by Lexine

Scenes From Outloud/WeHo Pride 2024

I posted some pics and clips of my glorious time from this year’s Outloud Music Festival at WeHo Pride on my SM, and here’s more!

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You’re officially at a Pride festival when you see rainbows and Kylie imagery. 

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Did Karl The Fog also take a trip to LA, too? 

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The crowd during the free Friday show. The barrier in the back separates the General Admission crowd from the VIPs (which I was a part of, TYVM). 

Drag queens and dicks out on the stage!

Adam Lambert and Kesha command the crowd. I was so damn happy to see Kesha thriving and happy again, after all she’s gone through. ❤️

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Did I really pay $18.50 for a small plastic cup of Kylie’s Sparkling Rose?

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Yup, I did. Don’t be surprised. I ended up buying a bottle of water to save the leftover rose. I still have it! 😛 

I had the VIP Weekend Pass, but personal commitments kept me away from the Saturday night show, which is why I have no pics of Janelle Monae (who was Saturday’s headliner–I heard Queen Latifah also joined her on stage that night, so yes it sucks to have missed out on that!). 

Nothing would keep me away from the Sunday show, however, since that was the day I’d finally see thee Kylie perform! Before I get to that, I must say that the festival should’ve expanded their Summertramp Stage area. (It was across the street from the main stage.) I say that because some of us (olds) also wanted to see 90s dance legend Crystal Waters live (she performed a couple hours before Kylie came on). Instead, I and many others got turned away due to “capacity” issues. Bruh. 

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This ended up being my view of the Crystal show.😆  I still heard her, but maaaannnn…

Thankfully, I was a lot luckier when I finally got to see HER. 

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Also glad to have a good zoom on the camera on my phone, because I was, I dunno, 100 deep into the crowd? Her audience looked like it could’ve easily filled Staples Center (I know it’s not called that anymore, but I still call it that!). 

The joy on Kylie’s face when she was rewarded with that sign and the WeHo mayor proclaiming that day to be Kylie Minogue Day! 

And these clips I personally took…

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Fireworks to cap off a night to remember!

I overheard someone in the crowd saying Kylie’s WeHo show was “better than Vegas”. I can’t speak on that, but I planned on going to one of her Vegas shows a couple months ago until I heard she was going to headline this music festival that was closer to home and cheaper to attend. Sure I’d spend $250+ for standing room only tix to her Vegas show, but, for a few bucks more, I got VIP passes and all-weekend access to see Kylie and many other great artists perform. 

minogue shirt (cropped)

Now THAT’S a shirt! 

by Lexine

Scenes From Bottlerock Napa 2024

My first ever Bottlerock experience! And it was actually a very good one. Place was packed but not overwhelming, found free all-day parking just a 15-minute walk from the fairgrounds, spent just $10 on two footlong hot dogs (in fairness, I scored a $15 credit to anything at the event and the dogs originally go for $25), and the porta potties were surprisingly clean (!) every time and were stocked with TP.

I only went on Friday (couldn’t attend the entire weekend for various reasons), and it’s only because of two reasons:

Yep, Megan Thee Stallion and thee Stevie Nicks! They both performed at the same time, but on different stages, and I thought I’d only be able to see one or the other. Megan’s set (whom I chose to attend first) was a little shorter than Stevie’s, so once she was done, you best believe I went to the area where Stevie was performing with quickness. I only watched her perform three songs, but it’s better than missing out on a legend. It’s not every day I get to see two queens perform on the same day!

I’m in the process of packing for a road trip that starts tomorrow, so here are more pics from Bottlerock last Friday.

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The packed field facing the main stage (where Stevie would perform that evening).

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A little whimsy at one of the vendors.

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The rock band All-Time Low. First time hearing of them (I’m always the very last to know things/people/bands/trends, etc.) and they were pretty good.

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If you forgot the Coppertone, these sunscreen stations got you covered.

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Rapper Nelly with Cameron Diaz at the Culinary stage. They were cooking up a Cuban sammich (to honor Cameron’s Cuban roots).

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Thought I could get a chair massage for a decent price. I was wrong.

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The Silent Disco dancefloor. You have to be a part of it to understand it. That couple you see up front got down.

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My $10 lunch, since I can’t bring in outside food. Don’t worry, I only ate a bit of that bread. 😉

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Another view of Stevie’s performance.

Would I go back? Maybe. I’ll be lucky if the performers I like appear on Friday like this year. I hear it’s more gnarly and packed on Saturday and Sunday; Bottlerock happens every Memorial Day weekend, and I’m only getting older and grumpier when it comes to traffic and crowds. The costs for a single-day pass alone also has me a little hesitant. Then again, I stood front row for Megan’s show (her ongoing tour charges $400+ and up to stand/sit front row for her), and I also got to see Stevie and Cameron on the same day. For the $230 I paid for Friday admission, it’s not a bad deal.

Next stop: Outloud WeHo. Guess why!

by Lexine

Semi-Lazy, Super-Sweet Tuesday

It’s semi-lazy because while I didn’t have to go anywhere today, I did do a little laundry and cleaning, and writing (of course). It’s super-sweet because, well, look what I made today! And it’s all sugar-free and fatty, baby! From left to right: graham crackers, chocolate chip cookies (I saved a bit of the dough so I can try to make this later on) and caramel S’mores (using Choc Zero’s marshmallows, Lily’s dark chocolate chips, and homemade caramel sauce). No diabetes here, dahling! 🍫🍪😋

by Lexine

Little Treats To Myself

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Thank goddess for Lily’s and Choc Zero for now I can have my own chocolate-covered strawberries! Made them to treat myself, and for a good reason. This time of the year, as well as Father’s Day, is usually a tough time for me. It’s another long story for another day, but the TL:DR version of it is that it’s fine to not celebrate those days, and that I’m glad to be in a better place now. 💜

by Lexine

Kamusta!

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Read the (lint-covered) shirt. Yes I am! I could’ve made my ethnicity known when I first started this blog two years ago, but I tend to not reveal every single thing about me from the start. I didn’t do this out of it being AAPI Heritage Month, nor did I keep mum about it this whole time due to “shame” or trying to be accepted by everyone. It was simply a matter of being comfortable and ready in sharing more of my personal identity with the public. (My face will likely be the very last thing I reveal to the public, by the way 😜) That said, I’m not fluent in Tagalog; I was born in the States and my silly interests kept me from learning the language of my elders.

I think I’m gonna use my graphic shirts to reveal a little more about me over time. Wait till you see the shirt I got for next month! 👀

by Lexine

I Adore! (2024 Met Gala edition)

THE looks that saved an otherwise meh Met Gala for me. (By the way, did anyone else find the dual themes confusing? Besides the one who’s in charge of the Gala 😆) At this point, the committee might as well rename it the Zendaya Ball because she brings IT to you to every year. Sometimes twice in one year! 

From top to bottom: Zendaya, Kylie Minogue (biased me is happy to see her there again, but there’s more to her gown than meets the eye), Anok Yai, and Zendaya again.