Happy Halloween!

I'm a big fan of Halloween.  Well, I'm a big fan of Dia de los Muertos.  And any time when I can add calaveras to my wardrobe, I'm a happy camper.  Today's duds were a super cool scarf and some awesome earrings I bought in St. Michaels.  Those cool things mixed with my cute fascinator, and yet nothing from the dumb boys I work with.  Seriously?  Are they blind?  

Anyway, hope your Halloween was sweet! 

The Front Page

I have so much more to say about my gorgeous October weekend in New York City which will definitely be written about this week, but tonight I thought I'd talk about the show we saw - The Front Page.  When this show was announced, the number of HUGE actor names in it was astounding.  Nathan Lane as the headliner was enough to draw a crowd, but then add John Slattery, John Goodman, Christopher MacDonald, Jefferson Mays, Holland Taylor, Joey Slotnick, Dann Florek, and another 8 guest stars from The Good Wife, and you have quite the big ticket show.  

Seeing as it was a limited engagement, and seeing that the cast was huge I assumed we wouldn't be able to grab tickets, but it would seem that my mom is even better at ticket buying than I am and we managed to acquire some seats.  Yay! Now let me go on record as saying I LOVE Nathan Lane.  I saw him in the original production of Producers but haven't been able to see him since.  So he was the major draw for me.  Also, I didn't read much about the play before hand, so I wasn't exactly sure what it was going to be about or that it was going to be shocking/vulgar. 

All of that being said, was it fabulous?  Yes and No.  The first act and a half dragged quite a bit.  It was literally 8 guys sitting in a room playing poker and answering phones in 1928. When 8 guys are all talking over each other, it's quite hard to figure out what the heck they're saying.  Also, because of the script, Nathan Lane doesn't come out until half way through the second act (of which there are 3 for a major shock to my system!)  As the NY Tmes said, things picked up a lot once he appeared.  He's such an amazing actor that he can carry pretty much anyone along and make you forget about the time.  He did the same again as an angry and slightly crazy newspaper editor.

John Slattery as another newspaper man was also very, very funny.  The NY Times said he was annoying but I thought he may have been the best part of the show.  He definitely gave Nathan Lane someone amazing to play off of.  As for the rest of the cast, they weren't anything super special. Don't get me wrong, they were funny and great, but nothing groundbreaking. 

All in all, after almost 3 hours, nothing much happened in the show.  There were some laughs and some great set decoration, but it's definitely not a show that I'm clamoring to see again.  Though, I'm very happy I did!  When again, is there going to be such a big name cast gathered together for something other than a big budget movie?  Thank you theater gods! Keep these awesome casts coming to Broadway.  We theater nerds get very excited when you do!  

Friday Five

1. I've been pretty excited to see the Gilmore Girls revival on Black Friday, but not nearly as excited as I was when I saw this trailer! AMAZING!  
           

2. I haven't quite figured out why a Welsh dragon has appeared in London, but it's super cool nonetheless.  He looks just like Smaug!

Watch out - a Welsh dragon has appeared outside St Paul's Cathedral in #London!! 😱 #bestintravel @visitwales pic.twitter.com/PQh2shBnDM

— VisitBritain (@VisitBritain) October 25, 2016

3. I've always believed that Shakespeare was Shakespeare and that he wrote all his beautiful works himself.  I've never really bought the critic's point of view that someone as poor and un-educated as Shakespeare couldn't have written these amazing works.  But with the news of Christopher Marlowe being added as his co-author on the Henry plays, I have to say I'm impressed.  I still don't believe he actually co-wrote with Shakespeare, but I do enjoy that the Oxford University Press made the gutsy move to add his name to the text.  Bold move book nerds at Oxford!  

4. Have you scrappers out there discovered The Lily Pad yet?  It's an online shop full of gorgeous digital scrapbooking elements.  I'm in love mostly with giant set of New York themed journal cards for pocket scrapping.  Why does one need all these cards you ask?  To that I reply, why wouldn't you?

5. A friend learned this week that her company would be shutting down at the end of the year, and while this is completely terrible, it's been heartwarming to see all of our friends and families rally around her and her co-workers. They've offered assistance, and love and encouragement and I'm sure have made this transition just a teeny bit less scary.

Theatre Thoughts

For the last hour or so, I've been watching the reviews come in for Falsettos which opens tonight on Broadway. Though I haven't quite figured out how, seeing as the show is currently playing as we speak, but anyway, it's happening.  I've been most excited about seeing this show because the cast is just too good to be true.  Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Tracie Thoms, Stephanie Block and even more.  The story and the cast make this a must see for me.  I've been hooked on the rehearsal footage of the music for the last few weeks. Amazing, but I'm pretty sure it's going to make me cry.

Putting aside my love for this show I haven't seen yet, the reviews are what I really want to talk about.  They're pretty much the epitome of what the United States is right now - completely and utterly disjointed.  Some reviewers say the show is perfectly cast.  While other reviewers lament that none of the actors are well-suited to the roles.  Some newspapers are saying how gorgeous the music by Bill Flinn is, while others say it's dated.  

