Am I Okay? (Megan Maroney concert)

For Sydney's birthday in May, I bought us tickets to see Megan Maroney in Salt Lake City. Tahoe was closer, but tickets were SUPER expensive, and at the time I thought it would be a fun mini vacation. It turned out to be fortuitous, since my father-in-law's services were scheduled for the same day as the Tahoe show. But since we were going to Utah, we were able to keep our plans and then drive over to Colorado for the services. With just a little bit of rearranging it worked out perfectly and I'm really glad we made it happen. 

Can you tell I'd been sick and stressing for a week? I look ROUGH. 

Syd, on the other hand, was adorable in her pajamas and cowboy boots with her weighted unicorn. 

We landed in Utah and immediately went in search of a soda shop. 

The first of many. My friend called it "Utah Soda Culture" and I'm here for it. Also? It was so cheap. Two fancy sodas for $8!

We tried to be touristy and went to find Temple Square. The whole area is under renovation and it was underwhelming to say the least. 

On Thursday, my friend Amanda met us in the cutest neighborhood and played tour guide for the day. We started the morning thinking Salt Lake City was kind of boring, but after seeing Amanda's sites, we were in love! 

Speaking of love. I finished my book on the plane ride and, for the first time ever, hadn't packed a back-up. So our first stop was the Lovebound Library. If I hadn't been traveling, I would've spent so much money here. It was the cutest, and the staff was so friendly and helpful. 100% recommend stopping if you're in the area. 

It's not a trip with my middle if we don't end up upside-down.

Then Amanda took us to our first cat cafe. I fell in love with a senior cat named Florida who bit everyone who came in. He was toothless and wearing a bow tie and I'm still obsessed. 

The coffees were all cat-themed (obviously) and I, with my full chest, ordered a "extra large meow." Syd is still laughing at me. 

Love her! Also love the burgers at Burgertory. If you go, buy a t-shirt. I have few regrets in life, but not buying a Burgertory t-shirt is one of them. 

Amanda had asked if we wanted to take a hike while we were there, but we were limited on shoe space (and also last time I visited her she took me to an "easy" Zumba class and I almost died) She comprimised and took us to this look out that gave us an amazing view of the city

After that, we headed back to the hotel to hopefully get a nap and then get ready for our show! Driving by the event center, we saw that they'd already set up the merch booth (outside!) so we were able to swing by and get our t-shirts without lines and without having to hold them during the show. I don't know why more artists don't do this. It was an awesome perk! 

Syd was so excited that she got ready HOURS early

I don't know if she could get cuter

Shoutout to my fellow IG moms who jump in to take pictures of each other <3

The line for dirty sodas

Post-show glow :) 

One of my unexpected favorites was all the bows on boots. It was the sweetest, girliest vibe and I'm so grateful that I got to be a part of it. 

 

Life lately

A lot of life has life-ed since I last wrote, and there's no clean way to segue from it, so in a nutshell and with no gentle lead in, over the last month both my brother-in-law and my father-in-law have died. C has made two trips home to Colorado and we leave again this week for the third. It is sad and awful and so much different to be on this side of grief. I don't know that I really appreciated how helpless it feels to be on this side when my parents died. I'm sad, because they'd been my family longer than they hadn't, but at the same time, it doesn't necessarily feel like "mine." So all that to say, it feels weird but also important to continue to appreciate all the happy, silly little things too. And then on top of that, I have a lot of feelings right now about all the things, and I think this might be the thing that might actually break me from social media because FFS. 

So I'm going to post some fun, silly, grateful-for-life things next, but in the meantime, please take the picture if you think in your heart, "I want to take a picture but I'm not sure it's the time" I'm so grateful for both of these

 

Attention to Detail

 A lot of things have happened lately, and they're not all great and it feels kind of weird to blog about them, so let's just say life is life-ing and that my little motley crew is crew-ing. But in the midst of life-ing, I'm really leaning in to my cottage witch era. I'm charging moon water and drinking it out of my fancy chalice. I bought crystals and I kind of think I remember what they're for. C gave me a chakra necklace for our anniversary and I swear I can see a difference. I've been blowing cinnamon out my front door to invite abundance. When I say "leaning in" I mean "LEANING IN" 

                                                    

So after a bunch of life-y things happened, that decidedly did not feel super abundant, I thought "Gee Corey. You're new to this. Why don't you double check your silly little rituals and make sure there's nothing else you're supposed to be doing?" You guys? You're supposed to blow the cinnamon INTO the front door. I've been blowing my abundance out into the street, probably onto the crazy HOA ladies! No wonder I haven't been drowning in my newfound wealth, luck, and good fortune.SMH.  

