Holiday Cocktails

It's been nearly two months, but I'm back. At the beginning of December I threw my very first evening of fanciness. My mom offered to give to physical cocktail invitations, but I felt that for this occasion facebook invitations would be best. This way I could easily contact my guests and remind them to bring things and give them my number (I needed them to call me so I could sign them into my building. College life.)
Decorating for this event was not as hard as I suspected. I've always been big on Christmas; my room at home was crowded with nutcrackers, ornaments, and crafts from elementary school that are now too tacky to be seen, and luckily I was able to ship what I needed over to my apartment. By "ship" I mean put in my mom's car. When I was younger my brother and I wanted out own Christmas tree in the basement, so my parents bought us a seven foot artificial tree that we could decorate. It had been in the bag for three years now, so I brought it to my apartment. The gold and red balls that used to fill the tree are now used as hurricane vase decorations, so I was short on ornaments at first. I unpacked everything I brought (a wreath, a small tree, the seven foot tree, some ornaments, and a few table top things) and cleared my head of all of my usual Christmas decorating ideas. The wreath I usually hang on my bedroom door was now on the inside of my apartment door. In middle school (or maybe elementary school?) I covered it with ornaments, and I later added bells of different shapes and sizes. There was no theme to this wreath, just colors. I decided it was time to start from scratch. I stripped the wreath of everything (untied the ribbon, untwisted the pine cones, etc) and started fresh. My twelve year old self was horrified that I was breaking tradition. I wrapped the gold and white ribbon around the wreath several times. This was a much improved from the floppy bow weighed down by the large gold water drop ornaments which topped it years prior. I added a few pine cones and was pleased by the simplicity. Now I had more bells and ornaments for the tree! I waited for my roommates to return so we could do it together. Meanwhile, I decorated the smaller tree. It took the place of the pumpkin that sat on the sofa table in front on my mom's painting. I started to put ornaments on, but since I was going simpler I decided just to put on the gold and green ornaments. I topped it with a small teddy bear ornament. I used to get small potted trees every year, and I would attempt to plant them in my backyard, but it never ended well. With each tree came a bigger ornament (big for the size of the small tree, at least) which I kept. Instead of putting these on the little tree I used them as ornaments for the big tree. My one roommate found the other small ornaments I decided not to put on the small tree and started to put them on the big tree. I didn't want to tell him that they're too small for that tree, so I just let him do it. They filled up space nicely, but I probably wont put them up there again.
A week passed and as the party drew near I felt that the room was still missing a few things. Late one night my friend Ali and I watched The Santa Clause on ABCFamily and cut out paper snowflakes for her dorm. I went home and decided to make some for my room as well. I cut out about six and taped them together in the pattern of a wreath/large snowflake. This was flanked by a smaller wreath of curled paper and one of the snowflake scraps. They were more for background objects in pictures than anything. The next day I harvested a number of pine cones, holly branches, and other evergreens to fill the empty spaces. When my mom came down to drop off my peacoat and gold spray paint (my mom appears a lot in this blog) she helped arrange some of the greens. I don't have vases so we used empty sauce jars. I saw a picture on Martha of a pumpkin vase, so we tried something similar by sticking the holly branches into the top to give a vase like feeling. By sticking the branches directly into the pumpkin instead of cutting a hole the branches stood up straighter.
I bought entirely too much food. For some reason I didn't believe my friends would bring food, but they all brought a dish or bottle of something. There was too much food, though my friend Anna said in amazement, "There was food?" after seeing the facebook album. I don't know how to explain that one.
So the night of the party I went to see one of the one acts in the undergraduate festival after making sugar cookies to bring in the holiday season, as well as the birthday celebration of our one friend who was to be present that night. I was told it was only a half hour. After it ended I turned to my one friend and she said it was ten o'clock. I didn't think anything of it at first, then I thought she was joking, then I ran five blocks to get to my building where the first guest, the soon to be Birthday Boy (who we sang and presented a tray of birthday cookies to at midnight), was waiting. I signed him in and quickly dressed and uncovered the appetizers. More arrive to the sound of Michael Bublé's new Christmas album. Everyone looked great and brought delicious food, including chicken wrapped in bacon. Bacon is always the best choice. That freshman knows how to get it done. Also, put Reese's on toothpicks. What I learned this evening is that everything looks fancy when it's on a toothpick. It turns out that I didn't need to buy all of the bagel bites and spinach and flaky spinach pastry bites. I'll save them for the next party.
At two thirty the guests began to depart. I mentioned my plan to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and it stirred excitement. Six of my friends stayed through the morning to watch it with me. They also cleaned up after the party? What is this life? I went to bed at five.

