Summerfest

I have a confession to make. I am from Wisconsin but up until last Friday night, I had never been to Summerfest before. I know, it's absolutely ridiculous. Everyone goes to Summerfest, but somehow I guess I got left behind on that one. So when my friends mentioned heading up Friday night for the Jason Aldean concert, I jumped all over that chance.

While I appreciate the good music and party atmosphere, it was a bit too intense {and drunken} for me. Not that I have anxiety about being in a large group of people, but I would rather have something a bit more low-key. With that said, I would most likely go back if a band I want to see is playing. Also, the food was delicious {especially the corn on the cob}, the music was great and the atmosphere very lively. I would definitely recommend attending Summerfest at least once if you haven't before. Make up your own mind about it.

And the Jason Aldean concert? AMAZING! I'm not a big county music fan, I rarely listen to it, but the concert was simply fun. It was high energy, entertaining and good music. By far, one of the best shows I've ever seen. I had to go pick up a few of his CDs after the show. He definitely made a fan out of me.

Dear Friend...

I wish I could design stationary for a living. I wish people used stationary more. Maybe it's the sixty-year-old woman in me, but I prefer handwritten notes to emails. Actually, I adore handwritten notes. And I despise emails.

When I was in college my grandpa couldn't hear too well on the phone, so we mailed each other notes all the time. Mostly, they didn't say anything special, just a 'hi' and 'I love you', but they definitely meant something more.

I think people lose that in emails. It's really hard to be meaningful when writing an email. No matter what, they always seem impersonal and almost sterile. I prefer handwritten notes.

I still have all of the letters my grandpa sent me. Sometimes when I'm sad, I take them out of their cigar box and read them, like it was the first time. It always makes me feel better.

I decided that I'm going to start leaving friends notes everywhere, I think it will make their days better.

{photo via etsy}

More Than a Kiss

Don't you wish you saw more absolute bliss like this in your everyday life? I love looking at this picture. I never get tired of it.

photo via LIFE

Sending Chicago

On Friday, I decided to spread a little Chicago love. I bought several postcards to mail to my friends that moved away or I don't get to see anymore. I thought it would be a cute way of saying "Hi, I miss you." I think it's much better than an email or Facebook message.

It makes me smile, I hope it makes them smile too.

I love snail mail, but I love getting postcards most of all.

Cute, Creative Proposal

Jill's (My Spinning Wheels) brother proposed to his girlfriend on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was such a unique, creative way of proposing. Check it out.

Valentine's Day

"What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love?
Just who can solve its mystery?
Why should it make a fool of me?"
-Frank Sinatra

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Hallmark Nightmare

I'm beginning to hate Hallmark stores. Not because I waste an hour every time I walk in or because the overly happy woman working behind the counter never understands that I just want to buy a card and not chit chat for ten minutes.

I hate them because of the depressing feeling that sinks in every time I ring that annoying little bell on the door. Last time I was in a Hallmark store, I bought three wedding cards, an engagement card, a congrats on med school card and an it's a girl card.

Most of my friends from college are either: 1. Married, 2. Married and expecting a baby, 3. Engaged, 4. In a long-term relationship (in which an eventual marriage has been agreed upon), or 5. In a relationship.

I know I'm still young and have a lot of time to find someone and figure everything out, but they're young too! Sometimes it just makes me sad.

Ok, time to mail the "Congrats on the Engagement" card... and then watch some cheesy romantic comedy to cheer me up.

I Love You More Than...

I was playing around online and found this blog called "i love you more than ____." I think it's a really cute idea and apparantly over 1,000 other people do too, check it out. Read the story. What do you love??

Mine would probably be coffee. Or Saturday morning....

Dream Wedding

So my best friend has been talking about her wedding for a little bit now. It's pretty much all planned out as far as location, timing, colors and all of those other small details that don't really mean a whole lot until her boyfriend actually proposes. But after talking with her and other friends about their plans for weddings, I started thinking about my ideal wedding. (Trust me, this is the first time I started thinking about it. I definitely was not that 5-year-old girl who played dress up holding a bouquet of toilet paper flowers and arranged a stuffed animal audience.)

I decided that my perfect wedding would have a little 1940s style. I love, love, LOVE old black and white movies. I remember watching Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart when I was a kid and just falling in love with them and their style. (Why can't men be like that anymore?) I think it would be perfect to dress like they did in the 40s, and have wedding pictures taken in black and white. But I suppose we'll see what happens...

I found an example of a wedding that included a little 1940s style without going overboard. I love the veil.

{Photo by Ben Chrisman}

I Heart Edward Cullen

If Disney movies didn’t already do it, Edward Cullen did.

Stephenie Meyer wrote Edward Cullen, a vampire, as a romantic, charismatic, magnetic character that you can’t help but love- but can’t find in real-life.

The film industry- and others for that matter- has created generations of women with unrealistic expectations for ideal relationships, romantic gestures and perfect men. Dinner and a movie is no longer enough, women want eternity - and if that could happen after a week or two together with no complications and a guarantee of a happily ever after: perfect.

No real-life, human boy will ever reach women’s ideal expectations and they are then forced to settle for a commoner rather than their dashing Prince Charming.

Even so, it is because of these “happily-ever-after” tales that we still hope to find our prince because- after all- dreams do come true.

(There’s so much more to say about this, I could go on about it forever.)