Then there's the staging itself.  It would seem this is what people are most split on.  One reviewer outlined all the ways the block scenery worked.  All of the pieces came together as a whole which was a metaphor for the whole show.  Very deep.  Other reviewers took it upon themselves to call the scenery ugly, blocky and the worst set design in the theater the whole of the season. I suppose those reviewers aren't as deep.

Anyway, I guess that's the best part of theater.  The fact that everyone gets something different out of a show - whether they love it or hate it, it affects them in some way.  Which is why we go in the first place!

Thomas Jefferson is Kind of a Jerk

I use this photo from the documentary because Chris Jackson is my favorite!

Last week PBS finally aired the Making of Hamilton documentary that they've been teasing us with for the last 8 months or so.  And as you can imagine it was a big hit with all the fans of Hamilton.  I was pretty excited to see it because it was about Hamilton, but I wasn't sure it was going to be super exciting.  I rarely like documentaries.  I prefer fake life stories to real ones.  Anyway, like I said after it aired - oh how I was wrong!  The show was fabulous.

Rather than just focus on the story of how Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote the show, they also focused on Hamilton's life and how the leads feel about playing these characters in today's world.  That's the part that really got to me.  After last week's initial viewing, I've been re-watching parts here and there (BTW - you can stream the whole thing online for free, just so you know...), and the interviews with Chris Jackson and Daveed Diggs specifically have really grabbed me.

Jackson plays George Washington and Diggs plays Thomas Jefferson.  As black men playing these old stuffy white guys, they have a lot of feelings about how the characters are portrayed and how they feel being the new face of these founding fathers.  Both actors mentioned that for all the good these titans did for the new United States, Washington and Jefferson owned slaves.  Their message was that not every good person is good all the time.  

Daveed Diggs went on to say that this helped him to realize that just because you hate something a person has done, doesn't mean you can't like something else that same person has done.  Everyone can agree that owning slaves was a hateful thing to do, however without the work Washington and Jefferson did, we wouldn't have the USA we have today. 

I really liked that perspective that these gentleman had.  To see just a little bit of the thinking that went into their flawless portrayals of these characters was really neat to see.  It's also nice to see a cast - everyone in this cast it would seem - that is intelligent and literate and kind and understanding of the responsibilities they've been given.  That doesn't happen very often these days.

I thought it might be hard to find something else to like about this production and these people, but here they've gone and given me something else.  Thanks Hamilton for changing the world again!  We really needed your optimism and creativity this year! 

Frankenstein Re-Hash

A few years ago, courtesy of National Theatre Live, I was able to see Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in Frankenstein. The premise for this show had Benedict and Jonny switching places each night - one would be the monster and one would be Dr. Frankenstein, then switch places the next night.  A ridiculous amount of work for the actors I'm sure and they handled it really well.  During that showing I saw Benedict as the Doctor and Jonny as the monster.  Both were astounding in their roles.  But here's the thing, the show itself was just weird.  

It was a really strange and gory way to tell the story, with some super cool creative effects thrown in for good measure.  So when my friend purchased tickets for the show again for this evening without asking me first, I was less than enthused.  I was actually secretly hoping she'd forget.  But unfortunately she didn't.  

Luckily, this time I saw the opposite casting of Benedict and Jonny so that's a good thing. But still, it's just weird man.  I just couldn't get into the way the story panned out.  I mean, it is Frankenstein so they kept the same bones to the story.  But the monster himself was super gory. Benedict did a great job and showing him learning, but I couldn't get past the make-up.  And Doctor Frankenstein, just didn't get much to do.  He had no redeeming qualities so you pretty much spent the entire show hating him.  

And then after 1.5 hours of this, the show just ends.  No resolution, no big fight.  Just the Doctor and the monster tramping off stage together in the snow (for some reason). Can you say bizarre?  As much as I like these 2 actors, 2 times was quite enough with for this play. No more "experimental" theater for me - I'll stick with the classic re-tellings thank you very much!

How to Travel: Going with the Flow

My friend and I were discussing travel the other day and how we both do it.  And as it turns out, we both do it very, very differently - as is pretty much the case with us in every situation. We approached every situation - money, planning, booking, budgeting, etc. - differently. So I thought it might be fun to share what I do when I travel.  This particular post is about going with the flow - obviously based on the title : )

I'm fairly methodical when it comes to planning travel.  I do loads of research beforehand, and map out where and when I want to go.  There are spreadsheets and handy-dandy reference sheets involved.There are usually lists of things I want to see, and longer lists of restaurants I want to try.  Let's just say I like to be prepared.

The worst thing I can think of is wasting my time wandering a city blindly, because I have NO idea where anything is or what I even want to see there. However, that doesn't mean I'm one of those crazy travelers that books everything down to the nearest second either.  Those people are evil and should really loosen up a bit.

