Sunny With a Chance of Thanksgiving!

So our Annual Friendsgiving was a blast! Great friends (old & new) came out to play and we served a feast for everyone. We like to provide all the food and just ask guests to bring beverages to share. And share they did! We had loads of wine, beer, spirits, juice, cider, coffee donated to the party-it was lovely. We served the following menu (all of which is 100% vegan):

Apps:
-sundried tomato dip with homemade bread
-herby tofu dip with homemade bread
-grilled cheeses (made with 3 different kinds of Daiya and homemade bread) & tomato basil soup shooters

Salads:
-Caesar salad with homemade dressing & croutons from scratch
-warm spinach salad with a maple balsamic dressing

Mains & Sides:
-vegan short ribs in & red wine sauce
-vegan pork chops with spinach, sundried tomato, & soy goat cheese schmear with gravy
-mashed potatoes and gravy
-Cuban style sweet potatoes
-sweet potato, banana, & pecan casserole
-garlicky green beans
-brussell sprouts with granny smith apples & red onions
-cranberry chutney
-chestnut stuffing

Desserts:
-homemade pumpkin pie with homemade crust & coconut whipped cream
-apple crisp with vanilla soy ice cream
-peach & blueberry crumble with vanilla soy ice cream
-almond thumbprint cookies with homemade raspberry jam

Needless to say EVERYONE was STUFFED. And it was all animal friendly & I adopted a turkey named Gable this year from Farm Sanctuary that everyone loved. We posted her story on the dessert table so everyone knew who they were supporting by eating a vegan Friendsgiving. We also have a tradition where you have to name at least one thing you are thankful for before you can eat and let me tell you they were wonderful things to be thankful for. I teared up a few times. I am grateful for such a wonderful holiday with friends! It was a blast and we cannot wait to do it again next year! :D

 Here has been my week of gratitude posts:

Today I am thankful for officially being on Joe's insurance and submitting it to the doctor so the surgery can be submitted to the insurance company for approval. One step closer. Day 20 in my Month of Gratitude. [SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!]


Today I m thankful for silliness. It saves my life everyday to be silly and have silly people in my life. Anytime things have been hard (hello all year) the thing that makes me feel betters SILLY. Day 21 in my Month of Gratitude.

Today I am thankful for family & friends near & far, of this earth & those who have passed. I am thankful for the health of those people still here. I am thankful for the feast Joey has been preparing like mad, I am thankful for the turkey I adopted named Gable who was saved and now lives on a Farm Sanctuary. I am thankful for my pups who woke me with snuggles and kisses. I am thankful to be having surgery soon. I am thankful for a nephew due any day now. I am thankful for so many reasons today. Happy Thanksgiving to you all and know I carry my gratitude of you with me throughout the year! Day 22 in my Month of Gratitude.

Today I am thankful for days in bed, setting up our tree, watching White Christmas, snuggling my pups tight, and a husband who loves me. Pretty great day! Day 23 in my Month of Gratitude.

Today I am grateful for someone who indulges my love of all things Christmas. I bought 6 new holiday movies & he is supporting me about more from Amazon & Disney.com, buying a tree skirt, 3 stockings, more ornaments, bought snowflake placemats & and getting a wreath. Thankful he is patient with me about this obsession... Day 24 in my Month of Gratitude.  



 It's been a pretty great week off of a previously pretty great week (thanks to an amazing shoot with the one and only Michael Madsen and some amazing friends & crew mates). Cannot complain my dear chickens. Hope all is well with you in your worlds. Joe and I are now gearing up for our big birthday week (12/1 I am 28 & 12/5 Joey is 30!)-Disneyland and a big USO themed party. It should be a hoot of a time. I am excited for what this next year is bringing: surgery, healed back, a vow renewal, adventures, and who knows what else! Grateful gal here, really and truly.


 Xs and Os dear chickens!

 

Sunny With a Chance of Blerg!

Blerg! I have been sucking it up lately friends by not posting. Unfortunately for me life was kicking my butt this round. I've been uber busy lately: stage managing a play, working, applying for certain things, Improv class, interning, helping my sister with her wedding, swimming, thinking about Joe & I getting married, a new group my friend is starting here in LA for actors, dealing with my sister needing ovarian surgery, and still sick to boot! Needless to say it's been a bit of a busy time and I've been thrown a few curve balls like my tire popping on the highway, some finance issues, and very trouble-seeking 2 year old pup! Please bear with me through these, er, growing pains. I am still trying to wrap my head around some things and get my schedule working. Here is some brief stuff to catch up our schedule:

Colonel Mustard Monday:
"I'm still living the good life! I turned 2 in January and mom says I can be "terrible 2" sometimes but I like to think of it as "terrific 2"! Like today, I chewed and chewed and played and slept and had some treats and snuggles and now am back to chewing my dental dino. Can't beat that!"





TCM Tuesday:
To satisfy your need of classic film I give you...