A few days later I candy striped the pole in my living room. I think it's festive.

My handsome roommates decorating the tree!

Using Temple University for all of its resources. 

Making cookies with Angie!

A Christmas tree made from a Cosmo, spray paint left over from prom, and glitter. (As seen on Martha.)

The tree! And a paper snowflake wreath.

The cookies!

More cookies

Anna smizes next to the wreath.

More snowflake wreaths. And Dionna and Tyler.

Nana's mistletoe. Anna kisses the Birthday Boy, Quinn.

The pole is now a candy cane. 

I had Christmas in my office as well. The tree is made of colored clips and rolled up rubber band ornaments. 

Thanksgiving 2012

My roommate and I were swamped with projects and classwork this semester, but we still wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends. At first we were going to have a small gathering with just a few people, but we're Thankful for everybody so we invited everyone from school who makes us smile. There was no way it couldn't be pot luck. We both work part time in addition to having class and rehearsal, and we're college students so money isn't real. Also, we both had no time to cook anything except mashed potatoes and oven ready spanakopita from Trader Joe's. At my roommate's Thanksgiving last year I witnessed a mashed potato competition while eating chicken nuggets. This year we made turkey hands and a sleepover.

The tree in front of my house in the suburbs. 

I made this scarecrow in third grade. He comes out for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I used a wire hanger and leaves from around my campus to make this wreath! It is hanging on an owl hook I bought at Urban for two dollars. Beneath the table you will find an apple cinnamon Glade PlugIn. The three vases were a total of three dollars from Philly AIDS Thrift.  

But if it was a smaller gathering it would have looked like this.

Bonnie and Matt coloring.

Before the festivities, Matt, Aaron, and I were shooting a scene for Temple's first web series One of the Guys, premiering Spring 2013.

Last year we used the counter as a buffet and the coffee tables as the dinner table. This year we used our kitchen table for plates and people ate where ever. Sometimes the quality of the food is more important than the layout of the plates, especially with this many people. That casserole was the best I've had. 

Turkey Hands

Breakfast

Pumpkin pancakes with powdered sugar is a perfect fall breakfast.

Chai on Broad

I haven't forgotten this blog, I just haven't decorated my new apartment for Halloween yet. There will be a post this weekend about entertaining and my new apartment! I'm in Starbucks across from the Suzanne Roberts with my chai, apples with cheese and craisins, and new red sweater waiting for the house to open for Stars of David. I feel like I should do a study and compare the Starbuckses on the campuses of Philadelphia schools. Yesterday I went to the one on Penn's campus, this morning I went to my Starbucks, and now I'm at UArts. The tunes in this one are mellower than those in Temple's Starbucks. Penn's had at least six baristas. Everyone who walks in here looks like an artist. Starbucks is an essential part of fall.

Becki, Bonnie, and I made pumpkin spice cookies! They taste great with chai tea.

This

So when is the appropriate time to switch from Lenten arrangements to Easter decorations? This is something I did not think about. Last week I had a few jars of forsythia and some white blooms from bushes and trees around campus. My friend Kendyll left her bouquets here from closing weekend of A Chorus Line, so today I finally arranged them. I'm going home Friday for Easter, so I don't think I'll be crafting any bunnies or eggs for the apartment. In lieu of a blog on Easter decorating, here are some images from around my apartment from angles you may not have seen!

This is my area of the bedroom (I share the room with my two roommates.) My wall is divided into three sections: University, fine art, and theatre. On the left is a poster for Alpha Psi Omega, my school's pennant, dream catchers made at an event for the Conflict Education Resource Team, and paintings I did at a craft gathering with my friend Michael. In the middle is Bold and Brash by Squidward Tentacles, and on the right are photos of me in my favorite shows. On the left is a pole wrapped in party lights. The bookcase at left has a lamp I made in middle school, my moose (he comes with me everywhere) a journal, and my books for class. The opposite bookshelf is filled with plays, music, and a bottle of sand from Corolla. 

