Drunken Parsley Games

Last weekend, I was trudging my way along the wide sidewalks of the Upper East Side early on a Saturday morning to get to an audition (I know, Saturday morning? An actor's life is rough sometimes!), when I stumbled upon this scene:

Yes, that is, in fact, a picture of some garbage on the side of the road. Archaeologists study ancient Roman garbage to learn about people they never met. Why can't I, right?

Anyways, what made me giggle was contemplating the kind of wild Friday night that would have led to both broken beer bottles and an empty bottle of parsley flakes finding their way into the gutter together:

"Duuuude, I bet I can chug more parsley than you can!"
"No way, man, let's pour the parsley out the window...."
"If I do it, you have to have another beer riiiiiiiiight nowwwww. Promise?"

Or maybe you have another idea? :)

You Might Be a Manhattanite If...

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1. You know how to instantly triangulate the nearest location of at least four Starbucks and which one is the closest on the way to where you're going

2. You hate Starbucks, and yet you go there anyway

3. The MTA bus map no longer frightens you

4. You have had at least three of the following things delivered directly to your apartment -- groceries, dog food, alcohol, a notary, Tibetan takeout, or a pediatrician

5. Your out-of-state friends won't watch Cash Cab with you anymore because you can't shut up about how you know exactly which corner they're on or how fake the contestants (actors) are

Thinking about making this a regular feature...more Manhattanite spotting tips to come!

Holy Snowflakes!

It's hard to capture with my iPhone, but these are the largest snowflakes I've seen in some time.

Love New York City in a snowstorm -- it's somehow quieter and more peaceful, even though life hustles and bustles along as usual.

My First Valentine's Day As A Married Lady

I figured my first married Valentine's Day deserved commemeration, as did the absolutely excellent job my lovely husband did with spoiling me for it!

He woke me up this morning with what may have been the sweetest gift ever, this gorgeous vintage locket from Etsy seller nouveaumotley:

It opens, of course (like all of the most romantic lockets do):

And inside of it, the Mister had printed his wedding vows to me in teeny tiny little font and folded up the paper so that it would fit. So now I always have a way to literally carry his vows with me. I love it! We are both such saps.

Later on, he came home with a bouquet of a half a dozen red roses. Gentlemen who aren't already experts at this stuff, are you listening up?

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And tonight we're getting to splurge on a very expensive Italian dinner out, courtesy of a gift card we received as a present from my parents a few weeks back, as part of their "thank you" for watching my sisters for ten days.

Add that to the audition I rocked this morning (thank you again, Ilona Pierce, for teaching me how to nail that Irish dialect!), and the decent weather outside, and this is shaping up to be quite the marvelous first married Valentine's Day. Hope all of you lovelies are having a beautiful day, as well.

Umbrella Graveyard

Came across this poetic tribute to rainy days here in the city on the way home from rehearsal the other night:

New York -- where even umbrellas get eaten alive.

My "Broadway Debut"

Well, I wish I could say I had performed "on Broadway" this past weekend, but that isn't entirely accurate.

You see, I wasn't actually in a Broadway show, but I performed ON A BROADWAY STAGE (!), which was totally and completely awesome. I was in a children's workshop version of Wicked and had the chance to portray the iconic Elphaba for an audience of about 1400 girl scouts at the Gershwin Theatre.

Green's a good color for me, right? Hah.

It was an intense experience to get outfitted for body mics by the actual Wicked sound techs, get cues from the actual Wicked stage manager, and step out onto the actual stage where so many Wicked greats have gone before.

I was surprised that it didn't feel like there were 1400 people in the audience -- I expected the house to feel much larger, but it didn't feel as obscenely large as I had expected.

Overall, it was a wonderful day (one short day in the Emerald city...anyone?) and I certainly hope that it won't be my last time singing on a Broadway stage. No, scratch that. It WON'T be. Until we meet again, Broadway!

How To Have Happy Puppies...

...Or, What To Bake When You're Trying To Lose the Weight You Gained On Your Honeymoon?

The answer: homemade dog cookies!

I had the itch to bake something the other night and the free time and supplies to do it, but have been very carefully watching what I eat for the past couple of weeks in an effort to lose the Newlywed Five (Six? Eight?) that I gained in Greece. My answer to this dilemma was to bake something for my doggies to enjoy!

I used a simple recipe and made cut-out cookies from most of the dough with whatever dog-themed cookie cutters I had on hand -- a dog bone, a sock, and a tree, I think. Random, I know. With the rest of the batter, I cut little tiny squares up and baked them into Yorkie puppy-sized treats. I don't have any pictures of those because they're not nearly as appetizing to look at, but my little Stella has a pretty little tummy because she clocks in at just about 4 pounds, so the bigger treats weren't an option for her.

My dogs have been totally digging them (as have our overnight boarders!), plus it's way most cost-effective to make your own treats. This recipe made a huuuuge jar full of dog cookies and hardly cost anything to make, plus it really didn't take a whole lot of time. Next time, I might try to find some teeny tiny cookie cutters so I can make cute treats for the little doggies, too.

Would you ever consider making homemade treats for your pups? Have any recipes to share?