It's showing tonight on TCM at 11:45pm. Here be your quickie synopsis:
Set in July 1912, a traveling salesman, "Professor" Harold Hill (Robert Preston), arrives in River City, Iowa, via train. Intrigued by the challenge of swindling the famously stubborn natives of Iowa as talked about by fellow traveling salesmen. He is a traveling "band instructor". Professor Hill plans to con the citizens of River City into paying him to create a boys' marching band, including instruments, uniforms, and music instruction. Once he has collected the money and the instruments and uniforms have arrived, he will hop the next train out of town leaving them without their money or a band.

With help from his associate Marcellus Washburn (Buddy Hackett), who is now living in River City and is the only one who knows Hill's real name, "Gregory"; Hill incites mass concern among the citizens of River City that their young boys are being seduced into a world of sin and vice by the new pool table in town. Hill convinces them that a boys' marching band is the only way to keep the boys of the town pure and out of trouble, and begins collecting their money.

Hill anticipates the town's librarian and piano instructor Marian (Shirley Jones), will attempt to discredit him, so he sets out to seduce her into silence. Also in opposition to Hill is the town's Mayor Shinn (Paul Ford) & his wife Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn (Hermione Gingold). Meanwhile, Hill attempts to win the heart of Marian, who has an extreme distrust of men and him in particular. His charms have little effect upon her until he wins the admiration of both her mother (Pert Kelton) and her withdrawn and unhappy younger brother Winthrop (Ron Howard). Marian falls in love with Hill, and hides evidence she has that proves he is a fraud.

The band's instruments arrive and Hill tells the boys to learn to play via the "Think System," in which they simply have to think of a tune over and over and will know how to play it without ever touching their instruments. In the meantime, Marian is falling more in love with Harold. Hill's con is nearly complete; all he has to do is collect the rest of the instrument and uniform money, and he can disappear.

He is about to leave town when a disgruntled anvil salesman who had been run out of Brighton, Illinois in a backlash to Hill's having conned the townspeople there comes to River City and exposes Hill and his plans. Chased by an angry mob of River City citizens (and pressed to leave town by Marcellus and Marian) Hill realizes that he is in love with Marian and can't leave. He is captured by the mob and brought before a town meeting to be tarred and feathered. Hill is saved by the boys' band who "play" their own instruments (very poorly). Hill remains in River City and there is a huge parade and fanfare!

Enjoy this delightful musical tonight! :)

Good for the World Wednesdays:
I want to introduce you all to 2 things today. The first being my new favorite go to quick lunch--salad wraps! I know, so simple and everyone knows how to make their own version of one but I am currently obsessed so deal with it. Joe made me blackened tempeh and it's wrapped up with baby greens, scallion, carrot, mushroom, chickpeas, and a hummus salad dressing. We've been snacking on this like whoa! The second thing I want to share is one of my very favorite advocacy groups Farm Sanctuary. They constantly have ways of adopting a farm animal that's been rescued, educational articles, petitions to stand up for animal rights, everything really to help provide an actual sanctuary for farm animals everywhere. I want to adopt everything (I specifically loved their turkeys at "Friendsgiving" and wanted to adopt all of those lil guys) and hope you join me in loving everything they do!

Okay tomorrow I shall try and post about the theatre I am involved with for your Thursday enjoyment! Thanks chickens and see you soon. Promise!

Continuous Sunshine & a little movie watching...

For this TCM Tuesday post I am choosing to share one of my favorites with you:



This was the first film I remember seeing Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in & I fell in love with both actors immediately, as well as their characters, the film, the costumes, the story, the music, EVERYTHING!



The film is centered around rich & handsome playboy Nicky Ferrante and beautiful ex-night club singer Terry McKay. They meet & fall in love while on a cruise from Europe to New York despite being engaged to other people. They try to avoid gossip around the ship but can't avoid it no matter how hard they try after a trip ashore to visit Nicky's grandmother.







They both agree to avoid each other the rest of the trip & to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months at the end of the cruise to allow time for both of them to break it off with their fiancees & for Nicky to earn money for them to live on. However, an unfortunate accident keeps Terry from the reunion leaving Nicky heartbroken. He turns to booze & painting when his fears that she has married or does not love him anymore overcome him. A chance meeting at a theater draws him back to her & to the truth about their missed chance.







They find each other & the movie ends on a beautiful reunion between the two. The film is full of "Every precious moment of the glad...tender...triumphant love they found -- and almost lost!" A gem of a film that was actually a remake by the director Leo McCarey of his original piece Love Affair. This was the second of three pairings for Deborah & Cary and is my personal favorite. The film is actually a favorite of my honey's too (it's hard to get him to LOVE a classic film [he likes Steven Segal movies-bleck!] but he loves snarky Cary Grant & the love story)!







