If We Were Hanging Out - Chatting about Austin, NKOTB, and an ironic pool party
I thought I'd start a new series called "If we were hanging out" that I'll do every few weeks. It'll be a Coffee Chat type post that holds a whole lot of random things...really how conversation would be if we were at the park together with our kids or sitting in the sun with a glass of lemonade in our hands.
I just feel like blogging is so one-sided sometimes. Ya know? I don't want to talk AT you...I want to chat WITH you!
If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that some girlfriends and I flew to Austin a few weeks ago. It was the most fun and hilarious girls weekend ever.
Like E-ver.
I've never been on a girl's trip before, have you? At least not since college...you know the type: when you travel around in hostels, praying you have enough money in your bank account so you can pull your dirty laundry from your I'm-an-American-traveling-through-Europe sized backpack and find a laundromat. I actually don't remember where I washed my clothes while traveling around during spring break while going to Bible school in England. Hmm. Did I wash them?! Eew.
But this is beside the point. This is not what I'm still chuckling to myself about.
Five of us girls (college and post-college friends who live around the country) decided we would fly to Austin for the Boyz II Men, Paul Abdul, New Kids on the Block tour.
No. I'm not kidding. And yes. We are that cool ('er nerdy).
Have you seen this video? I laughed so hard and then sent it to everyone I know. (bahaha...Including my mom). If you're over 30, you'll love it.
I told you it was HILARIOUS, right?! Hold on. I'm going to watch it again real quick. ; )
Renting an Airbnb on 6th Street, we planned nothing aside from the Sunday night concert.
After flying in from various parts of the country, we came together Saturday morning and wandered around looking at shops and coffee houses. We tried on vintage clothing and things that really, let's be honest, no one our age should actually be seen in because we thought it'd be hilarious. And cuz we're total dorks.
This video is totally what I'm talking about. Watch it. You'll die laughing. (NOTE: it's not for kids though so put your earbuds in if they're around).
Thanks for all your dining, shopping, and other recommendations via Instagram! We ended up dining at Seersucker that evening. If you ever have the opportunity, go. It's amaaaaaazing and darling.
The five of us may be very different, but one step down from our love for Jesus is a passion for 90's hip-hop.
As we walked away with full bellies, we heard live music drifting over from an alleyway/patio bar nearby. And like a moth to the flame (cue Janet Jackson reference), we beelined over.
Because three of the girls are military wives, one of them began talking to the bouncer, telling him we needed to get in for free because their husbands were sacrificing so much (I mean, if your husband is deployed, why not play that card?!).
After a bunch of bantering back and forth about how awesome we are and how we really do need to get in without paying the cover, the guy shared he was a Marine and with a knowing wink, the big teddy-bear of a guy let all five of us in and showed us to a front table next to the stage.
As the band started, we looked around and realized somehow over the last decade...
We became those goofy middle-aged people who Just. Got. Down.
You know, those people where you're like. "Um...wow. This is a car accident. I cannot look away!" Yes. We were those people. And it was amazing.
Is there a better way to begin a 90's throwback weekend than hearing a 90's cover band named Hip Hop Horray? Our lives were changed. I was in junior high again.
We were out till 1:30am dancing our 13 year old hearts out to Kris Kross, the Beastie Boys, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff...you name it, they played it.
The next morning we were up early (because hello, we're moms and our bodies no longer know how to sleep in) and after grabbing coffee and going for a stroll, we enjoyed a leisurely brunch at Annie's Cafe.
Austin...do you have bad food? Because everything we ate was to die for.
Taking a cab over to South Congress Street to do some window shopping, we heard a DJ spinning some more great music. Drawing us over to a totally retro place called Austin Motel. Crossing the street to see what was going on, we pressed our noses through the fence and took in the scene.
You guys, I can't even. It was like a movie set, it was so cliché and fantastic.
My best friend Kiesha walked up to the gate and asked someone what was going on. As we stood there, mouths gaping at such a fun party, they invited us inside explaining it was a hosted pool party in celebration of the end of the music festival (which we had no idea was going on).
