ThirtyFlirtyFab

Mea Culpa

2011-03-06T14:13:00.000-05:00

(Or, as my mom says, "Mayor Cooper.")

So, it looks like my typing fingers made a promise my heart couldn't cash in my last post. Of course, the moment I vowed not to let thoughts of pitter-pattering little feet take over the blog, it was the only thing I could think about to post about. It was like when someone tells you not to think of pink elephants...Then, you can't think of anything but pink elephants!

Add to that the fact that in a week, I won't be thirty any more, and I'd hate to have to think of a clever new name for this blog. (Thirty-one, Flirty-one, and Fabulous...one?)

All of that out there on the table, I've decided to start a new blog. That's right, you heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen: A BRAND NEW (AND IMPROVED) BLOG. You can find it at http://mamaturg.blogspot.com. There will be posts about theatre stuff and living-life stuff (much like this here blog), as well as posts about my journey being a mom and having a family. I've even imported some of my "greatest hits" over there to start us off.

Come join me at Mamaturg!

Demo: 18-34

2010-11-21T17:31:00.000-05:00

It never strikes me that I'm firmly lodged in a specific demographic as much as it does when I'm watching a car commercial. Yes, I know, most commercials are geared toward the coveted 18-34 age group (which I'll be in for another four years, thankyouverymuch), and we love us some Betty White getting tackled in a backyard football game, or an indie female singer crooning about how much she loves life. (Double points if she's backed up by a ukulele!)

But now, I've got this other thing going, which is lending things a whole 'nother shade. I'm going to be a parent. And dammit if we don't all want to be the coolest parents in the world, not those old fuddy-duddy parents we've seen in other generations.

Or, so the car companies believe of us.

Almost every car commercial I've seen in the last year or so has an absolutely adorable child, either telling its parent how to use their car or rolling their eyes at how lame their (or other kid's) parent's car is. Tag line: "Just because you're a parent doesn't mean you have to be lame." We're clueless, Toyota tells us, but we don't have to be the geeks we were made fun of for being in high school! Or, we don't have to worry about becoming geeks, just because we've procreated!

It all started, of course, with this commercial, which I admittedly thought was cute.

Yes! I thought. Parents are people, too! But after several viewings, it all seems so...desperate. We like to shop! We wear hoodies! We play loud rock guitar while our children bang on the drums! We know the lingo and we're not afraid to be our horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing selves! We're not lame, and our children will love us! It is a far cry from other, older car ads, but I can't help but feel pandered to.

Ah, well. I'm just looking for a stroller that can fold up quickly enough to get on the bus.

You're Too Young To...

2010-11-20T11:17:00.000-05:00

WARNING: MUCH THEATRE GEEKERY AHEAD!

I was at a discussion earlier this week with other amateur theatre critics (both professional theatre folks and supporters of the arts), and a panel of choreographers and music directors. The topic was what choreographers and music directors do, exactly, and how we can tell if they've done a good job.

All was well and good for a while. I don't see (or work on) all that many musicals, but I love the form, and it's always interesting to learn about other people's jobs, especially when it's something I could never do to save my life. Like, I absolutely understand what a music director does, but I didn't have a clue as to how, as a member of an audience, to tell if their vision was coming across.

THEN. The gentleman in front of me raised his hand to ask a question. He asked how the choreographers feel if their audience doesn't intimately know the historical period they've drawn from for their choreography. I get the question; it came after a statement from one of the choreographers about what happens when dance styles don't match the period of the play. (For example, imposing modern dance on a production of Singin' in the Rain.) But then, he went on to say, "I'll be 70 years old on my next birthday. My first Broadway play was...well, forever ago...I understand the history of the form. But what about these young audience members who don't?"

And I raised my hand to respond. (More after the jump...)

I'm sorry, but just because I haven't experienced the golden age of musical theatre firsthand, that doesn't mean I don't understand history or genre. I wasn't around in the sixties; does that mean I don't understand the counterculture movements and musical styles that came out of them? I pointed out that I grew up listening to cast recordings and watching as many videos as I could (I'm a born theatre geek!), and as a lifelong student of theatre history, I'd better understand these things, or I'm not doing my job. I also mentioned that the whole point is to have the songs and dances fit in seamlessly with the dialogue and story, and if they don't feel organic, that's where the choreographer hasn't done his/her job appropriately. (Which, by the way, got appreciative nods from the choreographers on the panel.)

The gentleman felt the need to raise his hand again and smugly say, "But a cast album doesn't have choreography on it, does it?"

Fine, I was done with that conversation. I knew I was right.

A few minutes later, the conversation rolled around again to Twyla Tharp's production of Singin' in the Rain, and a gentleman behind me asked about a difference in generations. He wants the raincoat, the streetlight, the splashing from the original; his twenty-year-old daughter could "give a shit" if those elements appeared. He asked if the choreographers would liken it to something like Shakespeare where directors change time period often, but there are always some audience members who want to see what they're expecting with the text, costume, and time period.

I joined in the conversation again, again pointing out that it doesn't necessarily have to be a generational thing. Again, I'm thirty, and I want the raincoat, the streetlight, the puddle-splashing, too. (Gene Kelly will always be on my List.) And, as with Shakespeare, all of the elements just have to work together. There has to be a seamlessness, an organic sense that everything works together and comes from a natural place. Concepts never work if that's all a play hinges on. If someone wants to do modern dance in Singing' in the Rain, just because they want to, it won't work. If someone puts Romeo and Juliet in (for example) a punk setting just because, without anything to back it up, that won't work either. I might have gone a bit far when I said "That's just...EGO," but I stand behind it.

I loved that we could have an informed conversation about the topic, and really respect when debates like this happen. I mean, that's what the arts are all about, right? But I couldn't help feeling a little discriminated against because of my age; that the first gentleman, especially, was suggesting that only older people could appreciate theatre. But I feel incredibly confident that I made logical points and contributed to the conversation. Go "youngsters!"

Well, Hello!

2010-11-17T20:33:00.000-05:00

Hello, blog! Long time, no see. I know I've been neglectful. Here, have a bouquet of flowers and a half-eaten box of chocolates. (What? I got hungry!) Want a foot massage?

I've missed you, baby. Been thinking about you all the time. But you know how it is when you're in a relationship with a workaholic. I hope you'll have me back...

Yay for more blogging! So, what have I been doing in my long absence?

Dramaturging plays for The Inkwell and Doorway Arts (most recently, this past weekend).
Taking a trip to California (happy reason: wedding, sad reason: funeral--the two were unrelated, just happened to be the same weekend).
Going to concerts (Frightened Rabbit!).
Seeing plays.
Teaching.
Learning more about the ukulele.
Gestating!

That's right, as if you didn't know already, your (soon-to-be-again-I-promise) intrepid blogger is pregnant! Really racking up the life changes in my ThirtyFlirtyFab year! I may be tempted to discuss the pregnancy and ensuing child on this blog, but I hereby make the following promises:

There will be no medical-type information. ('Cause, raise your hand if you need to know what's going on inside my uterus. Any hands up? No? I didn't think so.)
The pregnancy and ensuing child will not be the sole subject of this here blog.

I have more dramaturgy gigs coming up, an insight on ageism in the world of play criticism, work-related musings, and hopefully more pictures of food-type yumminess. I'm back, baby!

Cupcakes!

2010-08-22T18:18:00.000-04:00

We take a break from our regularly scheduled Staycation posts (I promise to write about our awesome Day Four at Mount Vernon very soon!) to bring you pictures of...CUPCAKES!

In the last two weeks, I've baked two batches of cupcakes, my latest non-ukulele-related obsession. The most recent were orange(-ish) with orange buttercream frosting. The cake was particularly moist and delicious, but I had to deviate from the prescribed buttercream recipe, because I couldn't find the required orange flower water for the life of me. I'm incredibly curious, so if anyone knows where to find some in a brick-and-mortar near Silver Spring, I'd love some intel! Otherwise, I'll turn to these here interwebs.

The tastiest cupcakes came last week, when I baked to impress some out-of-town guests. (Yes, even husband's former college roommate/our best man/great guy and his awesome wife deserve to be impressed every now and then.)

I made vanilla cupcakes with raspberry jam running through, and a vanilla buttercream with raspberries plopped on top. Enjoy the picture:

Yum! Will have to make these again sometime soon. Slight modification next time (which the recipe actually calls for, but I left out): cut a hole in the top of the cake and plop some more raspberry jam in there before frosting. Oooo.

Staycation: Day Three

2010-08-21T17:16:00.000-04:00

In which Jenn and Jake actually get to go to the Botanical Garden and traipse around the Mall in the rain.

What a full day of sightseeing on Wednesday! The great thing about staycating in mid-August is that the town isn't as full as it might be otherwise; families are getting ready for back-to-school, so vacations have pretty well ended; most camps are out of session, so there are fewer field trips; and the locals are still out of town. All of this led to many fewer tourists than I had originally anticipated, which was awesome.

After the jump: the Botanical Gardens, Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Museum of American History, and the Freer/Sackler Galleries (links and pictures included). All within a few compact blocks on the Mall!

After Tuesdays "oh, no, wait, the Gardens are closed" snafu, we headed out early Wednesday morning, to make sure we got a jump on things. So glad we did! The Botanic Garden was an absolute highlight of the Staycation, and we spent hours there, wandering through the plants. I especially loved looking at the plants that yield our foods, herbs, and spices (the coffee and cacao trees were really interesting, as was the banana tree, at right).

You can't beat the sheer beauty of the rows and rows of flowers. The variety of nature is absolutely breathtaking. I loved that the displays were set up as if the flowers were naturally occurring, not like they had been artificially cultivated (which, of course, they have).

As a low-maintenance plant girl, I couldn't get enough of the desert display with the cacti and succulents. And the jungle display was amazing, especially once we got up on the overhead walkway. Seriously, y'all, I took, like, seventy pictures. It was amazing. I recommend it.

After we left the Botanic Garden, we took a quick walk across to the Museum of the American Indian for lunch. I'd heard that the food court was great, and so it was. Yes, one could certainly eat like it was Thanksgiving year-round, but we opted to eat different regional foods. I ate from the South American section, with yam-and-banana soup, cornbread, and fried yucca with garlic-chipotle sauce. I don't remember exactly what Jake had, but his Plains Indians fry bread was fab.

We walked around one of the displays for a little while, and then headed over to the Museum of American History, one of the few stops on our Staycation (along with the National Gallery) that I'd been to before. I'd never been there with Jake, though, and there were a few things I definitely needed to see with him...and first on the list was Julia Child's kitchen! He hadn't seen it before; I had, but not in years. It was even more interesting since learning as much about Julia as I have in the last couple of years.

Other must-see stops were the First Ladies' dresses and the pop-culture displays--how could one not go see Archie Bunker's chair and the ruby slippers?--but an absolute show-stopper was the exhibit about the Apollo Theatre. We learned about the history of the Apollo, alongside artifacts like the producers' notes on performers, Aretha's dress, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson's hair cream, and Afrika Bambaataa's robe.

After THAT, we made our way over to the Freer & Sackler Galleries to look at some Asian art. I've always wanted to go to the Freer/Sackler, but had never made my way down. I'm so glad we did on this trip. I don't know a whole lot about Asian art, and these galleries feature art from all over Asia, from the temporary Gods of Angkor exhibit to Chinese and Japanese paintings to Korean pottery to Turkish mosaic. I feel like we only got a taste of what the world of Asian art has to offer, but what a taste. We were immersed in beauty.

Coming up next: Thursday's day trip to Mount Vernon, and a shrine to Theodore Roosevelt.

Staycation: Day Two

2010-08-18T20:30:00.001-04:00

In which Jenn and Jake run around Gallery Place (and other galleries) and apparently don't know what time things close!

We planned on seeing a lot on Day Two of the Staycation. (Not as much as Day Three, but that's another post.) The goal was to head out to Gallery Place, hit up the National Portrait Gallery, get some lunch in Chinatown, head down to both the East and West wings of the National Gallery, and then to the US Botanical Garden for a nature-y close to our day. And we accomplished most of that...Be advised, if you go to the Botanical Garden, it closes at 5:00. The website says 7:00, but it doesn't specify that the outside part closes at 7, while the inside part closes at 5. No big, we went back this morning, but it was still a chunk of time walking in the DC summer-hot-n-humid air.

We had a great time at the galleries, though...details and pictures after the jump!

First thing we did was hit up the National Portrait Gallery, one of those sites I'd never been to before, but had always meant to. It was pretty awesome. The first thing we did was walk around and looked at Matthew Brady photographs; a good number of them were of Civil War-era actors, and it was cool to get to look at photos of people I'd only ever read about in my theatre history books. We didn't get too far into any of the other exhibits before we both realized we were incredibly hungry. We figured we'd come back if there was time after all of the other things we had set aside to see that day, and off we went.

A quick walk on 6th St. NW brought us to Chinatown Express, better known as "that place where the guy makes fresh noodles in the window." We only needed a quick glance at the menu; Jake ordered pork bun, and I had steamed dumplings. SO good! It's good to know a bit of "Chinatown" still exists in Chinatown--which seems now to be typified by "Hooters" or "Anne Taylor" written in Chinese underneath the American sign. (But I digress.)

After our fortune cookies, we headed to the National Gallery's West Building, to see some Renaissance art. What can you say about the West Building? It's gorgeous. Nothing you haven't seen before in books, but seeing the paintings up close makes them so much better. (Yes, yes, trite, I know. But it's so true.) I love looking at Titian's works, particularly, and the Ginevra d'Benci (DaVinci's only work in America) is practically transcendent.

We made our way over to the East Building, and after spending way too long marveling over Calder's mobiles, got a chance to look at the temporary Munch exhibit (which has one of my favorite pieces, "Vampire"), and the Rothko Chapel--partially transplanted from Houston--which was very interesting. I'm a fan of Rothko's work, but I've never seen his all-black pieces. Paired with the music that was composed for them, the space felt very meditative.

We headed back to the West Building; on our way through the Gift Shop (dontcha know you have to go through the Shop to get from building to building), we had seen a poster for a Ginsberg exhibit we had missed. We had to go through the Chester Dale exhibit...and I'm so glad we did! Dale was a collector (to say the least), and some of the most wonderful Impressionist and Modern pieces wound up in his hands. I got to see one of my favorite Picasso paintings, "The Lovers." On to the Ginsberg exhibit--a collection of his photographs of his friends, complete with extensive captions in his own hand. Very cool.

After that, we made our way over to the Botanical Gardens, and found it closed, as previously mentioned. Grr. At least we had more time for the Portrait Gallery, but we had to walk both ways in the heat and humidity...Ugh.

On our way back, we took a detour through the Sculpture Garden. I don't blame the folks who were knee-deep in the fountain one bit. Some of the pieces were pretty spectacular.

We saw three very cool exhibits when we got to the Portrait Gallery: one was on the history of portraiture of American Presidents (everything from post-modern Clinton and Kennedy to posed-to-hell Eisenhower and Adams); one was a look at modern portraits (a striking Toni Morrison, a technologically superb Chuck Close, and everything in between); and the last was a Norman Rockwell retrospective...from the collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. (OK, it was technically in the National Museum of American Art, but they share the same building, so...) I forget that Rockwell isn't all about unabashed sentimentality, and this was a good reminder.

Tomorrow: Day o' Smithsonians!

Staycation: Day One

2010-08-17T21:23:00.000-04:00

The idea was multi-fold:

I had to burn up at least a week of vacation time before the fiscal year ends on the 31st.
Going someplace costs too much money.
People spend tons of money to visit DC.
I can get to DC for a pittance on the Metro.
There's stuff I've never seen in my own area.

True, I came to the area at least once every other year on field trips in school (even "lobbied" for gun control to Senator Mikulski when I was, like, twelve). And, yes, I lived in DC for ten years before moving five minutes away in MD. But there comes a time in every urban dweller's life when they stop going to do touristy things, no matter how awesome they are.

And so, my summer staycation was born! I wanted to visit sites I've either never been to, or hadn't been in a long time. The itinerary:

Monday
Day o' Journalism (Newseum, then home to watch Citizen Kane, which, no, I'd never seen, shut up)

Tuesday
Gallery Place Day (National Portrait Gallery, lunch in Chinatown, quick walk to the National Gallery of Art)

Wednesday
Smithsonian Day (Botanical Gardens, American History, American Indian, and the Freer)

Thursday
Day trip to Mount Vernon

Friday
Day trip to the National Arboretum, and then catch-up on whatever else we feel the need to see

And with Jake working from home this summer, I have a perfect tour group of two. After the jump...How I spent my Monday!

I had a bunch of friends in college who had to go to the Newseum in its old location, to experience a pretend news broadcast for their Communications classes. I never had a reason to go, and since the tickets cost money, it slipped out of my daily consciousness. We set aside the day to go yesterday, and after a quick stop for the amazing lunch deals at Thai Derm, we headed downtown.

Highlights of the trip were the exhibit on the FBI, the artifacts from the Berlin Wall

the exhibit about Elvis

the front pages and artifacts from 9/11

the photography exhibits, including the fabulous retrospective of Walter Iooss's sports photography

and the exhibit on our five freedoms granted by the First Amendment, which for me culminated in the display on Women's Suffrage.

Then, back home for some Armand's deep dish and Citizen Kane, which, even though I've essentially seen most of it through pop culture references and clips on The Simpsons, was still an amazing movie-watching experience.

Next post: Tuesday's Gallery Place expedition!

