Did you know you can frame clothes?

Its spring cleaning time! I've been going through my closet and, oh my goodness, there are a lot of clothes that I don't wear anymore! 😆 Luckily, I can use a lot of it as fabric for RagsReborn pillows and what I can't use, I can donate. On the other hand, I came across a couple of items that I can't use as fabric but I still have a sentimental attachment to so I don't want to get rid of them, either. At the same time as I was trying to come up with ideas of how to re-purpose my clothes, I was also thinking of how to fill some of the empty space on a few of our walls. Then the two collided and I decided to frame a few of my shirts. It is a pretty straightforward process and here's a super simple DIY.

Materials needed: old article of clothing (I used the blouse that I got married in; it still fits but it's become a little too tattered to wear), picture frame, hot glue gun and fabric scissors.

1. Open up the picture frame and locate the piece of paper in between the cardboard backing and glass.

2. Cut out the section of fabric that you want to frame (or, if you don't want to cut into your shirt, fold it to where only the section you want to frame is visible). Make sure that the section is bigger than the piece of paper from step #1.

3. Wrap the fabric around the piece of paper (I wrapped it tightly, like I would a Christmas present) and glue around the edges.

4. Put the frame back together and you're done!

Another thing that I like to frame and decorate with is puzzles. But I guess that's not a novel idea. any suggestions for what I should frame and decorate with next?

RagsReborn's Spring Craft Show Schedule

Howdy, everyone...long time, no blog. How have you been? Good, I hope. I suppose this lack of blogging isn't news anymore since I only blog about once per month now. So lazy! LOL I guess I haven't had that much going on. Or at least not that much that's worth writing about. So onto RagsReborn's spring craft show schedule...

Wanderlust Pop-Up Shops
Saturday April 13, 2019, 10am - 6pm
Wheeler Ferris Wheel 1701 S. Western Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73109
https://www.facebook.com/events/284402045529166/

This will be my third year at Wanderlust. 😎 And that's because it has always been one of my favorite shows to be a part of. The event coordinators do everything they can to ensure that both vendors and shoppers have a great experience. The best part--- all of the vendors are local Oklahoma makers! No direct sales or multi-level marketing companies. Support handmade crafters!! Support local small business!! Support artisans!! And all that jazz...

And that's it. Only one spring craft show this year. I might pick up a small show here and there if a good fit comes my way but I don't have much planned for this spring and summer. *Gasp!* No worries though, I will be doing several shows this fall and holiday season. I already have applied for--and have been accepted to--a handful of shows (which is amazing because I never get my schedule organized this far in advance!) I plan to hit the craft show circuit pretty hard again starting in October. Until then, let me know if you need any custom orders made; you know those are my favorite and I am always ready for them!

Wes & Erica go see LP in concert

I was super excited when I saw the wrist bands because it matched my sweater. Cheetah print for life! 🐱

So here it is, guys, the first travel blog post of the year. It only took until March for Wes & I to find a reason to leave town for a weekend. I found out that LP was coming to Dallas and decided that we had to go. An added plus - Wes likes her music, too! You might not recognize her name but I'm sure you are familiar with her music. Apparently, her songs have been in a several tv shows (I don't know which ones because I don't watch tv) and a few years ago, one of her songs Night Like This was the featured weekly download for iTunes (I think it was also on an Apple commercial but I'm not for certain). We also ventured to Dallas to revisit Malai Thai Kitchen. We went for dinner when we stopped at Ikea last December and saw that they have a really delicious brunch menu. Since the concert was on a Sunday evening, we thought that would be the perfect opportunity to also get brunch. 

The forecast showed winter weather (light snow & some icy spots) for the day we drove down to Texas so we left home super early. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, I was cold and sleepy. The big bowl of congee that I ordered off the brunch menu was just what I needed. Congee, or Chinese rice porridge, is one of my favorite foods. Sadly, the only place where I can find it in OKC is at dim sum. We don't go out for dim sum much so I rarely ever get it. My mom isn't a fan so she doesn't cook it, either. I was SO DAMN EXCITED when the waiter brought out my steaming bowl of chicken, broth, egg, bread, scallions and rice. It was warm and hearty and tasted like everything that was right in the world. Wes ordered the Thai omelette. He liked it but said it was a little too sweet. Oh, and there was zero snow/ice on the roads. Our weather forecasters suck. LOL

I only took pictures of the lobby because the rest of the hotel did not look this nice.