We giggled like total nerds as we huddled in the corner of the pool area, under a red and white metal umbrella that was probably made the same year I was born. We asked each other, "From 1-10, how uncomfortable are you?"
My response was a 7.5.
Or maybe an 8.
I kept thinking, I am NOT cool enough to be here. This is so hilarious.
When I say I'm not cool enough...here's what I mean:
Looking around, there were girls in vintage inspired swimsuits that looked as if they needed a petaled swimming cap upon their heads. Perfectly done makeup that made them look like pin-up girls from the WWII era, wearing long vintage robes with their names (and the name of the party) hand-embroidered on it. Totally Laverne and Shirley looking.
Those not ready to pull a petaled swim cap over their perfectly quaffed hair looked like they were halfway stuck in the fashion-forward 60's, while their other half was stranded in the grungy flannel-wearing 90's. With thick blunt cut bangs and straight hair which curled out at the chin, their faces were void of makeup, but the thin arms beneath their ironic t-shirts showed beautifully drawn tattoos from fingertips to shoulders.
And then there were the guys. I don't even know where to start, but think waxed, twisted handlebar mustaches, American Flag speedos (please, no), and floor-length robes with the same hand embroidery with their names and name of party on the breast. They were drinking cold brewed coffee slushies...infused with essential oils.
You guys...INFUSED WITH ESSENTIAL OILS!
WHAT?! (belly laugh appropriate here)
There was also a girl floating around in the pool (fully dressed) on a blow-up hot dog. She was eating a hot dog. And there was a hot dog (Dachshund) by the lounge chair behind her.
I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!!
It was amazing. I can't even handle it.
We kept laughing, "Is this my life right now?" and "I picked my kids up from soccer yesterday. Today I'm crashing an ironic pool party."
As we started chatting with people (like the lady drinking Rosé while wearing a "Rosé all Day" sweatshirt. I couldn't pretend this if I tried), our uncomfortable levels went down from 7.5 to about 3.5 and we left with nostalgic pins in our lapels and blow-up flamingos stuffed in our purses.
A successful pool-crash, for sure.
Later that night, we braved a torrential rain that basically soaked us as we got from our condo to the concert venue. But we didn't care because we were about to see Boyz II Men, Paul Abdul, and NKOTB!!
Boyz II Men = amazing (no surprise here). They sang the song my friends and I sang during our graduation ceremony so I got teary of course. Their voices haven't aged a day.
Paula is pretty much the cutest, tiniest, most darling woman ever. I have no idea how she is behind closed doors...but she just seems so lovely. She had a wardrobe change every single song and every one was just so fun. I loved that she danced to some of her old music videos that I hadn't seen since my MTV days and adored the tribute she had to Gene Kelly and Singing in the Rain (the movie that inspired her as a child to learn to sing and dance).
And NKOTB - Uhhhhhh where do I start? Maybe at the screaming? It was like I happened on to the Beatles back in the day. I literally thought the ladies behind us were going to pass out. It was unbelievable.
The New Kids concert was over the top and they are obviously performers over singers at this point. I laughed and laughed. Like tears running down my cheeks laughed because it was so funny seeing big, massively muscular men (like a Walhberg brother) doing boy-band dance moves while attempting to sing in falsetto.
There were even a few songs where one of the guys would burst out laughing in the middle of a high note saying, "I'm sorry, I just don't have a 12 year old voice anymore".
It was glorious. Slightly inappropriate, I'm not gonna lie. I rolled my eyes more than once. But still fantastic.
And then suddenly the weekend was over. Forty eight hours just went too massively fast, but with a very full and rejuvenated heart, I'm going around in my normal day, while giggling to myself.
If you've never had a girls weekend, make it happen. It doesn't have to be anything major, but just opportunity for relaxing with your friends, and LOTS of laughter.
90's hip hop optional. ; )
Have you ever done a girls trip? What was your favorite part? Where'd you go? Who went with you?