I am a HUGE fan of Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Baba G, Ray Dalton, Wanz, Logan Neitzel, Mary Lambert, and everyone else in the shark face gang that I am forgetting. In a world where a lot of musicans don't take advantage of effecting change I am digging the work these cuties are putting out, I just love what they're about! HERE IS WHY:

1) THRIFT SHOP! (feat. Wanz) I am an enormous advocate for environmentally conscious fashion and when this song came out I was so stoked that 'thrifting' was getting so much attention. I am trying to restrain from getting on my soap box about the problem with overconsumption, sweat shops and toxic dyes but I am so thankful that this song has turned thrift stores into a trendy place to be! 

1) continued... Honestly though check out this blog, ' The Ugly Side of Fast Fashion.' It is a pretty easy read and explains some of the problem. Last plug: I work for a non-profit here in MPLS that advocates for responsible fashion efforts, so please check out the website if you want to learn more and the blog roll to read more by me :) 


Left: A screen shot from Macklemore's Instagram, a Macklemore & Ryan Lewis tee shirt in a THRIFT SHOP haha. #loveit

2) WINGS - Another song about the fashion world, the very specific obsession that a lot of young men have with their sneakers. This song challenges a lot of cultural norms and pushes the souls of these boys to ask tough questions of the industries that they are most strongly influenced by. Separating a love of the game and a love of the consumer culture surrounding basketball is difficult but when musicians take up the cause and help their fans see past the bullshit we get closer and closer to happiness and farther from trying to buy satisfaction. 

3) SAME LOVE (Featuring the talented & beautiful Mary Lambert)

I am a believer that every person on this planet deserves love and respect. My mother's oldest sister Jen, and her soul-mate Diane, have been together longer than I have been alive and they are two of the most influential people in my life. They are not my gay aunts, or my aunts that are gay - they are two of the greatest people that I know and I am disappointed everyday that people are so unintelligent that they would ever disrespect another person because of whom they choose to love.

I could not be happier that the great state of Minnesota has made the right decision when it comes to marriage rights and the day the law was passed I listened to this song on repeat and cried tears of joy while singing my lungs out! 

Some musicians stay away from anything contentious or political so I admire that this group of people isn't afraid to wear their values on their sleeves, as well as all over the internet and radio! 

4) One of the most admirable things about Macklemore as an artist is that he doesn't take himself too seriously. I have some incredibly memories of this song turning up many parties, everyone starts jumping and yelling the words in each other's faces! IT'S AWESOME!

5) When I was lucky enough to see The Heist Tour at First Avenue.. both nights.. IT WAS EPIC! The crew puts on such a fun, energetic show! It helps a lot that Macklemore tours with such a large talented group of individual. I give him mad kudos for collaborating with so many talented people and for bringing them all on the road.

Left: A screen shot of my Instagram of Mary Lambert on stage with Ben & Ryan. 

BIG UPS TO THE SHARKFACE GANG, keep on making amazing music and challenging the masses to question their values and actions. 


xox kp

6) Macklemore's show at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand was interrupted during Chance the Rapper's performance and then delayed because of weather and then Talib Kweli came on and rocked out a short set followed by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Ray & Wanz killed it until about 11pm! I took this video ( I know it's not great :/ I'm not even an amateur videographer.) during the finale of Saturday's show and I just think that it gives a good idea of how much energy Macklemore & Ryan put into this show and I definitely appreciated it after toughing out the wind & rain. I know that a lot of people would have been crushed if the show did not go on, I've been at cancelled out door gigs and my heart always aches for the person whose first show it was, first time seeing the artist, drove a long way, all of those things break my heart badly so this was a welcomed ending to this story! BIG UPS to the SHARK FACE GANG!  

First off, after any incident that causes you to doubt your friendship you'll need to remember above all else to take care of yourself! After shit blew up w me & KB the breech of trust was all I could think about, my stomach was in knots and I had no appetite to speak of. I never would have expected my body to have such a severe response. It is super important that regardless of your physical reaction that you continue to eat healthy, regular meals that won't make you feel worse than you already do.

