Happy Friday and welcome back to another installment of my “What I’m Looking Forward To” series! I absolutely LOVE this series and I can’t believe that this is already the seventh (say what?!) installment of it. If you haven’t already noticed, I LOVE making bucket lists, documenting happy moments and writing posts like this and since I’ve had such a positive response from you all on this series, hopefully that means you guys like reading these kinds of posts as much as I like writing them! Fun fact: it was one year ago TODAY (with my What I’m Looking Forward To This Summer (2015) post), that I decided to start this “What I’m Looking Forward To” series here on the blog. It’s crazy to think how fast time has flown by. Although I’m not the biggest summer fan (it’s actually my least favorite season), I’m actually really excited for summer to start next week. For me, summer means traveling, BBQ’s, swimming, spending countless nights at the beach, S’mores, music festivals, hanging out with friends and family and everything in between! Here are a few of the things I’m looking forward to this summer:

Lollapalooza. One of the best things about summertime in Chicago is Lollapalooza! Even though I’ve lived in Chicago practically my entire life and I’ve been to dozens of Lollapalooza after shows before (like Lana Del Rey, The Lumineers, Ellie Goulding, Young the Giant and so many more), this year will only be my second time attending the entire festival (you can check out my Lollapalooza 2015 recap HERE!)

In honor of Lollapalooza’s 25th anniversary, this years music festival will be FOUR days long (instead of its usual three). There are a TON of amazing artists performing this year but I’m most excited to see Lana Del Rey (this will be my third time seeing her live), the 1975, Ellie Goulding, Bastille, Melanie Martinez, M83, Alessia Cara, Miike Snow, HAIM, Jack Garratt, Halsey and Two Door Cinema Club (to name a few!).

The Taste of Chicago. The Taste of Chicago is probably one of my favorite things about Chicago summers! For those of you who aren’t familiar, The Taste (that’s what us Chicagoans refer to it as) is the world’s largest food festival, held for five days in July in Chicago’s Grant Park. I’ve lived in Chicago for 21 years now (since I was 3) and I’ve NEVER missed The Taste before (talk about dedication!).

A few years ago, The Taste started having amazing (FREE) concerts with artists like Robin Thicke, Janelle Monáe, Weezer and Erykah Badu (to name a few). I’m so excited because this years (FREE) concerts include The Roots, The Decemberists, Elle King and Billy Idol (and several more amazing artists!). Yummy food and FREE concerts? Yes please! 

Universal Orlando Resort. Although I’ve visited Disney more times than I can count on my fingers and toes, I’ve only been to Universal Orlando Resort fours times and I’ve only visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter once. (Quick side note, I really dislike when people call the Wizarding World of Harry Potter “Harry Potter World.” Umm… that’s NOT what it’s called, it’s the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Rant over.)

If you’ve read about my past Universal Orlando Resort experiences, than you might recall that I’m not the biggest Universal Orlando fan. Don’t get me wrong, the rides are fun and the theming of certain areas are great (I LOVE the Wizaring World of Harry Potter, Springfield USA and Seuss Landing) but a lot of the employees were very rude (especially compared to the overly joyful Disney cast members). In the spirit of being a bigger person (I refuse to let those disrespectful employees ruin my image of Universal any longer), I’ve decided to give Universal one more chance this summer (since I really do like a lot of the rides there) and visit again.

Disney World. It’s no secret that Disney is my LIFE! In the past year alone (May 2015 – now), I’ve visited the Disney Parks (including Disney World, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris) ELEVEN times (and I live in Chicago/nowhere near Disney. That’s how dedicated to/in love with Disney I am!). This summer I’ll be visiting Disney World twice, once in August and then again in September (since most of September is still technically summer. Fall doesn’t start until September 22).

Here are a few other things that I’m looking forward to this summer:

• Visiting St. Louis (it’s such an underrated city!)
• Seeing my FAVORITE band, Coldplay, in concert in July!
• Buying Hamilton tickets (they go on sale next week but performances don’t start until September!). 
• The Fourth of July (BBQ+ Fireworks = Good times!).
• Spending time with friends and family.
• The Chicago Pride Parade.
• Attending the Grant Park Music Festival.
• Watching fireworks at Navy Pier (during the summer in Chicago, you can watch fireworks at Navy Pier EVERY Wednesday and Saturday).
• Seeing Suicide Squad, Star Trek Beyond, the BFG, Pete’s Dragon and several other films.
• Beach bonfires!

 What are some of the things you’re looking forward to this summer?
Make sure to check out the entire What I’m Looking Forward To series HERE!