Do you ever go into something thinking you're going to hate it and then come out thinking it was pretty amazing?  I love things like that.  It just shows that there's always a little surprise around every corner.  That happened twice this weekend, and in both instances it was about the theatre.

Yesterday, I was grumpy about having to travel all the way into Washington DC to see a show based on a movie that I've never seen: Mean Girls.  It sounded like a good idea when I bought the tickets, but I kept forgetting about it and there were other things I wanted to be doing instead.  However, I realized that the show was pretty adorable.  It reminded me a lot of Legally Blonde.  It wasn't going to change the world, but it was a fun way to spend 2.5 hours.  Also, it was trying to spread a message of kindness which I'm a huge fan of.

Then there was today, a show that I had no desire to see at all.  It was a community theatre production in a church basement.  I've not had great experiences in church basements, but I needed to go.  I think I've completely changed my mind on theatre performances in church basements.  It was hilarious!  I was stunned by the caliber of actors in the cast and even the production itself.  I'm so happy I went because who doesn't need a laugh on a gray November Sunday?

I can only hope that wonderful things continue to be just around the corner.  Friends make fun of me because of my optimism, however when things like this happen it's kind of hard not to be optimistic!

Balloon Day was a Bust

After the success of last year's Balloon Festival on the Eastern Shore, I've been anxiously waiting for this year's.  The weather was gorgeous today, and unlike last year it wasn't a balmy 352 degrees (I exaggerate, but you sit in the sun in August in Maryland for a few hours and see how you feel...)  The only problem was with the gorgeous weather, came a beautiful breeze. That lovely breeze was fabulous for us spectators, not so great for balloons.

Therefore, since the winds were so strong, no balloons went up.  And when the festival is called a balloon and wine festival, and you're someone who doesn't drink wine, and there'll be no balloons to look at, you leave, in favor of beating the traffic and having a yummy dinner somewhere.  So in other words, this Balloon Day was a bust.  One day, I hope to get to New Mexico and see their Balloon day.  I'm pretty sure they never have this ridiculousness to deal with...

2 out of 5

Yesterday was Day 1 of a 5 Show week.  I'm a big fan of lots of theater, but this week is sort of out of hand. However, there are worse things to have an overabundance of than theater, so I'm definitely not complaining.

Last night, was Falsettos on the big screen.  Now I know I've talked a lot about it, but it was and still is amazing.  The show totally held up on the screen.  I'll always think that Live is best when it comes to great performances, but seeing a filmed version of this particular show did provide some insight.  I was able to see things I wasn't able to see in the theater, like tiny facial expressions, or line readings that made more sense when accompanied by a gesture or a smirk.  It really was quite beautiful!

I only had 2 complaints.  One was the change to a lot of the words.  Since it was being filmed ultimately for PBS, they had to change many of the harsher words.  Sometimes the changes were seamless, other times they were super clunky.  That had to be a bear for the actors to memorize!  My second complaint was the lack of an intermission.  Every other time that I've seen a taped performance, they actually build the 15 minute break in.  This time they went straight from act 1 to act 2.  Anticipating the intermission, I had smuggled in a hot tea from Starbucks and drank it all in the first act.  I was quite upset by the lack of a built in potty break.  Other than those 2 minor issues, the show was flawless!

Tonight, on the other hand was less than flawless.  Tonight was a production of Godspell - one of my all time favorites - performed by the Maryland based Infinity Theater company.  They made a bold choice to stage the entire show in the style of SNL  This meant that the actors were all disciples doubling as well-known characters from SNL over the years.  At one point, John the Baptist was the Church Lady, 2 disciples were the Blues Brothers while another was the musical guest, which I think was supposed to be Amy Winehouse.  Jesus, obviously, was the host this week.

It was incredibly bizarre.  It was so strange, that even after seeing this show dozens of times, I had a hard time following what the heck was happening.  This may have had something to do with the extra hour of content they somehow added to make the usually 90 minute show, jump to 2 hours and 30 minutes.  The funniest part was that my friend who had never seen the show before, loved it.  She thought it was fabulous, and she's usually much more skeptical about the weird than I am.  Go figure.  It was definitely not my cup of tea.  Thank goodness that the 3rd show of my 5 show week is yet another production of Godspell, hopefully done by a company that stays a bit more true to its roots.

