fall break

I got to go home for Fall break last weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Honestly it was the weirdest/best trip I could've ever imagined. Being home felt like a dream...for eight weeks my life has been tests and dinner at the student union and late night music parties. It was strange to all of a sudden be thrust back into familiar territory. Plus I missed my memory foam mattress back at Ave *lol*

I flew home late Wednesday night and spent three days in a chilly Michigan paradise. I had lots of cuddles on the couch, car dancing/singing, and yummy food (Velveeta mac and cheese, homemade enchiladas and my favorite Chinese takeout!) 

 Rainy Thursday was morning mass with Michael at my home parish, breakfast at iHop (I had the most HEAVENLY stack of pancakes) Target shopping (or rather Target wandering around gawking over stuff with Michael laughing at me and then losing my cool over the Halloween decor/Christmas lights,) and Charlie St. Cloud while snuggling in the big comfy chair. He fell asleep so of course like the god girlfriend I am, I took copious photos and videos. Those will remain private, but rest assured they are ADORABLE.

Friday was finishing up Maggie's photo session which turned into an impromptu couples photoshoot...then hot cocoa and more movies. It was great to spend some time outside in the chilly Autumn air. I also carved a super cute pumpkin! Michael was too scared of the squishy insides. He's funny like that. 

Isn't he cute?

He's the best :)

 Saturday was the cider mill (PRAISE.)  The donuts were just as warm and delicious as I remember...you know how much your girl loves donuts. Michael said he could get used to this tradition ;) Then after it got dark we went to Greenfield Village's Hallowe'en Nights. Michael did a great job of protecting me from the nonexistent threats. For realsies, there were five year olds braver than me...what can I say? Haha. 

I left for school at 5am on Sunday morning-now that was rough. I was really sad to leave, but I couldn't have spent my break a better way. It really was perfect. And Thanksgiving is only 4 weeks away! How is that?! 

It was a wonderful break :)

xoxo Kate

The best concert I have seen so far

If you know me, you know I love Ben Rector's music, which is why I practically jumped at the chance to see him in concert. Maddie and I have been planning this trip for months, literally since before we met in person!

We drove three hours to Orlando last weekend to see Ben perform at The House Of Blues bar and ohmygosh. It was an *adventure.*

Like I said, Orlando is about three hours from Ave. I did all the driving, since it was my car we took. I still can't believe I did it. How do you go from intense driving anxiety to a seven hour road trip? Beats me...divine providence I guess. 

We left early in the morning, stopped for lunch, and finally arrived around 12:30ish in the afternoon. 

Maddie and I started squealing when we saw the Disney signs....

That's right. the concert was INSIDE Disney. 

And by inside Disney, I mean the huge shopping mall outside of the parks that anyone can get into. 

But still, there was Disney stuff EVERYWHERE. 

^Our "We made it!" selfie

We walked around and window shopped for awhile, which was super awesome, especially since I haven't been in a real store for literally seven weeks...what exactly do I mean by real store? Anything that's not the tiny Publix on campus. 

Had way too much fun trying on all the crazy hats...

More hats. Hats for days. 

We took some pictures with princesses....

By the time we had seen everything, it was about 2:30, so we decided to head over to the line. We waited in direct sunlight for two hours, taking turns sitting in the shade because it was so hot.  Then we got some shade, which felt awesome, and theeeeeen we got hungry, so Maddie went over to the taco truck to get us dinner while I held our place. 

Good Lord, those were THE best tacos I've had, possibly ever. Could it be because I've been eating cafeteria food 24/7 since August? Probably. A little bit later, Maddie's roomie, Maria, joined us. She lives in the area, so we made plans to spend Saturday night and her house and drive back to campus Sunday. 

Then this is the fun part.

In the spirit of Florida, we saw the storm clouds roll in, because of which it proceeded to rain for an hour and a half. All we could do is sit and take it. For 90 minutes. By the time they let us in at 7, we were soaked, and I had run to the car to get us dry clothes. We took turns changing in the bathroom, and after almost not being let back into the venue, which is a story in and of itself, we settled into our spots, standing just five rows back from center stage. 

Jacob Whitesides opened with a bang. He was fantastic! Maria kept calling out for him to marry her. Lol. 

The concert started at 8ish, and he sang for about 45 minutes. 

^a very wet but very excited selfie while waiting for Ben!

Ben opened with his song Fear, which instantly sent me into tears of course...It was amazing. 

He sang some of my favorites, including Whitney Huston, Bob Marley, and Jackson 5. We did the Cha Cha Slide, he and his band members did a synchronized boy band dance routine, and there were many epic guitar solos. Ben not only performed with grace, but he also entertained. He maintained the respect that his emotional songs deserve while keeping the atmosphere appropriate for playful songs as well. When he sings live, it sounds *exactly* like the recording you buy on his album. He is absolutely the real deal. 

After lots of jumping, hand waving, singing at the top of my lungs, and pinching myself, the concert was over and ALL of the emotions began to kick in. We tried healing our post concert sadness with brownie sundaes from Ghirardelli, which were delish. But still,  

We drove to Maria's, got a good night's sleep, and drove back to campus early Sunday afternoon. It's still insane to me that I stood maybe 30 feet from this amazing artist. The fangirling is REAL. 

All in all, I had a wonderful weekend. I've been told he's coming back in February, so if anyone wants to give a girl a birthday present...

xoxo Kate