Current Fav...

The bright lights of broadway...across America!

First this on Friday...



Then this on the 15th in Cedar City!



Then this unexpected treat on the 16th....



And finally, because I have the coolest roommate and friend ever, this one in September in Boise...



I am so freaking excited for all of these!

Two-fer

I started perusing Amazon.com and here's a quick wish list...

• The Les Miserables 25th Anniversary 2010 cast recording. It's simply ridiculously amazing. I mean, really...amazing!
• I love me some Pyrex. I have also been wanting some nice mixing bowls. Best of both worlds, really.
• I really have a thing for lockets. I really love this one.
• I've always had a thing for maps and globes.
• And this is just a thing of beauty.

To blog or not to blog...

...that is the question. I've had some pretty great things happen in the past month or so. I've debated blogging about it but I'm just not sure I want to send it out into the interwebs just yet.

I will say this, my new ward is pretty fun. I've met some really fun and exciting new people and made some great friends. I've been to Bear Lake, attending movies in the park, had BBQs and pool dates with the girls.

As far as what else is going on...I guess time will tell if I share it with you all. But I do want to just say - I am happy. I am far happier than I have been in a very long time.

TBIE! CBGA...HY!

2011 is the year of the Classy Broad. We do classy things. We get dressed up to go out with the girls, we drink out of classy glasses, we take compliments with...you guessed it, class.

Classy Broads also travel. I am ridiculously excited about this part of being a classy broad. Last weekend when everyone else had Monday off and I had to work, I really really really wanted to get out of dodge. Lisa, being the classy broad, fantastic roommate that she is, started looking up various vacation options and she stumbled across some ridiculously cheap vacation packages for Paris, London, Dublin...you get the idea. When I say ridiculously cheap, I mean for a 6 night stay in Paris with round trip airfare on Virgin Airlines and hotel (with breakfast every morning) it came to be around $1000 per person. Yes, I know $1000 is a lot of money but we're talking 6 nights in a decent hotel PLUS round trip airfare!!! Getting over there usually costs that much, if not more!

We plan to go this winter on my semester break. So we started the CBA Fund - Classy Broads go Abroad Fund...currently taking donations...just kidding, well kinda...yes...yes, just kidding. Last night I saw that there were still tickets available for the Idina Menzel concert at Deer Valley...cheap student tickets. BUT I decided instead to put what I would have spent on those two tickets into the CBA fund. Classy Broads think long term.

Have I mentioned I am ridiculously excited about this?! I'm pretty sure if Lisa were less classy than she is, she'd probably be ready to slap me by the time the trip actually happens...good thing she's a Classy Broad, right?

Reasons to be happy on this somewhat gloomy looking Monday morning

1. So glad the sunburn is fading...not peeling or pealing. Either would be gross and awkward.

2. Get to go see Harry Potter tonight with some fun peeps.

3. Slept through the night without waking up...I know, sounds like a new born baby update but seeing as how i haven't been sleeping well for about two weeks, this was a very welcome change.

4. Looking forward to a fun picnic with the tiny humans on Friday. I forgot how much I love Liberty park.

5. Finally got an answer to a nagging question and feel pretty good.

6. I have left over Empanadas for lunch today...Yum!

7. Duet with Lisa has been performed without any major hiccups...croaking notes, passing out or bursts of tears.

8. Clean room!

9. New friends are fun

10. Did I mention I'm going to see Harry Potter tonight....?

Do you hear the people sing?

I LOVE the musical Les Miserables. I mean I really love it. I've seen it done regionally twice, the touring company four times (three in SLC, once in LA), once on the West End in London, the high school production once and the 25th Anniversary O2 concert in the theater. I saw it again tonight (or last night, rather) with my sister and my mom. To coincide with the 25th anniversary of the shows opening, they redid the staging, costumes and sets just to update the overall show. It was so wonderful. Have I mentioned that I like this show?

It all started when I was about ten or so. My sister and her friends were obsessed with Phantom of the Opera. I'll let you in on a little secret here...I adored my older sister growing up, even if she was a little scary at times. I wanted to do everything she did. She collected cat figurines, so I collected bunnies. She would wear her hair a certain way and I would try to copy it. She liked Jewel so I liked Jewel. It's a lot of why I started dancing and pretended that I could write fiction. It was lucky, however, that I ended up loving to dance... we don't talk about my attempts at fiction. Anyway...I wanted to be like her but I knew that if I said I liked Phantom she would get angry. But we had a tape cassette of highlights from Les Miserables and I had a Walkman. I remember sitting at our tank of a computer playing solitaire or Oregon Trail and listening to that tape over and over and over again. I didn't quite understand the story of what was going on but I fell in love with the music. When I got older I understood the story more and it is such a powerful story of redemption and love. I could tie all sorts of gospel analogies here but I'll refrain.

I saw it for the first time when I was around 12. It was magical to me. I cried when Eponine died. I cried when Valjean prayed for Marius at the barricades. I was hooked. I've almost lost count the number of times I've seen it and people look at me askance when the hear how many times I've seen it, but I don't really care that much.

