Emi's Dance Recital

Quick trip to Denver for Emi's dance recital 

and to give a Christmas hug to Marty and Lizzie before we leave on vacation

and miss them over the holidays.

(Also, Marty just had surgery to open his blocked sinuses and fix a deviated septum.

He's healing well with no pain, just not able to smile well.

We hope he'll be able to breathe better and be free from chronic post nasal drip.

My mama heart was happy to get to see him and hug him in person post-surgery.

I was about to say I should learn to "get over that mama need,"

but actually, I wouldn't want my mom to ever stop needing to give me a hug.

Moms will always have a part of our hearts attached to our kiddos, no matter how old they are.

Mark, Mary Ellen and Erika were in Denver as well 

and we loved spending time with them as well.

And once again Dan and I commented how grateful we are for amazing in-laws for our kids.

The cutest dancers! Emi loved showing us her twirl before and after the performance.

In dress rehearsals she didn't want to be on stage without her mom.

But she was so brave today!

We had brats and spatzle at the Christkindlmarket downtown after Emi's recital.

Relaxed during her nap and a delicious dinner to celebrate Lizzie's birthday at Seasons 52.

This is a HOUSE near Marty & Lizzie.

The decorations were off the charts!

When we arrived home, it felt like Christmas!

Shackleton Heroics

We woke up to surprise snow this morning!

I finished reading "The Endurance" a story of Shackleton's Legendary Antarctica Expedition

while cozy in my sunroom and snow fell outside.

The book was so good and has made me even more excited to go to Antarctica.

We're watching the documentary on Sunday.

Before Thanksgiving, we had dinner at the Rosen's and Mary Ellen loaned me her book,

encouraging me to read it before our Antarctica trip. It's one of her favorites. 

When we left their home and got in the car, I turned my phone on

and had a message from EC that she'd just watched a fascinating documentary about 

The Endurance and said we had to watch it before our trip!

Now that's too much of a coincidence!

Diffuser vs. Teapots

 

Our diffuser broke, so I've been using the cute Christmas teapot

to simmer cloves and cinnamon sticks, like I used to, before diffusers were a thing.

Last Sunday I realized I'd left the teapot simmering on the stove while we were at church.

Fortunately Christopher went home before Sunday School and turned it off.

Then a couple days later I set it to boil and then promptly forgot and jumped in the shower.

Fortunately Dan was home. The pot had boiled dry and smoke was filling the kitchen. 

Thankfully disaster was averted. Barely.

So, there's a reason you shouldn't leave the lid off and let the whistle do its job.

Also, a reason why I should only use diffusers to fill our home with 

Christmassy scents. 

Friend Brunch

Friend brunch!

You know you're really good friends when the hostess is willing to have everyone come earlier than normal to accommodate a friend who couldn't stay long.

So early that she was still in her pajamas 

having no time to change after driving school carpool and whipping up a lovely breakfast.

And yet, I wouldn't have even noticed had she not said anything.

Cottonwood's Roaring 20's

The Cottonwood Holiday Party had a theme this year--

roaring 20's in honor of Cottonwood's 20th Anniversary.

Thanks to Amazon and next day shipping, we pulled off a pretty fun vibe!

Fantastic food and music at a restaurant/bar Prohibition! 

Super fun catching up with 

I was having so much fun talking, I didn't take many pictures,

but this gives the idea of how many people dressed up in fedoras, vests, bow ties, 

flapper dresses and headgear!

Laughing Nicholas

My e-mails were blowing up today.
Mostly advertisements and Amazon shipping/delivery notices, 
but whew! I was trying to get through a list of everything to do
and it was so distracting. As was the ever-growing list.
 

But a bright spot was we got to talk to Nicholas today.

He stayed in his same area but got a new companion, Elder Gila, from Ecuador.

They're off to a great start and Nick is very happy that this trainer

likes to create plans and have a purpose to their work each day.

Nick also really wants to cook at home more often 

(his last comp preferred to go out for every meal).

But blackouts begin at 8:30 p.m, so they have to be home before then to make dinner

One day they made it home with only ten minutes to spare, but they browned ground meat 

and cooked rice in that short amount of time. 

Every Christmastime as the family talks about what Christmas movies
we want to watch, inevitably the memory of Nick laughing hysterically at the sledding scene

in Christmas Vacation gets brought up. 

Man, we miss him!

If You Can't Have Leftovers...

Thanksgiving meal #2, or early Christmas dinner, 

depending how you look at it.

Either way, more stuffing, turkey, gravy and cranberry sauce to enjoy.

