: That's really nice.
TATTOO GUY: Feel free to give me a complement now... (laughs)
JULIE: Well, I think that you are the perfect customer for a place like this!

And then we all laughed. It was so awesome. Like, AWESOME. And like, funny and random. And then I looked around to see if anybody else had seen this awesome encounter, but all my coworkers were in a deep discussion about onions, or something. LAME.

Actually, I just got hungry. But I already brushed my teeth so I'm not gonna get anything to eat. Also, I've been feeling generally sick this week. Upset stomachs and whatnot. I actually thought I was gonna need to call out of work on Tuesday because I thought I was gonna vom. Lovely, right? Yep.

Member when I blogged through having the stomach flu?!!?!? Good times!! Good memories!!

Ok. I have to tell you this story. And I keep forgetting. And I WISH I had pictures. It happened a few weeks ago. Get ready for drama, excitement and adventure...


THE TIME THAT KARA, MARIA AND I SAVED THE BABY MOLE FROM THE CHINESE FOOD RESTAURANT PARKING LOT

I believe this happened on 20 July 2011. A few weeks ago. We were on our way to see Harry Potter 7.2 and we decided to get some Chinese food beforehand.

We pull into the parking lot and Kara suddenly yells,

KARA: Watch out for the injured mouse!

It ran directly in front of the car. So, I stopped. Kara and Maria are on the right side of the car to see the animal..

MARIA: Uuhhhhh.....
KARA: Oh my God I think it just died right in front of us... I think it's a baby mole...

So, I quickly parked the car and all three of us ran out in the middle of the lot to investigate the death scene. It was, in fact, a baby mole, and it had been running from the woods directly through the parking lot. Kara and Maria pointed out that moles are blind. ??? Really??

We could see that the mole was barely breathing. He wasn't dead! But, he seemed injured. So, I ran to the woods to get a stick.

(This made me happy because I thought we were gonna have to have a mole funeral. And, immediately I thought, "well, I blogged about the hornet funeral a few weeks ago, I'll have to blog about this, and all my readers will think I'm an animal killer." But, I'm not.)

Then, we coaxed the mole back to life while speaking to it (actually more like, "PLEASE GET OUT OF THE ROAD MOLE!!!!!!) and gently tapping it with the stick.

At one point, Maria got some napkins out of her purse and was prepared to pick up the mole and bring him over to the grass. But luckily, in our hesitance, the mole started running on his own!! Probably out of total fear of us, but whatever - he was running away from the cars and traffic!!!

And, in this time period, we had stayed surrounding the baby mole while cars drove around us. YEP. Risking our lives for the baby mole. We were heroes that day.

So, the baby mole got far enough out of the road that we were no longer worried. So, we went to eat some Chinese food, which was delish, while still maintaining a close eye on the parking lot.

We all left the restaurant prepared to see a squashed baby mole in the parking lot right where we left him. BUT NO!! There was no squashed mole. There was no mole anywhere, in fact, and we can only assume he made it home safely to his mole family!!!

In doing some further research after we got home, Kara and I came to the conclusion that we had found a star-nosed mole. He had all the little fingery things coming out of his nose. And, reading about it, it sounds like he does a pretty good job of defending himself. Also, at surviving in general. He probably would have been fine that day. BUT, it was semi-traumatizing in the moment to think that this little guy might be squashed at any instant. And I think it was nice of us to stay with him until he reached safety. It really says a lot about our character.

HEROES.



An oldie, but a goodie.


And, this wasn't the first time I saved a baby animal. Remember the time that Andrew and I saved the baby bird?? Which we affectionately named Gene and then we wrote a rap song about him. Which I performed on a CD that we made. The rap was called, 'Gene Fell From the Sky.' It was pretty hardcore.



Wow. Those were some good times. Me and Andrew had a fun summer that year.



Aw, I miss that guy. Haven't seen him in like forevs. Waay too long. We should all go out for Amy's birthday next week!!! LPD friends!!!! Meg! Amy! Andrew! Mike!!! The 'ol crew. That'd be really fun, actually. Let's make it on the haps.


I think I'm getting tired because I just abbreviated two words in that paragraph. And I've never used the statement, 'let's make it on the haps' before. I don't even think that makes sense.

So, the moral of the story is that I go around in my spare time saving baby animals from death. I moonlight as an amateur veterinarian, if you will.

And in the season finale of my still-to-come tv series, I will face the challenge of having to help a baby deer, or something. Since deer are one of my worst fears. It'll be like, the heroine faces a big obstacle and WILL SHE PULL THROUGH AND SAVE THE BABY DEER?!?!??!

Oh geeze, I don't even want to think about how horrible that would be. If I came face to face with a deer. UGH LET'S STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS OR ELSE I'LL HAVE DEER NIGHTMARES. Wouldn't be the first time.

No, actually I think I'm going to go to sleep. Right after I post this on Facebook!!! I need to make sure that my trusty Facebook readers are up to speed on all the haps of my life. (yep. the haps just happened again.) (should it be, 'happs?' with two p's???)

So! If you're reading on Facebook right now, know that this was the last thing I did before going to sleep. And that'll I'll probably dream about you. Yeah, you. Probably.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!! Anything fun and cool to do on Saturday night??!!? Want to invite me?!?!! Yessssss I think you do.. I have to work from 7a-8:30p tomorrow, but I'm sure I'll be up for a party afterwards. Great!

Oh how I would LOVE to have a blog party IRL (in real life.) Like, where we all meet up and dance and stuff. OMG. That'd be so fun. If I organized a blog event.. how many of you would show up? Cause now that's all I'm gonna be thinking about.

OK. I have to go to sleep now. I have to be awake in like five minutes to go to work. UGH I was gonna go to bed early tonight. UGH.

OK. Have a great day!!!! We'll talk again soon!!!!!!!!!!


lovelovelove!


PS: Remember how I said I was sad before?!?!?!! I'M NOT SAD ANYMORE!!!!! :)

*update*

my night got better.

feather extension win (part 2)

I told you there'd be a part 2! With a happy ending!!!

I got my feather extension!!! I got in touch with Gemma, my friend Brittany's sister, who works at Statix Salon and Spa in Dover and asked if I came in to see her tonight (this was Thursday), if she could do my extension.... and she said yes!!! So great.

So, I went in, picked out my feather (a teal bundle, obvi) and BAM! Super freaking cool.





(I also just took those pictures of myself after a long, bad day, so don't judge.) (especially the bangs...)

Anyways - I love it! It just feels like normal hair. If I could afford it, I'd get like, 10. I really want a neon one. Like, yellow or orange. YEAH!!!! I'm really into anything that's neon, fyi.

So, I totally recommend that anyone and everyone go get a feather extension. You won't regret it, and you can always take them out if you do.

:)

So, I mentioned that I'm in a bad mood. I am. I kinda was yesterday and then today too. Being at work was super lame. Although, one of the managers, Jen, asked me to be on the "floorset team," which I was excited and happy about. That means that I'll get to help out with rearranging the store for the new fall setup. I'm excited because it means that I'll actually be DOING something, whereas most days, I feel like I'm just folding stuff.

But still, it's all very trivial in the grand scheme of everything. Or, even in the little scheme of everything, even. I kept thinking about that today as I walked around and around and around folding and folding and refolding and refolding. Like, "really? i've folded this sweater four times already and yep, i'm gonna do it again." Things get unfolded really quickly.

Anyways. That's my work rant. I am excited to learn more about visual marketing rather than verbal marketing. Because, I'm not really a supporter of the verbal stuff and I don't think anyone wants to hear it.

