We had quite the long weekend last week. Matt and I packed the car with two VERY EXCITED girls, tons of luggage, era outfits, lots of glitter, friendship bracelets and headed to Chicago to see Taylor Swift.
Did I mention the merch? Yes, getting your hands on some official tour mech is quite important and especially if you are after the limited blue tour crew. When we entered Chicago, Matt let us out at Soldier Field for the early day merch sale. I'm happy to report that after two truck lines, we walked away with the crew and a few other goodies. I gotta say, I was so relieved that Gracie got her hands on all the goodies she was after including the crew.
The girls had a room next to us and I was a little afraid of what that thing might look like after a late Saturday night makeup practice session to hours and hours of the girls getting ready on Sunday for the concert. There was definitely glitter, but surprisingly the room was still standing.
The concert like all of the others was sold out and we got in line (after a little mishap with a forgotten phone- LILY ha!) an hour early to enter Soldier Field and the bracelet exchange started. Oh yes! Those friendship bracelets were HUGE. Gracie, Jackie and I had made several before going and everyone was trading. I have to say it was a lot of fun and we met so many people through the trades.
The outfits! Oh my gracious I have never been surrounded by so much bedazzlement. I know Lily spent months deciding and putting together an outfit. She had started to stress me out. I joked that I was going as the era of Barb- comfortable, but I channeled a little Taylor. Lily represented the Reputation Era, Jackie did Lover and I dabbled with Fearless. I drew the line at the cowboy boots. Everyone said choose your shoes wisely and go with sneakers. Let me say- BEST ADVICE EVER. This is a looooong concert. The opening acts, Muna and Gracie Abrahms (both were great) took the stage around 6:30 and Taylor made a grand entrance at 7:50. She performed until 11:30. We were up the entire time dancing and singing. We were on the floor and only 7 seats in from the end of the stage and it was so exciting to see her so close.
The concert was absolutely AMAZING! It was like no other concert I have ever seen. The costume changes, stage sets, props, dancers, synchronized light up wrist bands, falling confetti, fireworks and Taylor's performance was like a Broadway show. It was worth the stress of getting and the cost of those tickets. And the smile and excitement on Lily's face was absolutely priceless. She is a HUGE Swiftie through and through. Watching her and hearing her sing every lyric just melted my heart and is what I will remember most.
After Taylor left the stage, the girls took a moment to gather some confetti to save (yep! that's a thing too) and along with the other 70,000+ fans made the super crowded and slow exit out of the stadium. It took us almost an hour to get out and meet Matt out front. He came down to walk us back. He'd gone to play golf and dinner while we were at the concert. That is when it hits you. Your feet hurt like crazy!!!!!! We had been standing from 3:00 until 12:30. Matt said he was worried he was going to have to strap the three of us on his back and carry us. Apparently, we looked rough. Uber wouldn't come close to the area and several of the streets were closed because of foot traffic. Once we got a bit away from the stadium we were able to score a limousine service who had a cancellation and we paid a ridiculous fare to take us the less than two miles back to Michigan Ave. Even that took close to 30 min. I know three girls who could not have been more grateful. It was after 1:30 Monday morning when we finally got back into our room.
We returned home on Monday and we were all struggling, but wouldn't have traded the weekend for the world. Gracie videoed the entire concert and we all took tons of pics and it's been fun going through them all.
Lily Grace being able to give you this and sharing in it with you has meant the world to daddy and me. You were definitely Ready For It! You were Bejeweled and had Style! It may have gotten cool toward the end of the concert and we could have used a Cardigan but, we managed to Shake It Off. Luckily there was no Midnight Rain and the evening was Enchanted! Daddy and I knew All Too Well how super excited you would be. We loved seeing the Afterglow all over your face. We are so glad it exceeded your Wildest Dreams! We love you Gracie and it truly was The Best Day! Yep! I just did that! You're Welcome! Love you!
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| We snagged the limited crew. |
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| After tackling the merch line on Saturday and walking up and down Michigan Ave as those girls searched for more glitter, Matt and I were ready for dinner at our favorite restaurant. Thank you Matt for being our chauffeur, Uber fetcher, package holder and the guy who scored the tickets! |
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We have our bracelets and 13
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These nails got a lot of attention. Thank you Hunter for this amazing manicure and fun you made it for her.
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| It left all of us smiling as we left |
