two shows in two days

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Lauren Graham (Miss Adelaide), Oliver Platt, (Nathan Detroit), Kate Jennings Grant (Sarah Brown), and Craig Bierko (Sky Masterson)…HOT!!! (Kelly managed to snap this shot right at the end.)

As a child, I spent a lot of time at my grandma’s house and she had a lot of musicals. I would watch them over and over again. It has been so fun this year to see a few of them live. Guys and Dolls was one of my favorites, so when KP and Sarah told me about their plans to see it in March I, of course, invited myself along (that’s really the whole reason I decided to go to NY in for this trip…of course spending so much time with the besties was totally worth it, too).

KP anxiously awaiting the casts’ arrival post-show.

The besties are all uber fans of Lauren Graham (of Gilmore Girls fame). I joined that bandwagon a little later in life, so while I am always quite starstruck, I was more excited just to see the show. And, bad reviews or not, I LOVED it. I thought most of the actors did a phenomenal job (Oliver Platt left a little to be desired).

If you look, you can Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham inbetween the crowds.

There were a couple of little twists that just made the experience so great. First, I forgot how much dancing (or maybe in the movie there isn’t as much) there is in the show. So fun to watch. Next, Lauren Graham did a great job portraying Adelaide, and I loved that she did her own version, rather than attempting to be the Adelaide of the movie version. My favorite, though, was Tituss Burgess as Nicely-Nicely Johnson (with Mary Testa as General Cartwright) singing “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”. Unbelievable. So good. If you get a chance to go see it, I swear it’s worth it just to hear that one song.

I’m sad you can’t see Ollie’s fantastic red track pants (so awesomely bad).

Lauren getting closer…

KP, Sarah, and Lauren Graham. She kindly told us that she wasn’t posing for individual pictures, but I managed to snap one anyway (and she tried to smile for it…without stopping).

Oh, to look that good at 42! (Hell, to look that good now!)

And a little self-portrait of all of us (thanks KP), post-show (loving the NYC humidity).

The only picture we have is courtesy of KP…this is the amazing theater where we saw the show. West Side Story is another favorite. It’s interesting, though, not having seen it for years, how the prejudices displayed affected me (embarrassingly enough, I got rather emotional about the whole thing).

In this production, a few of the songs and part of the dialogue were in Spanish which I actually really enjoyed (although I was really wishing that I spoke Spanish during those parts). The costumes and dancing were incredible. The actors were pretty good (Tony was not my favorite, but…he doesn’t actually do a lot, so it wasn’t a big deal). Somehow, I had totally forgotten that this is basically Romeo and Juliet…so the ending was a little more depressing than I was planning on.

My favorite part of all, Anita (played by Karen Olivio). She was incredible!

Totally worth seeing.

food glorious food

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I spent the weekend in NYC with three of my favorite people; Sarah, Candice, and KP. We did much. But to begin with (since this will require multiple posts) I’m going to chronicle our gastronomic adventures!

It started with lunch with a woman at my summer internship company…at a fabulous little place called V-Cafe. I didn’t take any pictures (somehow I thought it might not be appropriate?), but I must say it was delicious, and pretty affordable for NYC.

Dinner was at Isle on Bleeker (a short walk from my summer digs–as in less than a block); a delightful little Thai place.

Dessert was at Grom. An incredible gelateria also in my neighborhood. Living in Greenwich Village is going to be awesome…and very, very fattening.

The plan for Saturday was to go to Brooklyn for lunch at The Good Fork, a fabulous dumpling place featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. However, when we looked at the site online to find the address, we discovered that The Good Fork isn’t open for lunch. So…Max Brenner it was! Eventually, I will make a trip to NYC without a visit with Max, but really I didn’t mind at all. And really, the spinach and goat cheese omelet…amazing!


Kelly got a yummy panini with fantastic waffle fries.

Why yes…that is chocolate on my biscuit. Thank you for asking!

