Last weekend, Chris and I got to spend a night away from the kids (only our third night away in seven years of parenthood). We didn’t go anyplace crazy, but it was good to have a whole quiet evening to ourselves — well, not so quiet considering we went to a music festival. Somehow my children manage to make more noise than a stadium full of speakers.

On the way to the Beach Ball, we stopped to check out Chris’s (not husband Chris, friend Chris) new space, Pemberlie, at Brocante Bliss. Her space looked amazing, and you should check it out if you can. Chris (husband Chris) had to restrain me from purchasing everything in the neighboring booth, reminding me of the reality of our Honda Civic. Good stuff though. I will be back with a van and without a husband. You didn’t hear that, Chris (husband Chris).

The concert was a lot of fun, too. I went there mainly to hear The Shins and Kimbra. I think The Joy Formidable took the prize for most entertaining performance though. (It’s always fun to see the lead singer destroy the stage, right?) I’ve also had a Metric song stuck in my head since then. I kind of would have liked to have seen The Shins in a smaller setting with a more attentive audience, but still, I really enjoyed it. I didn’t feel as old as I was afraid I would, and it was quite entertaining to people-watch with all the youth reverting back to ’80s fashions.

Thank you, Gram, for watching the girls. They had so much fun with you. And thanks for coming with me, Chris (husband Chris), even though you didn’t know any of the bands. You did take an awesome spacey photo of Foster the People though.