We listened to hours of The Messiah today from different choirs.

Happy Holidays!

I'm not sure why, but I'm missing my dad today.

Parties and Missing Out

Its good to be home. 
Our bedroom at The Belnord starts to feel a little small after ten days.
But, we do love our apartment in the city.

As soon as we arrived, I went back out to buy 12 cartons of strawberries for the ward Christmas party. 
One of the best parts of the Christmas season is socializing with friends--

especially when you only see some of them once a year.

Having a festive December is what makes this month so merry.

I missed our neighborhood ladies Christmas brunch and 

the Relief Society party, both were last Tuesday.

and I'm just now realizing I'm disappointed I couldn't be there.

But if I'm sad I've missed out on something special,

I take happy consolation that I have a life full with 

people I care about and fun things to enjoy rather than wallowing

in disappointment.

Rockefeller Tree & Messiah

The whole reason I wanted to stay another week in New York is to see 

the tree at Rockefeller Center lit. And that doesn't happen until the first week in December.

We didn't want to see the actual lighting, because I've heard its crazy crowded,

just enjoy it with the lights on. And it was worth it.

Walk down 5th Avenue with all the fantastic holiday lights. 

Nest home fragrance set up several displays like this one on every block

and they emanated the best Christmas scents!

Cartier:

Saks:

Rockefeller Center:

Someone from Courtney's ward was performing in a Messiah concert.

We did not expect the level of talent! 

So different from other performances we've attended--

generally with a huge symphony and four soloists, often trained opera singers.

This performance had twenty-four in the choir

plus eight instrumentalists.

Instead of four soloists, there were eight (or more).

And they were phenomenal!

They didn't all have opera voices which made for some sweeter tones yet

hit every single riff perfectly. So beautiful.

Elisse Albian was my favorite. 

Their light and effortless soprano was so unexpected 

I was absolutely stunned then completely enchanted.

We called Michael and Courtney on our way home and tagged along

on their late-night pizza run.

Angela's Day Out

It's been exactly six weeks from my eye surgery so I'm cleared for lifting.

Kept the movements gentle and mid-weight intensity. Felt so good.

Dan had afternoon meetings, and he was happy to miss my excursion

to Union Square Christmas Markets and I was happy to stroll and look at every single booth that interested me without looking at my watch.

For starters, s'mores hot chocolate at The Cocoa Cabin.

Then empanadas for lunch.

Yum!

Across the street at Barnes & Noble I found a couple books for gifts

(and a bathroom!).

I wandered over to Pete's Tavern, another decorated restaurant, and while the exterior was fun,

the inside was not as special as Oscar Wilde.

On to Macy's to see their window decorations and interiors. 

Thoughts for next year, skip it.

I hadn't realized I'd be out all day again! 

But it was really fun. 

The revival of Sunset Boulevard has been reimagined 

with no set, simple black and white clothes but live videography.

The leads were extraordinary 

(Nicole Scherzinger especially) and the noir film vibe super cool.

I lost a little bit of the story line here and there, 

but nothing a deep dive after the fact could help set straight. 

We were discussing show preferences with Courtney and Michael.

They loved Sunset Boulevard. We liked it a lot.

I think I prefer to know the story and songs ahead of time--like a concert--

where part of the thrill, for me, is seeing it performed live.

Or reading a book, and when the movie is done well, 

how fun it is to see it brought to life.

Maybe that's from literally my whole childhood listening to 

Music Man, Oliver and Sound of Music,

...and while not broadway material, let's also not forget 

Saturday's Warrior and My Turn on Earth...

then finally seeing the movies and singing along.

I love ensembles with powerful chorus numbers, riveting choreography,

and last but not least, a happy ending.

Extra points for shows like Wicked or Les Miserables with relatable character arcs

that summarize life's journeys in two hours of unforgettable song and dance.

That's all.

Indigo Girls

While Dan was in meetings, I had a fabulous day puzzling and reading.

Felt just like a vacation with as much time to do whatever I wanted hunkering down at home.

In the evening we went to Staten Island for The Indigo Girls concert.

It was a long, but easy subway and ferry ride to the small theater just across 

from the ferry terminal in Staten Island. Couldn't have been simpler.

We had Thai food at a delicious hole-in-the-wall.

There were two other couples in the restaurant and both were at the concert--

one sat right next to us in the theater and the other was on our ferry home.

Galileo is one of my favorite songs.

And while I only recognized a few others, I love their folksy music and sound,

and enjoyed the whole thing. Very cool seeing them in person,

even with the strong background singers behind us.

