New York City and Me - Two Weeks of 2014

Many of you have asked about my recent adventures in New York City.  I hope these pictures are a good tease!

We Don't Know What's Going On

"We don't know what's going on in your life anymore."

Megs and Jules informed me of this last Friday night when Rob (fighting the urge to call him Robalicious, fighting the urge...) and I visited them at Megan's house.

I launched into some spiel about how I don't know, when another person is involved in my day-to-day life, how much of that can be considered "public" and how much can be considered "private."  So, I'll share the big stuff so you have a little morsel.

1. My sissy Britty and her new husband Matt came to town to visit me for Thanksgiving!  Lots of great adventures - watching the Macy's parade, the on fire fountains at City Creek, the funicular at the St. Regis, Christmas lights in downtown SLC, Quick Wits, game nights with old friends, IMAX Skyfall, two new pairs of boots for $35 total at midnight (These and two pairs of gym pants were my total black Friday haul) and pure exhaustion.

2. I experienced my first Ferre family Thanksgiving - complete with Christmas singing afterwards!  And my first Smyth-family Pie Night on Thanksgiving Eve.

3. Rob is coming to Ohio for Christmas adventures, complete with a visit to the A Christmas Story house!

4. I have been asked by my wonderful director of ole, Wendy Dahl-Smedshammer, to reprise my role as Sister Mary Leo in Nunsense in March.

I think that's it in big news for now - love you all!

LEATHERBY'S!

Britty and Matt helped me decorate for Christmas and I awarded Brit the "star on top" privileges

Christmas Tree in the LDS Conference Center

Scheel's - this totally ridiculous sporting goods store

Ferre family Thanksgiving

Cafe Rio with Rob's amazing friends from Orlando days of yore

Pie Night at Megan Smyth's

Ferre Family Thanksgiving

Cantina - my fav Mexican place!

Sexy and They Know It!

My kid sis, Britney, and her new hubby, Matt, are sexy.  And they know it.

This video speaks for itself.  I absolutely cannot get enough - especially during, "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle."  I die.

Mawwiage

She's MARRIED!!!

What I've Been Looking For

When the movie High School Musical was released, a song caught my lil sis's ear and she said, "I want you to sing this at my wedding."

So it was no surprise to me when she got engaged last year and called to ask if I would sing a duet with her bestie Ryan (Ry-Bear has been to NYC with me twice). 

The Song?

What I've Been Looking For.

Seems crazy, right?  But today I went to print out the lyrics and was surprised to see how cheesily appropriate for a wedding the lyrics actually are:

It's hard to believe
That I couldn't see
You were always there beside me
Thought I was alone
With no one to hold
But you were always right beside me.
This feeling's like no other
I want you to know
I've never had someone that knows me like you do
the way you do
I've never had someone as good for me as you
no one like you 
So lonely before I finally found
what I've been looking for

So good to be seen
So good to be heard
Don't have to say a word
So long I was lost
So good to be found
I'm loving having you around

This feeling's like no other
I want you to know
I've never had someone that knows me like you do
The way you do
I've never had someone as good for me as you
No one like you
So lonely before, I finally found
what I've been looking for

If you made it through reading all of this without singing anything, I applaud you.  I certainly did not.  Jazz Squares!

Bachelorette Party - Girls' Night Invites

I am the Maid of Honor for my sister's wedding.  From 2,000+ miles away.  Poor girl.

She doesn't want a traditional Bachelorette party, she wants a girls' night pajama party sleepover the night before her wedding.  Sounds good to me!  I know she doesn't read my blog, so it won't spoil the surprise for her if I post what the invitations will look like.  I'm super-stoked about this.  She is getting married at home plate on the Cincinnati Reds' Great American Baseball Field in case I didn't mention that yet.

I'm putting together little "girls' night" kits to mail each of the girls who will be attending - probably about 15.  So far I have:
1. Red Crystal Nail Files (the wedding colors are red and black)
2. Buttons that say "Britney's Bachelorettes" and one for her that says "Bride" (because you have to wear something to commemorate the occasion, but those sashes are cliche and go too far)
3. Mini Nail Polishes
4. Tide Pens (Um, hello - weddings + ballpark food = something is bound to happen)
5. Individual-sized face masks (.5 oz. so they can come on the plane)

I am looking for one more thing - something to really put this over-the-top on the cuteness radar.  Any suggestions out there?  

I thought about buying a bunch of scrapbook supplies and having each girl make a page for her since she's into that, but I can't guarantee that anyone would remember and then remember to bring it - we are all over the country.   I thought about candy, but we'll have plenty of that there.  Maybe some hair clips?   Geez, I need some suggestions - help!

Check out the invitations (ignore the watermarks) and the buttons.  I'm excited!

Engagement Photos

Don't panic!  NOT mine.

Aren't my sissy and her fiancee, Matt, adorable?!

They are getting married in September on the Cincinnati Reds Baseball Field.  How awesome is that?

Murray Arts in the Park: The Scarlet Pimpernel

I have a first for you today, readers.  Input from a special guest....*drum roll*...my sissy, Britney!

