Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Ohio River Throwdown

Alex Ebert of ESMZ


You may remember that we started off the Summer of 2014 with a pilgrimage to Blossom Music Center to see Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Jack Johnson in concert.  Suffice it to say, it was nothing short of ABSOLUTELY FREAKING PERFECT that the ESMZ crew was coming back through town to help us end our summer the same way it started.





All told, it was a really cool mix of bands. We discovered some new favorites (add Hurray for the Riff Raff and Trampled by Turtles to your spotify STAT) and finally got to see some live acts that we've heard great things about!

Trampled by Turtles commanded a big stage with a small buy loyal cadre of fans there to get down! (Would love to see these guys in a small venue.)




Ever since my sister passed me a Trombone Shorty CD years ago, this guy has been on my list of folks to see. He did not disappoint! Totally took me back to our Robert Randolph & the Family band days.

It is impossible to put "Grace Potter" in a sentence that doesn't include "badass." Seriously, I spent at least half of her set daydreaming about what life would be like if I was born Grace Potter instead of Carri Johnson. (Spoiler alert, there would be a whole lot more hair swinging and guitar wailing.)


Even though we really enjoyed all the bands we saw, we were definitely there to see ESMZ. We had great PIT tickets---really great because this is a band that's fun to be up close & personal with. Even though Louie thought I was a big fat dork for wanting to, I made him head over to the mainstage early so we could watch them warm-up. (Thanks for indulging my inner groupie Lou.)

Because they were headlining and because they seem more comfortable on stage sans Jade than they did in May and because the audience was really there to see them and because ESMZ let the audience curate the set by yelling out songs to play, it was a really amazing show - from beginning to end!








All in all, a beautiful night on the Ohio River with my sweet one - singing and dancing and smiling under the perfect sunset and big bright moon. 








(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Anyone else nostalgic for summer scenes?

Friday, September 19, 2014

Those Days, August




Sadly, the long hot days of August are already a distant memory. Score one for the "These Days" posts that help me dive back into what life was like a month ago. There's a pretty seismic shift around these parts from August to September. We've gone from 80 degrees and still sunny at 9pm to wearing sweatshirts and pants and needing the bedside lamp for 7:30 reading.  That's not to say that the latter is an unwelcome change.  I love living in a city with four distinct seasons - and so much of this post shows why.

These are the gas-station glasses that Josie used to "prove" to us that she needed "real glasses."

One of my favorite recurring scenes -- my dad on the piano and the girls cracking up and signing along. One this particular occasion he made up a song for them to the tune of "Stairway to Heaven" which had me cracking up as well.

Lou & I went to his 20 year reunion, where I got to reunite with a favorite gal too!


I had a day trip to DC to kick off some really exciting projects!

Bea has taken to long, nightly baths where some of her most imaginative play surfaces.

We were Ice Bucket Challenged and had to play along.

Clever Beatrice

A sneak peek into where I go when I need a change of scenery to get "unstuck" when I'm writing.

Long days = Tired Girls

We hosted the August bookclub at our house with the really fun story - Flora & Ulysses!


On a rainy day, Lou indulged the girls in making a "movie studio" so Bea could create her own "Kinder Surprise Egg" video.





The evening before heading out of town for my annual Smart Pilgrimage to Seattle, I took Josie to get a pedicure. Clearly she thought that was pretty amazing stuff!


These three cuties are world's best airport shuttle service.

I had a great time with my Smart Crew & really enjoyed Alki Beach in West Seattle where there's an awesome view of the city (and absolutely amazing goat cheese rellenos)!

How does Seattle get a beach view & mountain view?



Pretty epic dessert situation. 



I may have teared up over holding this little nugget. Meet Bash. He's perfect.


My delayed flight home left me stuck at O'Hare for awhile - which made for fun times remembering all those early-days-of-Carri-and-Lou trips that started in the United terminal back in the day. 

Missing baggage meant frustrated everyone, but hugs and Chukar Cherries fix everything.

Meanwhile, back in the "scenes from a random Sunday."

Days at the pool near the end of August get a little "heavy" as it all starts to feel pretty fleeting.


The wildlife population around here gets out of control this time of year. Meet the little praying mantis that took up residence on our railing. He was a much more welcomed guest than the hornets that built a giant nest in my office wall.

The girls got to see what the Phish business is all about during the free "couch tour" concert they streamed live.

Yes, this.

As school approached, Josie decided it was time to do some research on Jupiter's moons.

These are some of my favorite pics of the girls recently - thanks to Chelsea's awesome hair paint job.






This will FOR SURE be the cover of their first album!



Lou & I made it to an evening Reds Game with his law firm. Such a beautiful night!

Josie took a pretty challenging risk...

...that ended in tears, ice cream and some hard parenting lessons.

And before we knew it, it was back to school time!




After two years of sadness when Josie got dropped off in car line and Bea had to wait in the car, this happened and Bea has never been happier!


And after I got home to my first empty nest, I noticed all these changing leafs and the transition was pretty clear at that moment. See ya later August. Until next year!