Like, most people are nice about it and everything. But a lot of people say, "i know you have to say that..." Like, when we're offering things to them that they clearly don't want.

Yeah, they're paying me money to ask you if you want to buy this. It's just all crap. Now I feel embarrassed that I'm working in this job where I clearly don't support the practices.

And then I'm like, "JULIE - just do it! Everyone has to work stupid retail jobs in their lives - just do it and stop complaining."

BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I don't like doing things that I don't want to do. That's why I went to Hampshire. So I could choose my own classes and create my own major. I don't want to fit into someone else's crappy job - I want to create my own!!!!!


wow i feel kinda good now. ranting is fun and sometimes very needed. I feel like I don't do it very often. I want ranting to myself all the way home from work, too.

I've kinda begun to look at Route 236 in a different light.... since it's so long and boring and terrible, it makes for some good solo conversation. Yep, I'm serious about this. I rant to myself a lot.

This afternoon on the way over, I worked out the script to a video blog post that might come in the near future. Nope, not kidding about this. Kinda weird, right? Blogging aloud while alone in the car. Whatevs.

It works out well for you fine folks because I REALLY do think I'm gonna video blog. For when I introduce the new and improved blog. Which I love because I think it's way more representative of myself in the now.

Kara saw the new blog and liked it more than this one. So, I'm thinking that I'll formally set a date and probs have a ribbon cutting ceremony. Pff, what do I mean 'probs??!?!' There will DEFINITELY be a ribbon cutting ceremony!!!

Ok now I'm excited.

See!! It's good for me to blog out my anger because then I just get talking about more exciting things and realize that it was lame of me to be in a bad mood in the first place!!!!! GREAT.

It's like that time I was having a hard time writing that paper in college, so I started writing it in the blog and then finished in no time!!!! It's just easier to write here. Although then all my professors in college started being like, "why can't Julie ever write seriously?!?!" UMMMM yeah cause that's boring.

OK. I have some more things to say and will continue this at a later time.


I'm off to start having a great night....

feather extension fail (part 1)

GUYS. UGH. So, yesterday when I blogged, I said I was going out later to get my feather extension, which I've wanted for a very long time. And I just kept talking and talking and talking about it but never actually did it. SO, yesterday I was like, "TODAY IS THE DAY." So I went to the walk-in hair place that does feather extensions and I walked in and said,

JULIE: Hello! I would like some feather extensions please!

And the girl brought me over to her chair and I was getting omg omg omg soooo freaking excited and she gave me the selection of feather extensions and there wasn't any teal. And I said,

JULIE: Ohh, I'm actually looking for teal...
HAIR LADY: Ohh, well, this is all we have today, but the truck is coming with more tomorrow.

What is this no teal business???? Why didn't they have teal?! Clearly it's THE BEST. So, we worked out a deal where she was gonna call me when the truck came in and ASSURED me that there would be teal feather extensions on the truck.

So, cut to today, and I get a voicemail while I'm at work that the feather extension shipment has arrived and that I should come in tonight!!!

Now, ALL DAY at work I'm thinking of how awesome things will be once I get a feather extension. Awesome things will start to happen, I'm sure of it.

So, I RUSH home after work, CHANGE my clothes and RUSH BACK out the door to SPEED to the hair place.

I get there, the excitement building, and go inside... it's not the lady from yesterday. And on top of that - there were no teal feather extensions in the shipment.

NO TEAL. Twice in a row. They did have neon yellow, which would have been my second choice. And, I knew how badly I wanted one, and I was tempted... but knew that I just wouldn't be satisfied unless it was teal.

But I'm also thinking - maybe I'm not meant to get a feather extension?! I mean, I tend to think that everything happens for a reason, and this is twice now that I've been denied teal feather extensions.

So here's my next move: I knew that my friend Brittany has some feather extensions and that her sister is a hairdresser. So, I facebooked Brit to ask her if her sister did the extensions, and she did. So, I think I'll try and call to make an appointment at Brittany's sister's hair place to ensure I get teal and also (obvi) a great hairdresser!!

Don't worry, friends, I'll keep you updated on the feather extension saga. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat!!


OTHER NEWS IN MY LIFE:

1. The coffee shop that I work at is maybe becoming a bar! Which means that I would become a bartender! I'm excited about this prospect.

2. Kara's birthday is FRIDAY!

3. I took the very first step in becoming a boat captain!! Yeah, like, for realz!! I've been in touch with this guy, Captain Greg, and he teaches courses on how to get your master captain's license through a registered Coast Guard approved class!!

I've been feeling very bored and stuck in my life lately, especially still not knowing what I want to "be," and I keep coming back to boat captain, which I've joked about becoming ever since I was in like, 6th grade. More recently, the goal has turned to water taxi captain.

And so finally I was like, "WAIT. How come I can't actually do this if it's what I want to do???" So I said, "screw you, world, I'll become a boat captain if I want!!!"

The class doesn't start until October, but already the thought of learning navigation and charting skills has gotten me SUPER excited. Like, silly excited.

4. Kara got a grill this week for free!! Which means that everything we now eat is grilled. It smells really good. I like it. It's like Bobby Flay moved in or something.

5. I had a neon coral-y shirt that I had been wearing lately to hang around in, and I had been thinking it might look better with the neck cut out. So last night, I took the scissors to it and cut the neck out!!! It's amazing how much sexier you feel when something falls off your shoulder. Even if you're also wearing sweatpants. :)

6. I kinda want to go into work with Kara tonight. She said she might go in at like, midnight. Is it bad if I go in with her, eat a bunch of bakery items and then leave...?? You have to be quite disciplined when you have a baker for a sister. Something of which I am not..

7. Last night I was bored so I painted gold sparkly nail polish on over my bright pink nail polish and it was like, OMG HOW COME I DON'T DO THIS EVERY DAY?!?!?!


SPEAKING OF WHICH:


8. THIS IS WHY EVERYONE SHOULD CARRY A BOTTLE OF HOTT PINK NAIL POLISH AROUND ALL THE TIME:

The other day I had some time to kill before work and I was sitting in my car doing my hair and makeup (second time this summer), and I noticed that my nail polish was all chipped. And I couldn't go into work like that! But luckily, I carry a bottle of hott pink around with me at all times! In case of emergency!!! Like this!!! So, I quickly repainted and voila! Instant hott!

BRILLZ!

Alright!!!! I think that's it! I hope everyone has been having a lovely, great day and week!!

Talk again soon!!!!!!!


♡

Remember when I rewrote the ending to Harry Potter?

Yeah. Me too. I have a lot of things to talk about in this entry, and perhaps I'll make a list, but first - I want to talk about Harry Potter.

Remember when I rewrote the ending to HP7 after I finished reading the book?? I feel that was one of my best entries. I encourage you to go back and read that. That's vintage Livejournal, right there.

Anyways, so we went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter. Watched it. And then it was over. Like, over. Folks, can I talk about how sad I am that Harry Potter is over? I was way more sad than I thought I would be. I first started reading the Harry Potter books RIGHT when they came out. Like, RIGHT.

Actually, I like to think that I was the first person in the country to read the first book. (Another reason why I should get some kind of compensation for this whole mania.)

And I actually remember like, opening the first book for the first time and starting to read it. In the back of my dad's car. The day before Kara's birthday. And I remember talking with my high school friends saying, "can you believe that we'll be in our 20's when the movies end!?!?!!" and how like, that was in FOREVER. And now it's already gone.

