Music Review: Brantley Gilbert

Brantley Gilbert is someone whose name you're hearing a lot more of lately in the Country Music world.  To be honest, I thought Brantley was a lot newer than he actually is.  He's not really someone I've been keeping up with. Whoops.

Turns out, Halfway to Heaven is his sophomore album and didn't come out as recently as I thought it did.  Regardless of its release date, it is a great album.  I downloaded it several weeks ago and can't seem to get enough of it.  Literally listening to it non-stop!  I tend to do this with albums that totally catch my ear!- like Jason Aldean in general or his most recent album, Night Train and Chris Young's Neon.  I love an artist that produces an album that is the whole package- having no urge to skip songs.  That's how I feel about Brantley's Halfway to Heaven album.  Don't get me wrong there are songs I like better than others but it is a great download and worth every cent.

You have also heard Brantley's work through the voices of other artists including Jason Aldean and Colt Ford.  Brantley co-wrote and recorded the songs later recorded by Jason Aldean including Dirt Road Anthem, My Kinda Party, and The Best of Me. 

Brantley was recently nominated for CMA New Artist of the Year, ACA Single of the Year: Breakthrough Artist ("You Don't Know Her Like I Do"), and most recently, ACM New Male Vocalist (which will air on April 7th!).  He has also head-lined his first tour and signed a contract with Mountain Dew to be a part of some of their upcoming projects.  

Besides Brantley's songs that you might of heard from Halfway to Heaven including You Don't Know Her Like I Do, My Kind of Crazy, and Country Must Be Country Wide, these songs are among my favorites of the album:

His newest single:  More Than Miles

Back in the Day

Saving Amy

Bottom line, if you're into rock and country music Brantley is a perfect mix of the two and defintely worth a listen.  

Let me know what you think of him! :)

March Madness

Are you into March Madness?  Have you been watching the games?

I think March Madness is so fun.  As you know, I love sports, college sports especially and March Madness is like having your second favorite holiday for two and a half weeks straight.  

I say second favorite holiday because let's not forget that College Football is my favorite thing, season, past time, etc of all time, so Bowl Week is like having Christmas for a week right after Christmas.
So yeah, there's nothing better than that!

By anyway, back to March Madness.... I enjoy filling out a bracket each year even if I don't follow the season religiously.  I think it's fun to get a little competitive with my friends, dad, the rest of my family, etc.
 

Now that we're about to start the Sweet Sixteen, who's looking to re-do their bracket and start over?  Truthfully, the only section of my bracket that got slaughtered is the West, which is self explanatory since I had Gonzaga making it further and I did not see Harvard beating New Mexico.  I also didn't see #2 Georgetown losing to #15 Florida Gulf Coast, but I'm sure not many people did, even though that kind of upset is bound to happen.
And that's the beauty of this madness.

I feel like I pick Kansas or Kentucky to win it every year.  Last year of course, it was the year I picked Kansas to win it all and what to do you know, Kentucky won.  With Kentucky not even making the tournament, it should have been a sure thing that I would pick Kansas this year, but instead I decided to pick completely different.
I have Florida winning it all.

For some reason, I think a game of Florida versus Louisville for the title would be a great one, so that's what I picked.  Louisville has been a solid basketball team for years and well, I have a huge crush on the SEC (it has something to do with the fact that I'm dying to live in the south and again my love for college football).  So there you have it.

What does your bracket look like?  Who do you have winning it all?

A Weekend in Chicago

I love traveling- whether it's a week long vacation or short getaway and whether filled with site seeing, R&R, or lots of various activities.  I love it.  I'm the type of person who always has to be doing something.  Don't get me wrong, I love relaxing and also being spontaneous or last minute, but I also love having plans.  Who doesn't?

After my trip to New Orleans I felt a sadness knowing that was the last trip I had planned.  As I was talking to my friend, Dana, who moved to Chicago shortly after graduation, I decided to visit her for her upcoming birthday in March and booked my ticket that day.

Another one of our roommates, Krista heard I had booked and flight and decided to come too!  The two of us were going on a mini-vacation to visit Dana for her birthday and I was so excited.

I had always wanted to go to this bar called Joe's Bar in Chicago.  It's not necessarily a country-bar, but a lot of new country artists perform there and I've heard various artists talk about how much they like it, so I looked it up.  I found out that my favorite country music new-comer, Thomas Rhett, was going to be performing there on Friday night and decided to buy the three of us tickets.  

The weekend was finally here and I was so excited.  A snow storm that was predicted for earlier in the week came late causing delays and cancellations on Friday.  Krista had an early afternoon flight that was cancelled and my flight was delayed about 2 hours.  The original plan was to go straight to the show once I arrived in Chicago since Krista was supposed to already be there and we would have gotten there just in time.  We didn't plan for massive delays, like the ones we had and unfortunately could not make the show.  I was bummed, but it happens.  We both arrived late Friday night and wound up relaxing at Dana's apartment, catching up and sipping wine.

