steppin out to chi-town!

lace top: ROSS | tank top: f21 | jeans: torrid | white wedge heels (not shown): payless

this weekend i flew out to chicago to audition for NBC's The Voice. it was such an incredible experience! definitely something i've never done before and i can cross it off my bucket list. lol  

if you followed me on the instagram or if we're friends on facebook, then you were privy to all kinds of updates along the way.

surprise, surprise..i didn't make it through to the callbacks. and i was legitimately surprised. i sang "i can't make you love me" and sang it PHENOMENALLY. {no joke} and when the lady said she wasn't going to keep any of us behind, i think my mouth fell open. but *shrugs* this was never a case of "can i sing or not". i already knew that. i didn't spend over 100k and work for a short time as a working musician before getting married for nothing. ;)  that being said. i still LOVE the platform that The Voice is providing for other artists. i wanted to hug so many of the people who left the auditions crying because some of those people could actually sing really well. we had to sing in front of one person. ONE. and only a couple of them were actual vocal coaches. the rest were producers and a&r reps and people from universal studios. not really musically inclined. so...like i said. i know what i can do. lol

all in all, it was an AMAZING experience. i spent three days away from my babies..totally feeling a bit free and a bit sad at the same time. i met some super awesome and talented folks and i stepped completely out of my comfort zone. more like leaped out. because this was something i would NEVER have done. i wouldn't change it for the world. i encourage everyone to try something that terrifies you at least once. 

 in awe.

bright lights in the big city.

can you tell i was scared?

skyping with my babies. i almost cried.

i shake my head.

this is chris. he was my very first boyfriend EVAR. 9 years ago. lol  

we haven't seen each other in 9 years..it was a sweet reunion.

um. this man had a doll.

my "VOICE" friends. amanda- (i forgot this guys name. eep!)/his wife (her too) - and mbame. 

we were in line together for hours and we bonded instantly!

lines lines and more lines. we spent over 3 hours in line.

the line snaked around one building and spilled into the next.

THIS...woke me up and kept me energized and "lubricated" all day. 

i wish i could've made my own though.

did i mention there were lines? this was the line into the second building.

Mbame and I after the auditions. All smiles.

Then we went to outback and nom-ed our faces off!