the black keys

for my dad's birthday i got him tickets to see the black keys.  he is a black keys fan, so when i found out they were coming to town, i decided it would be a good gift, even though i had to keep the secret from may to  september.  so, the big concert day came and it was really fun.  colin hanks was 2 rows in front of us!  tegan and sara opened, and they were super.  i've had their song "back in your head" stuck in my head  for weeks now.  the black keys are really amazing live.  the make a ton of noise and seriously jam! also, my dad bought me a cool black keys shirt! thanks dad!!

tegan & sara

 

black keys

that is a huge disco ball...everlasting light

full stage shot

cool sign

dad cheering

Meagan's Baby Shower

so my sister meagan is having a baby, so as her sister i was in charge of her shower.  i am not a fan of most baby stuff...it seems commercial and gross.  then i remembered the amazing layla grace baby shower...and it became my inspiration.  i loved that it was muted and sophisticated but delicate and precious all at the same time.  thank you to my cousin lauren, who helped me come up with food ideas, i thought the food was amazing, so that is all that matters, mrs. frenkel and sister moore for making cookies, raspberry bars and brownies, my friend cameron for taking pictures for me even though he was really busy, and my family who dealt with my mess and craziness and helped me pull it all together and ran a ton of errands for me.

outside and the entry table

 the favor table...there are soaps inside the boxes

 the game invite and other decorations....i will fix these pictures later because i put almost the same picture on twice....

 food and drinks...

apparently these are not all the pictures so i might have round 2 of this...

also just a note.  i've helped throw about 6 showers now, and people aren't offended if you rsvp no, if you aren't sure if you can make it...just say you can't go, or let them know you might be late.  or if you don't want to go just say you have plans.

help!

ok, so i feel like i have watched every good show and movie on netflix instant play and amazon prime instant play.  what are your favorite shows and/or movies, preferably on amazon prime or netflix instant play??

Coachella Videos

this is the end of my coachella report.  all off the video i took!  the sound is a bit funny...at kroq i was too close so it sounds distorted and at the coachella it has a weird lower volume issue...these are all my camera's fault and and artists and bands sounded spot on.

Coachella Day 2

our second and final day in the desert.  it was another scorcher.  107 degrees.  we started out at the kroq coachella house.  mccall was dragging her feet on getting out there then i read that one of her bands that was a must see was playing, the head and the heart, so we jumped in the car and raced to indio.  we got to the house and there were no announcements on them performing so we figured we missed it, but just when we were about to leave they got on stage.  they were performing doing a great job,during the last song they seemed annoyed with the sound so the lead singer guitarist ripped out the chords and they jumped on the ground and just continued on the ground no amps or microphones or anything. 

the head and the heart...kroq style

the head and the heart unplugged

 after the show the two guys were hanging out and mccall wanted to take a picture with them, so we went over and met them and took pictures.  they were really nice and great performers.  

jonathan and mccall

me, josiah and mccall

we were leaving and suedehead was performing.  they sounded really good and they have a cool look, definitely a band to keep your eye on.  we didn't get to see their set though. oh well...moving on

suedehead

we got to coachella and caught some of the head and the heart's set.  it was cool to hear all 6 of them.  at the coachella house they only played with 3.

the head and the heart

we headed over to tUnE-yArDs.  it was interesting but the best people watching.  the one i regret not getting a video of was the lady who looked normal just dancing like a freak.  this band was interesting...not bad but not something that will be on mainstream radio probably.  

tUnE-yArDs

coachella fashion

more coachella fashion

tUnE-yArDs side stage view

up next was andrew bird. he was really good and he had a cool sound and kind of whistles like a bird.

andrew bird

i don't really like nature.  and i don't get when people freak out over sunsets and stuff, but i loved the coachella valley sunset.  it was stunning!

coachella sunset

then to catch the end of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds which was cool.  

noel gallagher

mccall was real excited for the shins and bon iver, so we got all up close.  it was fun for the shins but i was wayyyy over being pushed during bon iver.  the shins were great.  

the shins

they an ASL interpreter on the side. this girl was so fun to watch!

bon iver was good.  i would have appreciated it more if i was sitting back further on my towel. 

bon iver

radiohead was really great, we didn't stay long since they started at 11:05 pm and there were people from the front of the main stage all the way back to the back wall, and i didn't want to deal with all of them when we left.  

radiohead

it was a super fun experience.  we met a guy (he was looking for a lighter and then when we didn't have one he decided to hang out with us) and this was his 8th coachella, i probably won't be a coachella veteran like him but, it was a blast.  tips? win tickets from KROQ and get access to the KROQ coachella house.  one of the most unique and best concert experiences!

Coachella Day 1

ok so day 1 coachella.  mccall and i got there got our wristbands, and took the shuttle to the KROQ coachella house.  the kroq coachella house is this HUGE property in this HUGE gated community and it is the ONLY house, which is weird but perfect for the coachella house since bands come and play.  so, at the house the have a pretty big stage, vendors giving away free stuff, a pool and bbq.  they live broadcasting it online (if you watch it after 1 you might see me and call running around).  it is really chill and bands come and play.  so imagine a pretty popular band playing your backyard bbq, that is this.

wristbands

the house

so AWOLNATION played.  they were super great live.  it was so cool, they just walked around and hung out for the day after they played.  it was crazy!  

