Last night, Holly and I headed into downtown Nashville to see our girl Taylor Swift in concert!

It was an amazingly fun night! Holly and I have loved T.Swift since college and we have gone together to two of her concerts before, so she is a special thread in the fabric of our friendship. The Nashville crowd was friendly and cheerful — my kind of people! It was the last show of the entire “Red” tour so there was an extra charge in the air. Hunter Hayes was a special guest; he came onstage and played his new song I Want Crazy, which I love. I had the best time singing and dancing with Holly to all of our favorite songs! Taylor even played some songs from her previous albums, which felt like a surprise treat. The entire concert lasted more than three hours, but it felt like it flew by in a flash. Here are some of my favorite snaps from the night:

That last picture was taken right before we left the house and I think it captures our friendship so well!

Before T.Swift came onstage, there were two warm-up acts: Casey James and Ed Sheeran. Holly and I both like Ed Sheeran’s radio hits, but I think we were even more excited for Casey James. American Idol fans might remember Casey from a few years back … neither Holly nor I are huge American Idol people, but the season Casey was on we both got sucked in for whatever reason. It was the year after we’d graduated from college and we were living halfway across the country from each other, but we watched American Idol every week and talked often about our favorite contestants. Holly was always a huge Casey fan, and especially loved his shoulder-length curly hair; I thought he was pretty cute but that he’d be even cuter if he cut his hair. (I’ve always been attracted to guys with short hair!) He became an inside-joke celebrity crush between the two of us.

Flash forward to last week, when Holly texted me with the exciting news that Casey James was going to be one of T.Swift’s opening acts! It felt like a gift from the concert gods just for us.

But the excitement doesn’t end there. On Friday morning Holly headed off to class and I went to the Starbucks right next to Vanderbilt to write. I was standing in line, not paying the slightest attention who was around me because all my energy was focused on trying to decide whether I should try the new chocolate chai latte or stick with my tried-and-true regular chai latte {I ended up sticking with my regular go-to… has anyone tried the chocolate chai? How is it??} I ordered and paid for my drink, and then the barista lit up with a smile and said, “Hi there, Casey! What can I get for you this morning?”

I turned, and there he was, standing right behind me — Casey James! All I could think was, “Why is Holly not here with me???”

He ordered a bunch of drinks, including a particularly fancy one that I like to think was for T.Swift herself. Then we both stood by the counter waiting for our drinks. The Starbucks was relatively empty and nobody else seemed to recognize him. I was torn between star-struck shyness and the knowledge that if I didn’t at least say hello, I would kick myself later. So I summoned my courage and said to him, “Not to be weird or anything, but I just wanted to let you know that I am a big fan of your music.” {His song Crying on a Suitcase is one of my favorites! So good!}

He flashed me a big smile and said, “Thank you so much!” I told him that Holly and I were going to the concert on Saturday and asked how the Thursday night show had been. We talked for a good five-to-ten minutes while we waited for our drinks. He could not have been nicer or more down-to-earth. I was a Casey James fan before, and I’m definitely an even bigger fan of his now. It was so neat to see him playing at the concert last night. He was fantastic!

After the show, Holly and I walked around downtown and stopped at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville for drinks before heading home. It has recently been pointed out to me that I drink out of a straw in the side of my mouth … does anybody else do this, or is it just me?

Anyway, it was a truly incredible night and I am so grateful that I got to experience the concert with Holly! Now we’re soaking up the final hours of my visit before I catch a flight back to the Bay Area tomorrow morning. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!