Abbey and I decided to go to Denver in June for a girls’ trip. We had so much fun!

We stopped in South Park for a photo op.

Once in Denver we went to the Art District. I’m such a fan of outside art.

I spotted a yarn bomb while we were gallery hopping!

Some metal sculptures:

There were artistic details all over.

I love clever street graffiti!

We went into a gallery and were met with large, beautiful paintings. Abbey and I were both into them and chatted with the gallery watcher. Then to our surprise the artist came in! Monica Aiello creates multiple layered paintings that have fiber in them. They’re based off images of planets and she works with NASA scientists.

Her paintings were fascinating and beautiful. She gave us a tour of her paintings (and her husband Tyler Aiello’s sculptures). She was in the middle of taking down her artwork because the show was ended but was happy to talk to us. Thank you Monica for taking the time to show us your work!

Months ago Abbey had introduced me to Laurie Maves’ artwork. Laurie posts videos of herself painting to her YouTube channel. Her videos are so inspiring-I recommend them. We met her at her studio which is in a yoga studio. She gave us a tour and talked art with us.

Laurie’s art is gorgeous and I bought a print of her poppies. Her colors are so vivid! She is cutting up old paintings and turning them into artist cards. Abbey and I each got a little square which was very cool. She also gave us a sneak peek of her next book with fellow artist Peggy Dyer. Peggy was at the studio and we got to chat with her as well.

Here we are posing with her and some of her latest work:

The yoga studio had Laurie’s work all over. This wall painting was my favorite:

It says “the healing power of our own divine spirit will carry us through”. It’s been a stressful week for me and seeing those words again while blogging is calming.

Abbey posing by another painting with Laurie’s “lollipop people”.

A pic of me in the yoga studio:

Normally I’m not that into yellow but this room was stunning.

Another of Laurie’s paintings:

Thank you Laurie for hanging out and talking art with us. You and your work are so inspiring!

While in NYC Melanie suggested I see a Broadway play. I immediately knew which one I had to see:

American Idiot! Green Day’s awesome album transformed into a musical-punk rock on Broadway! Oh man I’m getting all excited again remembering it. I’ll refrain from typing MY TOTAL EXCITEMENT!!!!! but this was the best part of the trip.

Here’s Melanie and I waiting in line to buy tickets. We got in line early before the box office was even open. By the time it was the line stretched down the street.

When we got to the ticket counter we asked for the best deal he could give us. The guy said he had just gotten off the phone with a cancellation and had two tickets center seating for the matinee show. We of course bought them (I was so grateful for my credit card right then!) We got some of the best seats in the house. The musical has several scenes that are high up on stage, and one song where the performers are flying on wires, so center stage gave us the best view. What amazing luck! The Goddess was smiling on me that day.

But it got better-so much better! It just so happened that Billie Joe Armstrong, the lead singer from Green Day, was playing the role of St. Jimmy that week. OMG I was so excited!!! We got to see the second to last show the week he was there.

I cried through the whole show. It was amazing, punk rock, radical, revolutionary, political-oh I could go on and on. It was extraordinary. I loved every single minute! Seriously it was a spiritual experience. My body was tingling all over I was so excited.

And when Billie Joe first appeared on stage the whole crowd SCREAMED. You could feel the excitement. It was a rock concert and a Broadway play at the same time. And Billie Joe-omg is that man sexy. I have a soft spot (*cough*fetish*cough*) for cute political boys so I was in love with this performance. The whole show was so inspiring and such a turn on!!!

This picture is from the American Idiot site. It shows the three main guys from the show.

And here’s a pic of Billie Joe Armstrong as St. Jimmy during the encore. (pic from this story) At the end the entire cast came out and sang Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life). So magical!

There were throngs of fans outside the theater when we left. The actors came out to sign autographs after the show and Billie Joe was supposed to come out to join them. Green Day fans were packed in.

A limo pulled up and the fans started going wild. Green Day fans started chanting his name. The crowd got bigger and bigger. So much so that they were blocking the entire street:

The theater tried to get people off the road but had no success. Cars were honking and the police showed up. It was decided that the situation was too out of hand for Billie Joe to come outside so the limo left. Even then the fans took awhile to disperse. I’ve never experienced this type of fan frenzy and wow it’s intense.

Melanie said it’s traditional to get your playbill signed. I’m not normally into autographs but I wanted the full Broadway experience. I squeezed through the crowd which was no easy feat with all the fans outside. But I got a few signatures:

This actor signed my playbill. He’s the one on the left in the American Idiot trio pic above.

Billie Joe is reprising his role as St. Jimmy! Details here and here. I wholeheartedly recommend it!!!

My last full day in NYC was wonderful. Melanie and I ate lunch at Zen Palate. Their food was delicious! This is a close up of their soy sauce dish:

We had spring rolls for an appetizer.

Melanie had a curry dish and it came in a big bowl.

I had a portobello mushroom burger with yam fries. Oh it was so good! Seriously-yam fries!! I must have these again. They were amazing.

Here’s Melanie looking adorable:

And here’s me loving my yam fries.

After lunch we went to an event that was my favorite part of the trip. More pics soon.

Sunday was my last full day in NYC. Melanie and I went out for breakfast. I had a delicious cappuccino:

My cinnamon roll and scone were so yummy.

A shot of Times Square. We actually walked through there several times during my stay.

Melanie took me to one of her favorite places to shop for vintage clothes. We had such fun trying on outfits!

Doesn’t she look adorable? I think she looks stunning in this dress:

There was a vintage dressmakers dummy at the shop.

It was super cool!

More NYC pics coming soon.

The Saturday I was in NYC was a wonderful day. We had great weather to explore the city.

This picture is looking at the East River.

Here’s a taxi boat-I didn’t know they existed.

We had a nice view of the Roosevelt Island.

Here’s Melanie-my spectacular tour guide.

Here I am.

We saw a dog playground on our walk. A bunch of little dogs were playing and were oh so cute.

A horse and carriage came by:

Some scaffolding. There was a lot in NYC.