My plans are guidelines just to keep me on track.  But if I forego the plans in exchange for something even cooler, then that's great too.  If, for instance, I make a wrong turn and find a gorgeous street full of shop or maybe if I've read about a Stevie Ray Vaughn statue existing somewhere in the city, and I just happen upon it whilst checking out the lake.  All of these instances are allowed in the Kristen Travel Plan.  

The absolute best part of travel is discovering new and marvelous things.  When you plan down to the minute, you focus too much on things you've already seen in your research and forget about the hidden gems.  Those are my favorite things to find.  And because I have some serious travel directionality (the ability to not get lost while in another state or even country, while still being able to get lost 1 mile from my home), I've been very lucky to discover some awesome gems, which just makes me crave trips and travel that much more!

School Matters

So I'm currently reading the first 2 books in a new/old (she wrote them a few years ago under a pseudonym but now that she's famous her publishers are re-releasing them under her own name - all very confusing!) series by Jenny Colgan.  She's my favorite and these books are just as wonderful as her others. I'm hoping these 2 sell well enough that they publish the next 4 because I just love a good series.

But all of that is beside the point.  The point to this post is that I've learned a few things reading these books, some of which is slightly embarrassing to admit.  You see, I read all the Harry Potter books and loved them.  They're some of the best books ever written, in my opinion.  But based on my very limited knowledge - even though I pride myself on knowledge of England - of British boarding schools, I sort of assumed that some of the terms that were thrown about were made up solely for the residents of Hogwarts. It would seem I was very wrong about this.

Prefects exist - and are normally just as snobby as Percy Weasley was.  Different houses also exist.  It wouldn't seem there are points for each house or competitions but girls (My only knowledge is of girls boarding schools as this is what the series is about...) definitely are sorted (unfortunately not by a magic hat) into houses where they reside for their entire time at the school.

Boarding schools also tend to look just like Castles with beautiful towers and huge fire places where students sit around studying for their exams.  Though I'm guessing that's not typical in the real, real-world. : ) 

So there you have it, I'm as shocked by my assumptions as I was when I heard Hermione's name pronounced out loud for the first time and realized I'd been butchering it in my head for the last 3 books.  But you have to admit, even when you read fluff - utterly fantastic and super-amazing fluff, mind you - you still learn something new every day! So, if there is a beautiful castle like girls school on the banks of Cornwall looking for a teacher, I'm now ready to assume my position...

Not So Boring Weekend

Some may say that it's boring while others might say that I'm old.  However, sometimes you just need some friend time on the sofa watching tv and chatting with ice cream for dessert.  It's not the most productive of ways to spend a weekend, but it's certainly relaxing and a super fun way to catch up.  This is exactly how both my Friday and my Saturday nights were spent this weekend and I'm most definitely ok with it.

Last night it was pizza and the Hamilton documentary with the bestie, while she graded papers and I finished up evaluating some quiz questions.  What I learned was the Hamilton documentary was awesome, and the bestie is sort of interested in my new crazy idea.  Perfect Friday night!

Tonight it was dinner at the best Italian place in town - Mama Lucia's  - and Luke Bryan videos on YouTube while we looked at old pictures and ate yummy ice cream.  I learned all sorts of fun gossip and I learned that Luke Bryan is a cutie patootie.  Because this friend and I haven't done this in forever, it was a fairly perfect Saturday too!

Traveling, and seeing shows and trying new restaurants and going on adventures are still high up on my list of faves but sometimes a boring night or two with old friends is just what the doctor ordered!

Friday Five

1. The Hamilton Documentary that I just watched was probably one of the best 1.5 hours of television I've ever seen!  I may be a bit biased since it was about Hamilton, but honestly it was just so very good.  The writers and actors and even some officials spoke about the show but they also spoke about Hamilton's life and his contributions to the current world.  It was fascinating and pretty much the perfect way to spend a Friday night!

2. In a word - AMAZING! 
          
3. What better way to learn about the delicious food in Baltimore restaurants than from the Orioles and the Ravens.  I just love the way these guys talk about the food and what's good to them.  My favorite is Brandon Williams' PB&J.  He's a guy that takes his sandwich seriously it would seem!

4. In just over a month, we'll finally be treated to the new Gilmore Girls season on Netflix. How is anyone staying calm?  I personally cannot wait and these posters are doing just feeding the excitement!  I love the Year in the Life concept and the 4 seasons theme for the posters is just adorable!

5. And in fairly shallow news this week, I've decided that after watching Matt Bomer guest host Live with Kelly, I totally miss seeing his adorable self every week on my television. Seriously, how dreamy is he?

            

Two Months...

I made the realization today - thanks to someone in my life who is way on top of things - that Christmas is officially 2 months (+5 days) away.  How in the heck is this possible?  I mean, it was just January 1 like a month ago.  2016 has positively flown by. 

