How to Like Country Music

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It’s officially summer which can only mean one thing–it’s country music time!

I realize that country music isn’t for everyone, but before you hit the little red x at the top of your screen, hear me out.  Summer is for fun and friends and enjoying the outdoors while listening to music and drinking some beers, right?  If you’ve never been to a country concert, then you’re missing out. This weekend Zac Brown Band is coming to Fenway Park in Boston and country lovers everywhere are rejoicing.

Fenway Park is a such great atmosphere that even non-country music lovers are flocking to the historic ballpark for the event.  Crazy, right?  A hipster coworker of mine is going and, knowing my penchant for twangy men in cowboy boots, asked me for some help getting into country music. Naturally I was happy to oblige with this post.

  1. FIND A HOT COUNTRY SINGER TO OGLE.  
    Anything is more enjoyable with eye candy.


    Ok, that will do.

  2. START COUNTRY-LITE.  
    Pick a genre based on what you like. 
    Top 40’s lovers will appreciate the pop style of Luke Bryan or Taylor Swift.  Jam banders might appreciate the aforementioned Zac Brown or Eli Young Band. Blues lovers can start with the likes of Josh Turner and Chris Young.  Jimmy Buffet types can get on board with Kenny Chesney.

  3. DRESS THE PART.  
    Grab a cowboy hat and some boots or go Walmart-chic in ‘Merican flags and Nascar.  
    For more inspiration, I wrote a post on this exact topic last year.

  4. DRINK.
    Grab a beer, whisky, or lemonade. Put it in a mason jar or wrap it in a koozie because it’s hot and you’re thirsty and booze (or lemonade, I guess) are delicious.

  5. ENJOY.
    You already dressed up and drinking, might as well shake your stuff to the music and have fun.  If country still isn’t your thing, at least you can say you tried!

weekend wrapup: made in america

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As I mentioned on Friday, this weekend I went to a Toby Keith concert.  If you’re not a fan, then you can’t fully appreciate the title of this post, which is an awesome song of his, but I still love you anyway (just a little less).
I suited up in my country finest on Friday afternoon and headed out to tailgate.  I picked up my friend, Colin, who was accompanying me to the concert and he informed me that my uber-adorable American flag bull skull shirt that I was super excited to wear looked like…the female anatomy.  
Sidebar: He’s also the guy who took my profile pic and the pics that created the hilarious gif on my About Me page.  Congrats buddy, you’re famous now.
That didn’t deter me from having a good time.  My vagina shirt and I were happy to “Get my Drink On” so whatevs.
This was Colin’s first country concert and I properly popped his cherry with some heavy tailgating and picture taking.
Yes, those are mutton chops he’s sporting. No one has any idea whats going on with them but they’re ridiculous.  I did suggest that perhaps he should become a Battle of Gettysburg reenactor if he keeps up with the crazy facial hair.  Of course he guffawed in my face, as people tend to do when you’re wearing a large American flag vagina on your shirt.  To which the only appropriate response was to take off my shirt and tailgate in a bikini and that shut him up for a bit.  Then his mutton chops wanted to take this awesome picture of me and our cowboy boots and all was forgiven.
We even made a new friend (as you tend to do when you’re tailgating with bourbon and everyone else has Miller Lite) who looked like Brad Paisley (no joke, and I totally should have gotten a pic but I didn’t). Instead we took a picture with his boots because, priorities.  The Brad Paisley look alike had a gynecologist friend who he introduced us to and then boys spent a good few minutes pointing out the fallopian tubes and uterus on my new not so favorite shirt.  
Like any good friend who’s paying for the tickets, I made Colin schlep two chairs into the stadium that we didn’t even use.  He and his mutton chops were a good sport and they even bought us some overpriced craft beers. 
I posed for a picture in front of the stadium as proof that I was there before swigging down the bourbon that we smuggled in.  Sidebar: PNC Arts Center has a potential security breach that I will be happy to share with them after I smuggle more booze in at another concert next week. Amateurs.
See I was there.
The concert was awesome–vagina shirt and mutton chop approved.  We hung out in the parking lot waiting for traffic to subside and rumor has it I might have used a porta potty in the dark because I’m classy like that.