The end of Harry Potter is a big thing. It's been such a constant thing for like, almost half of my life, and I was very, very sad that everything was actually over.

I thought 7.2 was great. I had to keep reminding myself that it is just the second part to the first movie, and like, all these things have happened before. It jumped RIGHT into the story, which I was happy about, but I would compare it to watching the second disc of Titanic after not watching the first disc for like, 6 months.

I also had to keep convincing myself that YES, Lord Voldemort IS the same dreamy actor in The English Patient and The Constant Gardener. Also, Maid in Manhattan. Classic Ralph Fiennes. Man, I just hate Voldemort so much. The scene in the end when he tries to give Draco a hug is heartbreaking. I mean, it's funny, because it looks like he's never given anyone a hug before. But, it's heartbreaking because it looks like he's never given anyone a hug before.

I just think he's such a great character.

Anyways. It's a great movie. Great books. I am very sad it's over. It was a very emotional night.


ALRIGHT. Moving on.


I dyed my hair the other night! It's once again dark brown. I did this in preparation for my FEATHER EXTENSION, which I am getting today. I know, I know, everyone has them and it's probably not even cool anymore. But - I don't care. Like, at all. I want one very badly and today I am finally going to get one. Or two. There will be teal in my hair once again!!!!!! Ooohhhhh I miss my teal streaks sooooo badly.

Also, I still really want my tattoo.

So, the other night we were all watching something and there was a preview for the TV show Pretty Little Liars, on ABC Family. Kara and I finished watching the commercial and were both like, "WHAATTTTTTT?????" This show looked amazing. Both of us thought it was a show similar to The Secret Life of the American Teenager, or whatever it's called, so we thought nothing of it. But after seeing this commercical - WE HAD TO KNOW MORE.

So, we started downloading the first season. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THIS SHOW IS ABOUT?!?!?! Let me tell you.

This group of high school girls are super hott. Also, super gossipy, thanks to the "queen bee" of the group, Alison. One night, they're out having a sleepover in this creepy barn place, and Alison disappears. And she's missing for an entire year and the rest of the group of girls lose touch and aren't friends anymore. Then, the police find Alison's dead body. The girls are brought together at the funeral for their former best friend, and it's very sad. BUT, after the funeral, they all receive a text message from an unknown number, and the message is signed, "A."

So then, this person "A" starts leaving them notes, and texts and emails, saying things that only Alison would know. So, the group of girls are brought back together as friends and are trying to figure out who is sending the messages.

The show also includes: student/teacher make out sessions, affairs, lesbian affairs, car crashes, bombs, a mean blind girl (or is she blind?!!?), peeping Toms, plagiarism, girls making out with their future brother-in-laws, lots of secrets and lots of lies. AMAZEBALLS.

It's pretty awesome. It's like True Blood combined with Gossip Girl. We're loving it.


Hmm. I thought I had a bunch more to talk about. Like, a bunch more. But now I can't think of anything.

KARA'S BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEK! I'm pretty excited. I love birthdays. Everyone has them!!

I've had a really relaxed work schedule lately. It's been weird and sporadic.

I'm excited for the Friends with Benefits movie to come out.. Kara and I were wondering if it could possibly end the same way as No Strings Attached...? Thoughts?? This is pretty important. I mean, you would think that Justin and Mila would be a good match, just like Ashton and Nat Port.

Also funny, that Ashton and Justin are friends, and Mila and Nat Port were in Black Swan together and they both did movies about literally the exact same thing. Although, I haven't seen Friends with Benefits and maybe there is some way deeper plot line that No Strings Attached didn't have. Buuuttt....... I doubt that.

Today is the anniversary of the 26th of July movement. The start of the Cuban Revolution! When Fidel Castro overtook the Moncada Barracks. A bloody, bloody day in Cuban history.

Alright! I'm off, I guess. I can't believe I can't think of more to talk about. I could've sworn there was more. I'll think of it later.

Everyone have a great day!! It's cool today! I like it!

Enjoy!!!

the high line

I was reading through some trendy magazine while on break at work one day last week and there was this article about gardens to visit. And I thought, "hey! I like visiting gardens, I'll read this article!" And, the spotlighted garden was called, The High Line, and it is an elevated garden that runs throughout the meatpacking district in NYC. And now, I want to go to there. How COOL does this seem?? I mean, really, an elevated anything is cool. But, add the magicality of a garden and it becomes like, 100 times cooler. And then minus the fact that I just made up the word, "magicality" and that brings you back like, 10 cool points. So, it's like, 90 points cooler than a regular garden. Now I have no idea where we are on the scale and I'm going to start a new paragraph so I don't totally lose all of you in this blabber.

Hey! What's up!?!

Last night I had a dream that Dunkin Donuts was advertising all these new flavors of hot chocolate, so I went to go get one and Daniel Radcliffe was working at the drive-thru window. And I was like,

JULIE: Oh hi, can I get a hot chocolate?
DANIEL: We're all out of the cool flavors.
JULIE: Even raspberry?
DANIEL: Yes.
JULIE: Can I get a shot of espresso in mine?
DANIEL: Okay. That'll be $15.02.
JULIE: I'm really excited for tomorrow night.
DANIEL: Make sure you give me lots of kisses.

And it was like a weird DD, where you ordered at the drive-thru, but then had to drive across the street to the actual store to pick up your order. So, I walk inside and it's all avaition themed, and you had to go into the cockpit to pick up your drink. And I actually paid $15.02 for a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso!! Isn't that ridiculous! And then there was that line, "make sure you give me lots of kisses." Don't know where that came from.

It was just a strange dream overall. Like, overall.

Kara and I watched this movie, 'Somewhere' last night. It's the new Sofia Coppola film. It was kind of like the breakdown of a celebrity lifestyle. Pretty good. Hardly any dialogue. There was this really interesting part when he goes to get a plaster mold done of his head, and he's just sitting there alone in the room with all this plaster covering his face. And the camera was just slowly moving forward towards him. IDK, it was interesting.

And so, the point was that he's this big shot celeb, who parties all the time and has all these one-night stands, and then his 11 year old daughter comes to stay with him for a little while and he realizes that he's been missing out on his whole life and that everything in meaningless.

It was pretty good. Pheonix did the score. Members of Rooney made an appearance, which was how I first found out about the movie. Robert came home from shooting the movie and did a video diary where he talked about filming a movie. Because Sofia Coppola is his cousin, so he gets to be in her movies. And Jason Schwartzman too. Anyways, check it out, I guess. It was pretty slow, and like I said, hardly any talking, but, worth it.

Anyways.

I bought a neon yellow bra the other day. I'm pretttyyyyy excited about it. Some might argue that it's neon green, because apparantly I'm neon color blind. But, it's neon yellow. All the way. And I love it. And I normally don't talk about things like bras, but I'm so excited about it that I wanted to share. Great!!

Yesterday I had this realization that I had frozen mango chunks in the freezer and pineapple juice in the fridge. (Are you seeing where I'm going with this???) SO, I put them in a blender with some ice and voila - MANGO PINEAPPLE SMOOTHIE!!!! It had a great flavor, but for some reason wasn't as tasty as the McDonald's version.

And through the smoothie making process I was fully aware that I was using all Dole products. Because Dole is one of those really bad companies that you shouldn't buy things from. And I even said aloud,

JULIE: You're using Dole products. Jesus Julie, COME ON.




And then I went on to fully enjoy my smoothie :/ Go America!

That was a bummer portion. Now I'm all sad at the state of everything.