I didn't plan anything else for the day so after brunch, we just checked into the hotel and lounged around all afternoon and into the early evening. Wes booked us a room at the Highland. The lobby looked super swank and upscale but the rest of the hotel wasn't all that great. All other parts of the hotel were Wild West-themed to the extreme. Every piece of decor in our room was cowboy-related and it looked sooooo tacky. And our room had zero amenities. No microwave, no coffee maker, nothing that could be used to make food. They did have room service menus lying around everywhere... hint hint. 😏 I wasn't a fan of our room but what made me give the Highland a bad rating was the valet service. Parking was valet only. And there was only one valet attendant. And he was not very attentive. If you require all of your guests to use valet, then you should probably hire more than one grumpy guy. The valet attendant was never visible when we pulled up and he didn't answer when we called for the car from our room (we just kind of stood around outside for several minutes hoping my car would eventually get parked or pulled around). Maybe I'm too middle class to fully appreciate valet parking.

For dinner we ate at Aw Shucks, which was the second restaurant of the day where I absolutely loved my food (fried oysters and coleslaw) but Wes did not enjoy what he ordered (fried catfish and fries). We usually share the same culinary tastes so this was weird. The place was known for its take on shrimp cocktail. The shrimp was mixed in an avocado, lime, cilantro and tomato relish and poured into a beer mug, which was very Instagrammable but not easy to actually eat. The restaurant was basically an open kitchen surrounded by patio seating. The patio was enclosed in a tent-like structure but it was still ridiculously cold. The staff was super friendly and the security guard complimented Wes's hair (which happens way more often than you'd think).

After dinner we walked across the street to the Granada theater for the concert. I was not a fan of the Granada's aesthetic. I think it has potential to be a really nice event space but it chose to keep its old and dirty look. I guess it mostly hosts indie artists so the building's vibe was very grunge. What bothered me the most was the unfinished paintings on the walls. It seemed as if the artist had original intent for a sprawling mural but then said, "Oh f*ck this", and went home. LP's opening band was a husband and wife duo named Sam & Jim. Wes and I agreed that they were awful. Think of the most annoying, sugar coated, married couple you know. Now think of them on a stage singing. That was Sam & Jim. I think they only played for 45-minutes but their cutesy anecdotes and songs about their life together seemed to last a hellish eternity. 

All tickets were general admission and we didn't get there super early to be in the front so my pictures aren't that great. Sorry.

LP finally took the stage and she was everything I ever wanted in an artist, and more. Her performance was sooooooo good. Her vocal range is amazing. She is the only person I know who can rock out on a ukulele and make whistling sound sexy. This was one of the few concerts where I felt, wholly and genuinely, the intent of the music. I actually felt sad when she sung a sad song. I felt truly joyful when she performed a happy song. She performed mostly from her latest album Heart to Mouth and barely any from Forever For Now, which is my favorite and the album where I discovered her. I thought she sounded better live than on the albums but Wes disagreed. His favorite song she performed was Recovery, which she did acoustic. I liked every song she performed and I got a kick out of her cover of Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire. She didn't talk to the audience much but she did interact a ton with the front row. People were handing her cell phones so she could take selfies and record herself singing. Fans also handed her letters and signs. At the beginning of the show, someone threw a bouquet of white roses at her. They didn't throw the roses to her but at her. Another concert goer threw their phone at her. Who does that? So rude! She took it all in stride and kept on performing. 

This is usually where I end day #1 of the trip and save the second day for another blog post but we didn't do much on day #2 of our trip so I will just keep the two days together for one journal entry. We had lunch at the Original Market Diner. It had good reviews online but neither of us enjoyed our meals. I think the restaurant survives off its regular customer base who have been eating there for so long that they don't realize that the food is not good and over priced. Wes got the raisin bread French toast, which he said tasted like bargain brand bread you get on sale at the grocery store. I got their blue plate special, which was meatloaf on Mondays. I love meatloaf and have never had one that I didn't like... until now. The "meatloaf" had the texture of SPAM and it tasted like fast food hamburger patties. It was all filler and preservatives. Instead of ketchup or barbecue sauce, they poured this runny tomato broth (with soggy vegetables) on top of the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It tasted fine over the meatloaf but it completely ruined the mashed potatoes. 