Secondly, you need to make sure that you surround yourself with all of the other most awesome people that you know. And no, this is not so that you can talk shit about the ex-BFF - but instead you should talk about boys, food, concerts, plans to take over the world and then maybe you can give them only facts about the situation to get some perspective BUT perpetuating your anger by spending time bashing or saying negative things is ultimately not helpful. Shit talking can bring instant gratification but let's be honest and vulnerable about the fact that you still love that person and you should not take joy in hating them. Unless she, like, kicked your dog off of a mountain, in which case she can never be forgiven and you should report her to the proper authorities.

I was lucky enough to have these amazing ladies staying with me in my apartment and surrounding me for the whole weekend post BFF catastrophe. These girls were great listeners and really helped to keep me positive. In challenging times you need people around you that lift your spirits and that don't allow you to sulk and feel sorry for yourself - doesn't do anyone any good! Positivity and progress are two things that will do your body good.  

Left to Right: Kat (rocknrollbride), me, Shauna (nubbytwiglet) and Gala (Galadarling)

When the time is right, communicate in an open and honest manor with your Frenemy, have a dialogue where no one is attacking and everyone is aware of other people's feelings. Letting each person get their feelings out is super important for the closer of the situation.

The goal should be resolution and understanding, you don't have to figure out your exact feelings in that moment, after the open dialogue if you need time to process that is more than ok. As cheesy as it is, "I feel, when you." statements are ever so helpful. Stay away from ,"you always" or "you never." Words are powerful tools and using them thoughtfully can save both people a lot of hurt and regret. It takes ten seconds to run something through your brain before spewing it into the world and it could be the different between loosing your BFF forever or not.

If in the end you've tried and you realize that you don't actually see any reason to be friends with this person anymore, remember that it is ok. You need to do-you, and I this person isn't supporting you won't your highest self then you probably don't need them.

Maybe you just need space from this person in order to gain some independence and perspective. People do change and its possible that you'll reunite, things might get worse if you don't give it room.

If I'd have written this blog the day that I initially thought of the idea the title would have been slightly shorter and the content much more bitter. I am glad that I held off and gave this situation the time it needed to cool off. Always try to remind yourself to give situations the appropriate amount of time & thought before taking drastic action.

I want you to remember that you don't NEED anyone, your happiness comes from within only but best friends are gold and should be treated as such.

KB & I's struggle was extremely unique and had all of the ingredients for a perfect disaster but after time, open communication and understanding we are back on track with our friendship. We are both growing and changing as individuals everyday so it only makes sense that our friendship would undergo some construction as well, a little remodeling never hurt any structure. 

'Best Friends' hold a super sacred place in GIRL WORLD and when things between you and yours' aren't going well it can be the most debilitating thing ever. I would love to hear about different ways that you ladies handle life when you and your besties are going through a tough time. (Leave stories in comment box, with an email address if you'd love a response!)

This photo that KB put on Instagram is from my birthday this year, it reminds me of an amazing day that she helped me forget about all the challenging situations I was (and still am) dealing with. We had a beautiful day full of laughs, creating memories that I will be talking about for years. 


I love you Kaitlin Marie and I could not be more glad that we were able to work out our issues and come to an understanding of each other's 'side.' Stay tuned to see how we stay close when we live a thousand miles away from each other!


xox kp

Ferg and I had planned on attending the state fair today for several weeks. We even laid low on a Saturday night in preparations for our big day. Then we woke up and realized it was the devil's playground outside. I am talking 99 degrees with what feels like a million percent humidity! So we spontaneously decided not to go to the fair and instead took a lovely walk down the street from Mr. Siwek's house to Sample Room for a delicious brunch! Sometimes it is not about what you do experience but what you don't experience... 

1) excessive sweating

2) overpriced bottles of water

3) getting there and literally fainting 

And probably many other dehydration related complications.


