Weekly Recap: Kelsea Ballerini/Kenny Chesney Concert and Tequila in Mexico
A low key weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered following a long week of business travel in Mexico. After a late Friday thanks to airplane delays in Dallas/Fort Worth, it was nearly midnight before I pulled into my driveway. I was so tired I slept until 10am Saturday, which never happens. Later Saturday afternoon, Alex and I went out for margaritas, then finished the night playing a couple games of Skip-bo, which I lost both times. Sunday included lunch at Latitude 35, tea cocktails at Winterbloom Tea, and of course, a nap!
What I’ve been up to:
A couple weeks ago, Alex and I finally made it to the jeweler to look at wedding bands! We went to the same jeweler that Alex bought my engagement ring from and I think we made the right choice — the associates are so friendly and helpful, actually taking the time to talk us through different options without trying to push a sale. They didn’t have the matching band for my engagement ring in their stock display, so they put in an order for it, and it arrived last week, so we’re going to go take a look sometime this week. Next step is to lock in the ones we want and get them ordered, which we should wrap up in the next weeks.
The weekend before last, on Friday night, we spent the evening in our city’s downtown area, celebrating the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival with friends. That same weekend, on Saturday, I got my nails done, then Alex and I drove up to Greensboro for the Kelsea Ballerini/Kenny Chesney concert. If you’ve been here long enough, you know I love Kelsea Ballerini. I’ve seen her as an opening act a couple other times, but this time with Kenny Chesney was by far my favorite. She has so many great songs in her discography and she’s such a fun performer. Plus, we got to hear Penthouse live and ugh, it was so good! Kenny was great too — I had so much fun singing along to the songs I grew up listening to. He really knows how to engage the audience. Toward the end of Kenny’s set, when he brought Kelsea back out to sing “half of my hometown”, it took me right back to my sweet little hometown. A couple years ago, I shared a blog post about life in a small town, which was inspired by this exact song.
And finally, I spent the past week (Monday through Friday) in Mexico on a business trip. My coworker and I traveled to two different areas — Querétaro (near Mexico City) and Saltillo (near Monterrey). It was a long week, but an enjoyable one. As per usual in Mexico, I ate a lot of good food (great tacos in Querétaro, excellent beef and enchiladas in Saltillo) and drank a lot of good Mexican beer and tequila. I even snuck in one carajillo (the expresso/liquor drink I discovered on my first trip) on our last night in Saltillo!
I’ll leave you with a funny tequila story. I completely forgot that when in Mexico, you’re supposed to sip tequila and not shoot it down. We were at dinner with several people (and several senior leaders) the final night and we all were poured a shot of tequila. We raised our glasses for a “cheers!” and when I went to drink mine, I drank the whole thing like a shot and set the glass down only to find everyone else’s glass was still full less a sip and they were all staring at me, laughing because I finished mine off in one drink. That’s the exact moment I remembered you’re supposed to sip it haha. The rest of the group was making comments like “This isn’t Jennifer’s first rodeo, she looks like she’s done that before”, “Oh Jennifer’s not messing around” and “Better fill up Jennifer’s glass and let her try that again”. I was SO EMBARRASSED. And yes, I sipped the second shot… extra slow!
What I’ve been reading:
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman — I finished the week I came back from California and I’m so sad it’s over! I’ll be sharing a full Thursday Murder Club series review soon. Can’t wait until the fourth book comes out in September.
Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah — Okay, no one told me this was going to pack a punch. I have so many mixed feelings. Potential was there, I just don’t think it was well executed. And the ending… I did not like the ending.
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams — While traveling in Mexico, I needed a cute, feel-good romance to pick me up after long days on airplanes and in the office. I really liked this one, no surprise given I loved the first book When in Rome. Small town vibes are my favorite. So many charming characters!
What I’ve been listening to:
Kelsea Ballerini/Kenny Chesney prep included listening to a very detailed setlist playlist — Lots of oldies but goodies.
Ellie Goulding’s newest album Higher Than Heaven (Deluxe) — Tastes Like You on REPEAT.
The National’s newly released duet with Taylor Swift, The Alcott — Literally can’t stop listening. So sad, so good.
Can’t Be Together by Adele — I came across this song on TikTok and how did I not know there was a 30 exclusive Target album?
On a Speak Now kick, obviously — Words can’t describe how excited I am for Taylor’s Version!
What I’ve been watching:
Ginny & Georgia Season 2 — The season ending was crazy! Need more ASAP.
A few other (random) things:
Well, Aaron Rodgers is officially a New York Jet and I don’t know how to feel about it. Going to miss watching him play #12 in a green and gold jersey.
Super excited because I stumbled upon an exciting Thursday Murder Club update. I didn’t know it was being adapted on film — what a pleasant surprise!
TikTok’s been abuzz about a potential Miley secret album released the same day as her most recent album. It’s very convincing, but it’s been scrubbed from the Internet, so I don’t know what to think. Perhaps leaks or AI??
So glad Ed Sheeran won his copyright suit; his speech was on point. Lost time with family, missing major life moments… all because he used music’s backbone… 4-chord progression.
Living for Taylor Swift’s Sunday night rain show in Nashville. She’s one of the most dedicated performers. 2am, pouring rain. Looked phenomenal.
Self promo, but check out my whale watching blog post. We had such a fun time!
Enjoy!
JB