Our last stop was Buc-ee's. There's a new location in Denton now!!! So we will for sure be stopping in every time we go to Dallas. LOL Buc-ee's is the best convenience store in existence. We always meander around for  way too long and buy too many snacks but its a good thing. I always want Buc-ee's merchandise but we're trying to keep our house minimalistic. But, man it was hard to resist that stuffed animal! Besides the hotel and lunch, I thoroughly enjoyed our first mini-vacation of 2019. I am really glad that I saw LP live. She is one bad ass rocker chick!

My very first pop concert...

Well... I guess this wasn't my first pop concert; I saw George Lam at the Hong Kong Coliseum several years ago but that wasn't a "traditional" pop star's concert. I loved seeing George live, don't get me wrong, but he didn't have back up dancers, rotating stages, wardrobe changes and everything else I think of when I imagine a pop concert. I've seen all the TV concert specials (New Kids on the Block, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncė, etc) and I've always wanted to be there. Being right in the thick of it seems like it'd be an amazing spectacle.

This is the best picture I could find from the George Lam concert. It was in 2011 and phone cameras weren't that great.

Last year, Justin Timberlake's Man of the Woods tour announced that they were making a stop in Oklahoma City and there it was-- my golden opportunity! I've loved Mr. Timberlake ever since N'SYNC (speaking of N'SYNC, which one of them is the Rabbit on The Masked Singer TV show???) and Man of the Woods is one of my favorite albums by him. I purchased our tickets in March of 2018 and actually forgot all about the concert until I got an email reminder from TicketMaster. Saturday January 26th finally rolled around and the show did not disappoint. Totally worth the wait! I read an article stating that the concept of the show was to "bring the outside in," and boy did they! 😍 The stage was ah-mazing!!! I enjoyed the stage/props and lighting displays more than the actual concert... Justin Timberlake put on one hell of a show but it could have been anyone singing on that stage and I would have still loved it because the production was just that good. LOL

Let me try to describe it for you: the large main stage (where the band was set up) was situated toward the back of the arena and it lead out onto a winding catwalk lined with faux trees. The show was at the Chesapeake Arena, which is round, and Justin's creative team made sure that everyone sitting anywhere could get a good view of the performance. The winding stage ended at a round mini-stage that had grass that sprouted out from underneath the stage. All along the catwalk were trap doors that produced back up dancers and microphone stands. There was also a small campfire scene, some ramps, and a large projector that showed outdoorsy backgrounds on screens that hung from the ceiling. And LASERS!!! So many lasers!!!! I've decided that my favorite part of any concert is the laser light show. I've also decided that if reincarnation is indeed real, I am going to study theater and production in my next life (assuming I come back as a humanoid) so I can work on the artistic team of a large production because my favorite part of any concert, Broadway musical and movie is always the set design. Well, that and costumes.

The concert supposedly started at 7:30pm but we had to sit through two hours of DJ Freestyle Steve before Justin Timberlake came out. DJ Freesyle Steve was supposed to hype up the crowd and he sort of did--but I found him mostly to be annoying. He kept repeating the same things over and over... it was "OKC are we ready to party?", "Gurl I see you!", and "Where my die-hard JT fans at?" on a constant loop. We also saw Francisco Yeats. He is a Canadian singer and a pretty famous song writer (I had never heard of him so I Googled him as he performed his set). He sang a bunch of cover songs, but after discovering that he's a pretty prolific songwriter, they're probably songs he co-wrote, so not actual covers. He did a lot of Prince- and James Brown-inspired dancing (although I thought he looked more like Jimmy Fallon doing his silly dances) and he put on a Thunder jersey with Westbrook's number. That got the crowd to like him! Smart kid. And after all that, the stage cleared and we still had to wait another 45-minutes for the real show to begin. I thought it was a little weird because the opening acts wasted all their time pumping up the crowd just to have it pewter out during the long wait. By the time Justin Timberlake came out, everyone was playing games on their phone, scrolling through social media or just milling about the hallways. 