The Many Loves of Donald Draper

2010-08-10T21:39:00.002-04:00

Mad Men is such a great show, and I'm looking forward to blogging about it every week. I don't want to do a recap, though--that seems to be too par for the course, and besides, I couldn't possibly do it better than TLo. So, instead, I'm just going to post my random musings about things that I've been fixated on.

Tonight: hair color.

Something has been striking me as odd about the women this season. It's not that Betty is a bad mom (we knew that already.) It's not that Peggy is way more headstrong and assertive than we've seen her in the past (a lot can happen in a few months and a change of venue). I finally put my finger on it yesterday: there are more blondes this season than we've ever seen before.

Don was married to Betty--the epitome of the blonde early-sixties housewife--for years. And besides her, we never saw him with a single blonde. Not one...except Anna Draper (more about her later). As far as I can recall, all of the women he's related with except Joan (more about her later) have been brunettes. And that's completely changing this year. After the jump is my breakdown of the women in Don Draper's life, categorized by hair color. Just see if you notice the same pattern I did...I put way too much thought into it. :)

Blondes
Betty- Married. Lots of sex. Much of it probably not great.
Sally- Daughter. Very 1960s dad relationship.
Anna- Wife of the real Don Draper. I think Anna is the mom Dick Whitman never had, living the life he wishes he could--and is glad he can escape both to and from. Never a sexual relationship, but she does "know everything about [him] and loves [him] anyway." She's the one person who lets him be who he really is, with no veneers and no facades. Probably Don's perfect woman, but he knows she's better off with him 3,000 miles away.
Bethany-the-actress- Fixed up over Thanksgiving. He makes a move; she turns him down.
Psychologist Faye Miller- He makes a move after she psychologizes him; she turns him down. (For what it's worth, I do think she's right, and he'll end up married by the end of the season.)
Patty (Anna's sister)- Super-uptight. He wouldn't dream of it.
Stephanie (Anna's niece)- The first Berkley proto-hippie we meet. He makes a move; she turns him down.
Sexual-relationship count: 1/7. Not for lack of trying.
(Note that only three of these women ever appeared on our screen before season 4.)

Brunettes
Peggy- He wouldn't dream of it. Not his former secretary-turned-protegee.
Midge- His Beatnik lover. I hated her, but they probably had really good sex.
Rachel Menken- Not only a brunette but a Jew. Who owned her own business. I loved Rachel. Don loved Rachel. I think they could have been really good for each other--if he hadn't been married. What a great character.
Bobbie Barrett- This one was crazy. A total power struggle. And the scene in the hallway at the restaurant...Whew! But gross. And wrong. The whole relationship.
Crazy Teacher Ms. Farrell (What the hell was her first name? Couldn't have been Suzanne...)- Don so wanted to get caught with this one. His kid's teacher, who lived right up the street? And she was nuts. I was surprised she didn't go Fatal Attraction on him.
Allison- Oh, Don. Breaking your "anyone but my secretary" rule. Totally consentual, but still...Poor Allison. (She does seem to have made it out OK so far.)
Candace- The slapping hooker! They've had a "relationship" for a while it seems. And at only $25/night.
Sexual-relationship count: 6/7. Not too shabby.
(Note: All of these women except for Candace, have appeared in at least one of the last three seasons.)

I'm not sure what to make of this right now, the fact that Don had never hit on another blonde before, and this season alone, he's tried it with three. Is it that he's trying to reclaim his marriage with Betty, or find another woman like Anna?

Redhead
Joan- OK, here's the thing I realized about Our Mrs. Reynolds...ahem...I mean, Harris. She's the only redhead in the world of SCDP. And if she and Don were to have even a little fling, television sets everywhere would instantly explode. But there's a mutual respect thing, I think, and she's "Roger's." She's out of the running for sheer reason of being uncategorizable--not a blonde, not a brunette, not like anyone else in our insular TV universe. And I think it should stay that way.

Also, may I please mention: she was wearing blue eyeshadow and pink-nude lipstick on this week's episode, and she looked amazing. We've never seen a color like that on Joan's eyes; she tends toward winged eyeliner with no noticeable color on her lids. I might have to try this new look.

With Kindness

2010-08-02T22:23:00.001-04:00

Today was a very full day, for reasons I'd rather not get ingot in a public forum. But something really nice happened--like, jaw-droppingly nice--and I just have to share. :)

I was picking up a prescription from CVS, and the girl behind the counter complimented my hair color. I just redid it on Friday--red fades so darned quickly--and it does look pretty good, if I do say so myself. So, I told her, "It's L'oreal 6R."

"Really?" she asked. (As though she couldn't believe she could have this color for $8.00.)

"Sure. I can get you a box if you want." It was, like, two aisles over.

"Really?" she asked again. I nodded and she thought for a moment. "You're not from DC, are you?"

"Well, I lived in DC for twelve years or so, but I live in Silver Spring now."

"Oh, ok." She started counting out pills, and I ran over to the hair color aisle and pulled a box for her. You know, just so she could see what it looked like. We talked more about hair for a little bit (she wasn't sure red would look good on her; I gave her my mantra that hair is the one thing you can change, and if you don't like it, dye it some other color) while she typed my info into the computer, and then she handed me the prescription. I asked if I could pay with my FSA card, and she said...

"You know, you were so nice, I took off the co-pay for you."

I think I must have just silently blinked a few times, and then I remembered her scanning a CVS gift card. I think I thought she was just scanning one of the behind-the-counter CVS scan cards. But, no, she COVERED MY CO-PAY. I told her that was incredibly sweet, and she said, "You were nice to me. No one is ever nice to us. Like, one percent of people, but they're not as nice as you. So, thank you."

I thanked her very much and left the store. And then I called my mom, one of the two people (along with my dad) who taught me to always be nice to strangers. It really pays sometimes.

When Are We?

2010-08-01T13:34:00.001-04:00

As you and the rest of the pop-culture-aware universe know, the fourth season of Mad Men started last Sunday. We found ourselves at Thanksgiving dinner, 1964, as Betty and the children ate with Henry's family and Don...got slapped in the face by a hooker. Because he asked her to. November 1964 means that we've missed the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (which we would have thought would be a big deal, since SCDP deals heavily in TV ads at this point), the release of the Rolling Stones' first album, and the opening of the New York World's Fair.

So, what are going to be the big pop culture/historical moments this season? Here are my guesses:

Some mention of Lenny Bruce's obscenity trial
Malcolm X's assassination
Some mention of the TV broadcast of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
Bloody Sunday/the march on Selma
Dylan goes electric/releases Highway 61 Revisited (definitely something about the changing music scene)
Cigarette advertising banned on British TV
Maybe a mention of the creation of the Pillsbury Doughboy, like the parsing of the iconic VW ad a couple of seasons ago
The Northeast blackout of 1965 could have very interesting plot implications

And, of course, Joan's husband gets drafted and either (a) killed in Vietnam, or (b) flees to Canada. Either way, we get our swinging single Joanie back! (And I'm rooting for the former. He's not a good person.)

Of course, some of these aren't the most important things that happened in 1965 (some of them are), but I think they're the events that are most likely to have some bearing on the world of SCDP. I'll be happily watching to find out if I'm right.

Out on a Limb

2010-07-31T20:59:00.000-04:00

So, I had no idea I even had a 31x31 list. I mean, I guess I don't, really. Nowhere have I written down--or even seriously thought about--a list of 31 things I'd like to do before I turn 31. But I realized this morning that next month, I'll be doing two things that certainly would go on my list if I had one: being in a dance recital and learning to play the ukulele.

First things first: I've been taking belly dance lessons for a couple of semesters, and in the back of my head, I've always thought it would be cool to get enough confidence to perform in front of people. Though I firmly believe in my workplace mantra of "process, not product," and I really am taking classes for the pure learning and doing something new with my body, I find myself back in the world of remembering choreography and looking at costumes.

I took nine years of ballet, five years of jazz, and one fateful college semester of tap (shoutout to Aly in Cali!), and I always say that what I really learned from those classes was that I can't dance. But here I am! Turns out that while I'm still most definitely a beginner, belly dance (or raqs sharki) is the one kind of dance I've ever been the least bit comfortable with. I actually kinda understand it. It's pretty intuitive, and I've always been good at isolations. And so, next month, I'm going to be in my first recital since 1992. Eep!

Of course, my dad says that since I'm playing the ukulele now, I should switch to hula dance. Which brings us to...

Second things second. For a while now, I've been enamored with ukulele music. Particularly cute girls with ukuleles. (I've previously posted my current very-favorite song.) So, I thought, why not join the ranks of girls with ukes? So what that I've never, ever been able to play an instrument with any sort of aptitude, ever. Not the flute I picked up in fourth grade; not the guitar I bought in 2003 and put aside a month later in a fit of early-twenties it's just too hard! pique. I started browsing ukulele websites (not sure why I didn't think there would be an amazing amount of sites out there), bought a cheap uke, signed up for a class, and got a book from which to start learning.

So, now, I have an absolutely adorable bright yellow Makala ukulele with a dolphin bridge, and the beginnings of callouses on my left-hand fingers. I have nowhere near any sort of technique at all. But I can play seven chords, and fingerpick five notes on the A string and three notes on the E string. I'm even starting to figure out how to read sheet music! I'm excited about the lesson I'm taking in a couple of weeks; it'll be really helpful to have someone show me how you're supposed to strum, instead of the fake-strumming I've been doing. My goal is to be able to do a song for our summer camp talent show next year, and I think I'll definitely be able to do it.

Maybe I should start a 31x31 list...I'll think about it. :)

Since I'm apparently terrible at imbedding videos at the moment, here are some links to three girl-with-ukulele songs I'm into at the moment:

Garfunkel & Oates: "I Would Never" (slightly NSFW)
Sophie Madeleine: "You Are My Favourite"
Danielle Ate the Sandwich: "Handsome Girl"

Long Weekend...

2010-07-27T14:34:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy washingtonpost.com reader TiffanyWcool.

Due to the storm that hit the area on Sunday, I'm on day five of an unforeseen long weekend. (Hooray!?) I did leave for work at my regular time yesterday, and got a call from my boss at 7:30am that went something like this...

BOSS: Hey, are you coming to work today?
ME: Yeah, I'm on the bus now. I'll be there in ten minutes. Why?
BOSS: Well, we don't have power, and we're trying to figure out what we should do. So, um, I'll buy you some coffee at [local cafe].
ME: Sounds good.
(They both hang up their phones. Curtain.)

Why, yes, I do occasionally write plays for a living. Was that evident by my spectacular pacing, and command of dialogue? :)

Of course, what should have been a quick cup of coffee on the company dime turned into a long cup of coffee on the company dime, followed by hanging around outside of the theatre letting parents and students know that we couldn't get into the building either (and, no, ma'am, I'm sorry, if we don't have power, it means we can't call or email our patrons), and then going to Starbucks--on the company dime--with some of my coworkers until finally realizing the power wasn't going to be restored any time soon and calling it quits for the day. My boss (a really good guy) drove me home.

I got to hang out with Jake, which was awesome, and also take a good, long nap. Also awesome.

This morning, I woke up at my summer-usual 5:00am, took a shower, got dressed, and hunkered down until I could figure out whether or not I had to go to work. (Jake and I tried to watch the season finale of You're Cut Off--which, by the way, is amazing--but VH1 cut out 20 minutes in, so that didn't happen.) I did not have to go to work. But we were all "on call" until 11:30, when we would figure out if we could open for afternoon classes.

Nope, still no power.

So, five-day weekend, it is! So far, I've used this time to practice my ukulele (I can successfully play 6-8 chords now!), ice my sprained ankle (sports injury, don'tcha know?), and do a mini-tour of Silver Spring with Jake, Hollie, and Adri. I love impromptu middle-of-weekday hanging out! We had lunch at Thai Derm (insane weekday lunch deals), browsed our local Thai Market (we get some good ingredients from here, but also love to look at things like dried squid balls), and stocked up our fridge with a trip to Fenwick Beer & Wine.

I'll wake up at the same time tomorrow, and bide my time again until I hear whether or not we have power at the theatre, and whether or not I have to go to work. Whee!

Mod, Man

2010-07-23T12:09:00.002-04:00

At this time of summer, and blogging from the couch, a young (ha!) girl's thoughts turn to the wonders of television. With Lost over forever, and our "Must See" shows on hiatus until Fall (which, by the way, why are some channels still adhering to the old "season" lineup, while others have year-round new programming?), Jake and I have been working our way through TV shows on DVD. We don't get HBO, and so to date, we've gone all the way through Curb Your Enthusiasm, and we're moving at a rapid pace through The Sopranos. We've also just started with season 1 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

While I've been really enjoying all of the above, what really gets me is the '60s. It took us a while to get through the 17 episodes of The Prisoner, but wow, what a ride! The series--and yes, I'm talking about the original 1967 Partick McGoohan series, not last year's Jim Caviezel retread--is about a secret agent who resigns from his job and wakes up on a mysterious island, stripped of his identity, and called only "Number 6." His adversary is an ever-rotating line of "Number 2"s, who try to find out why he resigned from his government job. And all Number 6 wants to do is escape.

A lot of shows owe something to The Prisoner; it goes without saying that Lost took quite a few idea and motifs from the show set on a mysterious island with far-out sci-fi mythology. My personal favorite is the Simpsons episode "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes," where Homer is taken to a mysterious island after he makes up a rumor that turns out to be true. The episode was funny the first 20 times I saw it, but now it makes so much more sense. Right down to the Patrick McGoohan cameo! (The Simpsons also used The Orb to do in Hans Moleman in another episode, when Marge was trying to escape from the Movementarians.) And the storytelling structure reminds me a lot of the structure in Neon Genesis Evangelion: the reluctant hero tries with all his might to escape his "destiny," through test after test from unlikely science and technology, until finally the narrative becomes bizarre and existential, leading the audience to question every theory they might have had.

It's one of the most mod things I've ever seen, from the costumes to the set and dialogue to the lava lamp-like projections defaulted in front of Number 2 when he's not watching Number 6.

Of course, for the early 1960s, you can't beat my real Obsession of the Moment, Mad Men. Yes, it's everyone's obsession right now, but we finally made our way through seasons 1-3, and I'm so excited for season 4 to start on Sunday, and see what's going on at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

I won't recap for you; if you're going to watch it, you probably already know what's going on. My favorite place for analysis is Tom and Lorenzo (formerly Project RunGay). They recap every episode with great humor and insight, but my favorite feature on the site is their Mad Style analysis. They take a character and break down the choices made by the costume designer. It's unquestionable that the costumes on the show are spectacular, and I've never been happier to have the kind of figure in vogue during the late'50s/early '60s, and my grandmothers' hats and gloves. Joan Holloway is my idol.

I told a friend of mine the other day that I've loved watching the series on DVD, and I don't know what I'll do when I have to wait a whole week in between episodes. He answered, "You do exactly what you did for Lost: go on the internet, read what people have to say, and have half-hour discussions at work."

Done.

Metro, O Metro

2010-07-21T18:21:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy seathogs.com http://seathogs.com.

There's been a lot of talk about Sunday's Post article about seat hogs in the DC Metro system. Most of the buzz centers around one question: "what is a seat hog? Because I'm not one. I swear, I'm not one. If I'm taking up a ton of room, it's for a good reason. I swear! So, what's a seat hog?"

Here's the thing (in my opinion): if you're taking up more than one seat and are unresponsive to requests for the spare seat, you might be a seat hog. This does not include people who are sitting on the aisle because their stop is coming up soon. This does not include people who are overweight and "spill over"--not my terminology--into another seat. (Side note: I'm stymied by the number of people who took this as their opportunity to rail against larger people who take public transportation. Some of the complaints are pretty sizeist and despicable.) This does not include people who are sitting in designated seats, but do not have a visible disability.

What does this include? Certainly the dude who rode my bus a couple of weeks ago, sitting on the aisle seat with his bag next to him, who mumbled something unintelligible that sounded like "um, nuh-uh, sorry but no" whenever someone asked him to scoot over...And then made way for his friend who got on several stops later. This was while many of us were standing up. He might be a seat hog.

Probably the woman who was sleeping next to me on the way home this afternoon, who was spilling over into my seat for two reasons. One: she was sleeping and kept brushing up against my arm. Two: she had her cloth portfolio (small briefcase?) shoved in between herself and the wall of the bus, causing her to spill over an inch or two into my seat. She might be a seat hog.

Absolutely the people who put their earbuds in, turn their music up so I can hear it as if I were playing the music myself, and spread their legs defiantly, taking up two seats and non-verbally daring someone to ask for a seat. They might be seat hogs.

Also: tourists. I don't know what the solution is to traveling with large suitcases, and I might be guilty of this myself on the way in or out of town. But the solution is probably not to pile your luggage into the seat next to you. Or, worse, put your bag in front of the seat next to you, so the empty chair taunts the people who are standing and holding tenuously onto the pole. They might be seat hogs, too.

Not seat hogs, but equally annoying include:

The dude who stood way too close to me on the bus on Monday. I was sitting, and he shoved himself, standing, into my space so close I was almost uncomfortable enough to ask him to move. I realize he was getting himself out of the way so other people could board, but seriously, dude, just move back instead of standing on top of me. Not a seat hog because he was technically standing, though he was very nearly hogging my seat.
People who talk way too loudly to other riders who are very close to them. Most recent offenders: three off-duty Metro employees--maybe other bus drivers--who were practically yelling so loud I couldn't hear the podcast I was listening to. At 7:00 in the morning.
People who don't have the balls to ask for a seat, but passive-aggressively glare at the person next to an empty seat. By and large, if you ask, someone will shove over. And if not...They might be a seat hog.

