n-y-c....part 2

we pick up our story on saturday morning...

MDE and i decided since today was 'shopping and shows' day that we would eat a pretty heavy breakfast, snack for lunch and eat an early dinner.

so for breakfast we decided to try a place that faces central park called 

we had a reservation and were lucky enough to get to sit outside: people-watching and seeing the horse carriages get in line for the day...

MDE had delicious buttermilk pancakes with strawberries and i had a vegetable and gruyere frittata.  needless to say, we got our fill.  the most interesting thing on the menu to me was several versions of hot porridge--interesting only to me i am sure because the only time i have heard of porridge is in the tale of goldilocks and the three bears!  i wish i would have tried it...

after our breakfast, we headed to 5th avenue for some shopping.  MDE has always worn a uniform to school, so we decided to find some nice, hopefully cheap casual clothes that she can take to college.  now, you're probably thinking, 'silly girls, cheap clothes in nyc and on 5th avenue no less?'

well, for those of you familiar with h & m must know it can be done.  we spent a couple of hours scouring the two floors of trendy womens clothes and found some very very cute things for MDE.  and we didn't even break the bank!  one thing i will say about h & m--it is trendy and sometimes to a fault...you see there were several areas in the store that made me feel that i had caught a ride with marty mcfly and we were in 1986!!!  really?  mesh gloves, lace leggings, and acid wash, really?

*note the flashdance tshirt!

after h & m we were going to go to anthropologie to look and see if they might have a dress for me to wear to my niece's wedding the next weekend {more on that in another post}.  i had a dress to wear, but i wasn't thrilled with it.  well, before we could head that way, we got a call from MHD and he wondered if we had bought him anything.  guilt.  we hadn't.  in fact, as we passed the niketown earlier and about 7 blocks in the other direction, we noted it--but of course, had no need to go in--until now.

so we headed back down 5th to niketown.  being that it is world cup time and nike is the official sponsor, they had all the team jerseys.  i had already gotten MHD a USA home jersey for our anniversary {5/23}, but he has always liked the netherlands.

so we purchased this for MHD and since we were there in niketown, how could i leave out MTSC?  he was the recipient of a usa away jersey...if it means anything, they love them.

now back to the matter at hand. we made it back to anthropologie, but nothing wowed us.  it was beginning to get hot and we were not planning to go back to the hotel before our first show at 2pm....well, i sweat a lot--i know, not a pretty picture, but it's the truth.  i was feeling rather sticky and decided that i needed to get a new shirt, nothing fancy, to change into.  luckily, jcrew has some really cute embellished tshirts so i purchased a perfect navy one to go with my skirt.  i felt much better.  in fact, it is now one of my favorite 'go to' shirts--and to think i wasn't on a mission to find it.  isn't that how it goes?

since we were running out of time and we hadn't planned on eating a sit-down lunch, we hit the jamba juice and headed for our show.

our matinee show was come fly away--a new twyla tharp piece set to frank sinatra music.  we loved 'movin' out', tharp's last show set to billy joel music so we thought we'd give this a try.  it didn't disappoint.  the dancing was terrific and you just can't beat ol' blue eyes.

our 'illegal' pic of the stage

the requisite pic of MDE in front of the show sign

after the show, we went back to our hotel...sadly, no more glee encounters, but lots of teens stalking them outside.  needless to say, we were pooped.  we just couldn't muster up going to dinner so we ordered room service.  the restaurant in our hotel was created by world-renowned chef, gordon ramsay {their words, not mine}.  even the in-room dining 'bragged' that 

we were excited...this should be good, right?  well, MDE ordered a caesar salad with chicken...she said it 'was fine'.  me, well, i ordered the blt.  it was good, but they were so so skimpy on the bacon.  the whole sandwich had only 3 thin slices of bacon!!

we rested then headed off to our 8pm show--the one that i really was looking forward to...promises, promises.  this is a revival starring kristin chenowith and sean hayes and burt bacharach music including the famous 'say a little prayer for you'. in fact, one of the most hilarious characters is played by katie finneran who just won the tony award on sunday night for this role.  the show was so fantastic--great songs, cool dancing, a very midcentury modern set, and very funny.  sean hayes was crackin' us up!  

note MDE's cute outfit from h & m

after the show, to the hotel we trekked.  it was time to pack and get ready to leave early in the morning.  overall, i think this trip ranks up there as one of our best.  the only thing we really didn't make too much fuss about was our meals, so that could have been better--but there is always next time!

pardon the interruption...

well, i said i was back...and i am.  i am all ready to write part 2 of our adventures in nyc--but something caught my eye that i wanted to share first.