Ha! Actually, everyone was singing along. So fun.

Finished!

Holiday Day Out

We started our day with brunch at Balthazar in West Village.

I'd read about several "don't miss" restaurants for their holiday decorations.

Balthazar was great food and large and took reservations. Would be a good spot to gather if you're in the neighborhood, but I wouldn't make a special trip to see the decor.

(Tavern on the Green is closer to us and even more special.)

The food was excellent.

Today's itinerary included:

Walking down Mulberry Street in Little Italy,

popping in Christmas in the City -- a  shop  with year-round Christmas decor,

and sampling cannolis and a lobster tail from 

The Cannoli King at Cafe Palermo and also Ferrara.

The pastries looked and tasted delicious,

but Dan and I both decided we don't crave either cannolis or lobster tails

(cream-filled croissant in the shape of a lobster tail).

We wandered through West Village and while checking our map to orient ourselves between 

Greenwich, West Village, Nomad, Chelsea and Meat-Packing District

(in our minds we had the neighborhoods turned around),

we discovered we were close to the Friends' apartment.

And if you turned around, the street was darling, reminding us of a London street.

Seeing the Lacoste store, I couldn't pass up walking through and reliving all my jr. high dreams.

I even found a pink izod--not baby izod, however, like my Christmas present in 7th grade.

Oh, I loved that shirt with its alligator like all the cool kids. Baby izod was the pinnacle of cool!

But, it came with a tough life lesson. I'd hunted for my present ahead of Christmas, and found it, 

stashed under my mom and dad's bathroom sink. It was everything I'd hoped for, 

and yet lying in bed on Christmas Eve, I shed tears of disappointment because 

I'd ruined the magic of being surprised on Christmas morning.

Ever since that traumatic learning experience,

 I've always held out for surprises preferring the suspense over knowing ahead of time.

And yes, I bought an izod crew neck sweatshirt, because that little alligator still makes me happy.

Next stop Sullivan Street tea shop.

I'm listening to the book Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. 

Vera Wong owns a tea shop in Chinatown with pots of herbs to make her own teas.

It gave me the idea of finding a tea shop to recreate Immune tea that we've loved for almost thirty years, until the owner of the shop died. Fortunately, the ziploc bag the tea came in was labelled with the ingredients. We've been conserving the last teaspoon for a real cold and sore throat emergency,

but just maybe we can recreate it!

Unfortunately, Sullivan Street didn't have all the loose ingredients, but they recommended another shop in East Village that would. A trip for another day. But we bought their herbal Immune Boost Blend and will see how that is in the meantime.

Soon (actually miles later), we found ourselves through West Village and into 

the Meat Packing District.

We didn't realize meat packing was on this side of town and was so hip

(while junior high is on my mind, as well as using "hip," 

shout out and apologies to Mr. Black, my Algebra teacher,

who, in frustration of us annoying 8th graders shouted,

"You guys think you're a bunch of cool cats with a lot of hip!"

Using such an outdated expression to get angry at us didn't go over so well for him.

All us cool cats couldn't stop snickering the rest of class.

Forty years later, its still top of memory. 

I can't tell you the number of times I think of that day.

Starbucks Reserve -- giving all the magic-is-happening vibes that Max Brenner's did fifteen years ago.

Surprise! We found ourselves at Chelsea Market.

After lunch at Los Tacos No. 1 

(on Courtney's must-eat for out of towners list. So good!)

we wandered the Market and wondered why I hadn't been super impressed the first time we visited

after walking the highline. I think there were fewer stores and restaurants at the time.

Now its bustling with so many eateries and shops to try.

Reminded us of Camden Market in London.

Japanese and Mexico fusion! We've got to try this next time we're in town with 

Marty and Christopher.

Happened upon Anita Gelato so couldn't pass that up.

We found Oscar Wilde and peeked in to see if their Christmas decorations

lived up to the hype and their booked-a-month-in-advance reservations.

Yes, yes it did. Will be adding to next year's itinerary planning.

(And they were very gracious to let us take photos, even though they were booked.)

We were shocked to have spent the whole day out and about.

We made a final stop at Breads Bakery on the upper east side to get their famous

black and white cookies. Sadly, they were sold out in late afternoon.

Adding it to the list for next time!

We made it home with a few minutes to put our feet up before 

meeting Michael to head back down to West Village to meet Courtney for dinner at Shukette.

So good! Worth a special trip for the food and ambiance.

The Frena (bread) and apricot Labneh (dip) were to die for.