As if chocolate for brunch wasn’t enough, we made a quick stop at Levain Bakery on the way home. Seriously, Sarah brought KP and me a few of these delicious cookies when we were all in Chicago last month. They were incredible. But fresh? No comparison. My favorite is the Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip. No shocker there!

Ahh, and then there was a late night feast at Junior’s. We went after seeing Guys and Dolls (more to come on that later). Totally enjoyable! I love a good Reuben! I didn’t necessarily need the milk shake. But it was good.

But my absolute favorite of the weekend? Pommes Frites, authentic Belgian fries. For those of you who don’t know, I spent a semester in Belgium when I was a sophomore in high school. There is nothing like Belgian fries. Another “for those of you who don’t know”, fries are actually Belgian, not French. And these fries? Totally authentic. They even had European mayonnaise (they call it fry sauce at Pommes Frites). I know that mayonnaise with fries probably sounds disgusting, but I assure you, it is not.

I have often tried to explain how the fry stands in Belgium were, and I don’t think I’ve ever done them justice. This place? Exactly how I remember them (not the look, but the process). For anyone visiting NY (who also enjoy fries), Pommes Frites is well worth a visit. There isn’t much room for sitting, but it’s supposed to be a fry stand, not a restaurant.

Notice the cone in the guy’s hand (above). This is how the fries are served.

And in this picture, you can see the different sizes.

And finally…Doughnut Plant. We got there late, so the selection was limited, but still fabulous! My favorite? The Creme Brulee. Normally I’m not really a filled doughnut fan, but this was incredible! (The pictures with the borders were taken by KP and her fabulous fish eye lens.)

Oh wait…and finally, frosting shots and cupcakes from Babycakes, a vegan bakery. Really, I’m not gonna lie, this was not my favorite of the trip. Maybe if I was vegan and needed something like this to satisfy my sweet tooth, I’d feel differently, but…I’m not and I don’t. Hallelujah! Oh well. It happens. I will say that I didn’t bother wasting the calories once I realized that I didn’t like any of their stuff.

Thankfully, I had another doughnut to end the trip on a satisfying note! Wouldn’t that have been sad? A whole weekend of gourmet eating, only to end with some less than great cupcakes.

adoption

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My darling friend, Michelle and her husband, Aaron were just approved to be selected for adoption (basically, they are now officially on the waiting list).

You can read their profile here.

I don’t know why I get so emotional about adoption. I’m not adopted. Neither are any of my siblings, nor have any of them adopted, but for some reason I have always just had a special place in my heart for adoption.

I think part of it has something to do with how blessed I feel to have had the mom I got…and with her dying so young, I think I’m a lot more aware of how lucky I am and I want all kids to have that opportunity.

Another part of it is seeing how many children really suffer because their parent just wasn’t quite prepared to have a child, either because they can’t provide for their child (and I’m not talking extravagant, I’m talking basic needs) or because they just aren’t mature enough to handle the responsibility (which makes sense when someone is 15 or 16).

I also have a very dear friend who placed her baby for adoption a number of years ago. She has since married and has two darling little girls, but at the time she was only 15 and just wasn’t ready to be a mom and she recognized that. She is still in touch with the adoptive parents (they came to her wedding) and she knows she made the right decision, not just for her, but for her darling daughter.

I also have a cousin who was adopted. I remember just feeling so excited when I found out that my aunt and uncle had been selected to adopt their darling daughter (who I absolutely adore)!

In any case, I cry every time I watch anything to do with adoption. I cry for how completely unselfish the birth parents are to place their child with another family, entrusting them to care for and raise a child that they could have kept for themselves. I cry for the new parents who are so excited to have this little baby they have prayed for and thought about about for years.

I don’t know. I just love that adoption happens! I love that there is a solution for everyone (and I’m not presumptuous enough to think that I know what that solution is…every case is different).

On that note, if you know anyone who is considering placing a child, please have them take a look at Michelle and Aaron’s profile. They will be great parents!!!