I remember really really enjoying the concert but I don't remember anything specific... except for that awesome stage. Justin Timberlake performed songs from each of his solo albums and I liked Mirrors (the projection screen showed a kaleidoscope of several Justin Timberlakes) and Morning Light (the stage turned into a campfire scene) the best. His Man of the Woods logo and surrounding lasers was absolutely mesmerizing. The choreography and back up dancers were also super entertaining (every time I see a concert or music video I always look to see if I can recognize any former So You Think You Can Dance contestants; I did not see any this time). Justin Timberlake wore his Russell Westbrook designed Nikės and at one point, incorporated "Boomer Sooner" into his lyrics. Oh and at the beginning of the show, the large projector showed a video of The Tennessee Kids singing Thank God I'm a Country Boy (John Denver). I already knew I would enjoy the concert, but surprisingly, Wes did, too. He even said he liked Francisco Yeats! LOL So that was the first concert of 2019. We'll be seeing LP in March and possibly Ozzy Osborne in June.  Get ready for more travel blogs! (And less craft show blogs.. we'll talk about that later...)

RagsReborn's 2018 Review

It is currently 11:35am on Tuesday, January 1st, 2019. Happy New Year, y'all! 🎇🎉(that second emoji is supposed to be a "party popper," but it totally looks like a taco or some sort of food to me, LOL) I decided to use the #2018bestnine app yesterday to generate my highest liked pictures of the year. Some good ones came up - endometriosis awareness, the dress I designed and made for American Sewing Guild contest, the Kesha concert, my drastic haircut, I gained Excel certification, endometriosis awareness (again!), Athena with Santa Paws, Crazy Rich Asians, and sadly, only one craft show picture. And even worse, there weren't any pictures of my sewing process or finished products. Well, that just means I need to work harder this year.

Earlier this morning, I tabulated all of my craft show information (items sold per show, expenses, and all that boring accounting stuff). I only participated in sixteen shows--which is still a lot but I think I did over twenty the year before. I spent most of my time (and money) on growing my sewing skill set. I took a sewing class that spanned several weeks and totally immersed myself in American Sewing Guild. Oh, and I also bought a ton of new stuff for my sewing room. So, 2018 wasn't the best year financially for RagsReborn. That being said, I still had a handful of marvelous craft shows. The top one being The Santa Market, closely followed by Wanderlust and Sleigh Bells Market.

I opened my Etsy store in late November of 2014, just in time for the holiday shopping season. I told myself that I would give it three years to decide if being a small business owner would be a viable option for me. My three years are over and I've decided that nope, being a small business owner is absolutely not a good career choice. Dude, I totally suck at sales! While other vendors are chatting up everyone who walks near their booth and making $500+ at craft shows, I'm over here being socially awkward. That used to make me feel so horrible (and jealous). Something happened last summer... a complete switch in mindset. I was still the quiet girl who politely greeted customers and let them browse while I sat in the corner of my booth and read... but I noticed that I was still making sales. I only gabbed with a few customers per show but I was having real conversations with those that did stop and talk. I made friends and gained repeat customers. Most importantly, I stopped comparing myself to other vendors. I finally realized that RagsReborn Gifts is not a job, and I don't want it to be a job or a career. That's too much pressure.  I will never sell $1,000 at a craft show, like the "successful" vendors do. My products will never be picked up to be sold in local boutiques. And that is just fine. All I want is to create in my sewing room and then show off all my awesome talent. RagsReborn is a hobby, a hobby that I am really passionate about. I'm actually proud of myself and I don't need sales to justify that feeling. All that matters is that I bring top notch quality items to each and every show. For 2018, that is exactly what happened. I hope to keep that positive momentum going for 2019. I'm taking a few months off to experiment with new inventory (I will be sewing unicorn shaped stuffed animals...for all of you who keep asking if I have unicorns 🦄) and restocking everything else. I look forward to putting my spring craft show schedule together... I hope to see you soon!

Erica's birthday Dallas, TX trip.

This is 34. 

By the way, my birthday was over two weeks ago (12/14). I've always blogged waaaay after the event I'm writing about happened so I decided to continue with the tradition. LOL Actually, I started writing when we got back from Texas--quick notes, half formed paragraphs and pictures--but then I got super busy with last minute custom orders and Christmas festivities. (Merry belated Christmas guys; I hope yours was delightful! 🎄) Then when I had time again earlier this week, I wondered why I was even doing this. Who reads this stuff? If I'm writing it for myself, to preserve my travels and memories, will I even read it twenty or thirty years from now? I have so many journals and photo albums that I never share with others or revisit myself. But, whatever, I'm waiting on dinner to finish cooking & for a tv show to start so I might as well just finish this blog post, too.