How was your weekend?

I’m linking up with Sami for Sami’s Shenanigans today!

i like girls that drink beer

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The grammatically incorrect title for this post is both a shout out to my new followers from the Boozy Bloggers giveaway (heyyyy!) and in reference to my plans for tonight.  For those of you who don’t breathe country music I’m not sure how do you live with yourselves I’m going to see TOBY KEITH!

I saw him last year and he put on a great show so I’m even more excited to see him this year.  The delicious Kip Moore is opening for him so it should be a fine, fine night.

Andddddd since it’s #backthatazzup Friday with Whitney, it’s my jam for the day.

Missed the Boozy Bloggers Giveaway?  It’s still open!

being responsible is lame

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Remember the country concerts I was so excited about two posts ago?  The ones that I planned a bajillion outfits for this summer?  Yeah, well, I’m selling tickets to half of them because I’m a responsible adult…and it sucks.
The whole moving to Boston thing has gotten in the way of my summer concert series.  The nerve.  If this isn’t a total FWP (First World Problem, keep up with me now), I don’t know what is.  Wah, my awesome new life in Boston means I have to miss my country concerts!   
See, the thing is that even though I had bought the tickets before deciding to move, all along (you know, in the past 3 weeks since I decided to move) I had told myself I’d come in for the concerts.  Sure, it’ll be no big deal, drive up, see a concert, drive back, yadda yadda yadda.  Then I thought about actual act of driving 4 hours, paying for gas and tolls, driving another 4 hours back the next morning, etc. and realized that those concerts would be the most expensive $25 lawn tickets ever.  Lame.
Then I looked at my calendar and saw that I inadvertently booked a trip to San Francisco the weekend of the Kenny Chesney concert.  Grrr!  To top it off, there were too many moving parts this week for the Brad Paisley concert (I have a 3 day work conference that spans that day) and I pulled the trigger.  I put the tickets up on creepy Craigslist and got a bite.  Brad Paisley, gone.  The same guy is buying my tickets to Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, and maybe Kenny Chesney.  So sad, so lame, wah!
However, there is one concert that I would drive to hell and back (or 8 hours roundtrip) for.  
Luke Bryan.  
As responsible as I might be, there’s nothing that can keep me from that man and his tight jeans.  Nothing.
I might be responsible, but I’ll be seeing this man on August 24th and screaming like a 12 year old girl all night long.
(I’m also still seeing Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith, and Tim McGraw so I guess it’s not soooo bad!)

weekend wrapup

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This weekend turned out to be one of those weekends where I had nothing planned and was kind of bummed but ended up super busy and had a great time.  Here’s a peek into my weekend:

Camo Jacket
Saturday was supposed to be a bust because I had a 7 hour Continuing Legal Education class to sit through and no plans for the evening.  When a friend called me in the afternoon and invited me to attend a housewarming party for her former neighbor, I jumped at the chance to socialize in the last remaining hours of sunshine with a cold beer.  I spent way too much time marveling at the fact that my nails perfectly matched the red color of the Solo cup and sang more karaoke than someone with my singing skills should have.
Sunday I went shopping and finally got the jacket I had been eyeing at the Gap.  I saw it on Friday and spent all of Saturday (7 hours in a classroom listening to people drone on about Business and Trust Accounting leaves plenty of time for the mind to wander) regretting that I hadn’t gotten it.  A lightweight camo jacket with epaulette buttons and a great shape?  I couldn’t resist and it was happily snatched up with a 30% off coupon!
I spent a bit of time driving around with the windows down listening to country music.  Kacey Musgraves’ new single “Blowing Smoke” was on and I took a pic for a friend who likes her.  I’m breaking him into country music through her.  Baby steps.
I engaged in some healthy eating with this spinach, strawberry, mango, and walnut salad.  It was amazing, aside from the fact that it was in an asymmetric bowl that toppled over as soon as I tried to cut it up.  Whoever invented asymmetrical bowls needs a lesson in dinnerware practicality.
Linking up today with Sami from Sami’s Shenanigans.
How was your weekend?