Bands/Musicians I've seen

I've gone to see a lot of shows this summer and it got me thinking about which artists I've seen so far and I realized, since I have a crappy memory that I don't remember them all. That's where this post comes in. I'm going to be keeping tabs on every artist/band I've seen (the ones I can remember at least) and will be updating it (hopefully regularly) as I see more! Let's dive in! In alpha-order:

• Aaron Lewis
• Alabama Shakes
• Alessia Cara
• Alestorm
• All American Rejects*
• American Authors
• American English*
• Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
• The Ataris
• Bazzi
• Bebe Rexha
• Ben Miller Band*
• The Black Eyed Peas
• Blue Öyster Cult
• BØRNS
• Brett Eldredge
• Brittany Spears
• Cage The Elephant
• Calvin Harris
• Camera Obscura
• Childish Gambino
• CKY
• Darius Rucker
• Dashboard Confessional*
• The Decemberists
• Dua Lipa
• Frank Turner
• Garbage
• Granger Smith
• Gwen Stefani
• Hall and Oates
• Hawthorne Heights
• Hoobastank
• Jana Kramer
• Jason Reeves*
• John Mayer
• Joss Stone
• Kacey Musgraves*
• Kesha*
• Kings of Leon
• Lady Antebellum*
• Liz Phair*
• Local H
• Luke Bryan
• The Lumineers
• Macklemore
• Mates of State*
• Mavis Staples
• MisterWives
• *NSync
• Never Shout Never
• Panic! At The Disco
• Paul McCartney*
• Plain White T's
• REO Speedwagon
• Save Ferris
• The Rolling Stones
• Sabrina Carpenter
• Sam Hunt
• Shawn Mendes
• She and Him
• Sheryl Crow
• The Spice Girls
• Sublime with Rome
• Tori Amos
• Tove Lo
• Watsky
• Weezer
  
  
  *Seen more than once

Linguine with Pesto Cream

*This recipe comes from the Mom's Kitchen book I purchased at Aldi but I haven't been able to find it online anywhere so, here it is.*

Serves 4

• 500g (18oz) linguine
• 1¼ cups thickened (whipping) cream
• 4 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
• ½ cup basil pesto
• 80g (2¾oz) parmesan cheese, shaved

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes or until just firm in the center (al dente).

Meanwhile, place the cream, parsley, and pesto in a large non-stick frying pan (skillet) over medium hear. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until thickened slightly.

Drain the pasta and return to the pan in which it was cooked. Pour over the pesto cream and toss to combine.

Divide the pasta amongst four serving bowls and top with parmesan to serve.

Stuffed Peppers Recipe

This is my mother-in-laws stuffed pepper recipe, I have a bad habit of losing or misplacing where I put a specific recipe so, here it will stay! Without further ado, here it is!

• Rice
• 2 Eggs
• 1 lb ground beef
• Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder)
• Peppers
• Can of tomato soup

Preheat oven to 350°F

Cook the rice and let it cool

Take the ground beef, beat in 2 eggs, add salt, pepper, and a little garlic salt.
Mix well then add the cooled rice. The consistency should be such that you can form the meat into balls

Cut tops off of green peppers and clean out insides and rinse. Then blanch the peppers (immerse in boiling water for one minute or so and then immediately transfer to cold water. This ensues the peppers won't be bitter).

Stuff peppers with meat. Place in a deep casserole dish standing up. Pour tomato soup mixed with water over the tops of the peppers. There shod be soup on the bottom of the dish apps one inch deep.

Bake at 350 for about an hour or until meatloaf's internal temperature is between 155°F - 160°F

Let cool a bit, serve, enjoy!

My Meatloaf Recipe

I make meatloaf pretty regularly and am ALWAYS searching for the recipe that I use so I figured I'd share it here for anyone that actually reads this and so I can have one place I know I can look for it!

I suppose I should start out by saying that I'm not a big fan of measuring, I kind of just wing it and go by eye. Most important thing is to note that the meatloaf's internal temperature should be between 155°F - 160°F.

For this meal I also made Parmesan Potatoes (recipe here) and took a bag of frozen broccoli and seasoned it to my liking. Without further ado, this is my meatloaf recipe.