In the top left you can see the opening into the living room. This is how we get all of that natural light in the bedroom. My desk is covered with pictures from home, bulletin boards I painted to match my comforter, a picture of cheetah's made out of African leaves (Alison inspired me to bring this to school. She has a painting of tigers), Sofie's old headshot, and a painting of Homestar I made for Welcome Backstage. 

This is my living room. The papasan chairs were a gift from family friends. My mom and I went shopping for patterned fabric to re cover them. The coffee table was an estate sale find, the lamps from a university get-rid-of-the-crap-the-rich-kids-left-behind sale (I picked them out via picture messages my dad sent me at work this summer) and the other three tables are craigslist finds. My mom did the painting on the left. I'm trying to get more of her art. My roommate confiscated the traffic cone a few years ago. On the coffee table is a blank sketchbook. It's our guestbook. I suggest you get one. 

Pretty Patties?

My friend Jenna is having "A Sophisticated Grownup Birthday Soirée" tonight! We're not doing presents (I think?) so I figured I would try making something pretty and sophisticated. I've seen recipes for macaroons everywhere, so I figured I should try making them myself. After picking up sliced almonds from Acme I began to create. The macaroon recipe I used was from marthastewart.com (as usual.) It produced more than I thought, which turned out in my favor, but somehow I had several cups of filler left over. The first time I saw pictures of this type of macaroon I thought they were pretty patties. Tonight, these are pretty patties.

Jenna.

Pretty Patties?

Parisian Macaroons.

Spring Break!

It was 73˚ today. At the last minute my friends and I decided to go on a premature spring outing to our home outdoor performance venue. It has been about two years since I was last at Rose Tree Park, and though I was very familiar with the amphitheater I have never explored the fields and trees that make up the larger area of the park. I packed egg salad (My mom called me this morning to let me know she boiled eggs, in case I wanted eggs today.) made with mayonnaise, carrots, parmesan, and jalapeño mustard, as well as some Archer Farms multigrain entertainment crackers, mini Tootsie Pops, and forks. Target makes some delicious crackers. I figured we could use the egg salad as a sort of dip/topper for the crackers for a mid afternoon snack. Find a day like this.

Egg salad on a cracker

Ali brought fruit and a tiny fork

I just grabbed these extra forks from the drawer, and somehow I know that this would be the result.

Cross a river

Here we are.

Forty Days and Forty Nights

I meant to get ashes on Wednesday, but I ran out of time. I haven't gone to church on Ash Wednesday since 1998, so I was hardly breaking any personal tradition. This morning I went to mass for the first time since Christmas. The church down the street is small, and today the only decorations were three red panels behind the altar. Usually churches are decorated with light purples and branches during this time, and the deep red doesn't make an appearance until Palm Sunday. I have yet to find any light purple flowers on campus, but the holly berries next to the alumni circle are wildly bursting in the February wind, so I figured that it would be ok to bring a few branches back to my apartment and use the reds to decorate, just like my campus' church. Along the way I picked a few grass seed (wheat like) branches and a grey thorn branch. I filled a few empty jars with these and the berries (I picked the greens off of the branches so the holly looked less Christmasy and I little more wintry.) The milk jug of sticks I've had all year is still appropriate for this occasion. You can never go wrong with a vase of branches. 

Yesterday, I did a play reading for Young Playwrights, and, since I was in the city, I had time to explore Rittenhouse, buy pants, and go to South Street. My new fascination is thrift stores. Yesterday I went to Philly AIDS Thrift (a fantastic non-profit benefitting the fight against HIV/AIDS) and found a large jar and a picture frame in the free section. I cleaned the jar and set it on my end table, deciding I would put it to use later. After a while, when I was entertaining, I walked by my closet, turned to look at my end table, and saw my red candle sitting behind the jar. My mind immediately went, "Oh, hurricane vase." And that's what it will be. It's a bit bare right now, but I'll find a good way to fill it. Until then, my candle will live in it.

The frame. I'll put something in it eventually.

What time is it?