And when I first made the realization, I was thinking of all the wonderful things that have happened this year - all the shows I've seen and all the little trips I've taken, all the fun excursions I've made and all the delicious food I've eaten.  You know - the things that really matter.  But then I went into a Christmas spiral that I couldn't jog myself out of.

Two months!  That's only 65 days to buy presents, wrap presents, bake cookies, make cards, participate in fun Christmas activities, decide on stocking stuffers, and not to mention all the birthdays in the month of December too.  That's just way too much to accomplish in 65 days! And people wonder why I'm up way past my bedtime on December 23 just trying to finish up.

I'll tell you why - Denial.  

It's how I deal with all of it.  I deny that it's super close until I can't deny it anymore.  It may not be a positive way to cope, but it's a great way to get the adrenaline pumping : )  Anyway, I'm telling myself that this year is going to be different - like I tell myself every year.  But this year I really mean it.  I actually know what I'm buying most people.  Some presents have already been made.  And the card idea is in my head.  No more denial from me.  I'm going to be the perfect Christmas fan this year, if only because after all the current events of the past 365 days, we all deserve a little Christmas spirit to pull us out of this funk!

Taking Art to the Streets

I've recently become slightly obsessed with the concept of "street art." Technically, I believe it's title used to be Graffiti.  However, nowadays we've evolved and realized this art form is very much art.  Illegal art I suppose, but art nonetheless.  I just love the idea of it.  There are so many plain concrete buildings and walls out there that could definitely use a bit of color and pizzazz.  And so many artists out there in search of a medium.  Why not kill 2 birds with one stone and start programs for murals and installations?

No one does this better than Austin.  Their street art is gorgeous and legendary.  There are tours just to see the many murals around town.  They even have a gallery called the HOPE Outdoor Gallery that's literally a bunch of concrete walls at the top of a hill, where artists can sign up to paint whatever they want.  Because of this, it's always changing.  You can go 100 times in a year, and every time there'll be a different experience because the art is just painted over and over by different artists. What an amazing idea for sustainable beauty!

There's also the mechanics of it all that's intriguing.  How in the world do these artists get to overpasses or bridges or the tops of buildings to paint? I mean, there has to be some sense of danger to it all right?  I definitely imagine people hanging upside down painting the perfect flower or tag on some overpass while cars drive down below.  Are there harnesses that they where?  Or are these artists dare devils as well?  It's all very confusing and just a wee bit magical.

Baltimore hasn't joined the street art revolution yet, but I'm hoping they will soon.  For now, Austin and NYC are my go to cities for a fix.  The bestie thinks I'm crazy, (that could have something to do with my tourettes-like outbursts of "street art!" every time I saw something from the high line...) but I'm hooked.  And quite honestly, can you think of anything better to get hooked on than something that makes gorgeous cities even prettier? And really, with all the colors and designs, is there anything that's more fun to photograph?

The Return of Tuesday Trivia

~ After 2 weeks away, it felt good to be going back to Trivia.  Unfortunately, that good feeling didn't translate to points.  Whereas we were a first half team before our 2 week hiatus, tonight we couldn't even crack the first set of 3 questions.  Sad state of affairs...

~ "Take my Breath Away" (which happens to be sung by the band Berlin AND appears on the Top Gun soundtrack, just in case you were wondering) is the perfect song to interpretive dance to - which is something I didn't even know was a thing until this very evening.

~ When being asked a question about the flag of Belgium, it helps to be in a bar selling Belgian beer on a sign that happens to have the flag on it.  However, it would have helped more if we didn't actually know the answer - turns out my clever emoji using last year while in Belgium helped me to remember the colors all by my lonesome.

~ Area 51 is in Nevada not New Mexico. That must explain all the crazies on the strip in Vegas - at least half of them have to be aliens, right?

~ When I heard the Facebook clue this week would be NYC streets I was super excited - finally a chance to shine.  Of course, when the question asked what the H-O in SoHo stands for, I was pretty bummed.  Why are all my categories soft ball questions?  (Houston in case you were wondering.)

~ The average size of an NFL player is 246 pounds.  I feel like the little dudes are bringing the average down, because have you seen the likes of Haloti Ngata lately.  He's HUGE!

~ I must admit to never knowing when Beyonce has a song out.  But I didn't even realize she had a sister that sang.  And we definitely didn't realize that her album is number 1 this week. I feel that in a world obsessed with Beyonce (I just don't get it!), this piece of information would be higher up in the newspapers...

~ The last category of the evening was Assassins - I was pretty excited because based on Karma alone (we were in need of a bit of a win after the dreadful night), the last question was going to ask what John Wilkes Booth said after he shot Lincoln (something I learned watching Timeless this week and for some reason remembered - Sic Semper Tiranus).  However, Karma kicked us in the butt and the question was on who was assassinated in 1948 - long after Lincoln died.  Apparently Ghandi.  I have to say - I'm not even sure I knew he was killed.