My mother-in-law travels with her boyfriend for all their special holidays (birthday, Thanksgiving, Mother's Day, etc.) At first I found it weird because those are days you should be in town celebrating with friends and family. But, then Wes & I started skipping out on holidays, too, and it was probably the best decision ever. Well, maybe not the best decision ever but still a pretty darn good idea. I have very limited family and only a handful of individuals who I would consider friends (and who would be kind enough to call me a friend to them... that's the tricky part... you can say you have X number of friends but how many of those people could turn around and claim you has one of their friends, too?) Anyway, I could host a birthday party and invite a bunch of people over or grab drinks with coworkers or go to a fancy dinner with family. Or, I could do what I want on my birthday with just me & my husband. Sorry friends & family--you can call me a selfish b*tch if you want--but I chose the latter.

On my actual birthday, we went to WAGU Japanese BBQ for dinner. It's one of those places that has a mini grill attached to the table for you to cook your own food. Maybe it's because I enjoy cooking  anyway but I absolutely love those restaurants. Sure, I'll pay extra for the privilege to cook my own food!! The menu consisted of various cuts and types of meat. I don't remember everything we got but I do remember the delicious wagu beef (also Wes's favorite) and duck. The next morning, we headed to Texas. (I swear one of these days, we'll take an actual vacation that requires a plane and time zone change but for now, we're enjoying our little driving-out-of-town getaways.)

Yes, I insisted we take a selfie inside the IKEA cafe. We were holding delicious cinnamon rolls but my arm wasn't long enough to get both us and the desserts in the frame. 

The main reason why we went to Dallas was not for my birthday...it was for Wes to go to IKEA to buy an entertainment center for his game room. We tried to buy one in town but he couldn't find one he liked. Then the IKEA fall catalog arrived. LOL I enjoy wandering around IKEA so I completely agreed that this would be a fun way to spend the weekend. We actually didn't even buy the entertainment center he saw in the catalog. It didn't look as great in person. So he got another one that was almost too long to fit in my car. Well, it did fit in my car but it blocked all my blind spots. (And I'm a stressed out driver as it is, there was no way I was driving around Dallas with zero blind spot for the remainder of the weekend.) The hard part was maneuvering both of our seats and the entertainment center at just the right angles to not block the back windows. It took a few tries but we got it to fit comfortably and we headed onto our next destination.

This place boasted an impressive brunch menu, with congee (my favorite) and a Thai omelette that Wes really wanted to try. The next time we're in Dallas, it'll have to be on a Sunday between 10am - 3pm.

Which was food. YES!! Always food! 😋 I'm in charge of planning out where we eat when we travel and the last time we took a trip, I totally bombed in restaurant choices. I had to redeem myself with this trip. And, I'm happy to say that I did. We went to Malai, a modern Thai Vietnamese fusion restaurant. It was so good all around- the food was excellent, the atmosphere was hip and the staff was very nice. The restaurant has its own brewery and one of the featured beers was a Thai-P-A (get it... like an IPA). We started with this sticky rice ball that was wrapped in banana leaves and some spicy eggplant dipping sauce. I've never had sticky rice served that way before and I really liked the chunky sauce. Wes got Chiang Mai Noodles and I got the Shrimp Pad Thai. I enjoyed mine especially because it didn't have very many onions or bean sprouts (two ingredients that I usually pick out of my dishes). I also liked that the portions weren't huge so I could actually finish my meal without feeling too full. It was a little spicy but that was my fault for not having our waiter fully explain the spiciness scale.