For Valentine's Day I received cards from my mom, Mom Mom, and Aunt Julie and a spring semester well-wisher from my Uncle Paul.

When I was little my dad and I (and sometimes my brother) would go to Fannie May to buy trinadads for my mom. They filled this heart tin covered in putti and angels that my dad got her years ago. He told me it was the last one in stock when he went to buy it. The local Fannie May closed years ago, so for Valentine's day my brother and I resorted to filling the tin with chocolate covered pretzels. I have a kitchen this year, so I figured I should attempt to make my own trinidads and somehow send them home. I was able to create the dark chocolate center, but the white chocolate/coconut shell did not turn out as planned. I couldn't get it to be thin enough to cover the dark chocolate center, so I plopped the lumps of white chocolate on top of each chocolate ball and put them in the freezer. They tasted like trinidads, but they looked messy. I can't think of a better way to describe them. Sorry. My roommates and I ate them, and I brought the remainder to  a party. The air was thick with liquor so no one noticed the shabby appearance of the treats. The guests approved of the taste, and that's what matters most (in college anyway.) The trinidad idea was out, so I resorted to mailing my mom a card. I used a photo from one of our dates to tea at the Four Seasons in 1995 and edited it so it resembled a someecard. I mailed that as well as a letter to my local congressman about the proposed budget cuts to my school and began to plan my other Valentines. We picked secret Valentines for Alpha Psi Omega. This week we are to deliver cheap or home made gifts to our Valentine in secret or in person. I had my friend, and Alpha Psi president, Chelsea. She is vegan and has food allergies, so this week would be more than running out to buy a box of chocolates. I took a late night trip to the grocery store with a friend and I looked for ingredients to make a vegan cake. It was Chelsea's birthday the first day of the week, and we have class together Monday mornings, so delivering the cake in secret was not an issue. I used this recipe (though I replaced vinegar with lemon juice because that's all I had) and Pillsbury frosting. I used a pie tin, then after baking I cut circles out of the cake and stacked them to create a unique slightly lopsided cylinder (next time I'll just buy a small cake pan, putting icing on the cut out sides of this turned out to be a clumpy mess.) Just to make sure that this cake was safe, I listed the ingredients on a small paper next to the cake. I set it on a Dixie plate and created a make shift cover using foam sheets around the edges and saran wrap on top so one could see the cake from above. I left it at her desk and waited. She was late for class that day. It made me nervous. The next day (Valentine's Day) I planned to give her some hummus and an apple pie candle. She works the box office, and I planned to drop it off there, but someone else sells tickets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then I planned to give it to her before her rehearsal, but I was to see a show and go on a Starbucks date with my friend Ali, so my plan was cut short. Ali and I enjoyed chocolaty drinks and watched girls walk by with flowers and heart shaped things. I made Ali cake pops, but didn't know when or how I would get them to her. Then we went to see a few of our friends in Pudd'nhead Wilson. I tried to convince her to stay and watch When Harry Met Sally in the Annenberg Atrium so I could sneak away and grab her gift as well as Chelsea's, but she wanted to return to her room. I went back to my apartment without a plan. I grabbed the presents (I wrapped them in cut up pieces of a brown Trader Joe's bag and made twine from the handles) and went out to meet my roommate Mike. I asked around, and my other roommate told me Chelsea was not too far ahead, so I chased her down on Liacouras and hand delivered her present. I texted Ali and asked if she wanted to meet Mike and I at Maxy's. If this didn't lure her out of her dorm I would have to find a way in (to knock on her door and romantically present her cake pops) but she met us outside and I gave her the package. I made plans to take a bath with candles and jazz, then read by party lights with a cup of apple-cinnamon tea, but it was late and I had to prepare for tomorrow, so I did homework and went to bed. Last night, however, my roommates were out rehearsing/performing, and I was given the night off from rehearsal, so I drew a bath, lit a candle, poured a glass of grape juice into my Steve's 50th wine glass, and had my Valentine's Day just a few hours late. Everyone should try this.

The cake I made for my Valentine, Chelsea!

The trinidads. They may look like something from the sidewalk, but the tasted great.

The card I made for my mom.

Chelsea's hummus and candle.

Cake pops for Ali

Use berries as a decorative touch.

Valentine's Day. For myself.