Let's talk about something beautiful!

So last week when Kara and I were waiting at the Saab dealership for them to charge her $100 to tell her what was wrong with the car, I was looking through this travel magazine in the waiting room! And they had this article on Central California and why you should visit it. So I said, "okay! I'll visit it!" So, now I want to go to there. And for some reason, I immediately thought that this would make a great honeymoon destination! Why not?! So if anyone wants to marry me and then honeymoon there, let me know. Or, just go there and not get married. That would probably also work.

And then while I'm there, I would somehow convince the California Parks and Recreation Department to hire me to be the lighthouse keeper for the Point Sur Lighthouse, which is one of the most haunted lighthouses in the country!! My dreams of ghost hunting and also becoming a lighthouse keeper could finally be fullfilled!!! BAM.

I think we need to do something about the lighthouse keeping industry in this country. There needs to be a revival! Just like a Broadway show. Revive the lighthouse keeping industry! It's just like, such a beautiful and lonely sounding thing.

When I become President I'll revive it. Don't worry, guys. I'm on this. Maybe I'll even start a whole new party. The Lighthouse Movement. Or something. And create some catchy slogan like, "shining light on our beautiful future." Or something. "Beacon to the Future!" "Vote Julie Evans and Maria Richardson!"

(I just assumed that Maria would want to hop in on the campaign. As either Co-President or Vice President.)

OMG it'd be so fun if Maria and I were President together. 24/7 sleepover in the White House.

Okkk. Speaking of Maria, I MIGHT see her today! Or sometime this weekend because she's home for a few days!! I'm very excited about this. Except I have to work like, nonstop this weekend. Butttttt, it'll all be good if I see her.

We've covered a lot of ground in this entry. Daniel Radcliffe, bras, lighthouses. This is one of the reasons why I love blogging. It could take you anywhere. I mean, you could end up talking about something you never intended on talking about. Which is basically like every entry.

OH! I know you're all concerned about my sunburn. So, it's getting a lot better. My skin soaked up all the vinegar it could handle yesterday and then I switched to an aloe lotion that we had in the cabinet that did not contain any cocoa butter. I guess I have to remember to read the ingredients. My allergic rash is all gone. And, the redness also went down a lot, so I'm thinking that a lot of the red was caused by the rash. It's still red, though. And kinda hurts. But, last night I was able to sleep on my side, so we're making progress. Now I guess I also have to go out and find a sunscreen that doesn't contain cocoa butter so I can use that in the outdoors. It's hard being allergic to random things. Once I get health insurance, I should really go for an allergy test. But in order to get health insurance I would most likely have to get a full-time job. And the term "full-time job" scares me.

Okay enough about serious things like full time jobs and rashes. Geeze, with all this talk about bras and rashes you'd think this blog was something totally different than what it is. What is it? I don't know. But it's not the bras and rashes type of blog. Except for today. This is like the rare uncensored entry.

No, I would say that most entries are uncensored.

MOVING ON.

I have to go do laundry now. I enjoy doing laundry, so I'm not upset about this. I'm also hungry so I may eat something.

OK! You may go have an excellent day!! I will too! It's nice today because it's not 99 degrees outside. I appreciate that. Last night I actually had to pull my comforter up because I was cold. And it's a great feeling, being cold in the summer.

We'll talk again soon!!! Enjoy everything there is!!!!

Episode #563: Julie is Allergic to Sunscreen

Folks, I have a sunburn. It's pretty hilarious looking. It also hurts. And, as it would turn out, I am allergic to both the sunscreen I used as well as the after-sun lotion I put on to soothe the sunburn. I realized this when I noticed all these red rashy bumps all over my legs and arms. This caused me to read the ingredients to both lotions, and both of them contain cocoa butter, which is a thing I am allergic to.

I found out I was allergic to cocoa butter only after using it for a while and ending up with a rash.

Now, Kara and I were at the beach for about 4 hours yesterday and I think I reapplied sunscreen about 4 times, more so in areas prone to sunburns, like my knees and shoulders. These are areas in which the sunburn is the worst, which makes me wonder if it's worse because of my allergy to cocoa butter. Since my skin was already irritated by the lotion, the sun on top of it may have made it worse?? It makes sense in my head. It's also a bummer because now I am left with a sunburn AND a rash.

At first, Kara was joking that maybe I am allergic to sunlight. This would have been better because then I would have the perfect excuse for spending the summer at the movies!!!

Anyways.

It was a fun day at the beach anyways. We headed to Drake's Island, in Wells, which is maybe our fave beach. We passed through the intersection of Rt. 4 and Rt. 9 just before 10am, which, an hour later was the sight of a deadly train crash. For serious! Scary stuff. We didn't go home that way, because we were picking my mom up from work, so we drove south and headed into Dover, and came home through Somersworth. Crazy.

So, the last time I talked to you, Kara, my mom and I were headed to the drive-in! Yes! It was a super fun night. We saw Bad Teacher and The Hangover 2. I had already seen The Hangover with Greg a few weeks ago, but it was still funny. I wasn't sure how I would like Bad Teacher, but it ended up being pretty cute and funny. And $8.50 for two movies is a great deal. And - we took the trusty Prius and averaged 57mpg the whole trip. Not toooo bad, eh?

Friday I was the only one who had to get up for work! Everyone else had the day off. But then Friday night I headed into Dover to meet up with two new friends!!!!! Andrew and Alicia!!

Andrew first commented in THIS VERY BLOG about my Murdock Lake posting and we just started communicating from there. He has his own adventure blog which is a highly enjoyable read!! And he has a lovely girlfriend named Alicia who he lives with and so on Friday night, I took the risk of being murdered to go meet them!!! I am a very trustworthy, naive person, so I believed they were who they said they were. And they were!!!

They live in a great apartment in downtown Dover and we drank wine and ate delicious homemade pizza and had some great conversation!!!! How wonderful is it when you make new friends??? Pretty wonderful.

And - if you click on Alicia's name up there, it will take you to her website where she is conducting a craft-blogger survey. SO. This is your mission: if you blog about doing crafty things (Aliya and Renee are coming to mind....) then you should go take her survey!!

I was lucky enough to be the first recipient of one of Alicia's fabulous homemade business cards!!!




They are beautiful, tiny pieces of art and I was super excited she gave me one.

Also, I was super excited that her and Andrew are totally cool and really fun to hang out with. YAY.

It really makes me happy that I am so lucky to attract awesome people into my life. And also all the wonderful people I've met through this blog. Because it's a fact that awesome people read this blog, because I've met some of them, and they are really, really awesome. All of you.


SPEAKING OF BLOG READERS!!!!!

CONTINUE TO SEND ME YOUR SPIN ART CREATIONS!!!!! I've only gotten ONE sent to me (from my BFF Maria), and I want a whole bunch more before I put up the art gallery show!!!! It takes a maximum of 2 minutes to create a beautiful spin art. I just timed myself making one, and it took me 1 minute 44 seconds to create this:


I call it, 'To the Sunrise.' Under two minutes!!! I overestimated the time it would take, because I created a bunch of spin arts the other day, so I was already familiar with the process. Those unfamiliar may have to fool around a bit to figure it out. But! It's super easy and I trust that you all can do it, no prob.

So - go do the spin art and then send it to me: captainjulie225@gmail.com.

I WILL POST IT IN THE BLOG. Then you'll become famous, because everyone who's cool reads this blog, duh. Great.


In other news, Kara brought me home this cake pop that she made at her bakery this morning:



This photo was taken approximately 45 seconds before the cake pop was gone. DELISH. Cute, too, eh?