In the morning we went to breakfast at a diner in the area of Chicago where Dana lives, which is Bucktown, then headed for downtown.  Willis Tower was something that was on my list of things to do in Chicago.  It's the tallest building in North America (I think?) and has SkyDecks that you can go out on with great views.  The SkyDecks are literally glass platforms that you stand on.  The views from up there were wonderful, even though it was a bit overcast.  Dana and Krista reluctantly went to the Willis Tower.  They had no desire to see the views or do the "touristy" things, but I made them and once we were finished they were happy I dragged them there.  :)

We then walked around Chicago, taking pictures at the Bean and over the River (I love how the river runs right through the middle of the city), snacking on some popcorn from Garrett's and doing some shopping on the Magnificent Mile.

That night we went out to a nice dinner to celebrate Dana's birthday at Ditka's.  Mike Ditka is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and Superbowl-winning Coach (Chicago, 1986), so this football fanatic obviously wanted to go to his restaurant, especially since RPM Italian had a 3-month long waiting list.  The restaurant was awesome- lots of tasteful memorabilia and great food.  My favorite part was the football in the bottom of the glasses, so I obviously had to buy some as a souvenir.

 After dinner we went to Dana's friend's apartment for a pre-game and then headed out on the town.  That weekend was day-light savings, and before we knew it the first bar was closing.  We then went to another bar with later hours and had a great time.

Sunday was Dana's birthday!!! In the morning we went to one of Dana's favorite breakfast places in her area and went shopping in her part of town as well.  The weather was kinda crappy and started down-pouring at one point.  By early evening I had to head to the airport for my flight.

It was a short trip, but it was fun to get a glimpse of Chicago and Dana's life out there.

I can't wait to go back!

Have you been to Chicago?  What your favorite thing about the city?

No Sweets During Lent

We are well into the new year and to be honest, I haven't been doing well on my New Year's Resolutions.  I'm conscious of my goals and haven't been completely negligent, but haven't been tackling them like I had hoped, either.

Since January, I have been sick a few times, which leaves me wanting to lay on the couch/in bed watching TV or sleeping in the time that I'm not working.  Working at least 6 days a week, with long hours has nothing to do with me getting sick, right?  Either way, my immune system better get used to it or mother nature can stop having mood swings with this weather, whichever.

The season of Lent has helped me get my healthy eating in gear.  I've always enjoyed sweets and since moving home in June sweets have been much more available to me.  In college I didn't really deprive myself of things that I wanted to eat, but I also didn't buy an excessive amount of snacks or unhealthy food.  Living at home and not grocery shopping/cooking for myself has been an adjustment for me.  My family keeps tons of snacks and treats in the house that I sometimes can't resist.  I severely lack self control.  I've noticed myself gaining weight and attributed it to my increase in sweets and decrease in exercise due to long work hours of sitting at a desk.  So for Lent I decided to give up sweets all together.  No ice cream, no cookies, no cake, no candy, etc.  So far, so good.

My self control was tested one night.  It was my friend's birthday and we had gone to The Cheesecake Factory.  Without even thinking twice about it I ordered my favorite cheesecake to-go.  It wasn't until we were in the car that I remembered that I couldn't eat the cheesecake that I had just bought.  I'm proud to say that I did not cheat with the cheesecake and instead watched my family enjoy it! 

As a substitute for my sweet tooth I have been making smoothies.  In college I made smoothies all. the. time.  I would have a smoothie for lunch or as a late afternoon snack probably 3x a week.  I usually bought fresh fruit, but would also freeze it if I wasn't using it fast enough.  Raspberries are my favorite and they tend to go bad quickly so I often froze them or would buy the already frozen ones.  I came up with my own, random smoothie recipes or would find them on Pinterest.  My roommates always loved trying the new concoctions I made with the blender.

Here are some of my favorite smoothie recipes that I've made recently:

1 Banana (fresh or frozen)

Handful of Raspberries

Vanilla or Plain Non-Fat Yogurt

Small handful of Walnuts

4-5 Strawberries

1 Banana

Half a package of Oatmeal

Vanilla or Plain Non-Fat Yogurt

2 Bananas

Handful of Almonds

1 package of Oatmeal

Plain Non-Fat Yogurt

Ice should be added to each smoothie.  If you use frozen fruit, there is no need to add ice.  In fact, I sometimes recommend frozen fruit over fresh fruit because ice tends to make the smoothie less thick due to the water component.

Enjoy! :)

I'm interested in trying this smoothie, but I'm a little skeptical about mixing spinach and pineapple or having spinach in a smoothie at all.  What is your take on it?

Are you into juicing? I don't know much about it, but I'm also interested in trying that.  

What's it like?  What kinds of produce do you use? What machine do you use?

In the mean time, I'm very interested in this Aqua Zinger Flavored Water Maker to add flavor to my water with natural fruit juices.