Festival Fashion

With Spring Awakening just 2 days away, I've only had one thought on my mind: 

What on earth am I going to wear? 

Seeing as how it's going to be chokingly hot with 90 degrees of sunshine beating down on Soldier Field, I definitely want something light and airy to keep me cool while I'm thrashing out and dancing the day & night away!

Unlike more indie festivals like Bonnaroo and Pitchfork, Spring Awakening is all about electronic dance music and rather than the typical boho chic festival look, I'm sure the fashion will reflect the music with neon brights and decorative body adornments in rave-like proportions.

Known for his metal background and mixes, Saturday's headliner Skrillex will definitely influence people's looks. Expect to see a ton of studs, metallics and 90s grunge galore.

Here are a few looks that are inspiring my Spring Awakening festival fashion: 

Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Sightseeing in Salzburg: Travel Photo of the Day

Salzburg, Austria

Take me back to this day last year when Will and I were driving across Austria (nearly the entire country East to West!) on our way to Bavaria through a light drizzle and fog coated in the Austrian alps. 

Driving gave us the freedom to do things on our own terms and resulted in a spontaneous trip to Salzburg to grab a bite to eat and take in the beautiful baroque buildings and The Sound of Music-esque scenery of the capitol city. 

Well-known as the hometown of Mozart, Salzburg was busy with tourists weaving through the narrow streets, shopping for little trinkets and designer clothing.

Even with a slight mist and foggy skies, the Hohensalzburg Castle was still striking, sitting atop the city in the Festungsberg mountain.

We had just enough time to spare for a quick dinner and meander through the Dom zu Salzburg before we had to continue on our way to Munich, but I would absolutely love to spend more time in Salzburg in the future.

Or living somewhere in the picturesque, green countryside of Austria!

Graduation

Between strep throat, finals week, friends & family visiting and preparing for graduation, the past few weeks have been nothing short of a whirlwind.

I feel like it was yesterday that I was moving into my dorm, wondering what the next four years would hold and what kind of adventures the new college chapter of life would bring me.

Little did I know, it would bring me all of this...

         

                                        

       

 

Sunday was so surreal -- getting suited up in our blue gowns (matched my hair!) and graduation caps; seeing my friends and classmates walk across the stage to accept their diplomas after four years of hard work and even harder partying; shaking the president's hand as I accepted my own diploma with a huge smile and little victory dance for the cameras.

I cannot believe it's over! 
Well for the summer at least...

Despite feeling ready to take on the work force, I am looking forward to having an additional year at DePaul to complete my Masters.

Not only will this help me to get better jobs, but graduation also made me realize that I really have gotten an amazing education at DePaul and I have learned so much from the experienced professors employed at this university.

Right before I walked on stage, the head of the journalism department pumped me up with a special point,  applause and a wink and it reminded me that I have actually established myself in this city and at this school and I'm so excited to really focus in on what I love to do with the help of so many knowledgable, nurturing and enthusiastic people.

Congratulations DePaul Class of 2012! We did it! 

FEST Follow-Up

The show goes on, indeed! And finally I MADE IT.

Chicago-native Lupe Fiasco rocked the Quad on Friday night while performing for DePaul University's annual FEST concert. 

Despite the typical bitchy sorority girls pushing everyone and acting entitled to be at the front, the show was a blast and our group staked out a pretty awesome spot on the right-hand side towards the front. 

We made it just in time to catch the tail-end of Portugal. The Man's set with their hit "Sleep Forever" off their latest album In the Mountain in the Cloud. 

The slow, psychedelic sounds weren't exactly what I was in the mood for at the time, but others in the crowd said they put on a good show. From the little I saw, I had to agree! 

And surprisingly the rock didn't stop there. 

With a full band and strong drum beats, Lupe's act felt more like a rock show than a rap/hip-hop concert in the best way possible. It was kind of like when Lil Wayne tried to go all rock on everyone with Rebirth, but Lupe actually pulled it off and had me thinking maybe it's time to be a Rockstar instead of a Superstar.

Lupe had us all in a fiasco playing hit songs from The Cool and the uber-political Lasers album, which included my favorites--"Daydreamin" and "Words I Never Said."

Hopefully my videos won't give you a headache! I was definitely trying to multi-task with dancing, getting pushed around and filming all at the same time, but there are still some great shots of Lupe and the rambunctious crowd rocking out around me.

After the sun went down, the real fun started and Lupe lived up to his album's namesake with a Laser light-show illuminating across the dark, night sky.

He ended strong with old-school hits like "Superstar" and "Kick, Push," saving the crowd favorite "The Show Goes On" for one last song to get us moving and rev us up for the post-FEST fun.

Check out the rest of my videos from Friday night on my YouTube channel.

Friday FESTivities

Every year DePaul puts on a mini music festival on the university quad and I am excited to say that TODAY is that day! 

With headliners like Ludacris, Wiz Khalifa and N.E.R.D. in the past, FEST certainly delivers and this year is no exception...

LUPE FIASCO.

and Portugal. The Man. 

After hours with The Cataracs. Yum. 

Here's what I'm hoping to hear today...

1. Words I Never Said - Lupe Fiasco feat. Skylar Gray

2. People Say - Portugal. The Man 

3. Daydreamin' - Lupe 

4. Top of the World - The Cataracs

5. Got It All - Portugal.  

For various reasons, I've never actually been inside FEST before... Always enjoyed the pre-festivities too much!

Here's to my first & final FEST!

Images via 1, 2, 3