Day two, we headed to an Asian strip-mall in Carrollton. Along with Wes's entertainment center, we initially ventured down here to purchase some guardian lions. You've seen them in front of Asian restaurants... those giant jade or marble lions that flank the front entrance. We decided that we wanted a pair for our back patio. Because I am an Asian stereotype and I'm not mad about it. Speaking of being an Asian stereotype, every time we travel anywhere near a 99 Ranch Market (which until now, I thought was pronounced Ranch 99), I must go inside to admire the foods of the motherland. Wes likes it, too, so its not just me being weird. Unfortunately, we weren't able to buy any of the delicious awesomeness (but you better bet that I hit up each and every single one of the ladies handing out free samples LOL) because it was a warm day and everything would have spoiled in my car on the drive home. When will our Asian supermarket expand to 99 Ranch size?? Oh and we didn't find any of those lion statues. We thought that they might only be sold in the spring and summer time since they're outdoor decorations.

I was actually so excited to go to the Asian supermarket that we got that waaaay too early (apparently stores open later on Sundays...😒) The only place open when we arrived at the strip-mall was the bakery. Last spring, a fellow student in my sewing class told me about 85°C Bakery Cafe. He said it was the best Vietnamese bakery and he and his husband stock up on treats every time they go to Texas. I was intrigued. The best Vietnamese bakeries that I've been to were in Houston. Okay, Joshua, you win... 85°C Bakery Cafe was outstanding! I got an egg tart and Wes got a coconut croissant. I also got the salted caramel latte, their seasonal special, which was not such a good idea. It was all salt and no caramel. I wanted to buy all the pastries but, again, it would have all spoiled in my car on the drive home. After breakfast, we wandered into Kinokuniya (a Japanese bookstore that we first visited in Sydney, Aus several years ago... our first trip together... do I have a blog post about that vacation somewhere?) and Diaso (an Asian version of the 99¢ store, only nothing was 99¢). Wes loved Kinokuniya. I'm not a fan of anime or manga but it was still neat to look at everything that was in there. I enjoyed browsing Daiso more. There were so many crazy things in there. Like odd little gadgets and cutesy items that you can only find on the streets of Chinatown. I bought some llama shaped post-it notes and ankle toe socks. 😆

Our last stop for the weekend was Hi, Sweetie for rolled ice cream. I first heard about Thai rolled ice cream on an episode of The Splendid Table podcast last summer. Ever since, I've been wanting to try it. We were going to go to a restaurant that had it when we were in Kansas for the Goo Goo Dolls concert but it ended up being way out of the way so we skipped it. 😔 It took quite a bit of driving around an enormous shopping center but we finally found Hi, Sweetie and it was well worth the confusing drive. I ordered the Oero mint chocolate chip ice cream. The chef poured some milk and an Oero onto a freezing cold surface and swished it around until it froze into ice cream. It was so rad. I was watching like a wide-eyed little kid. It was also pretty and it tasted good. Several other patrons came in while we were there and I stayed by the ice cream station and watched him make each order. He probably thought, "Yup, this one is definitely a tourist." Hahaha. 

Anyway, that concludes my birthday trip. Year #33 had its ups and downs (as all years do, so why am I typing such an annoying cliche?) I am looking forward to my thirty fourth trip around the sun. I hope for lots of laughter, light and love. I plan to continue growing as a person and travelling to eat all the yummy foods! As I sit here on New Year's Eve with my personal reflections, I wanted to let you guys know that you are enough. It took me thirty three whole years to figure that one out. I am a socially awkward, proud Chinese girl, with a face that inspires a makeover, who will never have children, am overly passionate about my small business (RagsReborn Gifts), has a hard time making new friends and, despite all that, I AM ENOUGH. So, please please remember that you, too, are enough just the way you are. Happy New Year, all, here's to 2019. 🥂

Erica & Wes go see the Goo Goo Dolls...

... because they are Erica's favorite band of all time and they were touring to perform Erica's favorite album of all time (Dizzy Up The Girl) which contains Erica's favorite song of all time, Slide. Wes, on the other hand, does not like the Goo Goo Dolls at all, which makes him the best husband of all time for making this pilgrimage with me. The Goo Goo Dolls are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dizzy Up The Girl's release this year with a special tour in which they perform the album in its entirety. The tour wasn't coming to Oklahoma but the next closest location with a convenient date was Kansas City, MO. So it was another road trip for us! (Original trip date was Sunday, October 28, 2018)

The Kansas Tollway has the best (cleanest) rest stops. Also, I got a new phone and the portrait mode is amazing. 