Fin.

Sweet Cuppin' Cakes!

2010-07-21T17:59:00.000-04:00

The cupcakes I made. Messy but dee-licious.

The cupcakes seemed to be a hit amongst the general populace at work and home today and last night (respectively), and I promised one of my coworkers I'd post a recipe.

One of the cool things about the new cupcake cookbook I bought (Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery) is the way it's organized. Yes, the photos are colorful and adorable, the narratives are well-written, the tips are useful, and the recipes are clear and concise. But it's the organization that gets my Type-A side.

The first section of the book gives recipes for "basic cupcakes." The second section gives recipes for "basic frostings." You can mix and match to your heart's delight. (And then, if you wish, move onto the "Festive and Seasonal" cupcakes and cupcakes for "Special Occasions." And "Beyond Cupcakes." Ooo.) So, I mixed and matched, and came up with vanilla cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. Recipes from the Primrose Bakery after the jump.

If you like this recipe and like making cupcakes, I can't stress enough...buy this book. If nothing else, it's great food pr0n, and will look absolutely adorable on your cookbook shelf or coffee table. And, best case scenario, you make really good cupcakes.

Note: The book suggests not refrigerating the cupcakes or the frosting. They should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. If they last long enough. :)

Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 12 regular or 36 mini cupcakes)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon AP flour
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

How lemon cupcakes are supposed to look. Photo from Primrose Bakery.

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 minutes using an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for a few minutes after each addition.
Sift the two flours together into a separate bowl. Mix the milk and vanilla together.
Add 1/3 of the flours to the creamed mixture and beat well. Pour in 1/3 of the milk and beat again. Repeat these steps until all the flour and milk have been added.
Carefully spoon the mixture into the cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (regular size) or 15 minutes (mini size) until slightly raised and golden brown. To check they are cooked, insert a wooden skewer in the center of one of the cupcakes--it should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave the cupcakes in the pan for about 10 minutes before carefully placing on a wire rack to cool. Once they are completely cool, frost the cupcakes.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting (Makes enough to frost 15-20 regular cupcakes or 1 "two layer" cake. Or enough for 12 cupcakes plus plenty to spread on toast for breakfast. I have no shame.)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Grated zest of 1-2 unwaxed lemons (2 teaspoons)
4 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, lemon zest, and half the confectioner's sugar until smooth--this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer. Gradually add the remainder of the confectioner's sugar and beat again until smooth and creamy. If needed, thin with additional lemon juice.

Sweets

2010-07-20T06:20:00.001-04:00

My cupcake adventure

I went into Border's after work yesterday to see if they had any books for beginner ukulele players. (Which I am about to become. Much more about that later, I'm sure.) I "accidentally" came out with a book about cupcakes.

I've been wanting a cupcake book for a while. I've thought about just trying to adapt cake recipes for cupcakes--I'm sure it can be done, but I'm not sure about baking time, and I'm just insecure enough to be questioning my technique the whole time the cakes are in the oven. I love the cupcakes I've made before (chocolate ganache cupcakes from Cook's Illustrated were amazing), and I'm definitely going to keep making them, but it was time for something new. I wanted a book that was going to give me good basic recipes I could go back to again and again, but also give me recipes beyond the normal that I could stretch myself with.

Enter Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery. This book is adorable: very colorful with great illustrative photos. I'm pretty sure it evokes the feeling of the bakery it comes from, but since it's in the UK, I have no way of confirming that idea. (Anyone want to bankroll a "research trip" for me to go to England and taste cupcakes?)

I tried the vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting last night. The recipe came together really quickly, and I didn't have to go shopping for any ingredients that weren't already in my cupboard. Of course, our oven runs either 50 degrees hot or 25 degrees cold, and I haven't yet figured out how to adjust for it. So, when the oven was running way too hot, I turned it down before popping the cupcakes in...which cycled it too cold...which led to a slightly longer baking time...which made for slightly over-browned cupcakes. Also, I filled the cups too much (it seemed like a good idea at the time), so they overflowed a bit.

Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

But still...delicious! They're moist, and ever-so-slightly-vanilla. This is a great basic recipe, and I'll definitely try it again and again.

The buttercream was, well, unlike any buttercream I've ever tasted before. It was cloyingly sweet, really tasting of nothing but confectioner's sugar. I chalked it up to the fact that the Brits like their sweets much sweeter than we do. But, upon closer inspection of the recipe this morning, I realized I used a quarter-cup too much confectioner's sugar! A quarter-cup! And it really made a difference. I think I'll whip up a new batch this evening and see if that helps. I couldn't frost all of the cupcakes because the frosting was too sticky, so I could absolutely try a do-over.

I'm already a huge fan of this book, and I can't wait to try more. I'm especially looking at the carrot cakes, the blueberry and cornmeal cupcakes, and the Earl Grey cupcakes. Yum!

UPDATE!
I came home last night after a trip to the grocery store, duly chastened by what I'm now calling "The Great Frosting Failure of 2010." I didn't want to try another vanilla buttercream, having been burned by the first one, so I bought a few lemons and set out to make a lemon buttercream.

Success! The frosting is creamy and tart, and came together very easily. Here are the lessons I learned:

Flavored frosting is just as easy, and tastes delicious on a vanilla cupcake.
The recipe for vanilla buttercream in the book must have been printed wrong; there's no way you can make a good buttercream with only 2 tablespoons of butter. They must have meant either "8 tablespoons" or "2 sticks." I'm up for experimentation.
Measuring the right amount of confectioner's sugar is very important. Also important: realizing you can hold some back. I measured the required 4.25 cups, and wound up using only 4.

Notes on Camp

2010-07-15T22:15:00.001-04:00

Milford Mill Swim Club, the center of my summers from 1987-1995.

One may never feel more loved than she does as the summer camp she runs nears its last day. The camaraderie formed at summer camp is amazing. Kids who never met, go to different schools, in different grades, are thrown together into this weird situation, and absolutely fall in love with each other.

I had a major camp flashback the other day as I rode the bus to...well, camp. Yes, I was riding a WMATA bus instead of a classic yellow. And yes, I'm the Camp Manager, not a camper. But still. The LED sign on the front of the bus was busted and the driver had taped a white piece of paper to the windshield to let us know what route he was driving. And it reminded me so much of the signs on the buses at my camp telling us we were riding the "Red Bus" or the "Green Bus" or whatever. It's weird how something so simple can elicit such a visceral reaction.

The camp I manage isn't all that different from the one I went to when I was a kid. They're both theatre camps, four weeks long, during which you put on a play and also take classes in drama, dance, music, and art. The major difference is that the camp I manage is completely an indoor camp (save outdoor recess, when it's actually cool enough to get out there), and the camp I went to was an outdoor camp. In addition to all the artsy activities, we also had sports, and two kinds of swim: instructional and recreational. How did we do it all?

I'm constantly amazed by the kids in my camp. They have so much fun, and we put on a play in four weeks! Less than four weeks, if you count the time before they get their scripts, and the last day of camp, which is just fun-and-games. And, of course, I'm amazed by the staff--I'm not in the classroom all day like they are, and what they do is astonishing to me.

I've just been flashing back recently to singing in the music room with the dingy orange carpet (especially during the impromptu talent shows when it was raining outside), the overpowering smell of chlorine in the indoor pool, learning our blocking in the blazing heat under a striped tent, the counselors hauling our lunches in garbage bags out of an industrial-sized refrigerator, pretending to be "sick" during sports so we could play cards, spreading my towel out on the grass with my friends so we could eat lunch together like "cool kids"...and bug juice. Lots of bug juice. Flashbacks.

Camp ends tomorrow, and I'm really going to miss the kids--especially the ones who have been with us for three years and are "graduating" to our camp for older students. Good thing a new session starts tomorrow.

Beer Me a Beer

2010-07-14T19:50:00.002-04:00

It's been a bit of a tough week. And not least of all because of an interaction I had with a patron late on the other afternoon. (Note to the general public: maybe don't yell at someone in front of her staff when she's indubitably correct, and then certainly don't curse in front of children. Probably not a good idea.) So by the time I got home, I wanted nothing more than good food, good drink, and good company.

Good thing we were having dinner with some awesome friends!

Hollie is the bar manager at The Black Squirrel--recently home of my kick-ass Thirty Flirty Fab birthday party--and really knows a thing or two. You can always count on her to bring some amazing small-batch beers and help you enjoy them in a way you never knew was possible. (I love my friends...) So, Jake cooked, Hollie brought the drink, and Adri and I joyfully went along for the ride.

Our food-and-beer pairing menu after the jump. (Don't get too jealous...We were merely tasting.)

Course #1: Corn on the cob with chipotle-scallion butter (Recipe from Gourmet [RIP], July 2008)
Beer #1: Terrapin Side Project Maggie's Farmhouse Ale

Course #2: Pork tostadas with cilantro, lime, queso fresco, avocado, and sour cream (Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, March/April 2010)
Beer #2: Dogfish Head Squall IPA

Course #3: Rhubarb-Peach Cobbler (Recipe from Good Eats)
Beer #3: Dogfish Head Sah'tea

And sipped while watching Hulu on the couch after dinner...
Beer #4: Urthel Samaranth Quadrium Ale
Beer #5: Atwater Block Brewery Wake Up & Smell the Beer Vanilla Java Porter

They were all pretty darned good. (We did taste another one that did not get such rave reviews from those of us in the Peanut Gallery: New Holland Brewing's Envious.) I'm always a fan of a good, heavy java porter. And Maggie's Farm was clean, fresh, and a little sour: the perfect pairing with the corn on the cob. The Sah'tea tasted like chai tea in the best way possible. But I think my favorite was the Squall IPA. I don't generally like my beers to be incredibly hoppy, but the hops weren't overbearing on this one. It paired so well with the heat of the tostadas and the creaminess of the queso fresco, avocados, and sour cream. You need a bold beer to do that. :)

The only bad thing about being exposed to all of these beers is that they aren't all widely available, and now we have to keep our eyes wide open for a bottle or two of some of them. But Fenwick Beer & Wine is good about stocking small-batch beers, so that might be a good in-road for those of us a mere two blocks away. They were definitely worth another taste or two. Or three. Or...

Hawt Trendz

2010-07-10T14:31:00.000-04:00

There are times in our lives when what the fashion-type people tell you to wear directly conflicts with what your mother always told you about how to wear clothes.

Evidence number one: leggings-as-pants. (Momma said: if you're going to wear tight pants, wear a shirt that covers your tushy.)

Evidence number two: prints layered with prints. (Momma said: prints go with solids; solids go with solids; prints don't go with prints. Unless you want to look like a crazy person.)

Evidence number three: socks with sandals. (Momma said: if you're wearing open-toed shoes, no socks, hose, or tights. Show your toes!)

I've been known to wear socks with closed-toe high heels. I like the look, it keeps my feet warm in the winter-time, and eliminates the likelihood of blisters. I especially like wearing my patchwork-look Betsey Johnson socks with aged-brown T-straps, and black socks (cable-knit with a thick white braid) with cone-heeled patent leather Mary Janes. But I haven't yet been able to wrap my head around wearing socks with sandals.

Maybe it's because I associate socks-with-sandals with a certain, um, type. (Or, as Jake put it when I told him the subject of this blog post, "Socks with sandals aren't anew trend; they've been around for men for years. It's a look that says 'I've got a ham radio and I may be a pervert.'") It's the middle-aged men at my swim club growing up. It's the tourists you see around the Mall. It usually goes with a fishing cap when you're not anywhere near the water.

But now, I'm supposed to wear socks with my strappy sandals? Because the rest of my outfit is summery, but my feet are kinda cold, maybe? I don't get it.

But if you like the look, here's a tutorial on how to do it. I guess.

Back to Life

2010-07-07T21:57:00.000-04:00

Live free or die bear!

After an amazingly restorative long weekend in the Greater Buffalo Area, I'm back to my cozy little metropolis. Even though the weekend started off with a dead car, tons of traffic, and a little side trip to the Susquehanna Valley Mall (one of the best examples I've ever seen of the death of mall culture)--and I'll talk about that more later, probably--and even though it ended with hacked email accounts for both me and Jake, we rolled into Wales Center.

Here is what you have to do when you go to Buffalo: eat wings. With waffle cut fries. And ranch dressing. That was all I was talking about with my friends at home before I went. And for good reason. I don't eat wings here any more. But I will eat everything I can at Bar Bill. Which is usually between five and eight wings and lots of fries. And I no longer call them Buffalo wings. (It's like that joke that in China, they just call Chinese food "food.")

Also, when you go to Western New York, you have to drink beer. And drink beer I did! Maryland beer! Jake brought a case of Flying Dog to the Fourth of July (on the third) party, and it went over like gangbusters. The fireworks in East Aurora were awesome, and we got to watch them from a great location. I've been watching fireworks for thirty years, and they still amaze me. I think they're spectacular. And I'm not ashamed to gasp like a five-year-old when I watch them.

Also, when you're in that area, you simply must spend time at Vidler's. I can't express enough how awesome this place is. It's a five-and-dime, I guess, but what it really is is two floors of sheer awesome. You can get everything in the world at Vidler's, from a Girl Scout uniform to a citrus squeezer to fake vomit. A trip to WNY isn't a trip to WNY if I don't eat wings, drink beer with friends, and go to Vidler's.

The rest of our time was spent with the family, reading, swimming, playing Wii golf and actual golf in the field in front of the house. And eating lots and lots of food. It was completely restorative. I had been so stressed, I didn't know how stressed I was. This weekend (book-ended with visits to my parents' house--thanks for the car!!) was exactly what I needed.

Time to Breathe

2010-06-30T20:49:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a week so far. Monday was fraught, Tuesday a bit better, and today...well, I stepped in a packet of ketchup and that's all I've been able to smell for the rest of the day, since it splashed all over my ankle, and inside the hem of my jeans. There's been so much I wanted to blog about, but I've just been so exhausted!

This has been a week of broken-down cars, camper freak-outs, hot hot heat, frantic decision-making, and oxidized hair dye, when all I wanted to do in the whole world was dye my hair. Blurg.

Yesterday was made much better by a ten-minute date with a bottle of red hair dye (a day belated, but it looks fab) and an actual date with Jake!

When I got home from work, he suggested we go to Sidebar for the Tuesday raw bar menu. It was a great idea. We've had our fair share of drinks there, but have only had bar snacks (and the occasional Chicago-style hot dog). Sidebar just got a mention in Washingtonian as your "Plan B" go-to speakeasy in the DC area, but it's my #1 pick.

Last night, I had a Classic Old Fashioned and a Sazerac, along with the raw bar dinner. I decided to be bold and try an oyster, 'cause what would a raw bar dinner be without one? I picked the smallest one (natch), and it was delicious! The oysters came with two dipping sauces, and the green one was far superior to the brown vinaigrette-y one. We also had lobster rolls (amazing!) and scallop ceviche with tortilla chips (delish!) to round out the meal. We had great seats up at the bar, and watching the bartender--Gordon?--mixing the drinks was quite a show. Will definitely be back for more raw bar action, and I can't wait to go to a Wednesday chef's night sometime soon.

So, yes, my car is dead, and children are nutty, and it's been really hot out this month, but at least there are good drinks and tasty seafood and good company (not to mention chances to fabulize oneself) to allow me time to breathe.

Date Night: Silver Spring

2010-06-26T11:59:00.000-04:00

Still from Regretters.

Yesterday afternoon, there was an item on my Outlook calendar that said "Go Home on Time For Once!!!" Yes, that's three exclamation points. I really meant it. But after a long day of dressing like a superhero (I was one of two Wonder Woman-ses--the other was seven years old--and one of the students wore an orange wig and came as ME!), cleaning up and re-dressing a student who had an accident (par for the course for me, but I had to tell her she could pretend she was wearing Beyonce's old jeans to get her to go back to class), handling the mishegoss that comes with a fire drill, and doing my regular old job, there was no way I could actually only put in an eight-hour day.

So, there was nothing I wanted more when I got on the bus home from Bethesda than to hang out with Jake for the night. We had movie-going plans, and since my bus got stuck in earlier-than-expected traffic, I had to hit the box office for tickets before running up to the apartment to change into a dress (not wanting to wear my sweaty-from-camp Wonder Woman T-shirt out for the night), and then straight out for our date.

Totally worth it.

This week is SilverDocs at the AFI, and again, it's one of those things that would be a shame to miss considering it's right across the street from my apartment. People come from all over the world to this festival; how could I miss it?

Last night, we had tickets to Regretters, a film about two Swedish men who had gotten gender reassignment surgery to become women...and then took it back! One of them, Orlando, had a second reassignment surgery, and now considered himself a sort of "third gender," neither male nor female, but with male sex characteristics. The other, Mikael, lived as Mikaela for eight years, and still wasn't happy with who he was. In the last shot of the movie, we see him being wheeled into the OR for his second reassignment surgery.

The film was fascinating for many reasons, one of which was their rationales for getting the surgery in the first place. We usually hear stories about people "feeling trapped in the wrong body," and then feeling more complete when they have the gender signifiers they've always thought they should have. Orlando was a gay man in a time and a country where being gay was illegal. He figured life would just be easier as a woman, since he has "feminine mannerisms" anyway. Mikael learned from a young age to be scared of men, and never had satisfying interactions with women; he figured he could relate to women better if he was one. But he found that people treat women differently than they did men, he never really felt like a woman, and he still felt awkward around people; being a woman didn't turn out to be the cure-all he thought it would have been.

The movie is set up as a conversation between these two men: one who just wants to feel comfortable with himself as a human being and fade into the background, and one who loves being flamboyant and noticeable. (In Stockholm, Orlando is easily recognized as "the man in the red suit"; he wears sequins and earrings, and has his platinum hair heavily styled.) There are home movies and slides interspersed throughout the narrative, so we can see who these men are and were. The filmmaker appeared for a Q&A afterward, and it was good to hear that the movie had been embraced by the transgender community, since it was pretty controversial. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.

The movie was preceded by I'm Just Anneke, a short film about a 12-year-old girl who is taking hormone blockers to put off puberty until she decides whether she wants to live her life as a boy or girl. The most interesting part of this movie for me was Anneke's mother declaring "I was always the fat girl who got chosen last in gym class. How could I not support my daughter, and who she chooses to be?" And "She's choosing to be who she is. I don't think I know who I am, even as a grownup."

We went to Ghar-E-Kabab for dinner afterwards. Vegetable Momo, Lamb Saag, and homemade Indian ice cream makes for a great after-movie, end-of-date-night meal.

Tonight: Stones in Exile!

The Life at Sea is the Life For Me...

2010-06-24T21:25:00.000-04:00

It's summertime, and the living is far from easy. We've declared this summer a Pirate Summer at work since all of our shows--professional and student--are about pirates and sailors, but theatrical piracy isn't all fun and games, you know. This year, there was really no clear demarcation between the end of Spring semester and the beginning of summer; one of the projects I work on during the school year has been held over through the summer (good for the budget and for the cause of arts education, bad for my sanity), and camp crept up on me.

Good thing I like my job!

Camp started this week, and the kids are amazingly super cute. (Those adjectives should show you the extent of my brain-dead-ness at the moment. Also, the fact that I used the word brain-dead-ness.) Part of the reason I like managing the summer camp is that I get to hang out with some awesome teachers, and some pretty cool students. Sure, I'm also the one who has to deal with the parents, but we have a good relationship for the most part, and it's not too much of a schlepp.

The biggest reason I like working with the camp is that it gives me an opportunity to stretch my creative muscles and write a play. I've previously posted about the play I was writing, The Adventures of Sinbad and the Princesses from Persia, and now it's actually finished and in rehearsal! It's sort of an odd feeling, hearing kids speak and sing the words I wrote. Very interesting and a great experience, but odd nonetheless.

I'm usually on the other end of the process, editing scripts other folks have written, and gauging how natural their words sound coming from actors. This has been different from the other scripts I've written. I'm working with a new composer I've only worked with peripherally as a songwriter (there was a blackout at work last year & we wrote a song for a play my friend wrote, because we had nothing else to do). The director had a hand in dramaturging my script and helping me through a couple of drafts. (I love how involved he's been! I can't dramaturg myself, and he was incredibly helpful in helping me define the characters and find the arc of the play.)

I've also been sitting in on rehearsals the last couple of days, and have been able to have a little bit of input, which I usually don't get to do. I'm trying to do that from the perspective of a dramaturg (as in, "this makes sense in the world of the play; this doesn't") rather than from the perspective of a playwright (as in, "but this doesn't fit my vision!"--not that most playwrights are like that). I've told the director he can feel free to tell me if I'm being annoying, but he hasn't yet. :)

Yar.

2010-06-15T22:23:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I'm a little obsessed with Peter Pan.

I previously posted about how even though I work in the theatre industry, my job can be just like every other job. For example: I work in a cube, have to deal with office politics, and agonize over whether to eat California Tortilla or deli for lunch (accessorized, of course, with the obligatory Diet Coke.) There will, inevitably, be more posts in a similar vein.

However. Here are a couple of reasons my job is not like everyone else's. One: I get to play. Two: I get to play while dressed as a pirate and doing a crappy (but effective!) accent.

Reason the first:
A few weeks ago, the wife of one of Jake's colleagues contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in leading an improv class at her temple's retreat. It should have some connection with the weekend's theme (awareness of the environment, particularly ethical eating), be somehow related to Judaism, and include about 60 students and parents, from four years old to grownup-aged.

No sweat, right?

It's tough to write a lesson plan that includes so many people, at so many ages. But somehow, we did it! Armed with my colleague Jackie, as well as a bag of musical instruments and dance scarves (and my loyal assistant Jake), we trekked deep into suburban Baltimore to lead this class. Honestly, we had no idea what we were walking into. Were they going to be into the activities? Were they expecting to watch while the kids did improv activities with us? Would everyone be able to understand and participate? How big was the space going to be?

It was awesome. The group had a really good time (I think!) and so did we. I was out of breath and sweating by the end. I love interacting with people, and when I get to work with small children, teenagers, and adults, and include them in activities that bring them together and give everyone a good time, that just makes my day. (Gross, huh?) I would gladly do it again, especially now that I actually know what I'm doing. Ha!

Reason the second:
This summer, we're doing all pirate plays at work, both in our professional family theatre, and in the summer camp I manage. What better way to kick off a pirate summer than with a pirate treasure hunt? Which, of course, entailed decking the lobby and classrooms out like pirate locales (The Jolly Roger Inn, the Shiver Me Timbers, Long John's Lagoon), and all of us dressed up like pirates. My colleagues organized the whole thing; I just showed up as the Bonny Captain Jenn to lead tour groups through the "treasure hunt."

What a great time! Again, we were all exhausted and sweaty by the end of the afternoon, but it was well worth it. We (groups of 4-25 students and parents, each led by a staffer) left on a tour every ten minutes for three hours. We defeated the Kraken (by throwing pennies into our "scholarship fountain), learned how to sword fight, solved puzzles, and ultimately "found" the treasure.

My accent was halfway between Irish and Caribbean, and I was wearing my belly dance scarf and a tri-corner hat. At work. What more could a girl ask for?

Have it Your Way

2010-06-10T21:56:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy washingtonian.com

This is a post about burgers. I want to put that right out there. Burgers. The most American of American foods. And they can be done really, really nicely, or really, really crappy. This post is about the former.

Last night, after a happy hour celebration in Dupont for a friend who was in town for, like, thirty seconds, Jake and I trekked back to The Spring to get dinner at 8407 kitchen bar. We ordered pretty quickly--we were hungry. I got a spinach salad with walnut oil vinaigrette, figs, blue cheese, and duck prosciutto; Jake got roasted bone marrow presented in an actual halved bone (I'm glad I tasted it, but am also glad I never have to try again); then we shared squash blossoms because the bone marrow was much smaller than we thought it would be.

I took another look at the menu after we ordered and noticed a nice-looking burger. So, I pointed it out to Jake, who pointed out in turn that we have no shortage of delicious "gourmet" burgers in our neighborhood--yet another reason it's a great place to live.

About a week ago, we ducked into Ray's The Classics for a super-late dinner. We had been in the Baltimore area later than we anticipated, and came in right under the kitchen-closing wire, putting our orders in just before 10. Even though the kitchen was probably ready to call it quits for the night, the burgers were amazing as always: juicy to the point of dripping, done extremely well (by which I mean medium-rare), with toppings to die. (That night, mine included huge slices of sauteed garlic.)

We love Ray's, but we've never eaten in the actual restaurant. Why would we, when the lounge is incredible? You can get a burger and a good drink for a very reasonable price, and the atmosphere is downright classy. Plus, the servers and hostesses remember us, which is always nice. So, fab burger number one.

We had fab burger number two earlier this week. Jake and I had some in-advance cooking to do, but we decided to get dinner out first. We went to Quarry House, the basement dive bar. Here are the things I love about Quarry House:

Photo courtesy the now-defunct Silver Spring Penguin

Binder menus for beer and whiskey.
It's a real dive, not one manufactured to attract the hipsters. (Although the hipsters do come a-flocking.)
The jukebox is awesome, and the customers know how to use it. Standard playlist: David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Gogol Bordello.
Tater tots.
Tater tots.
Tater tots.
Delicious huge burgers.

It's always a good time, especially when you can get a seat. Oh! And burgers are half price on Mondays, so I guess that's Thing I Love number eight. Also: the bar has been around since Prohibition, and that's how I learned that Maryland never enforced Prohibition, hence its nickname "The Free State." (It's true. Look it up.) I like bars that make me have to learn things. :)

So, no shortage of good burgers in Silver Spring. "But our dear blogger," I hear you asking me, "Whatever do you do during your work day if you have a craving for a burger?"

Oh, you silly readers! I work in Bethesda, and so I get to go to BGR Joint or, most frequently, Wing Hub. Man, I hadn't realized until now that I eat a lot of burgers. (BGR Joint does have an amazing veggie burger, and the turkey burger at Wing Hub is really good, especially with swiss cheese.)

Jake chimes in to inform me that the best burger is at Ray's. And I'm probably gonna have to agree. But there's something to be said for eating a burger with a good beer in a dank basement while listening to The Stooges. Fortunately, I don't have to choose. Although I shouldn't go to both in the same day.

Time for you to chime in! What's your favorite burger?

Be Vewwy, Vewwy Quiet; I'm Hunting...

2010-06-06T21:01:00.001-04:00

The Post Hunt!

The third(?) annual Post Hunt took place this afternoon, and Jake and I trekked downtown to join the thousands of other folks ready to traipse their way through the Penn Quarter looking for cryptic clues. (Seriously, it's one of those events where you look around and realize...you're one of...those people: the sort of people who enjoy a super-brainy scavenger hunt on a sweaty afternoon.) We named our team "The Debbies" in honor of our fallen teammate who just had to accompany a play she composed and music-directed.

We had learned a couple of things from our venture last year: we sprayed ourselves down with sunscreen, bought big bottles of water, and packed umbrellas and sandwiches. (By the end of the thing last year, we were downright starving.) We scoured the Washington Post Magazine on the Metro, knowing that somehow or other, one of the articles--if not more--were going to relate to a clue in the Hunt.

We got to the official meeting spot in time for the announcement of the map coordinates and spent the next three hours walking around looking for answers in statues, outside of buildings, peoples' outfits, and even one misguided bush. All in all, Jake and I tallied 3.5 out of 5 correct answers (we're accepting a .5 for an answer we totally got but wrote off as way too easy) and had a fantastic time running around figuring things out.

After the jump, a play-by-play in pictures, complete with how we got the answers we got. (Besides just being geeks.)

12:00- Gene Weingarten gives the opening address. That's Dave Barry and Tom Shroder behind him. Squee.

12:05- We mark the coordinates on the map and start a-hunting!

12:06- We didn't get very far; the stage was re-set to give one of the clues. We were completely baffled. Hank Steuver was reading from Wikipedia articles (including one about "Kimberly Nicole 'Kim' Kardashian") while a woman did interpretive dance behind him. No clue. We moved on.

12:33- We solve our first clue! The map led us to an area where we were given "bar passes." We noticed a tiki bar on the map, so we went there. Staffers were there giving out pieces of paper that said we had to follow the dress code--how many shoes were we wearing? Jake realized that if you looked at your pass at the right angle, the bar code said "nineteen plus." Add nineteen to the number of shoes you're wearing (two, one would hope), and you got the answer: 21. Woo!

12:49- We solve our second clue! This comic strip was completely unintelligible. BUT! If you reorder the panels, and write down the correct order, you get a seven digit sequence. I realized it was a phone number, put a "202" in front, and dialed. I got a message, telling us to count something in a particular panel, which we did. Win! (Also, the strip was pretty clever.)

12:50- I get to eat a sandwich and people-watch. These people haven't solved the comic strip puzzle yet. We have.

1:15- Sandwiches eaten, we go on to the next puzzle: a group of mannequin feet. Jake did some quick calculations and counted 555 1/2. WHICH! I totally pointed out in the Post Magazine earlier this morning. There was a page of artwork about how to keep cool near the Washington Monument, and at the top, it mentioned that the Monument is 555 1/2 feet tall. I figured that was way too specific to be a coincidence. So...

1:20- On to the Monument! (What a great excuse to sightsee.) Where we found...

1:25- The man with the pink umbrella! That same piece of art in the Post Magazine had a few figures who were trying different things to keep cool in a DC summer. There was a man with a child on his shoulders, a few women in burkas, and a man in a Dodgers shirt with a pink umbrella, with a note "Ah, looks like this man has the answer." (Thanks to Debbie for reminding us earlier!) He did have the answer: the back of his shirt had the number 74. Solved!

1:45- Okay, this is our .5. Sculptures on the Ellipse which Jake quickly realized spelled "five hundred," buried halfway into the ground. We figured 500 was way too easy of an answer. But 250 (the half of the "five hundred" we could see) wasn't a potential answer. We couldn't figure out for the life of us what it could be. So, after fifteen minutes or so of debating, looking at the map, and trying to figure it out, we moved on. But I'm totally counting this as .5, dammit! So there.

2:05- Back to the stage and Hank Steuver. We figured the answer had to do with the movements the "interpreter" was doing. Steuver kept pointing us toward the specific motion she did when he said "the solution is clear." Inspection proved that this had nothing to do with water (I thought that was a smart way to go for a couple of minutes there), but we realized that she was a referee and kept making the "touchdown" sign, so that had to have something to do with something. Jake thought it might be the number of times she did the "touchdown" sign, and so we got 12...But that wasn't a potential answer. We looked at the map, and lo and behold, there was a picture of a football! So, back to the ellipse we went, where we found...

2:30- Which had absolutely nothing to do with anything. We stared at this thing for what felt like ever. We tried to do everything we could with those damn numbers. We could not figure it out. Because it had nothing to do with the answer! (But at least I'll never forget the name "John Saul," which must show up on crossword puzzles sometimes. Not in this Sunday's, though. I looked, thinking that might be the answer.) Dejected, we went for ice cream. Good Humor solves everything.

2:45- By the time we got back to the designated meeting point, it was pretty rainy. All you could see were umbrellas.

3:00- Weingarten announces the clue for the endgame, and Jake and I realize that since we can't see the stage (and don't have all 5 answers anyway), we have no shot in getting it. We are sad. But cute.

3:15- Tom thanks our sponsors, including Papa John. Apparently, inside the dancing pizza, there is a pretty lady. Sister Slice.

3:20- Dave tells us all the answers to the puzzles, eliciting many "boo"s. He is very funny. But we knew that.

3:30- Gene presents the check to the big winners, who were from DC! At this point, we didn't care that we didn't win; we were just glad the winners weren't from Miami.

So, that was it. Even through the wind, the heat, the humidity, and the rain, we had an awesome time. The Debbies already can't wait 'till next year!

A Little Change Will Do You Good

2010-06-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

I found out a couple of weeks ago that I was going to have to move from my cubicle at work to another one, a whole pod away. In reality, it was only a move of about ten feet or so, but that seems really far away when you're talking about uprooting three-and-a-half years of lived-in-ness. Five of us were picked to move, and since I'm the only one who was moving to a vacated desk, I had to start the ball rolling.

In real-estate terms, I've decided I've moved to a "corner office with a window view," and I think it is a more desirable space than the one I'm coming from. I have an actual floor-to-ceiling wall, which I'm super-excited about. I come from a center-cube, so I've only ever had the regular metal walls to deal with. I want to decorate it somehow--we have a bit of freedom in our cube-decor, since we work in a creative environment. I'm thinking a decal from BLIK, but they might be a little bit out of my price range right now. But seriously, how cute would this be:

Or this:

So cool.

It's funny: when you work at a theatre, people assume something particular about your job. They may think that you're on stage all day, or always teaching (as per what I do), or building something, or otherwise completely active. But the reality is that we still have to deal with office politics, and the realities of cube-land. It was downright cathartic to recycle bins and bins of paper files I haven't looked at in years, and will never need...

But you'd better believe I took my red Swingline stapler.

Quirk

2010-05-28T20:53:00.000-04:00

I love Nellie McKay. I just discovered her recently, although after I downloaded Get Away from Me, I realized I'd heard a few of the songs when the album first came out.

Anyhow, after hearing this song on Fresh Air a while ago, I made it my mission to hunt it down. A smart chick singing a satire about feminism while playing the ukelele? Sign me up!

Wanna hear it? Here goes:

How Lovely to be a Woman

2010-05-27T23:20:00.000-04:00

Jake and I had a real grown-up dinner last night. We hosted one of his colleagues and her boyfriend, and set the table with cloth napkins and everything. Like many traditional households, the meal was fixed by the (post-semester) stay-at-home spouse, while the (all-year-round) working spouse came home pretty soon before dinner started and put in the bare minimum of work before the guests arrived. Of course, in our house, Jake is the stay-at-home spouse (he works incredibly hard most of the year, but he's in that post-semester, pre-summer work limbo right now) and I'm the all-year-working spouse. And. He's the better cook.

At one point after dessert, conversation turned to old cookbooks and the recipes inside. Jake pulled out his copy of Joy of Cooking, from 1964--a wedding gift to his parents--which boasts recipes for, amongst other things, squirrel. Complete with a "how to skin" guide, and tips on which kind of squirrel is best. (Hint: red squirrels are gamey.) The book has no pictures and is almost didactic, but it's very utilitarian and still pretty modern, even though its first printing was in the 1930s.

On the opposite end of the aesthetic spectrum is my favorite old cookbook, the 1961 edition of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. God, this thing is wonderful. I first fell in love with it at my in-laws', when my mother-in-law showed me the recipe she uses for cinnamon rolls. After coming back to the DC area, I set to work getting myself a copy. I found out--pretty unceremoniously--that a mint-condition copy could run you $400. I decided I wouldn't spend more than $45. So, to eBay I went, and after losing out on four auctions, I finally got myself a copy for $42, plus shipping.

Here's the thing. I'm sure this book has some pretty awesome recipes that really stand up to the test of time. But I haven't been able to get myself past the layout, the pictures, the amazingly awe-inspiring early-1960s-ness of the whole thing. It's I Love Lucy, it's Mad Men. I'm obsessed with the whole thing of it.

I have a nascent collection of etiquette books (both the modern kinds like Kate Spade's Manners and Occasions and eBay-ed ones like 1921's two-volume Book of Etiquette) and other volumes on femininity and what it means to be a woman. The current crown of my collection is 1846's The Young Mother.

As a third-wave feminist, I grew up with the Barbie slogan "We girls can do anything," and I'm fascinated by eras in which we couldn't even try. I constantly struggle with my love for the trappings of traditional feminism, and have been asked more than once how I can be a feminist and wear lipstick; how I can be a feminist and want to be a mother; how I can be a feminist and wear an apron. (The short answer: 'cause feminism is about choice, and that's what I choose!) But still, I try to reconcile my admiration of the past with a look toward the future. And it's hard sometimes. I have to continue to think about it.

All that said, enjoy some of the details from the 1961 Betty Crocker Cookbook after the jump...while I watch pretty people dance on TV!

The first few sections of the book are the best, and the illustrations are priceless. This is all before you get to the section that suggests menus, like Caroline Kennedy's birthday party menu (roast chicken, mashed potatoes with clown faces--what?--green peas, ice cream molds in clown and animal shapes) and "Jimmy Durante's Choice" (shrimp cocktail, tossed salad with Umbriago dressing, broiled steak, baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, fruit in season). I'm coming to realize that Americans have always eaten lots of food, when economics have allowed them to.

Then, there are these pages...

The Betty Crocker test kitchens, complete with Betty Crocker-employed model women.

Kitchen Know-How with Hints for the Homemaker, including "Plan Ahead" (assemble your ingredients), "Be Comfortable" (wear easy-fitting clothes, and remember, "Good posture prevents fatigue"), and "Refresh Your Spirits" (which apparently means "Think pleasant thoughts" and "have a hobby," not "Mother's Little Helper never hurt anyone"). The woman in the top left corner is teaching her lower-right-hand daughter well.

This woman is using her super-modern kitchen-sized computer to make recipe calculations. And above her, my favorite illustration in this whole book...

"Oh my good Lord, my husband is bringing his boss home for dinner and I haven't any baking soda!" (I think I just watched this episode of Mad Men. Betty had to give her steak to Roger Sterling.)

This is actually really useful. There's a whole section on how to prepare foods for cooking, with illustrative photos.

Men cooked in the 1960s! Well, you know, they grilled. (Oh, man, something supremely nerdy just clicked for me. I'll spare you, but it's fascinating in my head. It's about ancient Greece, so I'll spare you.)

And finally, this is what a good dinner spread looked like in 1961. If you were serving an international menu of Sukiyaki, Chicken Curry, and Enchiladas:

Yum.

This Weekend's Fresh Buys

2010-05-23T16:58:00.000-04:00

I had an extremely successful day at the Fenton Street Market yesterday, starting with...a Scavenger Hunt win! Every week, the Market's Powers That Be hide a few items in various booths, and if you find one, you get to keep it. I, having never won anything since the Precious Moments figurine at my grandmother's Bingo game when I was seven (picture this for a second: a room full of seventy-year-old Jews vying over a Precious Moments figurine), usually don't even look for the scavenger hunt items.

But! Yesterday, my friend Debbie dragged me into a yarn booth. I have nothing against yarn, I just find knitting to be too math-centric and repetitive. So, while Debbie talked to the woman behind the spinning wheel--which was, admittedly, extremely cool--I zoned out looking at the pretty colors of yarn on the table. My eyes scanned up and down the rows of skeins, until I saw it...

The jar of Lana Bella Simpler Summer Days Tea! I was so excited!

(More excitement after the jump...I'm pretty enthused about the great stuff I got yesterday.)
We went over to the Lana Bella booth and schmoozed for a minute, got our picture taken (look out for Debbie and I on the Fenton Street Market's blog this week), and then set to ten minutes or so of smelling all of the Lana Bella soaps.

I love getting things for free, but seriously, if I win something from your booth, I'm going to buy something and kick you a couple of bucks. I walked away with a bar of delicious-smelling (and, I can vouch after a shower, great-feeling) Vanilla-Lavender Soap. I'm more than confident with my decision, but there are, like, ten more soaps I'm dying to bring home next time--specifically, the Ginger Fish and Tomato Leaf, among them. Jenni, the soap-maker, was also very cool.

We wandered next "door" to the Yummy and Company booth next. I've been reading this blog since first seeing the jewelry at the inaugural Fenton Street Market last year, and I was so excited to be able to talk to the artist and buy something! I got a fantastic clay cocktail ring. I love it because it's so tongue-in-cheek. It would be incredibly gaudy if it were an actual gemstone, but this was just perfect. (My picture's not great, but it looks like a turquoise version of this ring. Awesome.) I'm going to keep an eye on her etsy shop, too, but it's always great to buy straight from the source. :)

Went over to Big Moon Little Stars's booth next, since I can't keep myself away! I talked with Sue for a while, and then bought a couple of juice glasses. I'd post pictures, but the illustration on the glasses is a little...cheeky. (Tee-hee!) Big Moon Little Stars doesn't have a website, but Sue is planning to list some awesome items on her ebay page.

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped off at the Silver Spring Farmer's Market. It smelled so strongly of strawberries on my way past earlier, I couldn't not go. We wound up buying strawberries and lettuce from Spiral Path Farm and Allegheny Chevre from Firefly Farms, and tossed up a salad when we got home, adding almonds and a vinaigrette lovingly made by Jake. We also had a loaf of sourdough from Atwater's Bakery.

And to drink with lunch while we watched our marathon of Muppet movies?

Lana Bella iced tea! Yum.

To Dye For

2010-05-16T22:29:00.000-04:00

The closest I ever come to doing anything scientific in my every day life--other than writing lesson plans--is dying my hair. I always feel like a mad scientist when I'm mixing the chemicals together, wearing the latex gloves, and watching the liquids turn from white to dark purple (usually). And so, as I sit here with the contents of a bottle of Feria on my head (a brand I haven't used in the better part of a decade), I'm thinking about the choice to be a redhead.

I'm a natural brunette, and I do think my natural hair color is pretty cute. I can't remember when I got my first set of highlights--maybe around 15? I do remember sitting in the chair at my salon, with a plastic cap on my head, having my hair pulled through tiny little holes with a pick. Or whatever. Tiny little blonde streaks in my hair. Totally '90s.

Right after I graduated from high school, I got the one and only trendy haircut of my life: sliced to right below my chin (necessitating serious blow-drying), thick bleached-out sections, then the whole head dyed red, amounting to three two-inch streaks of fire-engine red on each side of my head. The rest of my hair was very dark. Essentially the same color Courteney Cox had in Scream 2, except I did it first. I swear. Still, totally '90s.

And thus began my love affair with red hair.

My first home-dye was on the floor of my dorm room, freshman year, with my friend Kim working the L'Oreal magic. I've only gotten my color done in a salon once or twice since then; a stylist actually told me once that I was doing a pretty good job myself, and I didn't need someone else to do it for me. I turned my hair every shade of red imaginable, from strawberry blonde to fire-engine red to so-red-it's-black (which was my hair color when I met Jake).

When I hit 25, I decided to go blonde, which really only meant light reddish, since (to my surprise, for some reason), it's nigh-on impossible to get red dye out of your hair. Then, at 27, I decided I would never-ever-ever dye my hair again, and instead, would be happy with myself the way I was born, and embrace being a brunette.

Then, I turned thirty. And I realized I like dying my hair; I like being a redhead. And so, back to red it was. I'm trying for the slow transition. I went from brunette to dark auburn to lighter auburn, and now, as I sit with my head marinating, it's even redder. And I feel more me.

Have I doomed my life to box after box of chemistry sets drying my hair out? Probably. Or, I'll do like my mom and highlight my way into graying "naturally." But, for now, I'm happy to be amongst the ranks of Rita Hayworth, Lucille (McGillicutty Ricardo) Ball, Molly Ringwald, Julianne Moore, and, my hair idol since the late nineties:

Willow Rosenberg.

Food to Swap By

2010-05-14T22:16:00.001-04:00

ThirtyFlirtyFab brings you...The much-anticipated...Recipes from last weekend's clothing swap! The party was a success for many reasons, but if I do say so myself (which I do...) I really outdid myself with the food.

Like I've said before, Jake is really the cook in the family. I can put together a mean salad, but I've been stretching myself recently with the cooking thing. The goal is to cook dinner about once a week--something that doesn't happen as often as it should during busy-at-work times like I've had recently. I do enjoy cooking--and I really enjoy eating--but I get nervous sometimes when it comes to making a meal. Something about putting ingredients together makes me squeamish sometimes...I'm not sure what.

Anyway, when I decided to have this party, I thought I'd go beyond making a cheese plate and actually attempt a full-table buffet with substantial party food. I wanted to make some things I was comfortable, and some new items. So, out came my recipe binder, and Cook's Illustrated's The Best Make-Ahead Recipe book. The party took place during cocktail hour, so I made strategic choices in food and drink. I was excited about how good everything tasted, and I'm definitely adding a couple of items to my repertoire!

Recipes after the jump...

Curry-Cilantro Dip and Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Dip

The dip recipes come from The Best Make-Ahead Recipe. The folks at Cook's Illustrated have a one-size-fits-all creamy dip base recipe, to which you can add any flavorins you like. I chose these two, and they went over big-time.

Creamy Dip Base
Mix 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 3/4 cup sour cream, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice together, then stir in a flavor add-in (the book has directions for a Blue Cheese-Scallion Dip, Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Dip, Jalapeno-Lime Dip, Tapenade Dip, and Curry-Cilantro Dip), and season with salt and pepper to taste. Allow the dip to sit for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to meld. The dip will keep, covered, and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Be sure to re-season the dip with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice to taste before serving.
Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Dip
Add 1/4 cup finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (I added slightly more, plus a couple of drops of the oil in the jar) and 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves.
Curry-Cilantro Dip
Add 1 minced shallot, 2 teaspoons curry powder, and 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves. (I got mine from the Silver Spring Farmer's Market on Saturday. A lucky find!)

I served the dips with pita chips--Jake cut a few rounds of whole-wheat pita into wedges and baked them briefly until they were crunchy, so they'd hold the dip more solidly.

Peanut Butter Fudge

No party spread would be complete without something sweet. And so, I bring you...Alton Brown's Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge!

Ingredients
1 cup butter, plus more for greasing the pan (I used Pam, and it worked out just fine)
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar (1 box)
Directions
Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave on high for 2 more minutes. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to mixture, and stir to combine with a wooden spoon. (I add the powdered sugar in four installments, to make it easier to stir.) Pour into buttered 8x8 pan lined with wax or parchment paper. Place a second piece of wax or parchment paper on surface of the fudges and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Yes, it will feel like cheating because it's so easy. But it's good fudge that just happens to be easy!

My Special Drink I Made Up*

I created this one night when Jake and I were having a night in. It's still being perfected in pitcher-form--which I wasn't measuring at all, making it way too strong for some of my guests. This recipe is for one serving.

Semi-Girly but Mostly Spohisticated Drink*
Pour grapefruit juice into ice cube mold and put in freezer until...frozen.
Put 3 ice cubes in a rocks glass
Pour 1.5 ounces of vodka over the ice cubes
Add 2 ounces of ginger beer
(Optional: add a sprig or two of fresh thyme)
Stir
Drink

Delish!

Roasted Artichoke Dip

OK, I know I said I'd give you the recipes I used...But I have to keep some things up my sleeve! This dip went fast; it was delicious. I served it with some beer bread Jake had made that day, cut into 2-inch cubes. Yum. It's absolutely going into my regular rotation.

I also served Barefoot Sparkling Rose, as well as Coke and Caffeine-Free Diet Coke (spiked with a little Malibu Rim for mom on her special day). My friend Jennie brought some cheese and crackers, and mom brought her famous Hello Dollies.

*I'd love to come up with a name for this drink. A special prize (to be decided on later) to the reader who suggests the best name! Leave your suggestions in the comments.

I Feel Pretty...

2010-05-12T22:13:00.000-04:00

In light of my sartorial distraction, I made a now-year's resolution. (OK, the term's not great--although it's growing on me--but you get the point!) I decided that I'm not allowed to have anything in my closet that doesn't make me feel good. If I put something on, stare at myself in the mirror, and have to ask whether or not I look good, that item shouldn't be in my closet.

That's all well and good to say, right? But on a non-profit budget, how to make it happen? As I've discovered, I have a specific aesthetic to which I gravitate, but how can I actually make it happen without blowing the bank? These were questions I thought hard about while I cleaned out my closet, and put a garbage bag-and-a-half full of clothes, shoes, and accessories in the corner of my bedroom. (Of course, the fact that I share a bedroom with Jake gave me more of a push to get rid of that garbage bag; he shouldn't have to live with my clothing cast-offs!)

And then I had the a-ha moment: why not host a clothing swap?? I've been to a couple, but never hosted one myself. It seemed like the perfect solution. I could get rid of my clothes, hopefully get some new ones for free, give a bunch of clothes to charity, and give my friends an opportunity to get rid of their own cast-offs. Plus, it would give me a chance to play hostess and practice making party food. (But that's another post.)

So, it was! I had my swap on Sunday (and invited my mom, so I could toast her on Mother's Day). I cooked, I prepped, I bought booze. I collected clothes from friends who couldn't attend, and laid them out in the living room with my clothes before my guests arrived so they could go "shopping" right away. I made a mix on my iPod. I poured myself a glass of sparkling rose, and I was ready.

Major success! They came, they "shopped," we swapped. Friends came with tote bags, garbage bags, gift bags, and rolling suitcases. They went home with earrings, pants, dresses...and one friend even left with a gorgeous area rug! And my mom took twelve or so bags home with her, to donate to The House of Ruth. And I must say...I made out like a bandit. :) I feel like my wardrobe has been rejuvenated. (And I'm continuing my streak of feeling pretty...honestly and truly pretty...for a week and a half straight.)

Of course, one of the hallmarks of a successful shopping trip (free, second-hand, or otherwise) is that you can incorporate your new finds into your existing wardrobe. Some of the outfits I've worn, and some I can't wait to wear, after the jump...

Sunday

Mine: T-shirt & shoes. Swapped: white pants, which I was thrilled to find for summer!

Monday

Mine: gray slacks & shoes. Swapped: three-quarter sleeved magenta sweater. Apparently, I'm really into pink right now. Who knew?

Tuesday

Mine: olive green three-quarter sleeved shirt & jeans. Swapped: oatmeal-colored crocheted cardigan & suede heels.

Wednesday

Mine: gray sweater & jeans. Swapped: magenta beaded cardigan & super-hot black leather boots.

And I can't wait to wear...

Mine: floral print skirt & green-and-white wedges. Swapped: off-white, puff-sleeved, swiss-dot blouse.

Mine: black cotton tank top & black shoes with cork wedges. Swapped: pink cotton skirt.

I also got two dresses, a few more pairs of heels, three more blouses...Wow. Clothing swap, FTW. (Next up: food, drink, and music to swap by.)

The Anniversary Post

2010-04-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, yes, our anniversary was yesterday. But I had a long day at work and then we went out to an amazing dinner, and so I didn't get to blog. So, forgive me...While I make you look at wedding pictures! (And review a new local restaurant.)

All after the jump...

Jake and I got married well before we created our Facebook accounts, and so our photos have never been uploaded to these here interwebs. I find it so interesting that photos are available immediately now. If I go to a wedding, I can be sure I'll be able to reminisce and feel nostalgic about the day's festivities 24 hours after the fact. I remember that for my bat mitzvah, we had to wait for what seemed like ever before getting the album. We had real-life proofs, printed on actual photo paper. And a real, hard-cover book. The turnaround time for our photos was relatively quick; our photographer was fully digital, and we created an album on Shutterfly, from a CD of proofs. But we didn't have day-after photos. It's an interesting instant-gratification world we live in...But that's a topic for another post.

I'll only bore you with a few pics, the ones I really love. Groan over the adorable mushiness of a three-year-married lady, and scroll through to read my review of 8407 Kitchen Bar.

Mom and dad walk me down the aisle. We immediately start cracking up.

Jake and I boogie to Springsteen's "Rosalita."

Jake's parents dance.

My parents dance.

So picturesque, no?

So, that's it. Not too-super-mushy. There are tons more I wanted to post, but I figured I'd spare my dear readers. :)

So, I got home last night, and we immediately whisked ourselves off to the newest restaurant in Silver Spring (at least until Pacci's Pizza opens, maybe this week?), 8407 Kitchen Bar. We've been excited to go there since we first heard it was opening, but...you know, budget and all. But, we figured, what better time to splurge than on our anniversary?

We budgeted for one drink and one entree each, and I played it safe by ordering a South African Chenin Blanc. I'm going to go for a cocktail next time, for sure; I can't wait to try the Ginger Lime Martini, and The Obvious Flirt looks delish--although I have to say, I hate the name.

The first thing we ordered was the french fries. Because, honestly, if you see a menu item listed as "fried in duck fat," you have to get it. While Jake and I agreed that we would have appreciated an aioli, or some other tangy dinnping sauce, the fries themselves were pretty well perfection. They were crispy and earthy and everything french fries should be. Yum.

For our main course, Jake ordered the halibut, which was done extremely well (in the sense of "very delicious," not "spent a long time over heat"). The presentation was gorgeous, but he said the sauces didn't really add much to the taste of the dish. The fish itself was so tasty, though, I'm not really sure it mattered.

I had the duck breast which was utter perfection. Incredibly crispy skin, and deep, deep pink inside. Very tender. The breast was served over lentils, which were cooked just al dente enough. There was a real toothsomeness, which lent an interesting texture to the dish. I don't know what was in the sauce, but it was a great blend of tangy and sweet. Jake thinks that there might have been Asian five spices in the sauce.

Fully sated from dinner, we came home, downloaded The Hangover On Demand (what? It's about a guy who's getting married!) and sat down with a bottle of Prosecco and the Mystery Dessert Jake made the night before...

New York style cheesecake! With strawberries! A very successful anniversary, if I do say so myself. I can't wait to go back to 8407. The menu will change consistently with the season, and there are absolutely affordable bar options. I look forward to eating a cuban sandwich at the bar, while drinking a ginger-lime martini...Mmmm...

Oh, and no discussion of our wedding would ever possibly be complete without my favorite non-bride or -groom picture...Honestly, one of my favorite pictures that has ever been taken of anyone, any where:

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe.

Why Theatre? (Or, Spring in the Spring, Part II)

2010-04-26T23:53:00.000-04:00

It's no secret to most of my readers that I work at a children's theatre. And I love my job. I'm one of the lucky few, I know. My stock line is that I have two degrees in theatre, and I'm lucky enough to use them for my full-time paying job. But it's not just luck; I work damn hard. In one facet of my job, we talk a lot about the power of the arts. We call it a testimony. And I think it's time for me to testify.

I've been thinking a lot recently about why theatre. It's impossible not to when I have to talk to five hour-long high school classes about why I do what I do. And it's compounded by the fact that I constantly have to explain what the hell a dramaturg is. :)

"Why theatre?" Find out after the jump...

A new play opened at work a couple of weeks ago, and it's astounding. That really is the perfect word for it, I think. I've seen it three times already, and always come out humming the music (we're a veritable chorus up in the admin offices). It's challenging, thrilling, sophisticated, sad, and funny. The set is gorgeous. The performances are fantastic. And yet, we're getting complaints from adults.

The complaints seem to stem from the "challenging" and "sad" aspects of the show. In my opinion, the play gives parents a great opportunity to talk to their children about serious subjects...if they ask or get upset. And when I spoke to the playwright, she made a statement I agree with to an incredible level: why pander to children, and talk down to them, instead of writing for them as if they were people (which they are!), and, in the process, also entertaining their parents? The script's references to Marx and the proletariat (in a funny way, I promise) are some of my favorite moments in the play. I don't believe in talking down to students, nor in presenting them with a world that is sunshine and rainbows at all times (although I do believe plays can certainly be light and airy!). Like our Artistic Director says, the only thing theatre for young audiences has to do that might be different from theatre for adults is always present a sense of hope. And this play has that in spades.

So, why theatre? Why the arts?

I believe in the power of the arts to change the world, to educate, to change the way people think. My life is theatre for young audiences and youth theatre, and I make my living by educating students--and their teachers--through the arts. Good theatre for young audiences is there to educate as well as entertain, to facilitate conversations between children and their parents and caregivers, to expand their view of the world in which they live. And so, I recognize the education can go beyond the classroom, and into the world.

Be a Voice Arts

This was also what I took away from the Human Rights Art Festival this weekend. I only went to a handful of events--certainly fewer than I had meant to--but they certainly got me thinking. My favorite event was the panel on the use of the arts for social transformation. I listened to a group of artists talk about their activism through theatre, the double meaning of the word "act" (to act politically and act on stage), the profitability of activist theatre, and whether this type of theatre ultimately means more to the artists or to the audiences. One of my favorite points was that the goal doesn't necessarily have to be for an entire audience to rise from their seats and begin to protest or donate money or what-have-you. An artist has to realize that everyone in the audience is walking their own steps in their own individual processes, and all one can hope for is that every audience member winds up one step further. Brilliant. This is, indeed, what I want from the arts. I also appreciated the outlook that these plays are not about messages; they're about stories. There is no message in a story.

I visited the visual arts installation next, and found myself particularly taken by the works of art railing against domestic violence. I'm not a visual artist in the least, myself, and it's always fascinating for me to see what others can do with the media in front of them.

I do believe in the power of the arts to entertain, but I think artists have a responsibility to educate their audiences--adults as well as children--and to do it well. I hope I can contribute to that.

Spring in the Spring: This Week at the Fenton Street Market

2010-04-25T14:51:00.001-04:00


Thanks to my model!

In a recent interview with the American Theatre Wing, Stephen Sondheim said that he loved to listen to people talk about how they do what they do. In honor of Mr. Sondheim's (rather belated) 80th birthday, I'd like to agree with that sentiment! I spent a good part of the day yesterday doing just that.

Yesterday was a great Spring day in Silver Spring, as I wandered around between the Fenton Street Market and the Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival. It was a little bit rainy and overcast, but all of that was forgotten with my bag of Migue's Magnificent Mini Donuts, baked fresh in their booth. (I got to the Market nice and early so I could have a fresh breakfast, and man, was it worth it! The booth even smelled like heaven! There's a tray with toppings--chocolate syrup, confectioner's sugar, sprinkles, and the like--to the side of the booth, but I had pure, unadulterated donuts. Delish!)

And now for something we think you'll really enjoy: a picture of the Magnificent Mini Donuts!

The next half hour or so took me from booth to booth. I had a really interesting talk with Sue from Big Moon Little Stars (from whom I bought the Julia Child cookbooks last week) about the differences between being someone who sells antiques, and being someone who sells something they produced. We talked about the kinds of people who come to a market like ours: people who come only for the crafts, people who come only for the antiques, and people who want to look at everything--the set she thinks is the smallest of all. Sue thinks that as the spring and summer go on, the groups will start to mingle more, and more people will be interested in everything the Market has to offer. Very interesting.

I also got a chance to talk with Betty from Bette's Bags about how she gets her ideas, and how she makes her super-cute wares. All of her pieces are one-of-a-kind, and so if you see something you like on her site or at the Market, snap it up! I got one of these adorable felted flowers in olive green.

(My photo didn't turn out very well, so this one is from the Bette's Bags website.) I'm going to pin it to so many cardigans... :) Betty was also so sweet. She posted a comment last week, and when I introduced myself to her, she stood up and gave me a huge hug! We chatted for a bit, and it was a great experience, talking and looking at her bags.

I also got this great tea towel from Open Eyes Press:

It looks great in our kitchen, and even better in our bar area.

After saying hi to Hannah and Debbie (the brainchildren of the Market, who are doing such an amazing job) and buying a "vintage" 1980s necklace from an antiques booth, I made my way to my first stop at the Human Rights Art Festival..But I'll leave my thoughts on the panel and art installations I saw in a later post, I think. This one's pretty long already!

By the way, if you like the Fenton Street Market poster in the picture, it's for sale in a very limited edition printing.

My Sartorial Distraction

2010-04-24T10:11:00.001-04:00

I think a lot about what to wear. Enough so that it stymies me sometimes. How can someone who is fortunate enough to have a (shallow) walk-in closet full of dresses, skirts, and cute tops, as well as a dresser with pants and more shirts, feel like she has nothing to wear?

I mentioned in another post that sometimes I have a problem when there are too many choices, and this is no exception. But this inability to decide (which I hate for many reasons, but most of all because it reinforces a stereotype that women just can't decide what to wear) is compounded by the fact that I've recently realized that I have an image I'd like to project, and I'm not sure whether or not I'm actually getting there.

What better image for a "professional theatre geek" than a "sexy librarian?" I've got the glasses, I've got the curves, I've got at least three pencil skirts, many more cute A-lines, and plenty of cardigans. So, what's the problem?

Good question. I mean, I know there is one, I'm just not sure what it is.

I work in a "business casual" environment, which is a phrase, I realize, fraught with potential misunderstanding. I like to say that you can tell which department someone works in by what they're wearing: Marketing tends to be pretty casual; Development tends toward the formal, more traditional work wear. And Education? We're a veritable grab-bag. When we're teaching, we're scrubby (which means no skirts on Thursdays for me, lest I have to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce). When we have to meet with potential funders, we're a bit more dressed up. And the rest of the time, our choice of office wear is completely up in the air. "They" say to take your fashion cues from your boss--well, mine wears man-pris with dragons printed on them.

I try to trend towards the cute, slightly-dressy and slightly-funky, with a side of "sexy librarian," and I think I'm pretty successful. But of course, I have many days where I'm just not sure if I look good or not. My new rule is to never leave the apartment with the question "does this look OK?" in my head. The answer has to be "yes." And I'm working on ways to only own clothing that works with my aesthetic ('cause I guess I have one) and not spend a ton of money ('cause I don't have a whole lot). I recognize what my body type is; I recognize what types of clothes look best on me; and my mom taught me how to shop. :)

But I find myself thinking about this topic more and more frequently as I freelance and talk at Career Days. Every table read, every first rehearsal, is an opportunity to meet new people and make a first impression. And so every time I have one of these experiences, I feel the need to dress "perfectly," even though I know there's no such thing, and give off the right impression. Sheesh!

So, I wrote a song about it.

OK, to be fair, I took a song that already existed and wrote new lyrics. After the jump, I bring you..."My Sartorial Distraction," based on the song "My Unfortunate Erection" from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, written by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin.

"My Sartorial Distraction"

(To be sung to the tune of "My Unfortunate Erection, or just enjoyed as a poem.)

It’s my condition
That the grown-up feminist theatre geek
Has an ambition
Towards fashionable cognition.
You can believe in equality
But still like lipstick and to look pretty.

Anyone for Audrey?
Anyone for Joan Holloway?
Anyone for the Vargas Girl?
The look’s not dated.
Some curves and glasses can’t be
Overrated.
But I can’t decide—
I stand at my closet,
My eyes open wide…

My sartorial distraction
Is enacting my inaction.
It is my recollection
That everything I once wore
I wore imperfectly.
Why not just throw on a T-shirt?
Because of
“Business casual?”
What the hell does that mean? That’s no dress code!
The choices could make a girl’s head explode.

My trend to fashion interruptus
Does it stem from the fear that others one-upped us?
Why not wear a pencil skirt?
Delicious and appropriate.
Just can’t wear a button-down?
Buttons pop.
I could just be the sexy librarian,
If my head weren’t so goddamn contrarian.

Distraction
Distraction
My sartorial distraction
Whoa
It’s ruining my life
It’s ruining my world
It’s ruining my
Ruining
Ruining
Ruining my life
My life

Adulthood brings social interaction
But talking fashion leads to chain
Reaction
I can’t dress to satisfaction
All because of my sartorial
Distraction
Oh God!

Coming This Weekend: Arts Festival in Silver Spring!

2010-04-21T18:27:00.000-04:00

This weekend, the Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival is coming to Silver Spring. I picked up a pamphlet at Jackie's Sidebar the other night, and have been carrying around with me ever since. And--huge nerd that I am--I've been circling events I'm particularly excited about. I have to keep a pretty detailed day planner, so I don't accidentally overbook myself (ah, the hardships of being a Helen Hayes judge...), and I finally put a few events in. In pen.

I feel as though, being a person who works in the arts and having this festival literally across the street from me, I would be incredibly remiss if I didn't participate in some way or other. This festival will bring together theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts to, as the official website says,

"raise awareness of the important work that Amnesty undertakes, as well as the quintessentially American values that they espouse."

I'm a firm believer in the power of the arts to enact social change, and so this is right up my alley. I'm hoping there will be a great (and peaceful--I'm looking at you, Stop the Violence concert) turnout, bringing consciousness to our area, and, more importantly, to the issues with which Amnesty International is concerned.

So, on Saturday, early morning at the Fenton Street Market (I can't wait to see the vendors this week!), then to the Festival for a panel discussion on using theatre for social transformation (11:30 @ Pyramid Arts), Killer Fashion Revolution (all day in the Sculpture Garden), and Petticoats to Politics (8:30 @ Jackie's). There are other workshops and performances I'm interested in, but I think I'll take it "easy," wander around, and see what else catches my fancy. That's the point of a Festival anyway, right? (A friend of mine is performing in a reading of Waiting for Lefty on Sunday at 3pm @ McGinty's--definitely worth checking out.)

The Human Rights Art Festival will take place all over Downtown Silver Spring, from 10:30am on Friday until after 10pm on Sunday. Click here for a schedule of events.

Late to the Party...

2010-04-19T23:13:00.000-04:00

OK, y'all, I came late to the party, but now I'm hooked. "On what?" You might ask. "To what could our dear, sweet blogger be addicted? To some illicit drug?" (Perish the thought.) "To cupcakes?" (Well, I am excited about the free cupcake (!) coupon I found in my office mailbox from Just Cakes, but sadly, no, that's not what I'm talking about.)

"Well what on earth are you talking about?" you might be asking in your best exasperated but intrigued voice. Find out after the jump...

It's Polyvore!

Oh my god, you guys, this is way too much fun. You search, click and drag, and put together outfits. I get overwhelmed by too much choice, so I've been making up characters and creating mostly vintage-inspired looks for them, like "Tea Time":

Tea Time by jennbook featuring Casadei shoes

And "Heiress, 1950s":

Heiress, 1950s by jennbook featuring Zimmermann swimwear

But I also put an outfit together for potential Gala-going:

Fancy Pink by jennbook featuring Miu Miu shoes

So much fun. I've been doing this for the last two hours. It's all about the fantasy: who could I be? What could I be? Where? Imagine the implications for costume designers!

I love what Jezebel did with the site, too. However, while the editors look at it as a marker of conspicuous consumption, I question whether most of the people on the site are using it to put together thousand-dollar outfits they'd actually wear, or whether most look at their creations, like I do, as works of fantasy. It's an electronic paper doll, one on whom you don't actually see the body--and, unlike fashion models, who are supposed to be walking embodiments of clothes hangers, this site really IS all about the clothes. It's the next coming of Fashion Plates--which were, I think we can all agree, amazing.

Yes, the clothes on the site are mostly very expensive. But I've found pieces from a few indie sellers, as well as Target so far. And all of this without the threat of having to buy something because I just happened to find it in my hand. (What can I say? I like to touch fabrics.) And also: pretty!

I think I'm hooked.

Scenes from the Fenton Street Market

2010-04-18T21:03:00.000-04:00

The Fenton Street Market re-opened this weekend, and I was thrilled to go and do some indie-shopping. After a successful trial run last spring/summer, the Market will be open every Saturday from 9am-3pm, until October 31.

Right now, there's a roster of 60 or so vendors, who will be at the Market on a rotating schedule, so you can never be quite sure what kind of awesomeness you'll be walking amongst. (I just found out that after a morning at the Farmer's Market, partaking in an amazing breakfast of Caramel-Pear Danish from Praline Bakery--I love talking to the French baker who's selling their wares, and their macarons are also fantastic--I missed out on fresh donuts from Migue's Magnificent Mini Donuts...maybe next time.)

So, what might be in store for you if you drop by the Market--which is conveniently located in a vacant parking lot on Fenton Avenue & Silver Spring Street? Well, like me, you could...

Buy a beautiful bracelet made of natural materials (these are freshwater pearl and ORANGE PEEL--I got one in yellow) from calamarie.

Kinda-sorta wish you had a kid so you could buy one of these cool handmade wooden toys from Unexpected Surprises.

Wander around and marvel at all of the booths, both the ones manned by the artists who created those wares, and the ones who just looked like they cleaned out their grandmother's (or their own) attics. Finally buy a miniature bust of Michelangelo's David for $3, and...

Two formerly free-with-purchase recipe books from Julia Child's TV show The French Chef!

I also watched screenprinting workshops, listened to a folk band, saw toy trains move slowly around their track, and drooled over jewelry from Little Blue Studio, among other vendors. I'll definitely be back; if not next weekend, then absolutely sometime soon.

The Passover Food Post

2010-04-04T22:24:00.000-04:00

And here it is! This was the first year I attempted to make any sort of Passover food; I usually commit myself to a steady diet of matzah-and-cream-cheese or matzah-and-peanut-butter, and often fall off the wagon around day five. This year, I decided I was (mostly) going to go the distance, and, as per one of my goals for the year, cook something I've never cooked before. Done!

On Monday, one of my coworkers brought blondies into the office. Normally, I love blondies. During Passover, not so much. Then, on Tuesday, my boss mentioned the word "cupcakes" one too many times. I decided then and there to make chocolate-toffee matzah candy.

This morning, I made matzah brei. Jake has been asking me to make breakfast for a while--he does breakfast so well, and it's about time I pitch in--but for some reason, I get really nervous when I even think about cooking an egg. Don't ask why; I don't know. So, I figured: now or never. And it worked out pretty well!

Recipes after the jump.

Chocolate Toffee Matzah Candy

(Recipe from The Kitchn)

The website calls this "Matzo Crack," and I thoroughly agree! Salty, sweet, and crunchy...It was perfect comfort food. It should be noted that you can make this any other time of year on Saltines, but since I'll have an extra box of matzah hanging around after the holiday is over, I'm looking forward to making another "traditional" batch.

Makes about 30 pieces of candy; can yield more or fewer, depending on how big you like your pieces.

4 to 5 pieces of matzah
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate OR semi-sweet chocolate chips
Toppings, as desired (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and/or parchment paper.
Place the matzah in one layer on the baking sheet, breaking it when necessary to fill the pan completely. Set aside.
In a large sauce pan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly. (The "stirring constantly" direction was odd for me, since I've always been told not to touch sugar as it's cooking, or else you'll form crystals. The crystal-forming really worked out in this circumstance!)
Once the mixture reaches a boil, continue to cook for an additional three minutes, still stirring, until thickened and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and pour over the matzah, spreading an even layer with a heat-proof spatula.
Put the pan in the oven, then immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't burn. If it looks like it is starting to burn, turn heat down to 325.
After 15 minutes, the toffee should have bubbled up and turned a rich golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate over the pan. Let sit for five minutes, then spread the now-melted chocolate evenly with a spatula.
You can leave it just as is, enjoying the simplicity. Or add your favorite toppings while the chocolate is still melted.(I added sea salt to some pieces, walnuts to others, and left still more untouched. The Kitchn also suggests adding crystallized ginger or peanut butter chips. Both sound good to me!)
Let cool completely, then break into smaller pieces and store in an airtight container. The container I brought to work lasted about an hour, eaten by my coworkers. Jake and I managed to squeeze four days out of our batch. I hear tell the candy lasts a week. I may not ever find out if that's accurate.

Matzah Brei

(Recipe culled from many different sources.)

I made this one in true Jewish-cook fashion, going by intuition and without a recipe in front of me. OK, so I looked up a bunch of online recipes, but they all seemed to go in a similar direction. Here's what I did:

Serves two-to-four.

4 pieces of matzah
4 large eggs (I figure essentially a 1-1 ratio of matzah-to-eggs is key)
A couple of tablespoons unsalted butter (I used three)
Heaping pinch Kosher salt
Couple of grinds of black pepper

Break the matzah into bite-sized pieces--not too small.
Soak the pieces in hot water until they've just softened. (Recipes I looked at listed anywhere from 15 seconds to a couple of minutes. Take my word for it: a minute and a half is too long.) Squeeze the water out.
In a small bowl, combine the eggs, salt, and pepper. Beat with a fork until smooth, as if you're making scrambled eggs. Which you kind of are. Put the matzah pieces in the egg mixture and gently stir to coat.
Heat a 12-inch pan over medium-high heat. Melt the butter. When the butter has stopped foaming, pour in the egg-matzah mixture.
Flip the egg-matzah mixture when the bottom starts to brown. Take out of the pan when the eggs are done.

I hear tell you can grate an onion into the egg mixture if you want savory matzah brei. Others have suggested putting cinnamon and brown sugar into the egg mixture, in lieu of salt and pepper. You can serve with maple syrup, if you like. I prefer jelly or jam. Raspberry preserves were delish this morning.

Ode to Silver Spring

2010-04-03T19:18:00.002-04:00

Today was a fantastic day to spend outside, and I tried to take advantage of as much as I could. Since I'm loath to brave the Cherry Blossom crowd, I found some other things to do, and had a great time supporting local folks.

I know I promised a post about matzah crack, but the local fun I had today was too much not to blog about. The journey--full of hyperlinks so you can check stuff out--after the jump...
First stop: The Puppet Company at Glen Echo Park, to do some Helen Hayes judging. Then, a quick walk around the park's yurts (where I learned more about the origin of yurts than I think I'll ever need). Would have gone into the Discovery Garden, but it's $5 for non-members, and I'm not so much flush at the moment. Enjoyed the sun on the walk to the parking lot instead.

Second stop: When I got home (my friend Debbie in tow), Jake reminded us of the Big Cherry Block Party going on right across the street. He bought a kick-ass T-shirt from local designer/shirt seller Sharp Shirter, and I wanted one, too. So, downstairs we went. I couldn't eat the street food (Passover means no funnel cake), but it sure smelled good. We walked Ellsworth, took in some good local art, and completed my T-shirt buying mission. (I got this one. I bought this one a couple of weeks ago at ArtSpring, and am coveting several more.)

Third (and fourth) stop(s): Mission accomplished, we made our way down Georgia Avenue, stopping off at The Greek Place for lunch and Dale Music for sheet music.

Fifth stop: Lastly, we dipped into Velatis so I could finally try one of their super-expensive treats. I know I said I wasn't going to go there, which was why I learned to make my own caramels. But as a once-in-a-while treat Seriously Amazing. I love that you can see into the back where the magic--candy--is made. I love the display cases, which make the candies look like jewels. And I love the truffles. I bought a hazelnut truffle for myself, and a raspberry one for Jake. And damn if they weren't worth $3 each! The shop will stay a once-in-a-while treat, but it's well worth it, I think.

Tonight: I'm back home for right now (duh), but later this evening, we're going to be trying out Jackie's Sidebar. It just opened on Friday, and I'm really excited to head down there. I'll never argue with a new bar in the neighborhood, especially one right next door to one of my favorite restaurants.

Here's where I wax poetic about Silver Spring: I love my neighborhood. I really do. Especially during the warmer months, there is so much to see and do, so much diversity, that it feels less like a suburb than an urban center. At the same time, there is very much a small-town feel. The block parties lend a spirit of community to the area; it was great to see smiling families downtown, sharing in enjoying local performers, food, and artists. This happens quite frequently, with our block parties, as well as the weekly Farmer's Market, in addition to the craft shows, flea markets, and what-have-you that set up on Ellsworth. Food is very important to Jake and I, and we feel incredibly satisfied in our little area. We can step outside of our apartment, and within less than a half-mile, enjoy Tex-Mex, Cuban, American, Ethiopian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian, Greek...And that's not even including the chain restaurants. Add to that our two movie venues (indie and mainstream), lots of bars (with more being added all the time), performance venues (soon adding The Fillmore, which may open as soon as next Fall), and so much more...This really is a fantastic place to be.

OK, Chamber of Commerce...You can send me my check any time now... :)

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted...

2010-03-17T08:59:00.000-04:00

And...we're off to Disney World! See you 'round Sunday! (Maybe sooner, if I can blog from the hotel room.)

Candy-Making Adventure!

2010-03-16T10:12:00.001-04:00

I've been dying to make salted caramels for months now. The idea of combining the creamy sweetness of caramel with the salty crunchiness of sea salt sounded too delicious for words. I've just been too intimidated by the idea of making candy to actually do it. I had a browser window open with a salted caramel recipe for two weeks or so about a month ago, and would open it, read the directions, salivate a little, then sigh and minimize the window, sure I'd never be able to do it. (I've done the same while walking by Velatis, the new caramel shop on Georgia Ave: look in the window, salivate a little, and then sigh realizing there was no way I could pay $3 for a truffle, or $17 for a box of caramels. The place has gotten great reviews...Someday, they will be mine...)

Imagine my delight, then, when Alton Brown--one of my celebrity geek crushes!--had a show last week featuring salty/sweet foods...And had a recipe for dark salted caramels! I figured if Alton was telling me I could do it, and it would turn out to be Good Eats indeed, I could get off my ass, stop being scared, and do it.

With a little "Don't worry about messing up; it's only food" encouragement from Jake, and his assurance that he'd be on the couch doing work if I needed him, I gathered my ingredients (pictured above--that mysterious brown liquid in the little dish is the secret ingredient: soy sauce) and started making candy.

The adventure begins...after the jump!

The sugar starts to boil...

And starts turning amber.

I stir in the butter and heavy cream. (Hey, no one ever said caramels were good for you.)

The sugar caramelizes as the temperature creeps higher.

And...Caramel! Waiting to be salted.

Sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and starting to cool. For an agonizing three and a half hours!

Cut into adorable little pieces, it looks like candy!

Jake helps me wrap the caramels.

Sixty-four pieces!

I finally get to enjoy the fruits of my labor! I can make candy!

For all of the nervous buildup, it actually wasn't that hard. I had to keep a close eye on the thermometer, and be extra careful when pouring the caramel into the baking dish, but other than that, the hardest part was waiting for the caramels to cool and harden. It was absolutely worth it, though. Creamy, sweet, salty, and crunchy. Delish!

Birthday Food!

2010-03-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

What a great day yesterday! I did practically nothing all day (save watching Miss Congeniality and Sixteen Candles), went to see Eulogy, then came home for an amazing birthday dinner, made by my favorite home chef, Jake.

We have a deal in our house: the birthday boy/girl gets to ask for whatever s/he wants for his/her birthday dinner, and the spouse has to make it. It keeps the birthday dinner budget down, and since food is one of our favorite things to share, keeps it personal. For the last couple of years, Jake has asked for one of my favorite recipes: lamb meatball gyros. They're not super-difficult to make, and I'm so happy he can take so much pleasure from them. He's already asked for them again this year, even though his birthday isn't until May, and I'm already excited to make them. (I only make them once or twice a year, so they don't lose their birthday novelty.) I'll also make some sort of dessert, since I know now I like to bake.

I had to think really hard when he asked me what I wanted to eat on my birthday. He makes so much wonderful food, it was hard to narrow it down. But over and over, my brain kept saying, "Cheese polenta! Cheese polenta!" So, I asked for cheese polenta with some sort of lamb...something... And I got:

Cheese polenta (recipe from Cucina Rustica), spicy lamb sausage, and a radicchio salad with pancetta. Amazingly delicious!

And now, for a medley of birthday cake pictures!

The cake, recipe courtesy Cook's Illustrated. It tasted like the world's best white box cake (which is what the recipe was going for), with the world's best chocolate frosting.

With a big chunk taken out. I won't pretend we didn't eat birthday cake for breakfast, too. I also won't pretend we won't eat birthday cake for breakfast tomorrow.

Looks good, doesn't it? And eaten with a Spumante Dolce--bought for an incredibly good price from Fenwick Beer & Wine--while watching Willow? Birthday perfection.

Countdown to Thirty: Zero Hour!

2010-03-14T14:14:00.000-04:00

That's right, folks: your intrepid blogger is officially thirty years old! As of 1:44 this afternoon! Mom and dad have been called and thanked.

It's been a great day so far. I've been doing essentially nothing, which I don't get to do a whole lot of. Later, I'll be seeing SOOS Sr.'s original play Eulogy. Then, back home for a fantastic meal by my favorite home chef.

Right now, I'm watching Sixteen Candles. No one's forgotten my birthday (geez, the celebration's already been going for over a week), and there will be no panty-showings at any school dances today. But I will be having cake with a great guy named Jake! Just like Samantha Baker's sweet sixteen, I don't see any physical changes--not that I would know what that would look like at thirty; Samantha was expecting something very definite in the area of her chest--and to be fair, I don't really feel any differently than I did yesterday at 29.

But there's a sense of pride that goes with knowing...something...I'm not sure what. That (thank god) I'm not a teenager any more? That (thank god) I'm closer to figuring out who I am than I ever have been before? That (thank god) I'm happier with where I am in my life than I was ten years ago?

Whatever it is, it's pretty good.

Countdown to Thirty: One Day

2010-03-13T11:20:00.000-05:00

Blogging later than usual today, because...well, it's my first day of vacation and I slept until 10:30. That felt SO good. I wasn't even out particularly late last night; one of Jake's former grad school friends (still a friend, but not at GW any more) came to town for the weekend, and we met up out in the city. We should know better than to go to Gallery Place after a Caps game, but our friend wanted a central location, and it's difficult to get people to come out to Silver Spring.

We had a great time, but I couldn't help feeling like the oldest one at the party. Probably because I was the oldest one at the party. It's not a big deal; I get along great with these folks, but sometimes our age differences stand out. The group last night ranged from 23 to 27, plus Jake and I. (We do have a friend who just turned 22, but she wasn't there last night.) Again, it's not a big deal--honestly, it's just a couple of years--and I really like the people around the table. But I'm in a very different place in my life. One of the girls at the table, someone a friend brought and I had never met before, kept cracking me up by remarking on how much she loved me. She capped the evening by saying I was "the best wife ever!" to which pretty much everyone else nodded their agreement. (If I remember correctly, that was because I said I liked strip clubs. Or something.) Jake and I joked that the crowd keeps us young.

Which brings us to my goal for the day: emulate Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30.

The movie is the namesake for this blog--near the beginning, Garner's character Jenna closes her eyes and wishes with all of her heart that she could be "thirty, flirty, and fabulous." I will admit that it's one of the movies that I will watch any time it's on television, regardless of what point in the movie I'm turning on. It's in good company with The Devil Wears Prada and Mean Girls.

So, today, I will:

Smile to the point of dimples.
Be pleasantly surprised with everything in my closet, and how I can fill it out.
Avoid back-stabbers. (Ha!)
Dance at least once to "Love is a Battlefield" and/or "Thriller.
Revel at how well I get along with people younger than me, and the wisdom I can give them.
Realize how lucky I am in my home life (I got the Mark Ruffalo!).
Be proud of something I've done that was outside-of-the-box and artistic.
Walk down the street with "Head Over Heels" running through my head.
Tell my parents I love them.
Take in the world around me with new eyes.

That's "all." Whew!

Countdown to Thirty: Two Days

2010-03-12T08:28:00.000-05:00

Two days to go. Whoo! Went to the SOOS Sr. dress rehearsal last night, and the students (with the attendant adults) did a fantastic job. Can't wait to see it again on Sunday. It was a great way to achieve yesterday's goal: when I see a show I helped develop, it makes me recognize the artistry in collaboration and dramaturgy. I'm going to see Sing and Never Tire, another play I worked on, tomorrow night.

So, on to today's grown-up goal: be okay with walking away. I've been crossing items off of my to-do list at work, and it's seriously satisfying to see all of those "X"es. But there comes a time when one has to erase the completed items and add new ones. When I get to work today, I'll be faced with everything I have to get done by close of business today...or it won't get done for another week! There are a few items I'll be okay with leaving until I get back from vacation. I just have to figure out what they are.

With visions of Disney World (and the great birthday dinner Jake is going to make on Sunday) dancing in my head, it'll be difficult to get anything done today! But I have eight (who am I kidding? Nine) hours to work today, and I will be okay with walking out the door for a week when I leave this afternoon.

Countdown to Thirty: Three Days

2010-03-11T08:26:00.000-05:00

Three days left of my youth (ha! Just kidding), and I'm having a pretty good week so far. My grown-up goal for the day: recognize and appreciate myself as an artist, not just an administrator.

A year or so ago, when looking at my CV, one of my teaching-artists said, "You know, I think of you as an administrator, but you only have, like, two admin jobs on here. The rest of them are teaching or artistic." Well, yeah!

It's difficult sometimes to call myself an artist. Like so many other artists, I make my money with a day job--unlike so many other artists, my day job is actually in the arts, in my field, and I love it. Like so many other artists, I create, usually in collaboration with others--unlike so many other artists, my creations sometimes live in the worlds of research and criticism. I've found that as a dramaturg, it's hard to recognize myself as an artist sometimes, preferring instead the term "grown-up theatre geek." I have to recognize that what I do is, indeed, an art.

During the summer, my colleagues at work and I get to focus more on artistic pursuits, since there are so many actual student shows going up than during the school year. My party line is that it would be easier for me to go after a position if I were a director or a choreographer or something like that. I could say, "Hey, Guys and Dolls! I'd like to direct that!" or something to that effect, and get my artistic fulfillment that way. But I'm a writer, which is a bit harder to go after. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to write a script once a year, and I have a great time with it. I'm more than satisfied having an admin position if I also get that part of me fulfilled, and I recognize how lucky I am that I do get that.

Last night, I had a training session to become a script reader for a local company I love. This evening is my mid-semester observation for the Creative Drama class I teach. Tonight, I'm going to the dress rehearsal for a student show I dramaturged (and going to the closing night on my birthday). This weekend, I'll go to the most recent grown-up show I dramaturged. And through it all, I'll happily do my administrative work (which, being the spreadsheet queen I am, and getting to work at a theatre with some great people, I'm more than happy with). I do love what I do.

Countdown to Thirty: Four Days

2010-03-10T07:02:00.004-05:00

Four more days until I turn thirty. Grown-up goal for the day: focus on prioritizing, both small things and larger things.

I'm going on vacation next week with Jake and my mom and dad. Mom's birthday is exactly two weeks before mine, and so we're taking the opportunity to celebrate big. In Disney World! I'm super excited.

I'll be happy not to have to think about anything but family and fun for a week, but I'm also a workaholic. I love my job--it's not hard to in my position--but sometimes my efforts spill a little too much into my home life. I check my work email too much from home. I stress out about things at the theatre when I'm not there. But in my department, we all work on the weekends.

I realized yesterday that in order to leave the office for a week and have peace of mind about it, I actually have to finish things. And my checklist seems like a mile long. (In reality, it only takes up a white board.) I also have to realize that I have three days before I leave. That's plenty of time to finish what I need to, in a way that will be satisfactory to me. (I don't like to do things half-assed.)

