Firefly Music Festival + Playlist

Hello lovely blog readers. Did you all have a great weekend? I surely did! I spent this weekend with John, my brother, my mom, my cousin, and her friend at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, DE. We are a music family (mom works in the music industry to boot), so this festival became our family's summer vacation. What a "vacation" it was, although I usually am not so wiped after a normal vacation. Pardon the slight departure from usual food and fitness talk, but there will be a fun playlist at the end that would be great for working out to; consider it payment for listening to me talk about my weekend.

John and me on Day 1

John and I headed to Dover Friday afternoon to take in the first day of musicians. Of the musicians that we saw that day, we most loved Blind Pilot, Matt Costa, OK GO, and John Legend. Sadly, when Jack White came on to headline Friday night, they messed up the sound, so we left early to save energy for the next few days.

The Flaming Lips put on a really fun show!

Saturday was the day I think I enjoyed the most. First of all, my lovely friend Maddie (who I visited and raced with in February) came down with friends. I hadn't seen her since visiting her in LA, so it was so great to see her and see some fun music with her. The favorites for Saturday were Ra Ra Riot, Cults, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, Young the Giant, Lupe Fiasco, and The Killers. Lupe Fiasco puts on such an amazing show because he is a rapper/R&B singer with the attitude and swagger of a rock star. It was great.

Backstage for Allen Stone's set

Sunday, tired, but ready for more music, we saw some more great music. Favorites included Reptar, Cold War Kids, Fitz and the Tantrums, family-friend Allen Stone (his first festival! So cool to have witnessed that), Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, Girl Talk, and the Black Keys. We were exhausted by the end and with the 1.5 hour drive back to Philly, we left the Black Keys early (really didn't want to...they sounded so great!).

Not great picture of Ben Gibbard from Death Cab. *swoon*

Overall, this was a really fun weekend and I totally got my fill of great music. The best act of the weekend had to be The Killers; they had the whole crowd going crazy and sounded fantastic. I'm a really lucky gal to have been able to seen so many talented musicians!

I am wearing insane glasses and John is squinting. Too funny not to share. 

Now to that playlist I promised. I compiled a list of fun and upbeat songs that could be just for fun to listen to, but also works as a workout playlist. I saw all of the bands this weekend on the list except for Yeasayer (seen them already, so I can vouch for the fun live show they put on). Here's the list of songs on the playlist:

1. My Body - Young the Giant 
2. Spaceman - The Killers 
3. Out of My Head - Lupe Fiasco feat. Trey Songz
4. Howlin' For You - The Black Keys
5. I'm Shakin' - Jack White 
6. Sleep - Allen Stone 
7. Stuck in my Id - Reptar 
8. Green Light - John Legend feat. Andre 3000 
9. Play Your Part (pt 1.) - Girl Talk
10. Boy - Ra Ra Riot 
11. MoneyGrabber - Fitz and the Tantrums 
12. A Million Ways - OK GO 
13. Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
14. We Used to Vacation - Cold War Kids
15. Abducted - Cults

You can listen to the playlist here through Spotify. Let me know what you think of it! I've been listening to it the past couple of hours while I've been putting it together and I have been digging it. 

Have a great week, folks! 

Well Hello Again

Right, I have a blog. I know I have been ignoring you, lovely blog, but I've been quite busy since my 100 miler.

A week after my 100, I had surgery to fix my severely deviated septum. No, that's not code for a nose job, but I did learn that one can fix a deviated septum sans nose job; don't let those celebrities fool you. I'm still currently recovering as my breathing isn't back to normal yet, but I haven't had as many headaches as I used to (reason for surgery). And no, I didn't take pictures of what I looked like directly post-surgery because my nose was super swollen and I looked like a Troll doll. 

A week after the surgery, I went up to Rhode Island with John for a wedding celebration for my best friend, Caitlin, and her husband, Barry. They were wed in Boston in February, but his family held a fun get together at their summer home. I had a lot of fun (although did not enjoy the 7 hours driving there and back...so lucky that John did 95% of it!). I was worried I wouldn't be able to go due to my surgery, but I just kept taking my pain meds and I was able to attend.

John and me

Me with the lovely bride <3

Last weekend, I helped out some friends and ran a leg of their relay in 20in24. The last two years, I've run the 24 hour race, but with my 100 only 3 weeks before it, I knew it wouldn't be in the cards for me this year. It was nice to run the loop on a friend's team and I also loved being a volunteer. I wrangled John into volunteering with me (actually, it was his idea and I made sure we stuck to it!) and we had a fun time helping it. I know how much goes into such a huge event and it felt nice to give back a bit, especially since it is the biggest race for Back on My Feet.

This weekend, we are headed to Dover, DE for the Firefly Music Festival. I am really excited to see so many amazing bands and to be hanging out with friends, John, and family. Hope everyone else has had a great couple of weeks!