Concerts and Summer Ending

 My summer is basically at an end, since both my jobs run on the calendars of schools. However, before my "time off" or at least my siblings time off drew to a close, we went to a few concerts. Two concerts were planned since the beginning of this year, so waiting for them felt like ages. Neither venue allowed professional cameras and since we barely got tickets my pics weren't the best. 

Now my pictures may not have been the best, but it's the memories of the concerts that still put a smile to my face. The first concert was Imagine Dragons "Smoke + Mirrors" Tour performed at the forum. The place was smaller but we where still far off. The band was great live even with the main singer saying he was sick he skated my favorite songs. There is just something amazing about hearing your favorite songs live directly from the band themselves that just makes the music so real. The whole concert was like that and the opening acts set the stage perfectly, so the whole night was rocking awesome.  

Then there was the second concert which can be summarized in one word . . . Epic! My sister and I decided to grab some high up there seats in the Staples Center to see Taylor Swift on her 1989 World Tour. I figured we should see her while she is IT and at the height of her career, for now. Anyways, I'm so glad we grabbed those tickets when we did, because they were about twice the amount by the time the concert came around. It didn't help she started to have guests pop-in almost every concert and when she got to L.A. expectations were super high, it is Los Angeles where the stars live. 

So luck was greatly on our side, because we were there on the last night in L.A. She not only brought up Selena Gomez to sing her latest hit, then out of nowhere Taylor introduced Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) from FRIENDS to sing "Smelly Cat." If our minds couldn't be blow anymore she later had one more surprise named . . . Justin Timberlake! That right there made the night more than I could handle and I totally became screaming fan girl. 

To say Taylor Swift made our summer is putting it lightly and other concerts will be hard to top that nights experience. Nevertheless, I will still venture out to concerts and will always remember this summer as being the summer of awesome concerts.

Viva Las Vegas

My baby brother turned 18 this past weekend, I know that means he is no longer a baby BUT he will always be MY baby brother. Anyways for his special bday my family threw him a Vegas themed party because he and his friends love playing poker.

 

Poker, and gambling in general, is something I try to avoid mainly because I hate just throwing money away. I'd rather save it for a trip or shoes, but mostly for a trip to somewhere. I always have a new place to go on my mind or heart.

 

So in planning this party I got to thinking about all my Vegas trips and realized I'd been about 13 times. And each time I've been its definitely been shall I say interesting. The one thing I can say for Vegas is its never boring and you will always leave the city with a new memory and story, trust me.

Spur of the Moment Beach Trips

 

Living in SoCal has many benefits, one huge plus is our numerous beaches and weather year round that allows us to visit said beaches when the time is right. So when your day is open and then your family decides to go for a spur of the moment trip to the beach you don't really think you just go. Napping, reading and swimming at the beach is all the fun in the sun we do as a family.  

 

Truthfully California beaches aren't the best in the world BUT they definitely are not the worst. My family usually stay up in Sunset and Seal beach area away from the more popular beaches like Huntington or Bolsa Chica. Each are good but for different reasons. Huntington has the pier and the promenade with great restaurants. Then there's Bolsa Chica where you can build awesome campfires on the beach to cook s'mores! And if you happen to have an R.V. , you can even camp there. There are more beautiful and fun beaches up the coast but those I'll save for another post.

Basically in the end no matter which beach you choose to spend your leisure time at you'll find the same things: sand, sun, and sea.

Passing By

After finally watching the Imitation Game and binge watching Doctor Who, I couldn't help but recall my time in London. I loved being able to spend my nights outs with my new friends on the streets of London exploring and living like regular Londoners. It was those nights out when we just wandered with nothing particularly planned that became truly memorable. London is just that kind of city, open to all and just asking for you to get lost in it.