Since it’s been a week and, as obvious from the last post, I’m doing diddly squat (until Zumba at noon), I think it’s only right that I discuss one of the highlights of my summer year. And, if it weren’t for those major moments like graduating from college and getting my first job and falling in love, it might be one of the highlights of my life.

I was lucky enough to see the one and only No Doubt perform LIVE in Central Park! Sure, it was only four songs, and I had to wake up at the booty crack of dawn to get there…. but it was SO worth it.

Although I had other fun adventures on this trip to NYC, the BIG pull to visit my brother on this particular weekend was the reunion of No Doubt.  And if you’ve been reading for some time, you may know that I’m a BIG fan of Gwen Stefani. And maybe definitely dressed up like her for Halloween this year.

Well, who am I to say no to another opportunity to use that shirt?!

I didn’t go QUITE as all out as I did for Halloween (I had a workout class immediately following the show, and didn’t wanna show up in plaid pants, bindi, red lipstick and all) but actually felt a little under dressed when I got there, as many folks had dyed their hair, dressed to the nines, and gone into mohawk mode. We were all just so excited to see Gwen and her boys rocking on Good Morning America!

We had a long wait ahead of us, and the on-stage comic who was there to like… keep us motivated(?) was not what I’d call hilarious. But it was something, I guess.  We tolerated it for the real stars. And when they walked out onto the stage, the crowd went NUTS!

They were on fire, performing Settle Down (their newest song) as well as fan favorites, Underneath It All, It’s My Life, and (my personal fav) Spiderwebs.

One of the funniest parts of the show was when, during a verse of Underneath It All, Gwen forgot all the lyrics. She just rolled with it, shouting “It’s all good, you know the words!” We did, so we sang along.

It was only after this that she screamed out “Just so everyone knows, this is a sound check. Get ready, because the real show is gonna blow you away!” I was pleasantly surprised that the sound check was all four songs they were going to play live on the show (probably so they can shake out glitches like the lyric-amnesia).

After the sound check, we had a bit more to wait and THEN we got to see some other famous people! Well, famous to me, and anyone else who watches morning talk shows from 7-9 a.m.

Lara Spencer and Sam Champion doing what they do best: being blonde and beautiful.

I think, at this point, I screamed out “ROBIN ROBERTS IS LOOKING HELLA GOOD!” because… I’m obsessed with Robin Roberts.

Gwen was right, the real show was even better, more intense, more exciting, louder than the sound check.

As always, Gwen’s style was on point:

She had the crowd rocking, the boys backed her up like a family would, and it was perfect.

After standing for about 3 hours with a painfully heavy backpack and dancing in the brutal heat, I was sore, I was sweaty, and I was ELATED! Seriously, this was a mind blowing experience I wouldn’t trade for the world (though, at the time, I thought I’d trade it for a massage).

Nothing a little food, a solid steam at Equinox, and some night time shenanigans with my cousin, brother, and besty couldn’t fix.

Any groups that you loved as a young’n that you still geek out over?