So here's my PSA. If you're going to dabble in TikTok Witchcraft, read the directions first. And if you see me on my front porch blowing handfuls of cinnamon into my house, please don't report me to the HOA. 

Weird Cat

 This cat. I’m just obsessed with the both of them so much. I grew up with a lot of cats, and I've always considered myself a dog person. But these guys? They've tipped the scales. 

Today Averson had to go meet a neighbor to talk about a dog walking job. It was her first time going over there, so I went with her. As we walked down the block, I noticed that Boo was keeping up with us, even beyond the corner he usually stops at. He kept up with us clear to the neighbor’s house, and all the way to their door. I seriously wondered if he would try to go inside with us. 

We were invited in and I assumed he’d leave once we were inside. Ten minutes later though, Averson and I left for a trial dog walking job and there was Boo, just sitting in their yard staring at their door. I had to carry him a half block in the opposite direction so that Averson could get the dog out. We brought the dog back after a short walk and I again assumed Boo had finally left, until I heard from inside their house his pathetic little meowing. 

We left to find him STILL waiting, and as we walked home he joined in happy as can be. What a weirdo (that I love a lot, obviously) Given how well he stuck with us I've become such a cat person that I'm seriously considering taking him hiking. I'm obsessed with this account of a woman who takes her cat back-packing with her. I guess consider it further evidence of my witchy evolution? 

Gratitudes

 I have been overwhelmed lately with gratitude for all kinds of things, both the small glimmers and the big things. The last few weeks have been.... We're all healthy and well and there is laughter in our house but at the same time, there's a lot of reality and having to do hard things. The world is hard and life is hard and  But it feels manageable I think because there are so many things to be thankful for. 

I love this little cart. It started as a prop for Averson's Harry Potter birthday and now it sits behind the dining table and holds games, craft supplies, and cookbooks. 

Averson's newest obsession is kandi and I am here for it in all it's campy glory

Our first PRIDE event and our first drag show!

Apparently escape rooms are our new Fathers Day tradition. Super grateful that we came out unscathed and still liking each other

I'm so grateful to live somewhere I can dip in the river whenever the spirit moves me. This was an awesome spot and a great way to kick off the season

Eli's NINETEEN

NINETEEN! Eli is now the same age as I was when C and I started dating. I simultaneously love it so much, and it's such a trope but I can't believe that my little adventure buddy is a full-blown adult. He's working full-time on a construction site and still part-time at Oakley, so he's exhausted but happy to be making a little money. We don't see him much, but when we do it feels like hanging out with your cool friend who knows trendy new things. 

The older he gets, the more that I appreciate his unabashed enthusiasm. He loves what he loves and he doesn't hold back. He was thrilled for us to all go out to dinner for his birthday and even more thrilled to go to Wu-Tang with C and I. I just like this kid an awful lot (even if he'd prefer I not call him a kid anymore)

 

Sydney's Fifteen

 

Sydney Sunshine. My sweet girl, who has been 15 since the day she turned 3. She remains the most strong-willed, outspoken young woman I've ever known and I am often struck speechless in awe of her tenacity, her resilience, and her quiet fortitude. She is the personification of ten toes down and often speaks with the confidence of someone three times her size. She is quick witted and clever and, to quote her first grade teacher, funny in a way that you know you shouldn't laugh but do anyway. This year has been wrought with challenges for her in nearly every facet of life, but she remains kind hearted, silly, and driven. I want to remember that this is the year that she taught herself to play my dad's old guitar, that she learns songs in ASL for fun, and that she writes the most amazing letters. 

Off to a country festival with her friend and in her new boots

A little birthday magic. I scored her a Labubu that wasn't fake AND she got the color that she wanted!