And, speaking of smoothies (what's that..? We weren't talking about smoothies..??), I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy another mango pineapple smoothie from McDonald's

(KARA: Julie, come to the gym with me!
JULIE: Noooo!!!
KARA: I'll buy you a smoothie!
JULIE: .........FINE.)

(Keep in mind that that smoothie was the only thing keeping me going at the gym. It was horrible. The only time I've ever been to the gym and thought, "I don't think I'll be able to keep going." HORRIBLE. I was so tired and hotttt and suuuuppper sweaty. I only did 25 minutes on the elliptical, and those 25 minutes went by slower than the last 25 minutes of a workday before the weekend. AWFUL.)

But! I got home and someone else was happy to see my smoothie!!!



Miss Ruby Tuesday!! She enjoyed drinking the outside of the cup, while I enjoyed drinking the inside. Perf!


Man, it's hott today, right? Yes. I dislike.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about news teams. Just like, how they're a team and how great that must be. And, it's making me wonder if radio hosts have the same kind of camaraderie as news teams do. Like, would a morning radio crew have the same kind of bond as a nightly news team?? Also, why does the word 'crew' seem to always be used in the radio sense, whereas the word 'team' refers to on tv? Hmm.

Like, everyday at the same time, a group of people get together and deliver the news. And for some reason are waaayyyy less annoying at improv dialogue than a radio crew is. I just find this interesting.

Also, because I've been watching the nightly news a lot with my mom. Also I have developed a crush on weatherman Matt Noyes. He's an enthusiastic little cutie.

Also, speaking of cuties!

My horoscope for yesterday said this:

Ask out that hottie you've been aching for in secret. It might not actually be all that secret, actually -- they've probably been waiting for you.

Remember last week there was that other mention of hotties in my horoscope?!?! IDK. This kinda made me happy though. The thought that somewhere out there there is a hottie waiting for me...

My horoscope for today reads:

Luck is on your side today, so enjoy a series of positive encounters.

Great, right?! I was happy to read that. The only place I'm going today is work. From 7-11pm. In Kittery.

TOMORROW, I really want to go to Warped Tour, but NO ONE will come with me. :( So, at first I thought I was definitely going, but now I'm not sure. RIVER CITY EXTENSION is playing though...... UUGHHHHHHH. I should just go. But, it's like a two hour drive. I don't really know any of the other bands playing..... Keith texted me a whole bunch of suggestions on who to go see, which makes me think I should go to see those bands since Keith likes really good music.... buuuttttt IDK. I could really use a River City Extension show, as always, since the last time I saw them was in FEBRUARY! The day-after-my-birthday show in Connecticut that took me like, 5 hours to get home because of the horrible snow storm in which I thought I was going to die.

SO. It's still up in the air. If you want to go with me, let me know and I'll buy tickets.

Also! I meant to write about this after I saw Locksley last week, but I forgot. Unless I actually remembered and wrote about it, but forgot that I did so, and in that case - I'm telling you again!!!

They played this great song called, 'For the Summer,' and in this middle turned it into a mash-up of 'Clint Eastwood' by Gorillaz, which I loved! And ever since, I've kind of had 'Clint Eastwood' stuck in my head. I found a YouTube video of them performing this mash-up, but not at the concert that I saw. I watched a couple videos, and this one had the best audio. So, you should watch it and as always, please enjoy.

Hmmmm. What else did I want to tell you about?! I feel like I had a good amount to say and I feel like I've said a good amount. Maybe that's it?

I've got a 'Foster the People' Pandora station going and currently it's playing The Pixies. In case you were wondering what I was listening to right now. Aanndd, it just switched to The Black Keys.

Ok. I have to go take a shower, which is possibly one of the worst things you can do on a super hott day when you have a bad sunburn. But maybe washing off all of the lotions that I am allergic to will be a good thing. And, I have come up with an alternative sunburn remedy! VINEGAR!!! Yep, it smells gross, but when mixed with water is apparently a great solution. And bonus - I'm not allergic to vinegar. At least, I don't think I am.

I seriously can't believe I am allergic to the sunscreen AND the sunburn lotion. So lame. So, so lame.

SO. You have some tasks:

1. Create your own spin art
2. Take the craft blogger survey if you are a craft blogger

Both are very crafty things! Loves it.

I guess the good thing about the allergic rash is that it goes away quickly and is not contagious.

ALSO, I'm thinking more seriously about getting my tattoo. I had been imagining the compass inside a round circle, but lately I've been thinking, 'maybe I want a diamond shape?' What are your thoughts? I guess I still like the circle idea. We'll see. Also, I have to find a good tattoo place. If you have tattoos.... give me some opinions. I might talk to Greg about this, since he has many.

I feel like I've been talking about boys a lot in this entry. ........ :)

This is the song that's currently playing on my Pandora: TRAIN SONG. I've heard this song before, but forgot about it, and now I'm hearing it again. Pandora is great for that sort of thing. This song is a collab between Feist and Ben Gibbard. That guy, in addition to being in Death Cab for Cutie, just does collabs all over the place ( <--- great song. great record.) Also, he's married to Zooey Deschanel. Who I saw IRL when I was in Chicago last summer!!!

Ok. I was going to end this entry a long time ago. But then I started talking about vinegar and tattoos and boys and Ben Gibbard.

My sunburn hurts less since the vinegar, btw.

Alright. Hope you're having a great day. Again, I will be working tonight from 7-11pm. And I highly recommed the 'Foster the People' Pandora station. Loves it. Iron and Wine on now.

Have a great Tuesday! Make it a Ruby one ;)




And in my memories depths I retrace my steps.
I cannot find where I went wrong.
It was one fast move or I'm gone.

Hornet Funeral and Other Adventures

There was a hornet funeral on our porch this morning. Here's the story:

So, a few weeks ago, a hornet died on our porch. He was stuck in the screen window when he died, and he remained there until this morning, when I finally took him off. It took me a while because:

1. I was scared to go near him in case he had really been in deep sleep mode these past few weeks

2. I realized that he had died stuck in the screen, right in the sunlight, and I thought there was something beautiful about that.

So, I grabbed a paper towel, took him off the screen and said,

JULIE: Hope you're having a good afterlife, buddy. (to Kara) Did you want to say a few words?
KARA: NOOO GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!!!!

And that was the end of the hornet funeral.



So. Remember how a few nights ago I blogged about being obsessed with the mango pineapple smoothie from McDonald's?!!?! WELL, my dear friend Emily commented in the blog saying she did some more smoothie research after reading my post (awesome), and found a coupon for BUY ONE GET ONE FREE on the McDonald's website.

BOGO SMOOTHIE COUPON!!!!!

("BOGO" is retail speak for "buy one get one." This is something I learned recently from working in retail, and now I'm passing this information on to you.)

Now, this coupon presents quite the internal debate for myself. Because I could use this coupon for two purposes..

1. Scope out a cutie and say, "Hey, can I buy you a free smoothie?!"

Yep. That's me, always scoping out the cuties.

OR

2. Go by myself and stock up on TWO smoothies. One for now, one for immediately after finishing the first one.


I'm leaning towards the second option, just because I don't run into many cuties on my daily activities. Although, sometimes I do. Either way, since I learned of this coupon, I have been debating this in my head. And I figured, why not debate it out in the blog??

Also! If you head to the smoothie page on the McDonald's website, you'll see information on this spin art game they have on the site. Ya know, because spin art is cool and hip and so are smoothies! Clearly they go together!!!