AWOLNATION

so then i met stryker after that.  stryker is the DJ i won tickets from.  it would have been fun to meet him anyway, but when kenna and i were at weenie roast, kenna was not unimpressed with bands, she just wasn't like oh my gosh it's _______, but when stryker introduced a band kenna was like "oh my gosh it is stryker."  so i told him that, him knowing her employer and all, and so he was said, "cool! so what should we do?" i said, "um, i don't know....call her?" he agree and then called k.  so that was cool!  

stryker on the phone with k

then gotye stopped by the house.  i love gotye and was "front row"  but it was better than front row it was like a couple of feet back so we could see the bands. the KROQ coachella house is really cool, free food, free drinks, and insane entertainment.

gotye getting interviewed

we then headed over to the venue which is way more complicated than it should be but whatever.  so we got there and in the venue which is an extensive walk.  so coachella is different than i thought but still cool.  it is about 100 times bigger than i thought.  there are crowds in every inch of the place.  it was also super hot, 104 degrees, and at the coachella house, they had water and shade and a pool to put your feet in, coachella had none of this.  it was so hot.  so you know when you go to forever 21, and you see that werid outfil and wonder where on earth someone would wear that to, or that eclectic outfit you think is cute but never know where you would wear it.  well they must make it for girls at coachella.  so we got there and watched the arctic monkeys.  we left after a few songs to go see madness.

arctic monkeys

behind us

to the side

so we got over to the outdoor stage where madness played and there was this crowd control ring thing for crowd control and i was like mccall lets stand here.  so we were very pretty close and then people started going into the ring we were standing next to.  it was vip. mccall recognized fred armisen.  i took a picture of him then he waved at us and smiled for the picture.  he was super nice.

fred armisen

then madness started playing.  they may be old but they've still got it.

madness

then i looked over and i saw tim armstrong.  i almost couldn't believe it. i don't listen to rancid and i still know who tim armstrong is and how could he stand and watch a band and not have people asking him to take a picture, the guy from portandia was being recognized but not tim armstrong. well finally some people asked him to take a picture and he was literally (not figuratively) inches from me!

then we ate dinner and we didn't have anything picked out to watch so we walked around a little.  we ended up listening to the rapture.   they were fine.

we walked over to the black keys stage and waited for them to start and they were good.  so that was fun.

black keys

black keys

we then walked over to m83, and i got to hear the last bit of atari teenage riot on the way over.  we didn't stay long for m83, but he was doing a good job.  we then came home to do the whole thing all over again today.

m83

coachella

so, there is a 3 day rock music festival held in indio every year called coachella.  it sold out really quick last year, so they decided to have the same line up 2weekends in a row (which is moderately amazing) this year, and it still sold out in about 1 day.  when i was in college, they would sell one day passes, because they couldn't sell all the 3 day passes.  this year i was hoping to get a one day pass, with them having 2 weekends and all.  passes were kind of expensive and i could only afford my own pass and i asked my dad to go (he likes many of the bands more than i do), and he said he was too old.

so KROQ was having a give away. they have been giving out 1 coachella pass a day until coachella, and you have to know the coachella song they played the day before. so i have been listening and calling almost everyday.  for most call in things, it is caller 20 to get through.  for coachella, it is caller 106 to get though.  thursday, i was caller 106!  it was so exciting!  i screamed on the radio, but those who know me, know that is not surprising. it was so cool and kind of surreal, and best of all, I AM GOING TO COACHELLA!! i have honestly been wanting to go since 2008, and it is finally happening.

i am so excited!  mccall and i will be spending her birthday in the desert at coachella!

apples

so, i don't consider myself to be a cooking guru, and i don't plan on becoming one.  i really like peanut butter and apples.  my issue was, it was messy.  peanut butter is hard to spread and then gets everywhere.  also it isn't a super portable snack, you have to have a container of peanut butter and clean it, or if you are like me throw it away and buy more containers.  so i came up with a method.  i call it peanut butter cored apples.  

so i usually us bigger apples, but i have the mini ones right now. so wash and dry your apple.

 the get an apple corer (the girl from work, used an carrot peeler), i got mine from bed, bath and beyond.

 core the apple

 it should look like that

 take your peanut butter (i prefer trader joes peanut butter)

 push the peanut butter where the core used to be and pack it in. 

 it should kind of look like this, i really prefer the target sized apples...

 slice it horizontally and you have a little peanut butter in every slice! also when i make these for work i don't slice them, i just eat them and it works super. also when i make them for work, i wrap them in a paper towel then stick them in a bag and they don't get all over the place.

i really love my apples like this.  sometimes if i'm feeling adventurous i put i bit of nutella in first and it is really good!

also a handy hint i read somewhere on the internet i think, use a spoon to peel a hard boiled egg.  it works wonders!!

that's all i've got!  enjoy your apples and this is the last "cooking" thing i will ever post.

Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day! I love pi...not the biggest fan of pie. Thank you to the nerds who gave the world these great pi jokes. I didn't make them.