The rest of the day we tried really hard to move as little as possible. We watched The Great & Powerful Oz (we all fell asleep), a documentary on wing suit base jumping, an episode of Bob's Burgers, Super Troopers & Hot Rod. (PS the night is not over yet).

We ordered Gingerhop, one of my NE favorites, using Bitesquad (an essential service on days you don't want to move.) It only took us about 55 minutes from the time we started looking at the menu to when our order was actually placed, talk about distracted. By the time the food arrived we appreciated it on a whole different level. There is nothing better than that first cream cheese wonton!

Friday I went up to my good friend Ryan's cabin, it was beautiful and we got in some lake time and of course grilled out by the bonfire. I even opted to sleep in a tent! Cabins and the great outdoors are easily top two as far as Minnesota summers are concerned but spontaneously lazy Sundays with delicious food and good friends can be some of the best days of summer! It seems to be a trend in my life that some of my most special memories end with Asian delivery food.



Xo Katherine

I was so excited when I found this coat dress the other day, I know the fabric is tough and durable - it's made of FLAX. It will look great cinched with a belt or unbuttoned with jeans and boots. I can see this piece coming in handy in an unexpected moment, especially since fall is right around the corner.

If you should know one thing about me it's how much I love a good LBD! Little Black Dresses are a girl's best friend and honestly I am all about conscious consumption but I don't know if you can have too many little black dresses in your closet. So my rule when I am thrifting is this.. if it's a LBD and it fits like a glove then I need to have it. 

So clearly even though I saw both of these dresses that are very similar I bought them both. The one to the right is cut low in the neckline (my hair is covering) and it's a stretch fabric. The dress below has is a more professional cut and has seems in the mid-drift for a nice waist line. Love 'em both.

And lastly I found this easy breezy blue, chevron dress. It will travel well, won't wrinkle and I can literally throw it on with flip flops for the beach or put a belt on it with killer heels and a hat for a glam brunch. I am hoping to get a few wears out of it before summer ends.


Thanks to Mr.JakeMoney for taking the photos in this blog.
Love love love, dresses! 

xox kp

This show, this 26 hour vacation, was perfect.

I could give you a music blogger perspective about Derek Vincent Smith 
(Pretty Lights) being from Denver, about how awesome his new album is (you totes need to watch the 'Making of' video though). I could blab about how much work went into the show, the amount of voltage that went into the theatrics, or about how this was a two day extravaganza was in a venue with nearly perfect acoustics blah, blah, full band, blah blah but instead I am going to tell you a better story about..
my blondes and me.

We arrived in Denver at approximately 3pm and within ten minutes of being there we met a gentleman from Montana who gave us a gernerous Uber promo code. He was a boy (and I was a girl.. can I make it anymore obvious #throwbackjam) no older than 26, who was handsome so clearly like any normal group of ladies we started chatting him up and within minutes we found out he was headed to the same show as us with a group of his friends! We exchanged numbers with him, made it back to our sweet motel, freshened up and within two hours we were at The Dive Inn Bar on South Broadway being introduced to Montana's friends. 

It was so awesome of these people to take us under their wings and enhance our trip so much. The bar we all met up at was cool, a kind of pin-up, 50s themed bar that was filled with friendly faces some of which  quickly became good friends.

Everyone we met was so nice and welcoming, they assured us there was plenty of room on their party bus for us so there was no need to use our back up plan. The bus ride added a lot to our experience dancing and bonding with people who were as stoked as we were to see this show, such a fun way to get to Red Rocks.

Deep Eddy's Vodka sponsored the bus ride to and from Denver to the amphitheater, I am not much of a vodka girl at all but I sipped a little of the Sweet Tea variety and truthfully it was pretty delicious (Plus they provided us with a safe, sober ride up the mountain and we can not be more thankful for that!). 

The 'doors' to the open-air theater started letting people in at 6pm and the bus didn't take off back to Denver until about 1:30am, we were raging face & dancing our asses off all night. I had heard so many wonderful things about the venue, natural rock formations that create an amazing sound and some of the best scenery a concert could have.