Did I mention that today is my day off and so I have nothing to do but play the spin art game on the McDonald's website??? I like the first one. I call it, "Detonation: Cucumber."

I highly recommend that you go play the spin art game and then send me your creations!!! If you do, I'll post them in the blog!!!! PROMISE!!!

Send me your spin art creations: captainjulie225@gmail.com

Then we'll have a blog gallery show with all your beautiful spin art explosions!! That actually sounds really fun. PLEASE DO IT!!


Okay, so, this is my horoscope for today:
Now is the time to step up to that hottie and tell them what's up. Don't be too aggressive, though -- just say enough to overcome the initial tension. Things will warm up quite a bit after that.

HEY HOTTIE, WHAT'S UP?!?!?!?! No wait, that would be me asking the hottie what's up. I need to tell them what's up.

HEY HOTTIE, I'm gonna buy you a free smoothie. That's what's up.

Wordddd....

So many hotties, so little time. That should be the new title of this blog.

OOhhhhhh man, good times. Good times..




Ruby Tuesday is sleeping like this right now. We're on the porch together, enjoying the summer. That orange thing next to her is a straw she was playing with. She's so cute and sweet.

she looked sleepy as she sat in the sun
then she started to cry

That's some Coconut Records lyrics that always remind me of Ruby Tuesday. She's the best.


Kara, my mom and I are going to the drive-in tonight. I'm pretty excited. It should be awesome. You need a good GNO every now and then. (Don't judge me for that link.)


I'm in a great mood today.


OK. I think that's it for now. I'd call this entry, A+. Remember to play the spin art game when you have a chance and send me your creation!!! ALL are welcome to participate! Whether you're a frequent reader, or someone just stumbling upon this blog for the first time! Just send it to me with your name. Think of what a beautiful entry the Spin Art Gallery Show would be?!?!

I hope you're having a great day too. We'll talk again soon!


Now go enjoy everything there is!!!

listening for the angels just like me

late night blog post - GO!!!!

it's not even that late of a night... it's like, ten minutes to 1am. geeze. i'm so old. and wake up so early for work. it's terrible. and waking up early for work means 8:45am. that's still middle of the night territory.

so, the past few days have been rough for me. as you all know, i am NOT a fireworks person. so, hearing loud explosions randomly throughout the day has not been enjoyable. but, we've managed to get through. and by "we," i mean myself. and Ruby Tuesday. she mainly sleeps.

i met up with Jo last night in dover!!! that's right - Jo!! i hadn't seen her since we met up in Hamden, CT for River City Extension back in February. one of her favorite bands, Locksley, was playing the fourth of july celebrations. so Jo was there, along with her friend Jess, Jess's fiance (they're getting married on Saturday!!!), and then later on Sarah joined us! Fun times!!

(i'm not really focused on capitalizing since my left shift key is broken... i'm still adjusting to having to right-hand shift. it's not going so well.... apologies...)

so! Locksley was so fun!!! they are a bunch of really tall super cuties that play really good pop music. they were all rocking with their fancy shoes and nice button-up shirts. lots of good musician sweat happening.

and their drummer was just like, this BEAST! i loved him. kind of a lot. he looked like a hipster lumberjack, or something. and he was just back there, cranking out the beats. loved it.

and their songs were all like, "i love you! i love you! i love you!" it was really sweet. i had first heard of Locksley because they were on tour with Rooney once a few years back, and i didn't make it to a show, and had never listened to their music, until the other night! but if you're also looking for some good pop music, go listen to Rooney. i bet the two bands playing together on tour was killer.

also, i feel like i'm having a hard time forming sentences right now. is any of this making sense? maybe i'm tired...? idk! let's just keep rolling.

oh!!! remember my new friend ANDREW, who i met through THIS BLOG?!?!! he was at Locksley too!!! i just learned that via his awesome blog (linked above), which you should all check out and read. isn't that crazy? we've been commenting in each other blog's for a few weeks and then we end up at the same place and have no idea. funny. it's a big, small world.

i feel like without this blog, a lot more people would be strangers to me. maybe you don't know what that means, but i know what it means. and it makes me happy.

speaking of blogs.... i'm still thinking of changing this one. you know how i like to revamp the blog? make color changes? picture changes? layout changes? yeah. me too. well, i'm thinking of doing that. it would be a totally new blog. new address and everything. NEW NAME. i know, right?! i've had this name forever. let me know what you think. would you still read if things weren't so misty green and blue??

oooo if i got a new blog then i could plan a new blog unveiling ribbon cutting ceremony. i do love a good ribbon cutting ceremony.

OK, WE'LL SEE. but, keep on the lookout. it looks like a pretty good future to me.

today kara and i drove down to exeter, nh to wait at Gary Blake Saab for like, two hours while they told her what was wrong and charged her $100. crap deal. but, kara bought me an iced coffee, so that was delish. my new coffee at Dunkin Donuts is an iced turbo raspberry mocha coffee with milk and sugar. this morning it seriously took the lady like, five minutes to figure out how to write that on the cup. don't hate me because i love artificial flavoring.

afterwards we had to go buy cat litter. and i deposited $6 in cash into my bank account. this is officially the smallest amount of money i have deposited. i'm not sure which is worse.... having to deposit six one dollar bills today..... or the time back in the fall when i deposited all that rolled change that was counted out wrong..... that was pretty embarrassing.

but hey, you do what you gotta do. i may be totally broke, but i'm generally in a great mood. and that's priceless!!! AND - tonight i put nice clean sheets on my bed, so there's that. tomorrow i'm working 11 hours, but then i have a day off!!!! so there's that!!! and i vacuumed my bedroom today!!!!! so there's that!!!!!!! there are a lot better things in life to be excited about rather than to not be excited about the lack of money.

what???? again, i don't know if that made sense.

really, the point of this entry is to tell you to check out LOCKSLEY. because they are cool.

ALSO - this is the song i'm really into right now. it's by Young the Giant and it's called 'Cough Syrup.' it's kind of beautiful and easy going. and we really love this guy's voice. "we" meaning myself and kara. and maybe Ruby Tuesday. it's hard to tell what kind of music she likes. we know she likes listening to birds chirping. but really, who doesn't?

OH OH OH!!!!! ALSO ALSO ALSO. the new thing i'm obsessed with???????

MANGO PINEAPPLE SMOOTHIE. YES, THE ONE FROM MCDONALD'S. today i said to kara,

JULIE: I really hate that McDonald's can produce such a delicious product.

and i may or may not have had mango pineapple smoothies the past two days. MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE. you should try one. i hiiiiiighly recommend them. and if you don't like it - give it to me and i'll drink it!!!!!!!

last night i got a mango pineapple smoothie after the Locksley concert and i put on 'Young Blood,' and it was like the totes perf summer experience!!!!! those two things are making for a great summer.

i don't usually enjoy summertime. but this one is pretty good so far. and i keep having this idea like, "LET'S MAKE IT A GREAT SUMMER!!!!" but like, why wouldn't it be a great summer??? why don't people ever say, "LET'S MAKE IT A GREAT WINTER???!!?" it's always a great winter, duh!!!!

i don't know. i hope this summer is as perfect as i'm imagining.


because that would be, well, perfect. and awesome. and really really really awesome.

okkkk!!!!! it's quite late night. like, 1:30am. i have to be at work in 8.5 hours!!!!! NOOO! ugh that sounds terrible when you say it like that. instead how about, "i'm going to go sleep for the next 7.25 hours!!!!!!!" YES. spin it into a positive, i love it!

ok i feel a bit crazy tonight. i was kind of in this weird funky mood all day, and now i feel super enthusiastic and great. hopefully that'll make for some great dreams....