Weird & Weirder

Part of the "Try New Things in 2016" plan is saying yes when your friend calls and says, for instance, "Do you want to go see Sense and Sensibility at the Folger Shakespeare Library - they say it's going to be like Downton Abbey on roller skates...?" Ordinarily, No would be my first instance, but Yes was the answer I gave.  I had never seen the Folger Shakespeare Library so that was definitely a plus.  I'm not a Jane Austen fan like most girls are so that was a check in the con column.  However, when presented with something that's like "Downton Abbey on roller skates" you sort of have jump in and see what the night brings.

As it turns out, even with the addition of "roller skates", I should have gone with my first instinct. 

The theatre was gorgeous and reminded me a lot of the Swan in Stratford Upon Avon, and we had fabulous seats.  I only wish my seats were that good when I saw Richard II at the actual Swan.  This time around, it was a negative - we were too close to the stage to risk dozing off.  I may not have loved the show, but no need to offend the actors.  

To put it mildly, the show was bizarre and a half.  As it turns out, there were no roller skates.  All of the tables, chairs, windows, etc. were on wheels.  I'm assuming those were the skates.  The actors were pushed, pulled, catapaulted across the stage on wheelie set decoration. What?  Then at some point, "Uptown Funk" started playing and the cast - who was dressed in full Elizabethan garb - started a dance party on the stage. What?  And if that wasn't enough, the part that confused me more than anything at all, was the mumbling.  During some scenes and in between others, the entire cast would start yelling/speaking/mumbling different things all over each other which made deciphering the point and what exactly they were saying, quite impossible.  

I suppose I could say the cast was quite good, and really sold their parts.  If the creatives that staged the show would have just let them act, it could have been quite good.  But the addition of all sorts of weirdness definitely put this show on my least favorite list.

Baltimore Fleet Week

There are definitely times when it's not bad living so close to the port of Baltimore.  This week was one of those times.  The Port of Baltimore tried to recapture some of the magic of the Star Spangled Celebration of a few years ago and hold their first Fleet Week complete with Navy ships and the Blue Angels.  Ordinarily I'm a huge fan of boats and air shows, but today with the weather being absolutely gorgeous and the sky being perfectly clear, it was even more perfect.  

The Harbor looked even more gorgeous sparkling in the sun with all the ships hanging about.  And it was really nice to see the military guys chatting with kids and their families. Even the Canadian military was on hand to give tours of their boats.  Being so close to the home of the Navy in Annapolis, you sort of lose sight of just how special it is to see ships and planes up close like this, but during a celebration like Fleet Week you realize just how awesome they really are!

Post-Yard Sale Thoughts

Going in to this whole yard sale thing, I was pretty confident.  I had great books, in great condition.  I had DVD's in perfect condition of really awesome shows.  After the fact, I'm less than enthused by the whole yard sale thing.  The long and short of it is - it's way too much work for way too little payoff.  In case you're wondering, $37 was my net.  $37.00.  That's not even half of a Broadway ticket.  WTH?

However, I learned a few things.

~ Prices mean nothing to serious bargain hunters.  Even if there's a big orange sticker on something, they will still ask how much something is.  And more often than not, I'll back down and give them about a 50% discount.

~ People will buy a whole lotta junk.  Tights, shoes, jamberry's, used head bands, used kids toys - all of it I saw people walk away with.  However, my lovely books in wonderful condition sat unloved all day.

~ People have caught on to my theory on selling all DVDs because everything is on Netflix.  I only sold ER.  Everything else sat quietly.

~ Bags and Ones are an absolute must.  It's just easier to have them than having to apologize for not having them all day.

~ Making a joke with a serious bargain hunter is not a good idea.  They will give you quite the attitude even if they're a nice little old man, and you're just 3 nice girls selling their junk on a Saturday morning...

~ Lastly, people that are in charge of community yard sales are a particular brand of crazy.  We're talking Grade A control freaks, who will chastise you for not having change, or for going not the way they want you to go or if you attempt to go in the wrong door to get to the ladies room.

Friday Five

1. This one is just a personal preference.  I'm SUPER DUPER HAPPY that YouTube and EarBuds exist.  Because of these two genius inventions, I was able to disappear blissfully into the world of Broadway while ignoring 2 co-workers have a terribly ignorant fight over who's worse Clinton or Obama.  (Just putting my 2 cents in here - TRUMP IS!!!!)  Anyway, not having to listen 2 these 2 stubborn people go at it for 20 minutes is the highlight of my week : )

2. I'm not entirely sure how I've been to London 3 times now and missed hearing about this library, but I feel it's a travesty that no one has told me about it.  I mean, come on!  It's the largest library in the world.  And look how beautiful it is!  It's just calling out to me to be placed on my itinerary for next year.

3. Speaking of lovely things in London, check out these shots of the city taken at night.  The colors are just gorgeous!  I'm super intrigued by how the photographer took them.  I'm thinking it would be fun to get shots this beautiful, if only to have the chance to visit the city via a helicopter!