Also, today I had that moment when you go to deposit a check that says "For: Dean's List!" from your dear auntie, and all of the tellers go, "Oh you made Dean's List!"
I just needed to write this down somewhere. Sorry it's in this post.

Starbucks Blog!

According to stuffwhitepeoplelike.com, my main interests should include Starbucks, blogging, and blogging in Starbucks, so I figured it was time. I've been going to the theatre at least once a week since I came back to school. Right now I'm in the Starbucks on the corner of Broad and Pine with a student rush ticket to Scottsboro Boys at Philadelphia Theatre Company in my wallet. After twelve hours of research and class (but really) and days of worrying about work piling up and projects I figured I should secretly escape to the theatre by myself after class. I'm sitting here with my A Streetcar Named Desire costume in my bag and I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. It's Wednesday and they're nice jeans and the sweatshirt is from A&F (sorry) so I'm almost acceptable. "Lean on Me" is playing in this Starbucks. What is this remix? Someone remind me to upload my freshman year English paper about this song. The worry about class and projects is basically over.
I'm headed to New York soon to visit my friend Devin at Columbia and do other fun New York things. It's been too long since my last visit. Neither Philadelphia or New York are strange to me anymore. I don't have streets or subway maps memorized by any means (especially New York) but I feel comfortable in the checkerboard wind tunnel life style. One of the actors in the show I'm seeing tonight was nominated for his performance in Scottsboro Boys on Broadway. I was in Pippin this summer with one of the other actors. My friend Chris skipped class this morning to see the matinee. I was in the library listening to this guy across from me sneeze like he was blowing a house down.
A taxi just drove by, and suddenly I'm wondering how I'll get home. I just spent all of my money on subway fare (I paid two dollars to go right through because the BSL pulled up just as I put a ten into the coin machine, and I didn't have time to exchange the leprechaun money for tokens) and Starbucks. Though they forgot about my drink, so when I asked they gave me a venti instead of a grande and a card for a free drink. I felt awkward, because it really didn't matter to me if I got my drink late, but I smiled and accepted the extra gifts. I can always pull out money to buy subway tokens, but I wish I didn't have to. My mother and I were talking about how theatre students should get into shows for free. I agree, but at the same time theatres are going through a rough period, and most of the audience is made of up fellow artists now. It would be a great loss of money if students didn't pay. I'm not advocating that student should be paying, because I really don't want to, but I understand why it's not possible to let all of the theatre majors in Philadelphia see shows for free.
I've strayed.
Curtain is in a half hour. I just checked my ticket and I'm front row center. Soon I will be covered in spit from equity actors. My body is ready.

New Years Rock, Live!

The production of Schoolhouse Rock, Live! I was in over the summer was revived for a New Years Eve edition on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk. Originally the plan was for me to drive down the shore, perform, miraculously find my true love and kiss on the stroke of the new year, then drive home to go to my friend's annual New Years party and worry about meeting up with my love at some later point in my life. My parents weren't crazy about me driving on the Atlantic City Expressway and 95 along side of drunken New Years party hoppers (I would be using one of their cars so I couldn't argue this point), so I was going to stay at my dad's boss' house down the street from the theatre and have some friends over for a small evening. The house was winterized, so we made plans for me to stay with my parents at my aunt's parents house in Margate. My mom then asked if there were any parties and I told her about my original plan, so she said that she and my dad would drive me home after the evening of performances. After watching a half hour version of Annie (the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company does wonders) the crew did a quick change over into Schoolhouse and I got costumed, taped, gelled, warmed up, and set I went on for a back to back performance night. I threw snow, became a law, signed the Constitution, circulated, got spanked with a cardboard choo choo, went to space, bowed, ran back stage, stripped off mic, clothes, sweat, not my socks, and met my parents in the lobby. We went out to the pier to count down to the beginning of the end with a crowd of a thousand strangers and witnessed ocean front fireworks at midnight. Two hours later I pulled up to a party that was still hoppin' somewhere in H____town. After ten minutes I dressed down, after seeing that my friends had taken off their ties and make up. It was a soft, honest night of reflections and dreams. I drifted into the four o'clock hour on the floor with a small group of my friends and Tangled. It was all much better than finding love on a pier.