GOODNIGHT FRIENDS!!!!! have a great wednesday :)




so i run to the things they said could restore me
restore life the way it should be

magic in the air...(taylor swift concert)

real life is a funny thing, you know. in real life, saying the right thing at the right moment is beyond crucial. so crucial, in fact, that most of us start to hesitate, for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. but lately what i've begun to fear more than that, is letting the moment pass without saying anything. i think you deserve to look back at your life without this chorus of resounding voices saying, 'i could've, but it's too late now.' so there's a time for silence, and there's a time for waiting your turn, but if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you'll know it. i don't think you should wait. i think you should speak now...



I don't know what it is about Taylor Swift. Her songs, her lyrics... she just 'gets me.' And also every other teen girl in the world. Even though I'm not a teen girl. I should be. It's like she describes these moments that everyone feels in just the best way. And, I was not a Swift fan from the beginning. I was not even a Swift fan a year ago. But, Kara turned me. I just think her music is really catchy and meaningful. And I'm not apologizing for that.

So the other night, Kara and I went to go see her in concert. Yes, T.Swift IRL. And I had these tickets for like, over half a year. Kara got them for Christmas. The concert was down in Foxboro, MA, at Gillette Stadium, which is where the New England Patriots play their games. So, it was like a giant place. Like, I just had no idea what this place was going to be like. I couldn't even imagine it. Like, the parking lots and what it looked like in general. Do I watch the football games? No.

This place is like, kinda far away. Maybe like 1.75 hours or so. Maybe a little closer. Kara and I figured that if the concert didn't get out until around 11pm, we probably wouldn't leave the ground until like, after midnight, and then it'd be a long drive home. So! We got a hotel room!! In Providence!! It was only like, 15 miles more South, and we figured we would get to go to Davenport's the next day. Since it's the best restaurant. Also, we could go get Kara's bike which has been on Woodbine St for the past like, year and a half.

We drove to Providence first, to check into the hotel. I got a great deal on Expedia. $50! No lie! On Federal Hill!! That's the "Little Italy" section of Prov. Kinda sketch, but really pretty.

The hotel was Hotel Dolce Villa, and it was super pretty. It's classified as a "boutique hotel." (But without the boutique price.)





All the rooms are suites, which was fun. Still for $50!!! Great deal, Providence. They go with a stainless steel-on-white-on-white-on-white motif, which was kinda classy/kinda institutional. Also, they had real keys and not those card keys, which I appreciated.

Also something we appreciated - the super hotties working the front desk both in the afternoon and after hours.








Buck came too! But not to Taylor Swift.




So, we had made t-shirts so we could be even more awesome. We chose neon colors so that Taylor would be able to pick us out of the crowd more easily. Makes sense. And we decided that the shirts should say, "SPEAK NOW," since she's on the Speak Now tour, and that's the name of the record and a song on the record. Which is a great song.

We were really excited for the show, so obviously we had a photo shoot. And, might I say, that our neon shirts against the white-on-white-on-white-on-stainless steel room made for a great contrast.



Sometimes blurry photos are the best.













Yep, they said 'Swift' on the back. Also, doesn't Kara look GREAT in neon orange?!?!

Before the show, we headed to Thayer Street for some East Side Pockets. Kara had eaten there a few times during college and was craving it. I could always go for falafel, so it was a good deal. And it was probably the best falafel I've ever had. SOOOO FREAKING GOOD. And as we were walking out the door, (keep in mind this place is PACKED) and the guy behind the counter yells,

COUNTER GUY: Ladies, ladies! Wait for some dessert!

Then he yells to the other guy,

COUNTER GUY: Give these ladies some dessert.

And the other guy packs us up a piece of baklava and just gives it to us! For free! Just for being so awesome! Or, he thought we were hotties. OR, he is a Taylor Swift fan and recognized our shirts. Any of those three possibilities. Or perhaps a combo of all three. I'm gonna go for combo.



We also got cowboy hats to complete the country experience. Do I enjoy country music? NO. Let me make that clear. NO I DO NOT ENJOY COUNTRY MUSIC. But, I do enjoy Taylor Swift. That's us in the car! I think this is a GREAT, A+ photo!!!

Kara's car has been having this problem where it randomly dies.... and then you just need to start it again. It happens mostly after idling... like sitting in traffic for a long time.... like if you're on the way to Gillette Stadium for a Taylor Swift concert and there are like, 15,000 other cars waiting to get in. But sometimes it just happens if you're just going through the drive-thru or something, so, it's weird. Anybody know what could cause this? She's got a 2007 Saab.

Anyways, so this happened four times on our way. FOUR TIMES of thinking we'd have to abandon the car and RUN to see Taylor. But luckily, all four times it started right back up again.





That's what the place looks like. We parked in lot P7. I do not appreciate the parking situation at Gillette Stadium. I think they could have done a better job. I don't think the parking lots are set up for pedestrian traffic, like walking to the stadium, very well. There is one tiny sidewalk and the rest of it seems to be like, "hey, good luck walking through this parking lot that holds 10,000 cars!!" I think there needs to be some sort of giant, central sidewalk, along with an entrance (or just exit??) on the OPPOSITE side of the parking lot, with maybe a back/loop road connecting back around to the main road. I feel quite strongly about this. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I like analyzing traffic patterns and figuring out what's wrong with them. And, believe me, there are a lot of things wrong with the traffic patterns at Gillette Stadium. And, I had a lot of time to sit and complain to Kara about this, because the concert got out at 11pm, we got back to our car around 11:30pm, and did not leave the parking lot until after 1am. Kara was like,

KARA: I don't think it's the traffic patterns, I just think there are A LOT of cars.

But, I don't think that's a good excuse. They built the giant stadium and the giant shopping mall area next to it, they should have thought through all the traffic patterns more thoroughly. Yes, there will obviously be SOME wait time, but an hour and a half? Please.

Anyways, so, we get to the stadium and walk around lost for a few minutes, marveling in the size of this place and also in the fact that Taylor Swift is very close.




We entered on the wrong side of the stadium, so we had to take the outdoor path around to the other side. It led us behind the stage! Did I mention we had CLUBHOUSE seats??? OH YEAH. Only the best.




Also, we passed by Taylor's vans! And tour buses! It looks like those tour buses connect... anyone else agree?




Patriot's practice field!! I'm kidding, I have no idea what this random field is.




In our seats!





The first openers, Harry Montana, or something. Some guy who we thought was related to Hannah Montana. It was all country music.



There were a billion people.





Hotties!




The last openers, Need to Breathe. I kept making fun of them through their whole set, and then they played their popular song and I realized I knew all the words. They play the song at Eddie Bauer, where I work in Kittery. So, that was funny. It was like, "uugghhh what a crappy band....ohhh yeah, I actually know this song, and I also know every single word."




I call this one, 'Sunset Over Gillette Stadium.'



AND THENNNN......the moment we were all waiting for.....!!!!!





Oh, hey Taylor Swift.

It was actually very emotional when she came out, because of how gracious she seemed. Like, I don't know if you've realized this, but whenever she wins an award, she has this look of total surprise on her face. Now, this might be a total act for suckers like me.... but it's working. She just really seemed surprised that like, everyone showed up, or something.




Lots of glitter everywhere.


WHITE PIANO PHOTO MONTAGE






That was 'Back to December.' I have no idea why I got so many photos of it.








