some thoughts on age 28

welp, there's just about a week left before i turn 29, and i've been reflecting and all that crap because i guess that's just what you do when you're marching slowly towards death (and age 30). sorry, that was #dark. 28 was an interesting -- mostly good -- age; i've joked that it was the year of my slightly delayed quarter-life crisis, which is mostly false, but not compleeeetely false. anyways!

WHAT HAPPENED:

i ...

• walked away from a condo deal because the house had electrical issues, and the sellers (who were also my future neighbors) were insane scientologists
• bolt-bussed it to NYC for governors ball and rediscovered the brilliance of the strokes
• went to quebec city with my family and ate my weight in croissants, poutine, and bison cheek
• started watching that terrible reality show "rising star" and fell in cougar lust with jesse kinch
• took a day trip to portsmouth NH with my friend sue and bought chocolate red wine, which is simply delightful when poured over chocolate ice cream
• began dating a seemingly super-polite dude who was obsessed with the insanity workout that wined and dined me, took me to see panic! at the disco, came over for pizza and palo alto and then ghosted me
• simultaneously started dating another asshole because i thought he was really hot and had great taste in music and a chill demeanor and did a surfer-dude impression that made me giggle 
• mourned the end of my grandpa's amazing 101-year run on this earth
• conquered martha's vineyard with sue and decided i want to live in one of the gingerbread houses someday
• finished my book proposal
• got red balayage highlights in my hair
• took my first business trip for a conference in indianapolis, where i got to see mindy kaling speak, high-fived the lead singer of the script, and realized that will.i.am is nuts
• went on a family road trip to wilmington, nc and was pretty unimpressed except for the whole dawson's creek claim to fame
• saw 7,000 barrels of bourbon at a distillery in virginia and wanted to go swimming in them
• dined at a bar by myself for the first time 
• won tickets to a private concert with gavin rossdale, my first rock star crush
• missed my 10-year high school reunion because a snowstorm knocked the power out in NH on the day before thanksgiving, rendering me homeless-looking
• spent christmas with my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, watching the interview and new girl episodes and eating/drinking/laughing a lot
• went on a date with a guy who didn't listen to music :( :( :(
• sobbed uncontrollably at the parenthood finale
• nearly died trying to walk to the dunkin' donuts next door to my apartment during the 3rd snowpocalypse storm (ok, so i just fell down in the snow)
• got a tattoo of a cheeseburger
• finally won at bar trivia, and two weeks in a row at that!
• decided to be, uhhhh, *friends* with aforementioned asshole, because YOLOOOO
• felt super liberated by the whole thing until a totally fated, totally awful run-in on public transportation left me feeling like a piece of dog crap and rightfully slammed the door on that sitch for good
• met up with gleni in vegas, got wasted on chocolate martinis, and hung out with old dudes
• saw a bunch of great live music: catfish & the bottlemen, king tuff, the new pornographers, the barbazons, juliana hatfield, hallelujah the hills, and walk off the earth!

WHAT I LEARNED/WAS REMINDED OF:

• knob & tube electrical wiring is the worst. avoid at all costs.
• french-canadians are so friggin' chic.
• you shouldn't give a shit about someone who doesn't give a shit about you.
• related: TRUST YO' GUT, even when your heart/ego/loins want to ignore it.
• also related: BE BREEZY.
• while it's not ideal, you can totally experience martha's vineyard in a day.
• on second thought, snow is actually worse than knob & tube wiring.
• tattoos don't hurt. like, at all.
• vegas is magic.
• whiskey is magic, too.
• it's no coincidence that "tinder" and "terrible" start with the same letter.
• if you can't find someone to join you for something you want to do, just go by yourself! it's fine.
• the universe always knows better than you do. learn to listen to it.
• liz phair's 1993 album exile in guyville is still just as relevant to 20-something women as it was 22 years ago.
• YOLOOOO (that's right).

assuming you're not a young'n, what was 28 like for you?