She is in town from Ohio and I may or may not have forced her to come to one of my favorite theater venues, the amphitheater at Murray Park, with me to see, "The Scarlet Pimpernel."  I had three friends whom I had promised I would attend and the only time I could go is if she came with me, so what had to be done had to be done.

First, my quick take on the show, then her thoughts.  The plot is basically this:
Our hero charades as a frou-frou socialite and has all of his band of men, the bounders, follow suit.  He is married to a former spy who has changed her ways and does not know of his heroic endeavors.  The villain tries to stop the revolt of the league of the Pimpernel against those enforcing the laws with the guillotine.  More or less. 

Last year, my favorite community production was Hale Orem's version of Pimpernel, so I was a bit skeptical going into this one.  Ends up, without reason.  But most of you know my concern when I say that, in Utah community theater, a lot of men end up being begged to do a show, whether talented or not-so-much.  And there are a lot of men in this show.

I've always found the first twenty or so minutes of the show to be kind of...blah.  When the entire cast came out on stage to sing, "Madame Guillotine," I found the blah quite gone and leaned over to my sister and said, "Wow.  That was intense." 

"Into the Fire" continued to wow me - all the men were mic'd and some empty part of my soul is filled every time my ears are filled with the refrains of melodic men.  I didn't see a weak link among them.

As Marguerite St. Just, Rebekah Law steals your heart with her beauty and rich mezzo-soprano sound.  She suffered a little in the higher registers and I couldn't help but get the impression she may be recovering from some sort of illness, as her speaking voice became a little scratchy.  During the emotional moments, she left nothing wanting.

Most of the time, in community theater shows, you see a few ensemble members who look like they just don't care.  I was thoroughly impressed with this one, not seeing a single party-pooper.  The one thing that did make me giggle a little is that many of the ladies were wearing hair pins and pieces that were very much not time appropriate for the show.  C'est la vie.  I did also giggle a little when all of the bounders (Percy's men) were saving people from the guillotine and all of those people were women.  Maybe women really are the evil ones:-)

Percy, as performed by Cameron Boyle, found the fine balance in the intricacies between fop and fearless hero.  I won't say much on him because he was my sis's favorite part.

Our villain, Chauvelin, aka Jacob Shamy, well, let's just say he would definitely frighten the young children.  I don't know if I can fairly comment because he is actually a comrade of mine, but, even as his friend, he definitely exceeded my expectations.  The funny man, in my opinion, cannot succeed as well without his straight man, at which this villain excelled.  And his booming singing voice soared through the rafters, filling the amphitheater and onto the night sky.

The set was simple, but I can say I was impressed with the boat that folded up in the area under the orchestra that could be pulled out and actually looked a real boat within seconds.  Especially when that boat filled with men dressing up in disguises, some as wenches.

The sound?  Well, there were the normal cracklings, but I found that the cuts and static happened far less than in most other shows I've seen in the community.  I actually saw a show just last week that the sound difficulties were making my blood boil and detracted from the show 1,000%, so this was a nice step up.  And can I just say how much I LOOOOVE a live Orchestra - thank you, Murray, I love this touch!

The guillotine use also impressed me - nothing like heads rolling to impress an audience...that sounds awkward.

All in all, I enjoyed some aspects of this show more than last year's, some less, but I was not disappointed at all.  If you like "Pimpernel," then you should definitely go see this production.  The venue is so beautiful and charming, the cast are all strong and delightful.  I could not wait to run up to my friends and give them huge hugs after their bows.  Nancy, Ann, Shamy - shout out's to you!  THANK YOU for the splendid night of theater.

And now for Sissy...

"The amphitheater is amazing! Beautiful - I loved it. I wouldn't have guessed!  It looks like a venue where you would have a professional concert.
I liked Percy, he was funny.  He made the show for me and was very entertaining - him and his frou-frou.  If it wasn't for Percy I don't think the show would have been as entertaining.  I liked the Butterfly bounder the best because he just had more charisma and he wasn't making up the frou-frou answers, he really was doing all these more 'girly' activities.  I don't have a favorite part because any time Percy pretended he was gay was my favorite...well...not necessarily gay, but dim-witted.  My favorite line was at the end of the show, something like, 'This dim-wit is hard to kill.'
I think they did an amazing job at chopping the people's heads off - it really looked real.  Great job.  I was sitting there trying to figure out how the crap they did it, I really thought it was the guy's head in there.  I was all, 'What?!'
Until they decided to form the Scarlet Pimpernel, the show was pretty boring and I thought, 'What did Larissa get me into?'
I thought the main girl was gorgeous and beautiful but her and her story line just didn't do it for me.
I did not understand what the whole carousel horse was about, I thought there was a carnival or something.  Why would you spend all this money on a fancy carnival horse to just use it for two seconds?  (I have since explained this to her, but if you have to explain it...)
Chauvelin was really creepy, he did a great job at being a villain and definitely made me not like him.  He pulled the creeper look off very well - if you don't look creepy and are mean, it just isn't as fun.
I loved the song, 'The Creation of Man.'
I really enjoyed Percy and Chauvelin's interactions together - they played off each other really well.  Especially when Percy kept calling him 'Shuvlin.'  Oh my gosh, you know what part I really loved?  When Percy was trying to spell Chauvelin's name and Chauvelin kept getting so mad and Percy just kept right on at it.  If this were a movie, I would have pressed rewind to watch it over and over again.
There was one older gentleman in the group, whose dress looked like Easter or a clown or something, who always confused me because he just looked lost and I couldn't figure out if that was his character or not.  All the men looked like Easter eggs.
One of the men stumbled on his lines a bit when he was in the bushes with Chauvelin, but he covered so well that I actually enjoyed this because it shows these actors are real people and demonstrates some of the charm of live theater.
No offense to my sister, but it was a lot better than the last show I saw her in  (Gee, thanks, Brit).  I've not seen a lot of community theater, so I didn't know how to judge this fairly.  My sister and I go to New York every year to see professional Broadway shows.  I actually wouldn't have minded seeing it again, so I'd give it probably give it a 7 on a scale of 1-10, but you have to cut out the first twenty minutes.  Saying I'd sit through it again says a lot...especially when you factor in that I was FORCED to be there and not happy about it."