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU HAVE NEVER, OR ARE NOT USED TO, DRINKING IN THE HIGH ELEVATION (6,450 feet above sea level) THEN YOU SHOULD BEWARE OF IT'S EFFECT & TAKE IT EASY MAN, seriously. Consume responsibly, especially when you put a lot of money into have an experience because how much would it suck to not remember? Also you might get drunk and loose your tickets for a while, not saying that happened to us but it could. Don't learn this lesson the hard way.

The scenery of Red Rocks was breathtaking, from the minute we got off the bus for tailgating, until it was pitch black and the lasers were lighting up the rocks. Not to mention that music has been living within these rocks for over 100 years, word is that the first concert was produced (in some fashion) in 1906. I recommend that if this at all sounds appealing to you put it on the bucket list and keep an eye out for a good show to pop there, that is not an issue because there are cool events there all week long - from movies, to music, to yoga-on-the-rocks! Being within the momental sized monoliths, knowing that acts such as James Taylor, The Beatles, Eurythmics, Paul Simon, The Grateful Dead, The Eagles and many other artists have played here made me feel like I was a part of history. 

I am not going to post pictures of the actual staged concert because A) my phone died and I don't have very many but B) because no photos or cell phone videos can even come close to encompassing the experience. The lights & lasers were mind blowing and the music rocked my soul - I LOVE PRETTY LIGHTS but what sticks out to me is the people, how amazing everyone I met was and the memories I created with my travel companions <3 Chloe, Shell & Laura.

A highlight moment of the night was being in the party bus on the way back to Denver when Tyler played Pretty Lights' - 'Country Road' a song he had not played at the show and we continued to pump our arms and sing along like our lives depended on it, even though everyone was clearly sweaty, exhausted, dehydrated and yet still committed to see this party all the way through. 

After making a brief appearance at the after party it was time for my crew to head back to our classy ass motel and get three hours of 'sleep' before we have to get back to the airport. There were a few point during the night that could have lead down to negative occurrences but a combination of our positive attitudes and street smarts resulted in our safe return to Minnesota. :) 

(in honor of he sexy Robin Thicke)

Someone fell down a hill, someone pulled a make-out bandit move, some got splitters in their butt, someone was seperated from the group for over an hour but we all had a fantastic time, we all peed outside in front of strangers (it's good for nature & stuff), we all fell in love with Red Rocks and created memories that we will never ever in a million years forget. 

xox katia marie 

As I watch this video I am curling my hair and waiting for my girls to start showing up so we can ride to the airport together.. where are we going you ask? TO SEE PRETTY LIGHTS (DJ DEREK VINCENT SMITH) AT RED ROCKS IN COLORADO!

If you don't know who that is you need to figure it out  immediately and I will be back tomorrow with a full run down of the entire show and the shenanigans my girls and I will get into along the way. 


xo kp 

In the last two years I have visited Chicagoland four times and have created the most amazing memories. My hometown of Minneapolis is only a short 6 or 7 hour drive from the windy city, it makes for a quick road trip and an even quicker plane ride (it feels as if as soon as the plane levels off it starts to descend). In addition numerous people that I love call this place home so each trip is full of quality reunions and exploration with seasoned Chicagoans. From the deep dish pan pizza, to the amazing souls that live here, to touristy 'Bean' type activities, to all of the underground fun that I dig up - I never leave disappointed when I visit Chicago. 

"Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world." 
Frank Lloyd Wright 


I have not traveled extensively enough or live enough life to agree with FLW at this point but my love for Chicago is strong and I think that it is a remarkable city, it should be on everyone's bucket list! I hope some of these mini stories will motivate you to visit the city of the bean, bears, bulls & cubs! <3

xox kmp 

After an amazing breakfast at Barbette with my good friend Ferg, I went home, showered and got THE text. This text was Kb asking me if I had plans the next few days & would I be interested in accompanying her on a road trip to Chicago. Obviously I cleared the scheduled (ha!) and packed up a back pack, at noon we were in the road. 