show review: walk off the earth at the paradise

over the past three years, some of you might have heard me raving about walk off the earth, a canadian indie band that became famous with a youtube cover of gotye's "somebody that i used to know" that featured all five band members playing one guitar. while it was undoubtedly amazing, it was their back catalog of innovative cover videos that launched me into full-blown obsession mode for a few months. like this reggae-fied rendition of wiz khalifa's "roll up:"



i had the pleasure of seeing them live in orlando back in 2012, and they put on a killer show, so i was really stoked about the chance to see them last night in boston as they toured in front of their upcoming album, sing it all away. it was fantastic!

they played a perfect mix of original songs from their last album REVO, cover tunes -- including pharrell's "happy" and madonna's "material girl" -- and of course, tracks from the new record. as this is their second major-label release, i was curious if and how their sound would change. i was pleasantly surprised to find that while they've certainly gotten a little more adventurous with melodies and tempo, they still have that buoyant, exciting energy that i love.

most of all, you can feel the passion that WOTE has for playing music, and get the sense that they'd be just as happy playing on a street corner as they would to a completely packed rock club. plus, the entire band just oozes talent, and all of the members switched instruments throughout the night with ease. sidenote: gianni and sarah, two of the lead vocalists, are kind of the cutest rock 'n roll couple ever, and i love them. also, sarah is super-pregnant with baby #2, and she rocked the hell out of this little black number. get it, girl!

my favorite part of the evening, without a doubt, was the encore. of course, they had to reenact the performance that got them their big break. but halfway through the song, they switched into a flawless medley of covers, including miley cyrus' "wrecking ball," "rude" by magic!, and avicii's "wake me up."

following that, they launched into a perfectly sunny song from their last album, called "summer vibe." beach balls were tossed into the crowd, random people came up onstage to dance, and general merriment ensued.

basically, a walk off the earth concert is like a giant beach party where everyone is singing and dancing and smiling and just feelin' fine. i haven't had that much fun at a show in forever. if you like music and happiness, go see them!

the best life lessons from mom

with mother’s day just around the corner (aka tomorrow), i’ve been thinking a lot about the important things that i’ve learned from my dear mama, and there have been many. she’s imparted wisdom on love, education, friendship, career, and just about everything else under the sun. most of these gems fall into the “everything else” category, so i present a few of my favorite, completely impractical “mom-isms” that have served me well throughout my life.

1. always have a bottle of wine on hand.
   
   

this one may seem obvious, but actually has a couple of different reasons behind it. sure, it’s always wonderful when you can pull a bottle of riesling out of your fridge after a particularly awful day and just go to town. however, my lovely mother promotes wine possession for just-in-case purposes. you know, like just in case your cool new coworker with BFF potential invites you over for a friday night dinner party, or just in case you decide to make some killer chicken piccata that calls for a few splashes of white wine. with at least one bottle on the premises at all time, you’ll never be stuck in a jam. who knew that vino could be so practical?

2. treat your purse like your second home.

no doubt about it, i’m a purse hoarder, and i blame my mother. money, receipts, jewelry, food items (wrapped -- i’m not a monster!) ... they’re all in there. however, the most important item? a tissue (or three). the bottom line is that it always pays off to carry some sort of absorbent material with you at all times, and my mom instilled that in me early on in life. how many times have you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and go, “WHAT IS THAT ON MY NOSE?!”  just as you’re cornered by your crush, or boss, or someone else super-important that does not appreciate your booger shenanigans. sure, it’s still awkward to wipe your nose in front of them, but it’s much more awkward to have an entire conversation where both of you are trying to ignore the gross reality. sure, this is an extreme case, but you never know when you’re going to spill a little coffee on your desk or need a makeshift napkin for that afternoon snack, either. thanks, mom!

3. when in doubt, dance it out.

whether i’m sad, mad, or just plain grumpy, the first thing i do is crank up the hip-hop and go nuts for about 10 minutes. my dear ol’ mom has always been an advocate of the dance party, and taught me that it can do wonders to turn your whole mood right around. she’d probably frown upon me twerking to raunchy rap, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. by the time i’m tired out from shakin’ what she literally gave me, i’ve usually forgotten whatever i was upset about in the first place.