you might notice a new 'button' on the side of my posts...the one that says 'craft hope for the earth'.  i have written about craft hope before.  check it out for more info.  but i wanted to share with you the next project...project 8:  Gulf Coast Oil Spill.  this project is something everyone can do...you do not even have to sew or craft--just know how to use scissors {i am assuming that my readers have completed kindergarten successfully}.  in a nutshell, we send washrag size {10" x 10"} pieces of cotton cloth {old sheets or out-grown tshirts cut up, for example or in keeping with the nature of craft hope, something handmade} in sets of 10 or 20 with a bottle of dawn dishwashing liquid.  these rags will be sent to "The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, the Audubon Nature Institute, and the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge to assist them in their efforts in caring for and cleaning oiled marine mammals, mostly dolphins, other marine mammals, birds, and sea turtles."  you can read all the details here.  this is a great project to do with kids, city groups, friends...the deadline is july 3rd but that is always flexible.  here are some pictures of sets already turned in--

won't you join me in helping out?

i'm back....part 1

ok, ok...so after my last post you probably expected to see posts about what i have been up to--you know, why i haven't been sharing lately. well, FAIL!

i thought things had settled down but really they hadn't...at least not until now. so, i should be posting more often and i really have so many things to share from last month--if you are a regular reader...bear with me. i will catch everyone up...things just may not appear in chronological order...or order of importance...or really in any order--i just hope you will still be interested.

for starters...i will share with you about last weekend...one of MDE's graduation presents was a trip to nyc. { a little backstory...ever since MDE was 5 years old when she saw her first live musical at dallas' fair park [a tour of joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat], she has loved musical theater, much to my delight. her first trip to nyc to see some broadway shows was for her 12th birthday, followed by 4 other trips throughout the last 6 years }. this trip was going to be a whirlwind--friday to sunday morning! i really think i am getting too old for this--i am so tired...but as 'old pros' at experiencing midtown manhattan, we have our routines down.

well, we started the trip with me missing my exit to the airport {we were talking and not really paying attention...oops}. but not to worry--our flight was delayed about 30min. other than that, the flight was uneventful--

but eventful, was what happened next! {side note: i found the coolest hotel for a great price...somewhere we hadn't stayed before...here are some pics--it was huge compared to ny standards...a 'parlor'/office + bedroom/bath + changing area}

the view out of our window...

anyway...back to the excitement. as the doorman helped MDE and i out of our car, he made casual 'chit chat'...asking us if we liked glee, the tv show. well, it just so happens that it is our family's fav and one of the reasons we were in ny...to see the glee cast live in concert. he proceeds to tell us that the cast is staying at our exact hotel. wow. but it gets better...much better! as i am questioning him...making sure he wasn't 'pulling our legs'--MDE says to me...'it's true and they are right there!'. what fun! there they are sitting in the very small lobby as we are checking in. throwing caution to the wind, we stroll over to them just as they are about to leave and do what any fan would do...asked if we could have MDE be in a pic with them. they couldn't have been nicer. in fact, the actor who plays kurt {chris colfer} had a box of cupcakes and offered one to MDE. this gesture, even after i messed up the first pic because the camera was set to video and then the second pic really didn't turn out because we had no flash set--was so gracious.

after we got to our room and texted friends, we realized we were hungry. we quickly scarfed the cupcake {what? it wasn't going to save very well, you know!}, we headed for the burger joint, a fairly cheap, cash only, hole in the wall burger place where you have to jockey for a cramped table...but ironically located behind a curtain, down a dark hallway in one of nyc's most luxurious hotels. it was fabulous!

mmmm...+ thin crispy fries

after dinner, we had time to do a little shopping on our way to the concert at radio city music hall. i had been doing some 'research' before the trip to scope out places to eat and found out that ben & jerry's was planning on giving away free scoops of some new flavors to celebrate 25 years of selling their ice cream in nyc... all you had to do was to find the truck.

so as we were walking down 6th towards 50th street, out of the corner of my eye--i see it! we laugh at our good fortune and head for the truck. luckily, the line wasn't very long. we thoroughly enjoyed our free scoop of milk & cookies ice cream. so yummy!

now onto the show...

another pleasant surprise...the opening act was the league of extraordinary dancers {the lxd}. they are quite astonishing!

the kids of glee were great, too. so many fun songs. here are some pics of a couple of our favorites...

glee goes gaga with 'bad romance'

it's my life/confessions mash-up

jump!

we found out later that jane lynch {sue sylvester} and matthew morrison {mr. schuester} hadn't been at any of the other shows but were surprise guests at our show. here is the song that matthew morrison sang...

saturday and sunday's adventures in part 2...