I think one of our absolute favorite things to do is to take road trips. The concert didn't start until 8pm so we took our time driving into town. The drive from Oklahoma City to Kansas City is about 85% tollway so that was a plus. Their tollway is also much smoother than ours, or maybe it just seemed nicer because there was much less construction. There was a ton of roadkill, though... opossums, deer, raccoons, you name it, we saw it. Besides that, the drive was really pretty. The majority of the countryside was trees that had changed to their autumn colors.

Dinner at Artego: those were the messiest wings I have ever eaten...ever. Wes said the calzone was a ripoff because it was mostly dough with only four tiny pepperonis in the center. 

Wes booked us a room in the very stylish Fontaine hotel. Super sleek and modern place! It was early evening and I assumed we had plenty of time to grab dinner and arrive fairly early to the concert.  We decided to go to Q39, a hip barbecue restaurant with good reviews online.What I did not anticipate was that Sunday night football was going on and the Kansas City Chiefs were playing. We got to the restaurant and were faced with a one hour wait because we didn't have reservations. Who makes reservations to a casual barbecue restaurant? On a Sunday? Apparently, football fans do. LOL The next closest eatery without a wait was Artego. It's a pizza place but I got buffalo wings and Wes got a calzone. Maybe we should have gotten pizza because the food we ordered was not very good.

We sat in the balcony so my pictures are a bit small. 

We arrived safely to Missouri, checked into the hotel, had our dinner and now it was time for the main event - GOO GOO DOLLS!!!! 😍 The concert was at the Uptown Theater. It is an old theater turned into a concert venue. The renovations left most of the original decor and style of the theater in tact, which I liked. Wes noted that it was very similar to the House of Blues in Dallas, TX. This was my second time seeing the Goo Goo Dolls perform live. The first was several years ago with my friend, Lacey. They came to Lucky Star Casino in some small town in Oklahoma. The show was amazing and I loved every minute of it but I think this show was a hundred times better. The band was much more personable and interacted with the audience a lot. I asked Lacey if they told any personal stories or jokes at the concert we went to and she said they didn't. I didn't remember any either. This time around, their set was peppered with anecdotes about the origins of each song and observations from the band.

As promised, they performed each song from Dizzy Up The Girl. It was so good. I could probably rant & rave for several paragraphs and use way too many adjectives to describe it but I won't. After a short set change, they performed a bunch of other songs from their catalog. It seemed like a bonus for me since I thought the concert would be over after Dizzy Up The Girl. Then after the second half of the show, they came out for an encore. Extra bonus! 😁 It was such a fantastic, extraordinary, rad concert. Probably tied in first place for the best concert I've ever attended (tied with The Darkness at House of Blues in Dallas https://ragsreborn.blogspot.com/2016/05/wes-erica-celebrated-their-first.html). For most of my childhood, music was just something in the background as I rode in the car or did my homework. But then in middle school, I heard Slide, and it was a song. I stopped to listen to the chords and pay attention to the lyrics. I know most people discover music much earlier in their lives but I never really cared until then. I don't follow celebrities in their personal lives so I have no idea if the Goo Goo Dolls are outstanding role models or not, but I absolutely delight in their music, song writing, and singing ability.

After the concert, we made our way back to the hotel. Wes said he enjoyed the concert even though it wasn't his favorite genre of music. I remained a giddy adoring fan for the remainder of the night. LOL The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant (no reservations needed, haha!) With full bellies, we headed back on the road for home. I usually do a fairly good job in researching eating establishments for our road trips but I totally sucked this time around. For lunch we stopped at Chiang Mai, a Thai restaurant in Wichita. It was presented as a unique and authentic hole-in-the-wall place but neither of us really enjoyed our meal. Wes's was too Americanized (chicken breast with a side of barbecue sauce) and my noodles were mostly onions and cabbage. 😒 I'll have to work extra hard in finding good places to eat on our next trip.

At least the restaurant was decorated with cool eclectic stuff. 

Wes got coffee flavored sparking water. Barf!

Chiang Mai was next to an Asian grocery store so we went exploring after lunch. It was also pretty disappointing. None of the snacks we got for the drive home were all that yummy. So I guess everything was sort of a let down except for the concert, WHICH WAS AMAZING! Oh and the drive was also really nice. And that's the last of the travel log for 2018. I'm working on planning two big trips for 2019. I guess we'll resume my journal entries then. See ya!