That's My Kinda Night (Luke Bryan Concert)

Last friday night was definitely my kinda night. Literally right up my alley.

Kev and I headed to Lexington to watch Mr. Luke Bryan shake it for me (shake it for Kev ....not so much, but he is a fan of his. just not so much in the booty shaking department).  

Insert shameless car selfie here.

And yes, I rocked a headband, it's a given for country music concerts. Just channeling my inner Carrie Underwood.....

I was so excited to be back in my old stomping ground. I miss Lexington so, so much. It will always be my second home.

We met my bestie and her hubby downtown at Shakespeare and Company for dinner before the concert. Kev and I love this restaurant. The goat cheese and beet salad was on point as well as their bbq pizza that Kev and I split. In true Kentucky spirit, we sipped on some bourbon in a few mint juleps. They make a damn good mint julep at that restaurant. We ran into a few friendly faces while downtown and it was so refreshing.

This little lovey ran into my hubby while I was in the ladies room. We had texted earlier about meeting up and we made it happen. I sure do miss my Jilly and can't wait to see her again soon. We already have lunch plans in the next week or so when I am back in Lex. 

Hubs and I kinda matched in our button ups. I swear it was unintentional, but cute nonetheless. 

Lee Brice and Cole Swindell opened up the show. We are big Lee Brice fans and were also pleasantly surprised how much we liked Cole. 

But the best was yet to come......

I stole these pics from my girlfriend's facebook account. Ummm no, our seats were not this close. 

Luke set Rupp Arena on fire. I have been to my share of concernts at Rupp, but none this crowded. It was truly sold out and Mr. Bryan brought his A-game.
He covered Dwight Yoakum, Mackelomore and Ryan Lewis, and Tiao Cruz and of course played all his current and past hits.

I teared up during Drink A Beer. It gets me every time. I tried to mentally prepare for it, but hearing it live was hard for me emotionally. It hits so hard to home with what my brother is still going through with the recent loss of his best friend.

Back to happy thoughts......the man literally did not stop shaking his derrière. So much hip action throughout the entire night.

oh luke.......

So much fun in historical Rupp  .....I don't think Megan and I sat down one time while he played.
Thumbs up Luke Bryan.....you played one hell of a show!

Until we meet again :-)

NYE 2013

I have never been the biggest fan of NYE. It's hard for me to stay up until midnight on a weekend, let alone a week night. Oh, and let's be honest, I usually have to work New Year's day, too. It's also usually freezing in Kentucky, so the last thing I want to do is put on a dress and heels. No. Thank.You.

However, this year was different. This NYE my best gal pal was turning 30 and I was going to be there to celebrate! Nothing could stop that from happening.

So I put on my black skinnies, a black lace shirt, hot rolled and teased my hair, threw on my heels, applied my red lipstick and put on my NYE game face. 

Hubs and I made the drive to Lex where we met Megan and company at Nick Ryan's. It was always one of our favorite places in Lexington to have dinner. Their shrimp & grits and gnocchi are our faves. 

I adore these sweet gals! 

Hubs' beard was rocking in full force. He has recently shaved/trimmed since then, but I swear I think I could have braided the bottom....and I loved it. #sesssskky

      

I am so glad we were able to ring in 2014 with Megs and her hubby, as well as celebrate the last night of her twenties. And although NYE has never been my favorite, I would not have missed it with her for the world. 

We drove back to NKY and spent the rest of the evening in our pajamas (also known as jammies in our house), cuddled up with the doggies and fell asleep by 1:00am. Next year I am already planning on a pajama party.....that or a trip to somewhere warm :-)

Happy New Year Friends! 

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at 4am that morning we got some horrible news, for those that follow me on instagram or facebook...you already know....but that night my brother's very best friend's life was taken in a senseless act of violence. it doesn't seem natural to me that I can blog about our NYE and not mention that...it has rocked our family and our small/close knit-community to it's core.  a violent stabbing occurred that night in my itty bitty one-horse hometown.......and i still can't wrap my mind around it. he was truly like family in my house and was taken from us way too soon. for those of you that have emailed, texted and/or called....thank you. i am sorry if I haven't responded. it's been a nightmare and we are all still recovering. please continue to pray for this young man's family and for my brother as everyone tries to pick up the pieces without him. 

Florida/Georgia Line Concert

Last month one of our favorite country music bands came to Lexington - Florida Georgia Line. Before the move, Kev and I had reserved a suite at the Whitaker Bank Ball Park for our friends to get together and join in on all the fun.

I made dinner reservations downtown at The Jax to get the party started. Although the service was a little below par, we still enjoyed each other's company. It was so good to see some of our nearest and dearest who we miss so much.

Was such a fun night. We got a little rowdy, but hey "that's how we do it around here" :-)

Blake Shelton Comes to Lex

September 2013

During the chaos of living the hotel life and all the craze of the move, we still made time to do one of our favorite things - Spend a little time with one of our favorite country music singers.

Kev and I can't get enough of country music, especially country music concerts!

So when we heard Blake Shelton was coming to Lexington, we jumped on the first opportunity to see him at Rupp Arena. 

Baby brother and Brittany joined us. We love double dating with them! 

We headed downtown lex early to get an outdoor table and have dinner and drinks before the show. We setup at Horse and Barrel Pub to get in a country state of mind before making our way to croon with Blake,Easton Corbin and Jenna Kramer. 

After the concert, we met up with my bestie and her hubby to celebrate his 30th birthday at good ol' Redmon's. 

and the night ended up looking a little something like this.....

Side note - Blake Shelton was hands down one of, if the not theee, best country music indoor concert I have ever been to. And this gal knows her country music. He was amazing. He played all his new and fun hits plus the good classics like Old Red, Austin and Some Beach. He even covered a Cee Lo song and gave us a little inside scoop on The Voice.
Jenna Kramer was amazing live and Eastin Corbin is so likable. I swear that man sounds just like George Straight.
All in all, it was such a fun night. I would definitely recommend you go see Blake if you are a country music fan and he is in a city near you. You will not be disappointed.

Next on our country music concert list....Luke Bryan. Oh yessssssssss! 

Saying our goodbyes

So our move happened much faster than expected, we knew it was coming, but never imagined how fast paced it would be.

Kev and I spent our last two weeks in Lex jam packing our schedule with dinners and happy hours with friends. Soaking up friendships, eating at our favorite restaurants and getting our Lexington fix on. So glad we carved out the time in our crazy schedules to make extra time for our nearest and dearest. 

Dinner with baby bro, Britt, aka my future sissy-in law, and Kev at West Sixth Brewery 

Brunch with Megs and her hubby after church at Josie's in Chevy Chase 

Our sweet friend, Ron, hosted us a small going away party "celebrate the next chapter" party. 

So thoughtful! 

I somehow managed to meet up with two of my besties who were in town for keeneland to have lunch at Harry's in Palomar. I didn't think our schedules were going to work out, but it happened! 

Happy hour and going away dinner at Grey Goose with co-workers 

Some of my favorite bloggy gals turned IRL besties at Drakes 

I am sure you may recognize Allison/Dana/Brooke/Jill 

Kev and I doubled dated with Dana and her hubby at Merrick Inn where we just so happened to run into Toby Keith who was in town for the horse sales. An older lady ruined our potential for photo ops. #epicfail

So lucky to have these friendships in a town I have called home for almost 12 years. Friendships that will continue to grow....because 76 miles ain't nothing to keep us apart.