If not I see a viewing of the Victor Garber version in my future, if only to get tonight's production out of my head.

Summer is So Darn Close

Summer is by far my most favorite season.  I know that it's not officially summer until June 21 each.  But each year, on June 1 I call it summer in my book, even if sometimes it doesn't feel that way.  And each year I notice new things about my favorite season.  Most of the time these new things make me love it even more.

For instance, it's officially after 9:00 on the East Coast, and the sun went down completely about 20 minutes ago.  But for the last week or so at this time, I've heard the birds still tweeting like crazy.  Usually I'm not the biggest fan of their songs because they tend to wake me up in the summer.  But these little tweets don't seem so bad.  I don't think I ever noticed they were so late to stop singing in the summer.

Another, which has a little to do with the birds, is just how late the sun goes down.  I know the days are longer in the summer, which is one reason to adore it.  But the sun here has been going down a tiny bit before 9:00 pm and it's definitely up when I leave the house at 6:00 am.  That's a very, very long day!  So much time to have fun doing all sorts of summer things.

Another is the weather.  Now whenever I was little, and June would hit, it would be immediately warm enough to wear shorts all day.  Why is it still a little cool in the mornings? I've been noticing this more and more.  This time last year, I was at the beach and I was wearing jeans all week and not getting into the water because it was much too chilly.  Come on warm weather!  I've been waiting for you since last September...

Anyway, all of this is to say the usual.  If you don't like what's happening in Maryland, wait a few minutes and it will change.  And as for summer, I'm willing to wait because it's too good to wish away!

Summer Saturdays are the Best!

Some summer Saturdays are better than others.  Saturdays that start out in Reston VA, and end up on Kent Island in Maryland with lots of yummy food, shopping and fun family time in the middle are definitely the best kind!  Happy First Summer Saturday!  Here's to many more!

Unknown Territory

Today, courtesy of BroadwayWorld (look for the review later this week) I had the chance to visit the Vagabond Theatre in Fells Point to see The Odd Couple.  Neil Simon plays are always fun and funny, and this one was no different.  The acting and the setting were great.  Whenever I visit Fells Point, I always ponder why I don't visit there more often.  After the 15th time of rounding the block looking for a parking spot, I usually remember.  The parking is awful!  However, on such a beautiful day it was no wonder - everyone was out enjoying the beautiful weather and being on the waterfront!

Maybe, just maybe I'll get a little less annoyed this summer with the parking and head down there more often.  With all the circling of the block, I definitely found at least a dozen yummy restaurants to try!

Fabulous & Fun

This weekend was full of all sorts of wonderful things - new things that I've never liked and old things that I always love.  Basically it was a wonderful weekend!

As I said on Friday, I went to see Rent and fell back in love with this beautiful show.  It makes me cry every single time, and yet I still go back for more.  This time around it was a little different.  What always makes me cry, made me cry but once I started I couldn't stop. Some of the songs just hit me harder than usual.  But by the end I was smiling again - through my tears of course.

Then on Saturday, I woke up early to volunteer at the Annapolis Film Festival.  I don't even like films, but for some reason I thought it might be fun, which is strange in and of itself, since chatting with people that I don't know has often been called my nightmare.  But this weekend I discovered something.  Chatting with new artsy people is super fun.  The people that were volunteering with me were positively lovely.  We chatted about theatre, travel, movies, food and everything in between for a good 6 hours.  And it was wonderful.  I was actually sad when it was time to leave, that I hadn't signed up for another block of time.

After that, it was off to paint pottery on Main Street in Annapolis.  Now, painting is definitely not my craft of choice, but I had such a great time.  The best part of this studio is that they don't charge for a sit fee.  After some hemming and hawing, I finally decided on a candy dish that I then painted in a Falsettos-inspired motif.  I loved it before it baked and I'm super excited to see it next week after it gets fired. 

After a busy Saturday, Sunday was spent with family and friends eating the absolute best Mexican food and chocolate-coconut cake.  Like I said, it was a pretty much fabulous weekend and I'm hoping plenty of wonderful weekends like this are in my future!

Rock and Roll is Here to Stay

Every year a local high school puts on a Rock and Roll Revival.  This show - which includes all types of music through history - is beyond anything I've ever seen at a high school level. Between the costumes, the choreography and the singing, I'm always blown away.  And this year was no different.  Of course this year there was an added bonus of a brand new venue.

You see, their school was recently rebuilt to be state of the art and ginormous!  I believe my school's auditorium could have fit in their's 4 times over.  They had padded seats, a mezzanine, and a walkway in the ceiling for lighting and tech.  To say it was high tech was an understatement.  And the fact that they just moved into the space in January, I think  made the production even more impressive.

In 2 months in a brand new space, they were able to put on a show with the same production quality that they've had for the last 20 years.  That's a testament to how hard these kids and teachers work.  And each year I'm happy to say I have the chance to see it!

Movie Times

On January 1, I pronounced that my word for the year would be Open.  I decided I wanted to be open to new experiences and not just say no to things.  I would try new things and see new sights.  So far I haven't done much of that.  I mean, I've taken a few trips to NYC by myself to see things that I really wanted to see so I suppose that's being a little open.  But for the most part, winter in Maryland has found me in a bit of a rut.

However, spring is so close we can taste it - it was about 65 and sunny today! - so things are starting to look up as far as new stuff goes.  Everyone knows nothing fun happens when it's cold.  Fun activities are planned for when it's warm and sunny.  At least that's what I'm telling myself anyway.

So that's why I recently found myself signing up to be a volunteer at the Annapolis Film Festival.  I'm actually quite excited about it even though there's nothing in this activity that sounds remotely like me.  I mean, if it was a theatre fest, that would make more sense.  But I don't see movies.  I have the attention span of a gnat when it comes to movies so I tend to stick to television.

But my thought is that this event will be chock-full of creative and crafty people.  And being around creative and crafty people is never a bad thing.  Also, I'm thinking that meeting these people may lead to other fun happenings that I can be open to trying, or at the very least, maybe Prince Charming is a movie buff...

Yay for new fun!

A Springy Winter Sunday

This picture was taken today - February 19 - in Annapolis Maryland.  Today it was 74 degrees, sunny and not a single cloud in the sky.  It was gorgeous!  It's most likely a tease, but that didn't stop pretty much everyone in Maryland, that's been cooped up all winter from hitting the docks and hanging out in the sun.  All ice cream shops were packed.  Dogs were everywhere.  And I even saw shorts and capris wandering around.  In short, it was wonderful!  So wonderful that I keep forgetting it's only February.  I want so bad for this weather to last for the rest of the year, which won't happen.  It'll be chilly this time next week I'm sure. However, only a few more weeks until it's officially spring.  So until then, I'll be dreaming about this gorgeous day!

#BeALight

Tonight I went out of my comfort zone and attended a Ghostlight Project (an awesome way to make theaters across the country open to all as a safe haven) event where I only knew one person.  It was scary and awesome at the same time.  I learned that I'm perfectly able to make small talk if everyone I'm talking to is lovely and kind.  I learned that there are about a million theater-ish things happening in Maryland that I know nothing about.  And I learned that theater critics are awful (that was my second choice for the title of this post...) What was only going to be an hour long event, turned into a good almost 5 hours.  I loved it and the people I was fortunate to chat with!  Here's to new adventures in 2017!  And fighting for kindness and hope!

Christmas in St. Michaels

On Thursday I wrote about how lovely Midnight Madness is in Annapolis.  So when we traveled to St. Michaels today for their Christmas event, I was sort of expecting more of that loveliness - stores open late, Christmas lights everywhere, maybe snacks in the stores.  Not so much... Don't get me wrong, I love St. Michaels and the shops on Main Street looked beautiful all lit up.  But that was about it.  The stores all closed by 6 pm.  The restaurants that looked delicious were all booked with reservations.  And to top it all off, there wasn't a single hot chocolate or cookie being given out anywhere.

It was definitely a let down after the fun of Thursday night.  However, any Christmas activity is a fun activity, so it definitely wasn't all bad.

Naptown Midnight Madness

A few years ago, the city of Annapolis started Midnight Madness on the Thursdays leading up to Christmas.  As a fan of all things Annapolis, let me just tell you this may be my favorite thing the city has ever done.  All of the shops are open late, serving hot chocolate and cookies.  There are bands playing Christmas music and carolers making the rounds.  And there are Christmas lights EVERYwhere - over the streets and in the windows.  There's even a Snowflake Alley covered in snowflake lights (obviously.)

Everything is just so festive and fun.  And it's a great opportunity to get some last minute Christmas shopping in.  However, most shops are chock full of people and that's just too much pressure, so there's not much shopping done for me.  But it pretty much is the best place to get in the Christmas spirit!

Festival of Trees

One of my most favorite Christmasy events in Maryland is the Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees that's held at Timonium Fairgrounds each year on the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Loads of businesses, companies, individuals, families and schools get together, design a tree and then the trees are shown off at the big event.  Attendees can buy the trees or just wander around and ogle at the creativity.  I'm much more an ogler than a spender, but thank goodness lots of other people are spenders because the event makes thousands each year for Kennedy Krieger's schools and treatment centers.  

 I don't remember what tree this guy hung on, but he's the cutest Rainbow Fish ever!

 We were standing in front of an emoji tree.  I was being an emoji.  No one else was joining in...

My favorite was this cactus tree that was decorated with calaveras and other fun things with the theme of Feliz Navidad.

 This one of the Grinch and Max stealing the toys rounded out my top 3 favorites.  The Grinch was popular this year since it's the 50th anniversary in 2016, but this one was by far the cutest of all the various Grinches.

 The ornaments on this tree were all made of book pages.  It was pretty and creative but I was slightly distressed by the destruction of books...

 This was my other favorite.  It was entitled Who's Stealing Christmas? and it was covered in case reports of bad guys from Christmas movies, like the Grinch, or Jack Skellington.  What was even cuter was the "evidence bags" full of evidence of their crimes, like green fur left over at the crime scene.  So creative and just the cutest!

Letterpress Love

Today, after months of hemming and hawing I finally took a class in Letterpress printing at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, in Hyattsville, MD.  And I may now be hooked on the whole process!  I've never actually taken any art classes, outside of elementary school.  I usually manage to just teach myself anything I want to learn - scrapbooking, cardmaking, embossing, etc.  Sometimes it goes well, other times not so much.  

But with all the equipment you need for printing, as well me not having a clue as to what actually went into printing, I figured a class was in order.  And based on some research PAAC was the place to do it.  The center itself has apparently been around for the last 40 years but they just recently moved into this historic space in the arts district of Hyattsville, this past summer.  And as the instructor said, it's pretty much the Tardis - so much bigger on the inside!

And as if quoting Doctor Who wasn't enough to win me over, the instructor was also phenomenal at the craft of printing.  He owns his own printmaking business and sells his wares at craft shows and things, so he really knew what he was talking about.  He gave us all helpful hints and tricks and really helped us to understand why certain things happened in certain ways when printing. I highly recommend him if you're ever planning to take a class there.

The process itself, was much more in depth than I assumed it would be.  Like I said, I had no idea what I was getting into, so each step was a new and exciting thing to learn.  There's just so much that goes into setting the type correctly and deciding on what typefaces to use - making decisions; always my downfall! - and getting the ink to work just right.  It really is intense, but it's also super fun!  

What's cool about PAAC is that you can rent space there and work on the equipment whenever you want, which sounds like an awesome opportunity. But when you account for the 50 minute drive, it gets a little out of reach.  So I'm thinking I might need to invest instead to keep up with my studies - there are loads of personal letterpress machines out there that are just calling my name.  But please don't tell James, our instructor.  I mentioned that one point and I think I may have personally offended his artistic sensibility...

The final product was a run (15 cards) of whatever quote you decided to use.  In my cardmaker's brain, I thought it would be smart to jumpstart on my holiday cards.  However, I didn't account for the fact we'd all have to use the same color, and wouldn't you know that the consensus chose the least Christmasy color ever.  Anyway, I'm still a huge fan of my type choices, even if I do say so myself.  The actual printing I might not be the best at - why I couldn't get the ink uniform, I'll never know! But choosing cool fonts, I've mastered!

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!

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...