And that's about it, folks.  You can still catch the show at 8pm at the Amphitheater in Murray Park until Thursday night, June 30th.

NYC: City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks, Dressed in Holiday Style

I just returned from my second adventure to New York City to celebrate Thanksgiving and ring in the Christmas season.

Thanksgiving morn, I checked into the hotel and headed straight away to Central Park West and 66th to watch the Macy's parade. At first my view wasn't prime, but about half way through, the gentle cops let me into a private viewing area - three cheers for cops! I took pictures of every float and balloon I could see. I've added a few here for you - Kanye, Buzz, Jessica Simpson, Smurf, Joan Rivers, and Santa (the most important).







You can't escape a trip to New York at Christmas without the obligatory photo of Radio City Music Hall - home of the Rockettes. Just around the corner is the Rockefellar Center tree, but we left about 30 hours before the official lighting, so those pictures are kinda boring.


One of my favorite NYC meals is white pizza - hands down top five.


We stopped by FAO Schwartz just to see if there was a "Big Piano" show going on, but we found Santa instead. Looks like I made the naughty list this year;-)


I never have my picture taken in Times Square because it seems so cliche, but I figured after making it through Black Friday alive, and with a full shopping bag in tow, I deserved a celebratory cliche photo.


Britty and I decided to go visit the real Santa at Macy's again this year. We told him what we wanted last year and all our dreams came true. Why not give it another go? We love the winter wonderland you travel through to meet him.


On our descent from Santa's house, we took this photo so I could post it and show you all those people. Yeah, there were easily three times that many people the day before. Don't try Macy's the day after Thanksgiving. Ever.


The thought just occurred to me that I could have been wearing the same outfit the entire trip and you would never know what was under that coat. Regardless, the morning of our departure day, we went for the most amazing, peaceful walk along the East Side of the island near our hotel to see the Statue of Liberty for my sis. You can see from the sun and my squinty face how beautiful of a day the sun kissed us with.


If you want to see more photos, you'll have to check out my Facebook page. My sister also took just as many photos, but we divided up the task, so we don't have any duplicate pictures. I can't wait to see them.

What else did we do in NYC?

We saw the first ever performance of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. I am going to dedicate an entire entry to that experience alone. How many times in your life can you say you saw the first production of the biggest budget Broadway show in history? Oh yeah...pretty much never. We were very blessed and fortunate.

I also saw Elf - The Musical, Memphis, and Next to Normal. I can't begin to tell you what a life-changing experience Next to Normal is - if you ever have the chance to see it, you must. No arguments. Memphis is a Broadway spectacular if I've ever seen one - I left saying, "Now that is a Broadway show." Elf? Cute, darling, colorful, gorgeous sets, energetic dances, great for children, but nothing worth screaming about - the movie is just too good to speed up to fit in musical numbers.

One unique experience we had this trip was meeting up with my friend Clint. He drove into the city and escorted us around all evening. We visited a Christmas market in Union Square, sampled truffles, crepes, pretzels, and organic hot chocolate, visited the Met (first time for Brit!), ate Thai food, walked around Rockefellar Center, and topped the evening off with Magnolia cupcakes and door-step service to our hotel. Shout-out to Clint - thanks for the magical evening!

Other things? Shake Shack! Chinatown, the new Disney Store on Times Square (extremely disappointing compared to the old 5th Avenue location), Central Park, the Christmas star light show at Columbus Circle (magical, calming, see it...late at night), Pier 17, Max Brenner's Chocolate by the Bald Man, Serendipity, World Trade Center area (where our hotel was), walked by the Ray's Pizza that is the original according to Santa in Elf, and stayed up late chitter chattering. The trip was fantastic. If you've never been to NYC, stop making excuses and just go. I'm in love.

Temple of Dandur and Clint at the Met

Me and Brit at Rockefellar Center

Me and Brit with the Rockefellar Center Tree-topper

Columbus Circle light show