4. In a few short weeks, I have tickets to see Falsettos and I'm ridiculously excited about it.  I'm usually not in favor of the sad musicals - cut to me crying very hard during RENT. However, the cast is stellar and too good to pass up.  This meeting between the 2 original leads and the 2 current leads is quite lovely.  And the below video, is one that got me through the terrible political argument mentioned above.  Such intricate and beautiful music!  I can't wait to hear the songs fully!    
              
5. I'm adding this article to my favorites of the week if only to brag about my taste in donuts.  I've been eating Maryland's favorite donut shop - The Donut Shack - for basically my entire life.  The Boston Creme donut is basically perfect, and I've never felt the need to branch out. Though everyone else says everything else is equally delicious.  Now, to just try the other 49 states...Though I do disagree with Dough in Manhattan - not my favorite donut at all.  I can't believe they didn't go with Doughnut Plant!

Life Lately...

We've now entered that tricky part of the year between the end of summer and the start of the Christmas season when it's starting to get dark early, and there's just not much happening.  I hate that time of year.  I always find it quite difficult to get motivated to craft or work or even find a book I'm hooked on long enough to complete it.  It's a real pain!

However, I've been focused on a few things that have been swimming around my brain for the last week or so.  These are those things ("dun dun" a la Law & Order - I crack myself up!)

I've been reading Miranda Hart's biography.  Now I know I've just finished gushing over her show, but I'm on a bit of a Miranda Hart kick because honestly, she's the only person that states pretty much everything I'm feeling. Like I said before, she's a 6 foot British version of me.  She's awkward and sarcastic.  She finds utterly ridiculous things funny.  She never knew what to do with her life and she still feels like she doesn't.  She's not married and doesn't have kids even though she wants both.  Hearing her say these things makes me feel like I'm not so odd.

I've also been watching a fantastic show on the CW called No Tomorrow which is about a guy that thinks the apocalypse is coming in 8 months, so he's been fulfilling his bucket list. He meets a girl that's always played by the rules and gets her to start adventuring as well.  First off, I need a guy like this in my life (especially if he's as adorable as the dude in this show...).  Second off, I need more excitement in my life - which is really nothing new.  But it bears repeating.

Lastly, I've been reading a lot about book arts and letterpress.  I'm not sure I knew they were even a thing until a few years ago, but they seem like something I should know about.  As someone with as many books as I have, you'd think I would have put 2 and 2 together to come to making books, but as it turns out I'm a little slow on the uptake. I've now found 2 printers in the Baltimore area that offers classes on these awesome art forms.  Now I just need them to post their schedule for the winter when I'm really uninspired to do anything but curl up under the covers,  so I can get my butt into gear!

So there's life lately - a life spent mostly in my head these days.  

Pre-Yard Sale Thoughts

In all my years, I've never once done the yard sale thing.  I've seen them - my neighborhood had a community yard sale every year for pretty much my entire life - but we never sold anything or bought anything.  It just wasn't something we did.  Nothing against yard sales, but I'd rather go real shopping then having to work to find the good stuff.

So that makes it a bit off for me to be gathering up my belongings to try to sell them this weekend at a friend's community yard sale.  I've been planning to participate for months, yet I never really knew what that meant.  I just know that there's so much stuff and I want all that stuff out of my house.  Also, if I can make money off of selling my stuff I can buy more stuff - mostly books.

This is the whole explanation for why there are currently 5 crates of books and 1 crate of cds littering up my living room, my car and my friend's car.  There are even more books taking up space in my dad's car - but those are his.  I'm just the broker.  In this my first yard sale experience, I've learned a few things.  One of which being the fact that as much fun as it is to think about selling and making money, it's super not fun to decide what to get rid of.  It's painstaking.  One moment, I'm blase and throwing every single book I didn't like in a box.  And the next, I'm silently taking books out of the box because one day I will finally get around to wanting to read "The Help" and maybe I shouldn't really sell it at this time.

Then there's the matter of cost.  How in the heck do you decide what to price books or cd's? I've spent a fortune, and some are still in perfect condition.  But no one wants to spend that much at a yard sale on one book.  But then again, if you make it a steal, you'll need to sell tons to make money.  This is not a fun prospect for a math-hater like me.

Lastly, it's the thing no one in their right mind but me thinks about.  How does one display the items you're planning to sell in a visually pleasing way?  Does one use boxes or tables or does one make a lovely sign announcing what one's selling?  Or does one just drop it all in a cardboard box - since that's what everyone else is doing - and hope for the best?  It's a conundrum.  One which I haven't yet solved.  But seeing that the sale is in T-56 hours and counting, I really should get on that.

Super Awesome Tuesday Seeing Freaky Friday

When I heard that Heidi Blickenstaff was going to be playing the mom in a new Disney musical of Freaky Friday in Virginia, I decided that I would just have to get tickets.  Half price tickets on Tuesday nights and new music by the writers of Next to Normal were just added bonuses - even if the half price Tuesday night performance made for a very, very late night.

So the long story short is, I loved it!  The musical isn't anything groundbreaking or new, but what it is is fun.  The story of a mom and daughter switching bodies for a day is an oldie but a goodie.  The 2 female leads were just perfect!  A quick change of body language or the way they delivered a line, and they were a whole new person.  And both could do some serious belting which is definitely a bonus.  The rest of the cast was great too!

The best part for me was the choreography.  The choreographers really changed it up and did some fun things.  In one number everyone was dancing with work out balls and in another, one of the male leads was scootering around the stage on an actual no-handle auto scooter.  So fun!

I'm not sure if the show will ever make it to Broadway but I definitely hope it will.  The mix of fun and a great message - always be you - is something kids and adults could use these days.  And with the cast being what it is, I'd definitely make my way back to see it again!

Frederick Fun Day

A wee bit north of Baltimore, lies the town of Frederick Maryland.  It's a small little town that has a cute little Main street with shops, restaurants and as I learned today, a really pretty little river walk.  For you foodies out there, Frederick is where Bryan Voltaggio has his restaurant, VOLT (a restaurant that I've eaten in and loved, but a restaurant that wasn't eaten in today)  As it turns out, Mondays are pretty quiet for small town America - in that, most cute shops are closed, which is unfortunate.

However, the town itself has some really great sites if you're a fan of the picture taking and wandering. And as it turns out, a chilly October morning, can quickly turn warm and beautiful and become the perfect day to wander and breathe fresh air with some lovely company.  Also, Frederick is home to the Curious Iguana - a proper bookshop that reminded me of England.  Score!

I feel I'd be a much happier person if every Monday could be spent exploring rather than working.  Where's that cause to vote for in this year's election?  Let's get on that, people! : )

A Note on the pictures: If you are of the iPhone picture taking persuasion, I can't recommend Pic Tap Go enough.  This super cheap app makes every photo looks about 150% more fabulous.  All of these photos were edited using that app.  Also, it would seem that I've gotten so used to scrapbooking that I now take every photo I shoot vertically.  Not a single gorgeous landscape picture to be had #PhotoFail...

Sunday Funday

A dreary, rainy Sunday ended up being a breezy, sunny, gorgeous day.  Unfortunately, the Ravens game that started out gorgeous, ended in the exact opposite way - in ruin against the Redskins.  Ugh!  That's why, instead of stressing, and yelling, I made these.  Aren't they cute?  The cricut, while being a major pain in the butt - with all the replacement blades, and the unstickyness of the mat and the deciding on what and how big to make things - is truly one of the coolest inventions out there.  

I just love it!  And the cartridge I used for these cards - Create a Critter 2 - is my favorite.  It's perfect for making cutesy cards, and let's face it - those are what I make the most of.  As much as I try to make fancy and gorgeous, I always come back to cutesy and fun.  And when all the little critters that you make have such adorable faces, is that really such a bad thing?!  

Crafty Saturday Night

I might have a problem...

How else would I spend a Saturday night?  The cards may be done a bit early, but I love them, and now they're done!  I was never a huge Halloween fan.  I dressed up and did the candy thing, but I hate scary and that was always the theme of Halloween.  Sometime in the last few years, the world discovered Mexico's holiday of Dia de los Muertos, and Halloween got a lot more fun and whole lot less scary!  That's when I became an October 31st fan.

Celebrating those you loved by bringing them sweets and dressing up in bright beautiful colors seems like a whole lot more fun than being scared to death by a horror film.  That's exactly why I feel the need to share my love of cute skeleton heads with everyone I know each Halloween.  I'm not sure they appreciate it, but I have fun so there's that : )

Friday Five

1. Words cannot express how much I love these stamps.  They are super adorable and fun to color on a Friday night!

2. Rickie Fowler seems to take this whole being single thing way better than I do.  Good for him!

3. For the record, this is exactly how I react when it's time to leave the book store...

           

4. What a fabulous piece on a phenomenal actor!  I had the chance to see Christian Borle play Shakespeare and in 1 month I'll get to see him in Falsettos and in about 7 months I'll get to see him as Willy Wonka.  He's amazing, and I'm glad he's getting the chance to shine!

5. Honestly, how cute is this dog photobombing Pope Francis?  He's just about the happiest dog ever!

Time Out

Bit of a crazy headache tonight - probably due to non-stop election coverage - but nonetheless I'm off to bed to sleep it off.  

Hope to wake up tomorrow morning, feeling much better and ready for my 3 day weekend... 

Pondering

On an ordinary Wednesday in October, when nothing much happens, I ponder a lot.  Some would say I could use a more exciting job.  I would say however, that my job is just exciting enough and sometimes you just need to ponder life's great questions, such as...

