thoughts | greek salad

I'm not the only curious one here, The Chief took Brooke and I out to lunch yesterday. The consensus was Angelo's. Of course.

The place looked great! The Food Network unicorns did a great job of sneezing on everything. The menu was new and the place was packed out. It's still diner food in the Midwest, but I love the update! My Greek salad was new, fresh and exciting with marinated cucumber "noodles" (right?!?).

Our table was near the door, unfortunately not out of earshot of the complaining customers. Gracious! People are rude. And those poor waitresses, my heart went out to them. First the insanity with the camera crew, now a new restaurant and then crazy people asking them questions they can't answer.

If you go this weekend, tip well!

reads | celebrate by pippa middleton

I'm a party planning nut. And a wedding nut!  And I just plain like to arrange things! Like furniture and daffodils and lives...   It's a problem sometimes.

So naturally, when I discovered that Pippa Middleton had released a book on party planning, I was sold.  AND is was as lovely as you'd imagine it to be. 

I adored Pippa's introduction to 'Celebrate', she was delightfully frank and honest with her readers addressing her "rise to fame" on account of her sister, brother-in-law and rear! Haha!

When this book first launched, it was ripped to shreds on the fact that much of the advice was too "simple".  I didn't have the greatest expectations for it, but as I read, I found that Pippa's writing was refreshingly uncomplicated  and her advice a great addition to any entertaining library.  I don't know who the crazy people are who reviewed it first, but, they should know (as I have learned) that party planning is a lost art and that most people aren't familiar with the most "basic" basics. 

My favorite event featured was the "Highland Tea".  Pippa hosted a Scottish themed tea party, complete with tartans, hearty foods and plenty of hot tea.  The thistle centerpieces were so adorable and made me swoon.  I'm definitely stealing this idea!

I can't remember the last time I spent this much on a single book (it retails for $50), but for the quality and timelessness of "Celebrate", I feel that it was well worth the cost and I know it will have a special place on my shelf for many years. 

Have you read "Celebrate" yet?

thoughts | welcome food network!

They're taping an episode of Restaurant: Impossible in our town this week. Right around the corner from our office! I may or may not have driven past the place five times today. It was practically on my way. Practically.

I love small towns. Everyone just comes out of the woodwork for things like this. Even in the pouring rain, there was a crowd all day of people looking for a glimpse of Chef Robert.

My sister texted me on Sunday to let me know that the crew would be rolling in. It was so unexpected! This is one of my favorite FN shows to catch up on when I travel. I can't wait to see the finished episode!

And you'd better believe that we'll be going for the grand reopening of Angelo's Restaurant. We'll be there with bells on.

Us and the rest of the town.

Pondskipping | The British Museum

| Anna - Beecher - Abbe |

At the greatest museum in the world with two of the greatest people in the world! 

Pondskipping | Sightings

Anna & I had spent the whole morning telling Beecher that we absolutly, under no circumstances, do we EVER get star-struck.  We used too, but those kinds of people just annoy us... Besides, we just feel sorry for those poor celebritys that get mobbed everytime they walk out the door.  See how mature we are.

And then, honestly, we were just minding our own business, sorting scrips (or something like that) and talking about how much we'd enjoyed attending Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap".  When a man on the other side of the room says "I was an actor in the Mousetrap once".  Turns out that he, Glen MacCready, actually played the "detective" back in the day and was at The Soundhouse for the day doing some recording work!!

So, OF COURSE we came running over to chat with him, ask for secrets from the show and get our picture taken.  Just like those annoying people.  You know, the ones that drive us crazy.  But we didnt ask for an autograph. Thankfully, Glen was a very gracious guy and didn't mind (too much) being mobbed by two crazy Americans.

Pondskipping | Days 7 to 14 | Lamplighter Theatre

| my favorite job - checking script |

This part of the trip was the reason that Anna & I went to London.  We were so grateful to have the first few days to tour around and get our little sightseeing cup filled.  So when it came time to start recording we were more than ready to stay put in one place for the next week!  No more tube stations and running to and fro throughout the city!

| recording a scene with John Rhys Davies |

Lamplighter Theatre records all of their audio dramas at The Soundhouse studios in London.  They record with a full British cast and so it just makes sense to do it here.  It was my first experience with radio drama and recording and I was blown away by the hospitality of these dear Brits! The Soundhouse is one of the busiest studios in London, recording many things for the BBC.  While there we were able to meet several different celebrities who "happened" to be there working on projects (David Tennet, Dr. Who?).  The place was always hopping and I'd crash late at night not realizing how tired I was because the days were so exciting.  A great problem to have!

While there, we recorded two of Lamplighter's most popular stories: Jessica & Her Mother and Titus: Comrade of the Cross.  We were so blessed to finish "Jessica" a full day ahead of schedule so we launched straight into "Titus" with barely a lunch break!  This was nothing short of a miracle as we recorded Titus up until the final minute. 

| the soundbooth |

I was one of six students who traveled with Lamplighter to help with the radio drama.  My friends, