royal rules

unless you've been living off the grid or under a rock, by now, thanks to nearly every media outlet, you know that price harry and meghan markle are engaged.  she's the first american to be engaged to a british royal in over 90 years, and everyone is a buzz about it.

i found this article interesting about strict rules for royals.  i knew about #7 but didn't know about the others . . .

1. keep one eye on the queen at all times.  when she stands, you stand.  never turn your back to her, and when she is finished eating, don't take another bite.

2. always pack an all-black outfit when traveling abroad in case there's a sudden funeral to attend.

3. don't sign autographs or take selfies.

4. keep your chin parallel to the floor when sitting, taking photos, and walking up/down stairs.

5. pasta, rice, and potatoes are not allowed at dinner, and garlic is banned from buckingham palace.

6. don't vote or run for political office.

7. never cross your legs at the knee when sitting, instead cross them at the ankle or just keep them together and to the side.

(if pasta and garlic are a no-no, i guess there's no "italian night" dinner then!)

love, laurie

the mother of all christmas trees

now that thanksgiving is over, it officially feels like the christmas season.  we put our christmas tree and our holiday decorations up at home over the weekend, and have been listening to christmas music ever since.  my dance studio's annual christmas dance showcase is this coming weekend too, so my brain is on christmas dance/costume overload too.

one thing that always makes it feel like the start of the christmas season is watching the rockefeller center christmas tree lighting in nyc.  the tree in the heart of nyc is so unbelievable in person, it really is the mother of all christmas trees.  the tree lighting will be on tv tonight from 7-9pm. 

ryan has been wanting to get back into the city to see it in person again this year, but i'm not sure if we'll be able to since our schedules are so hectic this holiday.  at least we can watch it on tv thanks to our dvr!  (above are some pictures from our trips to rockefeller center in person over the years.)

love, laurie

national day of giving

the tuesday after thanksgiving is giving tuesday, or the national day of giving.  today is dedicated to giving back, which is nice after the craziness of black friday and cyber monday.  take part by sharing your time, a donation, or a gift today.

love, laurie

thanksgiving weekend snapshots

it was nice to have a few days off work over the thanksgiving weekend.  we kicked off our weekend on black friday by putting up our christmas tree and decorating our house for christmas (with leko's help of course).  we ventured out of the house late in the afternoon on black friday to do some christmas shopping and had dinner together at a great asian seafood restaurant (thanks to a gift certificate we have been carrying around for over a year).  we fit in some time with leko to sit on the couch and watch a christmas movie on saturday night, and capped off our weekend on sunday by going to a buy-local vendor fair with my parents before ryan had to go to work.

ps: can you see us in the snapshot of the vendor fair?  look closely!

love, laurie

thanksgiving 2017

we had a great thanksgiving yesterday with our families at my parents' house.  we ate, relaxed, and visited with family.  hope your thanksgiving was lovely too.  happy black friday!

love, laurie

. . . 

past thanksgivings: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

happy thanksgiving!

happy thanksgiving!  we're looking forward to celebrating thanksgiving with our families at my parents' house today.  for fun, here's what thanksgiving looked like the year you were born.

have a lovely thanksgiving

love, laurie

cute but slightly terrifying

99% of the time leko looks angelic when he sleeps.  the other night, he fell asleep on my lap with his head tilted back and his mouth slightly open.  it was cute but slightly terrifying at the same time.  i had to snap a picture and send it to ryan to show him!

love, laurie

a christmas story

our second show of the broadway tour season was the national tour of a christmas story this weekend.  we both worked the very long two-day load in as well as the load out, and ryan had show call for all five shows.  although we didn't get to see each other too much, it was nice that we were both on the electrics crew together for the in and the out, and got to see each other a little for breaks in between. 

since our load in ran right up to the start of the first show on friday night, and since we had driven together, instead of going home i decided to stay and see the show by myself while ryan worked it.  i bought a cheap seat up in the very back of the balcony to watch the show.  we did manage to sneak in a quick dinner date at our favorite thai restaurant across the street between shows on saturday too.

love, laurie

dear tech gods, send help!

yesterday morning, i connected my iphone 7 to my imac to sync it in order to load a playlist of music onto my phone for my dance studio's christmas show.  after syncing my phone, itunes told me that there was a software update available for the phone (iso 11.1.2) so i clicked on it to do the update.  however, something must have gone wrong because the update never finished successfully and my phone has been stuck on a white progress screen for 24 hours now.

i have googled everything i can think of and have tried all of the "tricks" in the book.  i've held down the power button and the volume down button simultaneously until the phone shut off and then kept holding until the apple logo appeared . . . multiple times!  i've unplugged it from the computer, re-plugged it, plugged it into the charger, unplugged it . . . it died, it came back to life.  all of this and 24 hours later and i still cannot use my damn phone!

every time the phone turns back on, it goes to the white downloading progress screen and looks like it's nearly done (it's like hanging out around 99% completion) however it never finalizes.  i do not want to force a factory reset because i do not want to loose everything on my phone that is not backed up!  i have some important stuff on there from over the weekend from work which didn't get backed up yet.

i'm praying to the apple tech gods for help because i'm ready to throw this thing out the window and seriously need to be able to have access to my phone because of work!  it was a nightmare yesterday trying to figure out my sunday work schedule details with no phone (and nerve wracking driving in a snow storm knowing that i had no connection to the outside world).

. . . needless to say, if you need to get a hold of me you can't.  send an email or send up smoke signals.  in the meantime, i'll be over in a corner weeping and cursing technology.

oh it's definitely monday.
love, laurie

national homemade bread day

today is national homemade bread day and goodness gracious, ryan and i both love bread!  this week i made homemade cast-iron skillet rosemary focaccia bread which tasted great but didn't rise like i had hoped.  oh well, it's a good excuse to try again!  here are some of our favorite bread recipes:
fluffy white sandwich bread
whole wheat rosemary bread
homemade soft pretzels
cheddar and honey cornbread biscuits with parsley and chives
corn and cheddar scones
sun-dried tomato, chive, and asiago cheese mini scones
individual cornbread squares
rustic cast-iron skillet irish soda bread

and let's not forget sweet breads too:
chocolate chip banana bread
zucchini bread
cinnamon rolls

happy baking!

love, laurie

criss-cross

on saturday morning, we had a little bit of time together before ryan had to leave for work and before i had to get ready for the gala.  we sat on the couch together to stay warm with some hot cocoa and got caught up on episodes of cake boss  recorded on our dvr.  of course, leko came up on ryan's lap to join us.  i loved the way he crossed his arms as he sat so proud on ryan's lap.  what a cutie!

love, laurie

i can't even . . .

yup, this is a real thing.  yup, you can actually purchase these pants.  yup, society has gone too far once again.

love, laurie

fighting the urge to hibernate

ugg this weather does not feel like fall at all, instead it feels like winter.  the temperatures are freezing cold (literally below 32 degrees most nights), it's overcast, and most of the leaves have fallen off the trees.  i'm not ready for the depressing slump of winter weather yet and it's taking all of my strength to fight the urge to just climb in bed with leko and hibernate until spring!

love, laurie

a night out at the broadway theatre league gala

on saturday evening i had the opportunity to attend the broadway theatre league's annual gala.  i have heard about this event for years (this year was their 11th gala), and ryan has even worked the event in the past, but i have never attended it.

i've mentioned before that ryan and i both work as stagehands for the international alliance of theatrical stage employees union.  in addition to being a member of the union, i am also the chair of the education committee for our union.  since i am the new chair this year, i was offered the chance to attend the gala to represent our union which works for the broadway theatre league.

it was a black-tie affair complete with a red carpet.  i found out pretty last minute that i was going, so i pieced together an ensemble in just a few days (a total cinderella moment).  i borrowed my neighbor's prom dress, borrowed my mom's matching diamond ring and earrings, re-wore my wedding heels, and did my own hair and makeup.

i had fun getting ready for the event and a lot of fun at the gala.  ryan was not able to go, but i was excited to be there with several people who i know well.  i mingled, ate, and danced on the dance floor in front of the band playing until the last song at the end of the night.  it felt like a combination of an adult prom and my wedding reception!

i really wasn't able to get many photos at all, but here are a few . . .

^i wish this picture wasn't so blurry, but you get the general idea.  it has been years since i've done my hair in an up-do.  those two star hair pins are special to me because they are exact replicas of the swarovski hair pins that emmy rossum wore when she played the role of christine in the phantom of the opera movie!  i was happy to finally have a chance to wear them.^

^the theme was black and gold, and the decor was absolutely beautiful.  i felt like i was at an elaborate wedding.  that gold star on my napkin was solid chocolate too ;-) ^

^i'm so glad i was able to get these two pictures with my two mentors from college who are now close family friends as well as co-workers!^

^i stayed until the end of the evening and they were giving away the centerpieces.  it was too beautiful not to take home with me.  as soon as i came in the door, leko gave the centerpiece a thorough investigation.  needless to say, we are now enjoying it's beauty from atop our refrigerator because that is the one place he cannot get to it to chew on the eucalyptus leaves!^

love, laurie

fun links

since it's friday, here are a few fun links i found around the internet recently . . .

1. in case you're one of the folks having trouble with the new update

2. 25 helpful tips for baking cakes

3. i'm not wild about the idea of automated grocery shopping

4. this is interesting

5. clever photographs

6. what a great invention

7. super cute thanksgiving garland

8. epic email and text fails

9. the video of this ballerina on the ellen show made my week (what she does with her feet at the 29 second mark of the video is unreal!)

have a great weekend

love, laurie

veterans day flags

for the past several years, the student veterans alliance at the university where i work has displayed thousands of american flags on campus in honor of veterans day.  this year they did their "flags for the fallen campaign" again, displaying over 7,000 american flags on the campus lawn.  each flag represents a fallen service member.

the flags are on display all week and i drive past them every morning on my way into work.  it's really something to see the thousands of flags arranged in perfectly straight lines, blowing gently in the breeze.  the project is such a lovely tribute to the veterans who served our country.

love, laurie

is it fall or is it winter?

this photo of leko is the new background image on my phone.  i love it so much because it really sums him up perfectly right now.  the weather has been incredibly cold the past few days (hello, first snowfall yesterday!) and when leko gets cold he wants to cuddle with us.  i positively hate the cold, but the one thing i love about it is getting to cuddle with this lovable kitten!

it was so cold that he didn't want to get out of bed this morning when my alarm went off for work.  he was tucked under the covers with me and we were keeping each other warm  i think the only thing that is going to get me through the day today is remembering that i have this guy at home waiting for me tonight!

stay warm!

love, laurie

straight no chaser

on saturday afternoon, before we celebrated my dad's birthday, we went to see the straight no chaser speakeasy tour at the state theatre in easton.  ryan's parents have seen snc in concert before, but we never have, so it was a good opportunity for us all to go together when we found out their tour would be performing so close to where ryan's parents live.

i bought the tickets for the show for ryan as one of ryan's birthday presents all the way back in august.  ryan's mom picked out our seats which turned out to be in the second row!  we felt like we were practically sitting on stage with snc!  having only ever seen youtube videos of snc before, we weren't sure what to expect from the concert, but we absolutely loved it!  they reminded me so much of a modern day frankie valli and the four seasons.  we recognized all of their music and were so incredibly impressed by their talent.  it was easy to forget that we were listening to an a cappella group!  a few photos from saturday . . .

during the show, snc took a photo of themselves on stage with the entire audience in the background.  i saw bands do this several times this summer when i was working the outdoor shows at our local concert pavilion.  this was the first time we were ever in one of these photos.  since we were in the second row you could actually see us!  see . . .

love, laurie

. . .

(ps: the audience photo is from snc's facebook page.)