~ Why have I read at least 3 stories today about Christmas decorations?  It's October 5.  Is it really time to start thinking about Christmas?  I think not!  Yesterday, in Michaels the Halloween decorations were plentiful but they were in an aisle right next to Christmas ribbon and wrapping.  Seriously?  I've not bought a single thing, nor do I have any ideas.  Do they really think that people have not only bought their gifts but have started wrapping them as well?  Let's get through pumpkins and turkeys first please.  

~ I'm most curious about the Facebook friend that's posting tonight about how lovely her daughter's Catholic school is and how lucky she and her family are to have such great Catholic values and to learn from so many wonderful Catholics.  This same woman and her friends were criticizing Tim Kaine on Facebook last night for the pin he was wearing.  How dare he wear a Blue Star pin in honor of his Marine son rather than an American Flag.  Don't you know that you could see Pence's flag quite clearly - this apparently makes him more fit to hold the office of VP in bizarro 2016 campaign world.  Who knew?

~ How exactly should I go about deciding on what to charge for the books and DVD's I'm selling this weekend at the yard sale?  And more importantly, am I doing the right thing?  Is getting rid of books ever the right choice?

~ Since watching "No Tomorrow" (a fabulous new show on the CW all about having a bucket list and starring the cutie that played Galavant - not that I'm shallow or anything...), should I have a bucket list?  Should there be more exciting things on it than travel around the world or fly a plane or get married?  Should I want to sky dive or bungee jump?  And if I should want to do those things, should I pop some serious Xanax first?

~ Why is the theatre that is being used for Hamilton in London, already draped in Hamilton finery when the show doesn't open in London until November 2017?  Shouldn't they use the theatre for what it's worth until that time instead of just teasing the city of London with Coming Soon's? And while we're at it, don't the theatre gods know that I plan to be in London in July 2017 and shouldn't Hamilton have opened in the summer instead of waiting for November?

There you have it - Life's big questions according to me... : )

Not So Trivia Tuesday

Apparently, when the Orioles make it to the Wild Card game, everything in Maryland must not continue.  That's why, for the first time in about a year, I find myself on the sofa on a Tuesday night. It's definitely been a while, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I'm pretty sad that I don't get to have fun with friends for 2 hours.  However there are some positives to this.

I just watched NCIS live for the first time in more than a year.  While it may not be a ringing endorsement for no trivia, I was pretty happy with it.  There's also the little matter of the O's game being on (we're currently winning, just in case you were wondering).  Of course, I have to admit it would have been so much more fun to watch the game with the other trivia people in the middle of a bar in the city.  Crazy but super fun!

Of course on the downside, tonight is the Vice Presidential debate.  That means I'm forced to sit here and listen to Mike Pence lie and berate Tim Kaine for 2 hours straight.  (Good lord Pence is just as stupid as his running mate!)  Of course, because this is on and knowing that the O's are winning, I can now go to bed, a full 1.5 hours earlier than I usually do on a Tuesday night.  

I'm sure I'll be thanking the trivia gods for that tomorrow morning!  

Harsh

I have to admit that I'm as confounded by the Kardashians as most people are.  I have no idea why they're famous or how they have so darn much money.  I don't understand why the world watches their exploits and follows their selfies.  I don't find them particularly kind or humble.  However, what happened to Kim Kardashian today was not right.

And, what's even worse is how people are treating her in the wake of the robbery.  I actually heard someone say that she "deserved" to be robbed and held at gun point.  In what world does anyone deserve that?  She may be able to replace most of what was stolen, but no one should have to go through such a terrifying ordeal.  And to say that since she's rich and famous, that she somehow brought this on herself is just ludicrous.

Why in the world is everyone so darn mean?

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

There are exactly 4 sports I care about - Football (Baltimore Ravens), Baseball (Baltimore Orioles), Hockey (Washington Capitals) and Golf (Pretty much everyone but Tiger Woods). And somehow on a Sunday in October 3 out of the 4 managed to collide.  3 Wins would have been nice, but 2 out of 3 isn't bad, especially when 2 out of those 3 are so darn amazing!

First the bad, Ravens lost to the Raiders in a super close game.  Well, not super close until the last few minutes.  But somehow, the Ravens can win 2 road games in the last few minutes, but not a home game in the last quarter.  Seriously?!

Anyway, the next 2 made up for it.  The Orioles have been in and out of the playoffs for the last week or so.  I tend to not understand the ins and outs of the playoffs so every time I check, it's something different.  So I haven't been watching super closely.  Of course, when I don't watch, that's when the clinch it!  Woohoo!  Baltimore is in for an Orange October. Love it! Seeing as the very last World Series they won, was in 1983 (aka the year I was born), it would be really nice to see a win!

Lastly, was the sweetest of the weekend. The American Ryder Cup Team won!  They not only won, but they won in spectacular fashion.  There were some seriously gorgeous matches over the last 2 days and some super sweet victories.  I loved watching the players - European and American - all enjoy the weekend.  They all played hard, but they were playing hard too.  I can only imagine what the celebrations look like tonight!