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 packet of ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet onion mix
• 1 large egg
• Spices (oregano, Italian, parsley, basil, garlic powder)

Preheat oven to 350°F

Take the ground beef, ranch packet, onion packet, egg, and seasonings and mix in a medium/large bowl.

Put the mixture above into a meatloaf pan/container

Place in oven for about an hour or until meatloaf's internal temperature is between 155°F - 160°F

Let cool a bit, serve, enjoy!

30 Before Thirty - Updated AGAIN

It's that time again. I'm almost 29 so I've got a year left to cross off as much as I can! I can cross off a few more so those are updated in pink!

Done

1. Dye my hair a crazy color Done. I went red

2. Sing in front of people by myself without the help of "liquid courage" Done. I sang "Some Kind Of Wonderful by Joss Stone

3. Shoot a gun Done. I've actually shot quite a few different types (.22, .45, a few different shotguns, and more that I can't remember)

4. Do something spontaneous and stay out all night when I have work the next morning Done. Karaoke then a casino in Indiana

10. Kiss in the rain

12. Have my own home Done. I still can't wait to have a house but at least I've got an apartment that I can call home
15. Tell someone how I honestly feel about them - good or bad Done. I chose good and it makes you all warm and fuzzy inside making someone else smile :)
16. Create a budget - and actually stick to it Done. I am so proud to say I've done this. I've been horrible with my money for so long and I'm actually at a place where I can say I know how to manage my finances by myself!
17. Learn to like wine and or beer Done. I absolutely love white wines and blushes now. I'm not a fan of reds - yet. And I've even found a few beers I can handle. It's the little things in life really. :)
18. Take more photos, of everything Done.

20. Take a dance class Done. Zumba!

23. Get the tattoo I've wanted since I was fifteen Done. An open star on the inside of my right wrist

28. Dance like no one is watching, while everyone is watching Done. At a bachelorette party, with a little to no help from my friend wine. :) I danced like crazy and it was FUN!

Updates as of 1/21/16

5. Go on a real vacation to another state Done. I went to TN for a week!

6. Get married Done. 9/18/2015 made me Mrs. Davis!

9. Get in shape Let's change this to: Re-learn how to eat well

11. Learn at least one song from start to finish on the guitar and piano Let's change this to: Travel outside of the country Done. Twice! St. Lucia for honeymoon and Mexico for vacation!

22. Throw a "grown up" party where all the courses are homemade Done. I had Matt's cousins over for a Mexican food themed party!
24. Break a bone doing something cool or heroic (ok, so I don't want to break a bone but if I do I want a cool story to go with it. I guess this one is more of an "if"?) Let's change this to: Go to a Blackhawks game (I've only been to one and I would love to go again!) Done. I went to two more (one was a playoff game in Nashville!)
25. Go to Lollapalooza or more concerts in general (as least one a year) Done. I've gone to Lolla a few times and seen a bunch of different live shows!

29. Have a go-to, easy hairstyle that is not a ponytail Done. Just pin up the sides with a little twist and voilà!

30. Go to all the tourist attractions in Chicago
(Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Sears Tower [I refuse to call it Willis Tower], Art Institute of Chicago, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Lincoln Park Zoo, Adler Planetarium, John Hancock, Chicago Theater, Briar Street Theater, Christkindlmarket)

To-Do

7. Write a song Let's change this to: Learn another language (continue Spanish, ASL, or French)
8. Participate in a Flash Mob

[a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse]

13. Go to Las Vegas and have money be "no object" for at least one evening
14. Finish school Let's change this to: Learn more about the field I'm in (IT)

19. Knit a scarf that I actually use Let's change this to: Re-learn how to knit
21. Be an extra in a movie Let's change this to: Learn how to use a camera in manual mode
26. Blog. I know this seems silly but I get so gung ho about it then just kinda stop Let's change this to: Run a 5k (I participated in a 5k but I didn't run the entire thing)
27. Learn to drive stick shift

Ready? Set? Go!

Looks like I've still got some work to do but I'm happy to see that I accomplished more that I thought! Here's to 1 more year to check these off, wish me luck!

XO,

-A