Taylor in a red dress for 'Better than Revenge!' That song is killer. I usually don't like it, but I did that night.






A lucky fan gets married at the concert!!!!

No, just kidding. This was the mini-production for the song, 'Speak Now,' which is about Taylor standing up and protesting at a wedding, because she's been secretly in love with this guy the whole time, and finally just can't take it anymore, so when the preacher says, "speak now or forever hold your peace,' she chooses to SPEAK NOW. Which is the whole point of the record... like, DON'T hold back, SAY you're sorry, SAY I love you, SAY what you're feeling. Loves it.





That's Taylor right before she stands up and SPEAKS NOW. See, she's timid, BUT SHE DOES IT. And she ends up with the guy! Win win. How come I never end up with the guy?





Then a bunch of fireworks went off (not appreciated), and there was smoke everywhere. You couldn't see anything for like, 30 seconds. And I wanted to yell, "I'M NOT PAYING FOR THIS!" In keeping with the whole, "speak now" theme. But, then the smoke cleared.







'Enchanted!' Loooveee that song. Basically it's about meeting someone and having a crush on them and then you can't stop thinking about them. My life, pretty much. Also the line at the end, "please don't be in love with someone else..." So good. So true. So true.




Then, she disappeared under a giant bell after the song, 'Haunted,' and when she reappeared like, 20 seconds later, had totally changed her outfit!! Ah, the wonders of a dressing team.





Now, Taylor's sparkly guitar has been a pretty big part of Kara's life. Last year, someone came into her bakery and ordered a cake to look like this guitar.

THIS IS WHAT KARA MADE::



Yeah. Our little Kara made that cake. It's Taylor's sparkly guitar. Kara is an amazing baker/cake decorator. Seriously guys, hire her to bake your cakes. Like, all of them. She's had sooo many people come in after ordering a cake and say, "that was the best cake I've ever had." For serious. They say that.

And! Her bakery, Pine Tree Marketplace and Cafe, located in Wells, ME, is having a cake tasting THIS SATURDAY, 2 July, at sometime in the afternoon!! YOU should go! I'm going! I don't frequently pass up free cake.




Glistening after the show!!

WHAT A GREAT CONCERT. For serious. It was a lot better than I expected. The songs were great, Taylor sounded awesome. The sets were fun. It was a great night.

And, her acoustic, ukuele version of 'Fearless,' instantly became my favorite. I actually love that song. (That video, which I hope you watch, was not taken by me, and is not even from the concert. But it's the best audio quality I could fine.)





"long live that look on your face..."


About to burst with excitement. That's the infamous heart symbol that Taylor makes to her fans during the shows. The fans give it right back.

So then we made it back to the car and had to wait for an hour and a half (see above traffic story.) FINALLY, we were back on the road and headed South to Providence.

It was an easy drive back to the hotel. Got a parking spot out back in the creepy alley.


This is our hotel at night!



So pretty!




And this is our hotel from the creepy back alley where we parked!

We slept great post-concert, as we were exhausted.

Check out was at 11am, and I said to Kara,

JULIE: I have this vision of us sitting outside at an Italian cafe drinking delicious beverages and being fancy ladies.



Outdoor seating? Check.




Italian cafe? Check.

I got a raspberry mocha (not as good as the ones I make), Kara got a mocha latte, and we split an order of blueberry and ricotta crepes. DELISH TO THE MAXXXX. And we sat outside like fancy ladies and enjoyed it all. SO FUN.

Keep in mind, this was all in the plaza where our hotel was located:



Did I mention $50 a night for this great location?! And - we didn't get murdered. So, BONUS.







GREAT location. So fancy.




And that's the giant pineapple structure hanging over the entrance to Federal Hill. Welcome!

So, we had the day to kill in Providence. We headed over to Woodbine, where Kara used to live, to get her bike. But, unfortunately, there was no bike. She even asked the nice hippie lady who had moved in downstairs, and the lady said she had seen the bike there all winter, until it mysteriously disappeared. She said her bike had been stolen around the same time. Hmm.

So, no bike luck.

Afterwards, I had two things I wanted to do while in Providence,

1. check out The Wall
2. go to the overlook


1. REMEMBER THE GREAT AND CURIOUS WALL OF PROVIDENCE?!?!?! YEP ME TOO. That was another GREAT adventure we went on. This giant stone wall fencing in this huge area that used to be home to a poor house/farm until the land was bought by Brown University and now it holds their athletic complex. Funny how that all worked out...

I'm still obsessed with this...





Still great! Still curious! Still a horrible constraint on societal mixing!


2. I had also wanted to check out the overlook! Where Roger Williams stands, protecting the city. Kara didn't realy want to go, but I forced her!




There he is!








What a great spot! So great for eating thai food, cheesecake, or for just hanging out. All of which I have done in this place.

Ok, I lied. So there were three things I wanted to do while in Providence. The third thing was:

3. DAVENPORT'S. My favorite restaurant. Why? Because they have the best chicken salad sandwich ever. FLATBREAD. Ohhh I love the flatbread. It's just Willow Tree chicken salad, dried cranberries, glazed walnuts, lettuce and tomato, on flatbread. YUMMM. It's the best meal ever.

As we were approaching Davenport's, we noticed a vacant building across the street! This wasn't there the last time we were at Davenport's, which was maybe... mid-March, or so.



I saw this building and said,

JULIE: OMG that's prime Davenport's overlooking real estate!!
KARA: We should buy it so we can just stare at Davenport's all day.

She was kidding, but I thought it was a great idea. I also love my joke about "prime Davenport's overlooking real estate." I think that's pretty funny. I laughed about it for a while. Kara thought it was lame. And I said, "I can't wait to write it in the blog!!" So - there ya go.




And there is Davenport's in all its glory!!! Just a simple, family restaurant? NO. Oh, it's so much more.




My sandwich!!!




Kara's sandwich! She got a buffalo chicken wrap, or something. Loved it.

And, I got to use my Davenport's rewards card, which was my birthday present to myself. Yes, it's a free program, but still, an exciting thing.

What a great day in Providence. I love that city and would move there in a second if I had enough (or any) money saved up.

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND!!!! We listened to Taylor Swift most of the drive home and would say, "UMMMM remember how we saw her in person last night?!?!!" Yeah. That happened.

We got home and immediately recounted our wonderful time to our mom, who was excited to hear everything.

Check out the short videos I got!!!

(:: Camera sparkling when the lights first went down)
:: Mine
:: Mean - I also LOVE this song. It's totally "country." It's about someone being mean to you.

someday i'll be livin' in a big ol' city
and all you're ever gonna be is mean
someday i'll be big enough so you can't hit me
and all you're ever gonna be is mean
why you gotta be so mean?

And I love that this person is being all mean to Taylor and everything and she gets back at them by saying, "someday I'll be livin' in a big ol' city." I just love that. Like, eventually she'll be on to do bigger and better things, which include living in a city. I LOVE that.

I also love the line,

you have pointed out my flaws again
as if i don't already see them

BRILLZ.

:: You Belong with Me
:: Back to December
:: Fearless (ukuele, acoustic)
:: Enchanted
:: Long Live (Kara's favorite)

They're short and far away, but are good little reminders of our fun night. Enjoy them!

SO. I hope you all enjoyed your time spent at the Taylor Swift concert with me and Kara. I surely loved reliving it with you. And I've been on a Taylor-listening streak ever since.

GREAT NIGHT.







"can you feel this magic in the air?"