I'm also thinking about all of the exciting opportunities that have presented themselves to me outside of my office. In the last year, I've started to freelance a little bit, and I'm loving being able to work with adults and develop new works of theatre. I'm still working on understanding scheduling and how to balance projects--a couple of weeks ago, it seemsed like I only saw Jake for five minutes in the whole week! But it's important to make connections with theatre companies, directors, and playwrights, in addition to reading new works and seeing as much theatre as possible. Being a Helen Hayes judge certainly helps with the last part. Getting your name and work known in the community is incredibly important in the beginning of a freelance career, especially when you're a dramaturg...because who the hell knows what that is? :)

This weekend, I spoke with a director about potentially working on a reading series, and I have a training today to be a script reader for The Inkwell. I've loved working with that company in the past, and I'm excited to read submissions for them. At the same time, it's important to spend some quality time with Jake every day, even if it's for a few minutes. We try to work it out so that he's doing homework while I'm doing work, but we're still trying to figure it out. We had a great time watching RuPaul's Drag Race last night, and dinners together are a real pleasure we get to have almost every night. I also like to go out with friends...Go figure! :)

So, today: prioritize things that need to be done at work today, tomorrow, and Friday, and think about future gigs.

Countdown to Thirty: Five Days

2010-03-09T08:04:00.005-05:00

Goal for the day: think about who I was at twenty, and who I've become since then.

Last night, I found a book called The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting What You Want in our apartment. The book was in a cardboard box that lives on our floor and positively overflows with books we're going to give away someday. I haven't looked at it in years, and figured I'd give it a nostalgic shot. Three pages in, and I was laughing out loud.

The book is a self-help manual written to help a woman find her "inner bad girl" and be unashamed about finding what she wants and getting it. It's the most nineties-est thing I've seen in a long time, full of sentences like:

"At every age, being a girl rocks. It's your ace in the hole, your backstage pass, your automatic first-class update. Being a girl is what makes you who you are. It's your power source, your secret sauce, and your *69."

You can imagine Ally McBeal reading this book. You can imagine an episode of Friends centering around Rachel finding this book and trying to put its advice into practice. You can imagine Riot Grrls everywhere snorting and rolling their eyes in their Doc Martens as they turn the volume up on their Walkmen and blast their L7.

I turned to the copyright page and saw that the publication date was 2000--written in the heart of the 90s, and finally making it to bookshelves in the last year of the millennium. Which makes it the perfect jumping-off point for thinking about who I was at twenty, when I bought the book, and who I've become since then. (In convenient lists of ten items!)

When I was twenty, I...

was a junior/senior in college.
thought I wanted to be an actor when I grew up.
had already danced with Jake for the first time (although we wouldn't really date for another 4 years).
had been to Paris, London (where I lived for 2.5 months), Ireland, and Wales.
worked at a paint-your-own-pottery store.
had taught classes in Commedia dell'Arte, improv, and creative writing.
watched Friends and Seinfeld every Thursday night.
had only ever dated one guy.
had sent my first full-length play to a festival and gotten a very kind rejection letter. (My play was seriously overwritten: Joan of Arc--speaking only lines from Henry V--coaches a woman towards fighting her abusive boyfriend with a metaphorical sword. What the hell was I thinking?)
was not comfortable with myself--either my intellect or my body.

In the last ten years, I...

have gotten my BA in theatre and my MA in theatre history & criticism.
realized that my passion lies in writing and research.
married Jake. :)
have been to Italy and Greece, and make frequent trips to California and New York (both the city and western NY).
have had a lot of jobs (from teaching preschool to bartending to running a tutoring center), and have learned from all of them.
got a job that actually uses my two theatre degrees! And get health insurance doing it!
have evolved with NBC's Thursday night line-up. And faithfully watch Lost every Tuesday.
have had my share of dates and boyfriends, and am incredibly happy to have ended up where I did, with whom I did.
have written plays for the summer camp I run, and learned how to guide other playwrights' new plays through the writing and production process.
have become increasingly happy with myself: comfortable with my intellect and my body (I embrace "sexy librarian")

I've also learned to run, actually eat my vegetables, and have a cat! I still have a lot to learn--I'm only turning thirty, for goodness' sake!--but I've come so far since I was twenty. There are things I need to work on to be sure. But I am happy with where I am right now, and happy to continue with the journey.

Wow, that got sappy fast. Let me close with another quote from the introduction to The Bad Girls' Guide to Getting What You Want:

"Once you light your badness fuse, you'll start to hear the muse--that sassy little voice inside your head reminding you to go for it, trust your instincts, and find the G-spot of your own life."

(Really? Really?)

Countdown to Thirty: Six Days

2010-03-08T08:19:00.002-05:00

The countdown begins! Six days to the big three-oh. Goal for today: maintain an illusion of awake-ness. (It remains to be seen whether that'll be easier or harder since my boss was at the same Oscar party as me. He did leave an hour before I did, though...)

Thirty and Fabulous

2010-03-06T12:46:00.004-05:00

I have decided to fulfill the title and mission statement of this blog by going forward and turning thirty. I know what you're saying: "But, our dear, sweet blogger! You look far too young to be reaching such a milestone. Also, don't you know that thirty sucks, as evidenced by the lollipops on the bar at Hollie's birthday party?"

And to that, I say, "Oh, hush, you!"

I am seriously excited about turning thirty. I promised myself that when I hit that milestone, I would stop using my age as an excuse for anything. No more, "I'm too young to..." (fill in the blanks: ask for a raise, market myself as a freelance dramaturg, negotiate a contract, get published, and so on). The celebration starts tonight with a party, and the official countdown starts at midnight. I'll be thirty exactly a week from tomorrow. But since people started wishing me a happy birthday yesterday afternoon, I've decided to start calling myself thirty already.

I think this is going to be a very good year.

Sinbad in Process

2010-03-02T08:10:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about adaptations lately. Most of the scripts I've written have been adapted from one source or another, and here I am, working on one for this summer.

It stands to reason that most musicals are adaptations, whether from plays (Green Grow the Lilacs became Oklahoma!, Pygmalion became My Fair Lady), books (Wicked, Les Miserables), or movies (The Producers, Hairspray). It's not just that it's easier to write an adaptation; those scripts also have instant name recognition, and in a ticket-sales-driven society like the one we're in, name recognition goes a long way in marketing.

I come up against this every year when choosing titles for our summer camp productions. We write the scripts for camp in-house, and so it's not as simple as picking (for example) Guys and Dolls or Annie. We have to think of stories that are intriguing and enticing, not only for the students, but also for the parents who shell out the bucks. This year, we're doing one adaptation--written by me--and one original story--written by my colleague.

Each year I've written a script, I've been encouraged to not stick incredibly closely to the source material; to take the outline of the story and run, in order to make my own product. The first year, there wasn't a whole lot of substance to the source material, so I tacked on another story from the same culture. The second year, I stayed pretty close to the Persephone myth, but updated the language and themes so a modern audience (both the parents watching the show and the students acting the show) could relate. And I've had a great time doing so!

I chose to work with the Sinbad stories this year, and feel free-er than I ever have to extend the story beyond the myth and make it something new. There are hundreds of stories starring the titular character, and I picked and chose between them. I also took the Scheherazade framing device and made it more child-friendly, while still providing a sense of danger. The storytelling framing device opened up even more options--since the princesses have to please their king, there's an opportunity to continually one-up the story, and add fantastic elements.

I put a "the end" on my rough first draft, and while major revisions are needed, I'm happy with the product so far. Here's to the journey.

(I'm talking to one of the playwrights from our professional stage this week, in order to get her outlook on the adaptation process. She's taken a popular fairy tale--one of my favorites--and made it something completely new. I hope to use some of the material she gives me for new insight.)

Busiest Week EVER (Or: Why I Love VH1)

2010-02-27T17:06:00.006-05:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I have just completed a busy, busy week wherein I worked on all four(-ish) of my jobs. That is:

A regular work week. Natch. (This week's work included writing contracts, being trained in techniques of inclusion, watching a student production, buckling down and writing more than two scenes in my latest play, and oh so much more.)
Mary Kay party! Good food, good wine, good company, good skin care and makeup!
Research on Reconstruction-era social history and popular music to decorate the lobby for a play I'm dramaturgin' (KUUMBA Players' Sing and Never Tire, which opens 3/05).
Two plays for Helen Hayes: Folger Theatre's Orestes last Friday, and Keegan Theatre's Gdirl from Gdansk last night.

Needless to say, I'm pretty sleepy, and had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to be able to see my husband for more than five minutes in the week.

However! When we did hang out, we watched the hell out of some VH1. And this was my saving grace.

Remember when VH1 was fuddy-duddy music for old people? A place to go when you weren't hip enough for MTV, and wanted to groove to some Michael McDonald? No longer! Now, it's full of both the crappiest and the most wonderful reality television on the airwaves. (Digital waves? Whatever.)

Now might be the time to tell you that my mother-in-law and I joke about creating a website called "Smart Women who Like Dumb Media." I look at TV as an escape, and sometimes, the dumber, the better. I do have discriminating tastes when it comes to reality shows, believe it or not. I will quickly change the channel if I see that For the Love of Ray J or Rock of Love Bus are on. I will watch Celebrity Rehab, Tough Love, or Tool Academy if they're on when I'm in bed and winding down before going to sleep. But I don't go out of my way. No, there are only two VH1 shows on our DVR, and they hold a special place in my heart.

RuPaul's Drag Race is the best show you're not watching. It airs in first run on LOGO on Monday evenings, and then re-airs on VH1 on Tuesdays. An America's Next Top Model for drag queens, it takes the best of the competition reality show formulas and turns them on their ears. The Dolls have had to eat unfamiliar foods, create costumes out of household decorations, and strut the runway.

This week's competition was game show themed, with the Dolls guessing the prices of drag queen necessities (The Queen is Right), filling-in-the-blanks to match celebrity answers (The Snatch Game), and opening metal briefcases to see if they were in or out (Heel or No Heel). Ru's trademark is as a supermodel impersonator--I'd argue that she does Tyra better than Tyra--and this week, the Dolls had to show off their best celebrity impressions, too. I was thrilled that my two favorites blew their competition out of the water:

Pandora Boxx as Carol Channing
and hometown girl (Great Falls, VA) Tatianna as Britney Spears.

Fan-flippin'-tastic.

I won't say a whole lot about my other VH1 destination, Celebrity Fit Club, since one of my favorite bloggers (Rich from fourfour) recapped so eloquently in his VH1 blog. I would, however, feel remiss if I didn't address the most wonderful five minutes of my TV-viewing week.

This week's boot camp challenge had the two teams trying to escape from a fake-POW camp, while chained together at the ankle. Once they got through two obstacles, they cut off their shackles, cut through a chain link fence, and then run to scale a platform while MUZZLED GERMAN SHEPHERDS CHASED AFTER THEM. Genius. If one of the team members got attacked, they added two minutes to their time.

The red team got through with hardly any problem, except for Jay McCarroll (of Project Runway) getting faux-mauled by a dog. No one got hurt, no one got upset, they moved on. Pretty much the same thing happened to the blue team, with K-Fed (yes, K-Fed) getting fake-attacked. But then, this happened:

Tanisha from Bad Girls' Club LOST IT. She screamed "I couldn't save Kevin!" while sobbing at the top of her lungs.

And then! Sebastian Bach--whom I have decided I want to have lunch with sometime--had the most astute talking head I have ever seen. He looked right at the camera and said, "It's a TV show."

Touche, sir. Touche.
* Drag Race pictures lovingly appropriated from Project Rungay. Go there. Read their stuff. Celebrity Fit Club pictures taken from VH1.com.

Happy Valentine's Food!

2010-02-15T14:58:00.004-05:00

Dinner last night was fantastic! Jake and I decided the best thing to do would be to make dinner together; he took the main course, and I did dessert.

The kitchen was mine first (ha, ha!) as I prepped the little cakes we would have for dessert.

After the cakes were in the oven, Jake took over. He made lamb with blue cheese & spinach risotto (risotto recipe from Cucina Rustica). So fantastic! We drank Penn Oaks Cabernet with dinner, and it went perfectly. I found this bottle at the tasting at Fenwick Beer & Wine on Saturday, and it's bottled right here in Silver Spring! Who knew?

We chilled out for a little while, and then I made the rum whipped cream to go with the chocolate-sour cherry cakes I made (recipe from this month's "Everyday Food"). They were so rich, and also went well with the wine. What a great way to cap off Valentine's Day!

Next steps after my new baking experience:

Bake more...
Look up Penn Oaks Winery and see if we can arrange a tour/tasting.
Experiment with more liquors/liqueurs in whipped cream. I'm excited about the opportunities for Kahlua or Cointreau in whipped cream, instead of rum.

Local Food-n-Drink

2010-02-13T17:45:00.002-05:00

You might have heard about this: we got a little bit of snow over the last week. Too snowy to venture out to the Silver Spring Farmer's Market, but we're there most Saturdays buying produce for the week. We did pretty well with what we had, though. :)

Friday afternoon, just as it started snowing, we walked across the street to Mi Rancho. Man, is it ever satisfying! Great atmosphere, good food, great company. They make their tortillas right up front, too, and there are always kids watching. Very family-friendly. And they make you wear a bedazzled sombrero on your birthday.

Alcohol for our week-o-snow was provided by Lennox Beer-Wine and Fenwick Beer & Wine. Both close by (Lennox is on the corner of Colesville & East-West; Fenwick is two blocks from us), and both with very different atmospheres.

Lennox's environment is bright, fluorescent, cheerful, and mass market. Plenty of cold beer in the fridge, and plenty of laughs from behind the counter. Fenwick is cozy and warm; the owner always has a kind word and a recommendation for a small-production or craft wine or beer. Great prices for bottles you can't find a lot of locally. They also have tastings every Friday.

Delish!

Snowbound Food UPDATE!

2010-02-11T19:55:00.003-05:00

I know you were all salivating for an update of our turkey leg-rosemary carrot-mashed potatoes-lemon peas dinner. So, here it is! Absolutely delicious. Thanksgiving in February.

On the table:

On the plate:
Washed down with pinot noir. Eaten to the dulcet tones of our next-door neighbors' TV. Our made-up game of Name-That-Tune: Movie Edition proved that their movie of choice was Back to the Future. (Great choice, but I really shouldn't be able to hear it through my wall.)

Menu for a Snowy Week

2010-02-11T18:25:00.007-05:00

Like most people, Jake and I stocked up at the grocery store last weekend in anticipation of Snowpocalypse 2010 (beyond Thundersnowme), and again when the snow subsided a little bit in anticipation of Snoverkill. This led to a week of delicious homemade food, perfect for winter nights. Our dinner menus:

FRIDAY:
I made Chickpea Curry, which we had with an IPA. (Recipe from this month's "Everyday Food.")

SATURDAY:

Jake made roasted chicken (recipe from "Cook's Illustrated"), salad, and homemade bread (recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible).

SUNDAY:
Jake made Chicago-style pan pizza (recipe from "Cook's Illustrated"), for us to eat while we watched the Superbowl.

MONDAY:
I made rigatoni with meat sauce (recipe from "Cook's Illustrated").

TUESDAY:
Jake made beef stew (recipe from "Cook's Illustrated"), which we ate with more of his homemade bread, and a nice (cheap!) pinot noir.

Wednesday, we had leftovers, and tonight, Jake is cooking up turkey drumsticks with rosemary carrots, mashed potatoes, and lemony peas. Snowbound eating is good eating!

Scenes From a Giant

2010-02-08T14:26:00.008-05:00

I had to leave the apartment (oh, thank god!) to go grocery shopping this afternoon. It was my first time leaving the apartment since Friday around noon--except for the time I took the trash out yesterday just so I could get up for thirty seconds. Felt good to get out, albeit cold and wet.

The snow is high enough in areas that have been dug out, rather than plowed:

And downright silly in areas where the plows have created drifts (here on the corner of Colesville Rd. & Second Ave.)

I thought I'd take some pictures, sort of as a follow-up to Just Up the Pike's pre-storm post. The folks at the Giant are doing as good a job as they can re-stocking after the storm, and in preparation for the snow that's supposed to come tomorrow. People in Silver Spring apparently really like mayonnaise...

...soda...

...ketchup...

...chips (and on another shelf, nachos, salsa, and all varieties of jerky)...

...and bananas.
So, you know, don't plan on making any banana-ketchup-and-mayo sandwiches with a side of chips, washed down with soda. Not during the Snowmageddon.

Meet...Me!

2010-02-08T10:29:00.003-05:00

What better time to start a blog than the fourth day snowed-in due to Snowpocalypse 2: Beyond Thundersnowme? To be honest, I've been thinking about starting a new blog for a while, even had a title stored in my head, just waiting to be used. And so, here it is. I'm doing it!

Ten things you need to know about me as we shove off on this blogging adventure:

I'm turning 30 next month.
I am super excited to turn 30.
I'm coming to terms with the idea that this is what it's like to be an adult.
I work at a children's theatre as my full-time paying job.
Out-of-work-time (and sometimes during work), I am a dramaturg. That means "professional theatre geek" in German.
I'm also a Mary Kay personal beauty consultant. My little way to beautify the world. :)
I technically live in the suburbs, although it takes me five minutes to walk to DC. And I feel more urban living where I do now than I did in my last DC apartment.
I'm an outspoken third-wave feminist.
My husband is a grad student who studies political science. I love him with all my heart.
We have a very adorable cat.

So, that's me in a nutshell. Thanks for reading!