Last Sunday I made a similarly random decision to up and drive to Iowa & it was one of the most fantastic choices I've ever made so clearly I have to just keep 'listening to my body!' (Shout out to Shelly Marie, who always encourages #teammusk to pay attention to the needs of our bodies!) And apparently my body is telling me to just keep saying YES! to travel and to making memories with my loved ones, so Spontaneous Sunday is now an official 'thing.'

So to Chicago we went...

So now we are here until Wednesday and we are going to enjoy this windy city, see beloved friends, spend quality time with Kb's family & I'm sure eat some great food. 

<3 y'all and stay tuned because the review of this spontaneity will be epic.

Katherine Marie P ((&&& guest starring this week --> Kaitlin Marie B)

Sunday around 3pm I started getting major anxiety about the fact that I was about to miss a show that I had been thinking about since the day they announced it - Atmosphere & Slightly Stoopid in the Kickin' Up Dust Tour! 

These phenomenal bands are both fantastic in concert and I've witnessed both splendors but the thought of missing the two groups merged into one magical night of music was too much to bare. So I planned and I plotted how I was going to make the concert happen. My friends and I talked of Vegas, or California or even Myrtle Beach to see the show but the summer was slowly slipping away from us. Of course it couldn't just be easy with a show scheduled in MN. All of a sudden it was Aug. 4th and Kickin' Up Dust had made it's way to Des Moines, a short 4 hour drive away from the Twin Cities, this was my chance. So after a bunch of hmming and haing around, at 4pm two of my buddies and I loaded up the car with provisions then we hit the road and headed for Iowa. 

Unfortunately due to our late decision making we missed The Grouch & Eligh but we made it for about the last half an hour of Atmosphere's set & can I say that even after seeing them twenty plus times I still enjoy the shit out of their shows - I will say however that I missed the full band, especially in such a cool space. For the beginning of Slightly Stoopid's set my boys and I were in the pit enjoying being surrounded by kiddos in their under twenty-one wrist bands, smoking bowls and mashing at the very onset of one of Stoopid's more punk-rock songs. Needless to say as soon as heavy mashing started my body guards got my camera and I to safety and we watched the rest of the show from a grass patch. The Simon Estes Riverfront Amphitheater is a wonderful place to see a show and I would gladly go back, honestly Des Moines as a whole was shockingly pleasant. I don't know what I expected but the downtown area was clean, lively, parking was free because it was Sunday and we literally only had to park a stones throw from the venue entrance. We asked some locals about where to eat after the show and they happily directed us to Zombie Burger + Drink Lab - which I now also highly recommend everyone visit when they find themselves in Iowa's capital. I ate something called the Walking Ched, and although it was probably the most unhealthy thing I will eat all month it was hella delicious and worth every single calorie. 

It all started on Friday evening when I joined some rats up in Big Lake, MN - by rats I mean some of my baby cousins (it's an endearing name we call one another based on my mother's maiden name!). I planted myself on a beached pontoon and spent the evening laughing in the sun with my kin. I am the oldest grandchild on either side of my family and it has been so enjoyable to watch all of these beautiful children grow up and become young adults!

Saturday was a day devoted to best friends, I attended my beautiful friend's baby shower & then celebrated the 'end of an era' with a kegger in uptown. The baby shower was short, sweet and full of love, it's hard to believe that such a long time friend is at this stage of her life but I know she is going to be a fantastic mother. After basking in the nuturing energy of the shower I made moves to the house party and spent the night listening to 'We Can't Stop' on repeat, playing yard games and doing 'gargoyles!' 

After recapping the party with Rustbo, LaurenA & MikeFergu Sunday morning I drove back up to Big Lake for a couple of hours in the sun with the rats. All in all it was a fantastic weekend and believe it or not there is more! Tune in tomorrow to get the dirty details of my Spontaneous Sunday! 

xox priceless