The costumes are divine (Deborah looks classy & gorgeous whilst Cary looks debonair & charming), the music is perfect (Marni Nixon's vocals are perfect as usual), and the script is tops. With lines like:

Nickie Ferrante: But you have such an honest face.
Terry McKay: I have?
Nickie Ferrante: I can trust you can't I?
Terry McKay: Yes, I suppose so.
Nickie Ferrante: Good, come with me.
Terry McKay: Yes, but the Captain has an honest face too! Why can't you tell him your troubles?

and:

Terry McKay: What makes life so difficult?
Nickie Ferrante: People.

and:

Terry McKay: I'm getting married and I want you to be the first to congratulate me.
NYC Cab Driver: Marriage is something to rush to?

and:

Terry McKay: Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... we've already missed the spring.

and:

Nickie: There must be something between us, even if it's only an ocean.

and:

Terry McKay: Oh, it's nobody's fault but my own! I was looking up... it was the nearest thing to heaven! You were there...

and:

Terry McKay: [voice shaking, ready to cry] If you can paint I can walk- anything can happen, right?

You have shivers right now, don't you? Me too! SOOOOOOOO good! This is making me want to pop this into the DVD player right now... and I'm off! You should be too! Enjoy another amazing classic chickens!



quotes from HERE.
most pics from HERE

90 Degrees With a Chance of Shrek the Musical!

Y'all there has been some major theatre in my life this week! It has been AMAZING and just what the doctor ordered to relieve this stress from work & finances.

So last Monday (7/11/11) I saw my friend John Roy perform his new routine to be taped for Comedy Central at a local Hollywood bar. There were some HUGE comic peeps there (Maria Bamford & Steve Agee to name a couple). It was free, SO hilarious, and a huge stress reliever. Plus John was amazing (as always) and I was so proud to be there to support him!

Last Tuesday (7/12/11) my dear sister from another mister Heather Olt performed her cabaret show Believe it or Not, It's Just Me at the same local Hollywood bar. It was STUPENDOUS! She looked, sang, and wise-cracked magnificently. It was another fun stress-free night. Joe & I are so lucky to have such wonderful & super talented friends!!

This past Sunday (7/17/11) Joe and I went to an 11AM showing of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2...it. was. so. AWESOME. We had the movie theatre pretty much to ourselves to cuddle and sip root beer (best movie time ever) and the film was epic. Even Joe said it was one of his fave Harry flicks. Just an all around great way to start our sleepy Sunday morning!

Then Sunday night Heather took me to see Shrek! The Musical at the Pantages theater and it was so funny and cute and a wonderful break from life. They had great little shout outs to other big Broadway musicals and cute things from the movie but it had SO MUCH MORE! It was just wonderful and we followed the show up with $3 beers from Dillon's next door on Vine. Who could ask for a better date right?!

So my friends, do yourself (and your elevated stress levels if you're like me right now) and go take yourself to a good show (comedy, cabaret, movie, musical, play, whatever) with a friend or you boo and have a fantastical night (or morning) off from life! You deserve it! ;)

Take care chickens!

Hot With a Chance of Sun!

I am a red-head not made for hot weather and boy is the temperature creeping up there in So Cal lately. Yikes! So in that train of thought I bring you TCM Tuesday starring:

SOME LIKE IT HOT



I love, Love, LOVE this movie. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe, and Billy Wilder-what more could you ask for in a comedy?!





The film is about two struggling male musicians (Curtis and Lemmon) who witness some gangsters pull off a hit at a garage and try to hide out from mob boss Spats Colombo to avoid the same fate in an all female band. Of course love and fun ensue along with a few cross-dressing classic scenes! All around just an amazing cast under the fantastic directorship of Billy Wilder.





This is one of the classics that I like to ease non-classic movie buffs in with because it has fun stuff for everyone. Comedy, sex, music, just all around the film is fantastic and one that I give 5 stars to. Check out a little preview:

The trailer!

Go grab some popcorn, curl up with your puppy or bf and enjoy!

Sunny with a Chance of hot hot hot!

It is a SCORCHER here in LA!! Summer has arrived and the weather is here to prove it! DAY-UM!

So in the spirit of the 4th our very 1st TCM Tuesday shall be featuring a little gem known as Yankee Doodle starring that old song and dance man...Jimmy Cagney! *insert sound of record skipping here* Jimmy Cagney a song and dance man? Yes folks! You heard it here first (maybe), our little gangster was indeed first a song and dance man!



It is an adorable musical about "composer/singer/dancer George M. Cohan". It stars a favorite of mine (Jimmy Cagney) as George. It's a delight to see him as a singing and dancing man rather than the usual gangster-he is so much more and I personally enjoy seeing him stretch his actor chops! The story follows George "From his early days as a child-star in his family's vaudeville show up to the time of his comeback at which he received a medal from the president for his special contributions to the US, this is the life- story of George M. Cohan, who produced, directed, wrote and starred in his own musical shows for which he composed his famous songs" and personally I love the heck out of it!



Plus Joan Leslie is adorable as Mary (his lady love). I just love everything about classic musicals and this movie has it all-big show stopper numbers, Jimmy talk singing the hell outta some great patriotic tunes, and lovely ladies in gorgeous classic clothes! Get yourself out there and start your trip into the classics with this little gem and let it help you keep that patriotic punch in week a little longer! :D



Have a fabulous day chickens!