Last week Lisa asked me why I like it so much. I've never really thought about why I love it so much before so I couldn't really give her a good answer. She attributed it to the fact that I've been listening to it for over a decade...almost two decades. I'm sure that plays a part but I don't think that's the only reason I love it. I love it because I can listen to the recording and still get chills. It still makes me cry. I love the story of a man that spends his entire life trying to make up for single mistake of his past. I love the love story and the sacrifices made. It's just good music. I love it because of this...

What a way to end Act I.

And that is what I call a finale!

Oh swoon...

I

I may or may not be a little obsessed....

I also am muy excited that it's coming this spring/summer and I'll be attending with my mom and sister!

My Peeps

No not the fluffy sugar covered kind...the real life totally awesome people kind! I don't know if people check the side bar linky thing to other blogs (I know I sometimes forget) but I've added a few in the past little while that I think you all should check out for various reasons. This one (Sara) is my dear friend from college. She was the very, absolutely first friend I made when I went to Scripps. We bonded over sleeping on the hard tile floor the night before Outdoor Orientation. And then some more over lack of hygiene and puking in tents. Seriously, if you can make it through a week of the outdoors, no showers, hairy legs and vomit, you can make it through anything. Her blog is mostly about food. She makes some pretty tasty stuff. So all you foodies out there will want to check it out.

And this one (Dad) is my dad. I know, shocking, my father has joined the blogosphere...what has the world come to!? Last fall he bought some property up north and has been having this Out of Africa in Idaho experience. So the blog is just his thoughts and adventures up there. So all you outdoorsy folks will probably like it.

This one (Abode) is one of my favorite consignment shops in the valley. It's stuffed to the rafters with cool and random stuff. Clothes, furniture, decor, jewelry, books...they've got it all. Many of you already know about the store but I wasn't sure if you knew about the blog. I know I didn't until recently.

Enjoy!

Work it girl...

Well, today has been a good day. I didn't leave the house until about 3:00 (don't judge, I'm shifting my days about six hours later...) but in the intervening four hours I have been told in Spanish that I have beautiful eyes and a fantastic smile, that I look really good by three of my fellow classmates, I have cute dimples (I didn't know I have dimples) by a coworker and I got an appreciative wink from the 711 guy when I purchased my hot chocolate. All in all...not too shabby.

A little something for your auditory pleasure

Blog worthy moments

As a, possibly, fellow blogger I'm sure you understand or have used the phrase "blog-worthy". I wonder if it's part of the urban dictionary or if it's even in the dictionary. How long does it take for a word to be added to the dictionary? I know "bootylicious" is in the dictionary.

Bootylicious (adj.): slang sexually attractive, esp with a curvaceous buttocks.

No joke that is the definition of bootylicious on dictionary.com. But I digress...what I mean is there are moments in life that are ironic, sad, happy, exciting, hysterical, upsetting, weird ect. and I think to myself...man, that's blog-worthy. Now, sometimes I'm blogging simply for my own catharsis. It's a bit narcissistic, I know, to assume that the anonymous masses out there would actually care about some of my so-called "blog-worthy" moments. BUT blogs are narcissistic in nature and if you can't get behind that then why have you read this far...hhhmmmm?

But I digress yet again, my apologies. The point of all this yammering is last night I had a 100% blog-worthy evening. I went with a couple of people to see the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert at Century 16. You know all those previews you see for the Met? Well same concept except this was Les Miserables. Oh my heavens....so so so so SO good!!

At the very end of the concert, after the finale they brought out the original cast. Colm Wilkinson (original Valjean), Alfie Boe (Valjean for the concert) another London cast of Valjean AND John Owen Jones, arguable the best Valjean I've ever heard, all sang a gorgeous four part harmony of "Bring Him Home". It was amazing. The writers, lyricist and the original producer were all there. It was so worth the $15 I paid.

Nick Jonas played Marius and I had to giggle a little...or a lot when he first showed up. So serious and earnest! But I reread the bio info and apparently he played Gavroche in the original Broadway run of the show...go figure!

Shannon and I decided that we'll go to London for the 50th Anniversary concernt because THAT would be amazing!

The Shoeologist

I think today is a shoe themed day. Go check out this website for all our shoe loving needs! Trust me...do it!

And Bows!

Oh how I love fall!!

Oh the Buttons!

You know how I love buttons!!!

This never gets old..

LIE! LIE! LIE!

Boys Will Be Girls

Have you all seen this?

Late Night Internet Window Shopping

So cute...

Check it...

You all really need to check out this blog. I've also linked it over in my sidebar thingy. I have a feeling this is going to a be brilliant thing. It's started by a friend and all posting is completely anonymous. If any would like to contribute let me know and I can send you the details. I've got a couple gems myself!

Words are great...

I love words. I love finding just the perfect word that absolutely encapsulates the meaning and feeling of what I'm trying to convey. I was reading the introduction to The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol and came across this little gem- excoriation. It means to denounce or berate severely; to verbally flay. "To verbally flay". How fantastic is that!! Not that I would ever want to be verbally flayed but isn't that imagery just fantastic?! It goes beyond anger straight to evisceration. Love it.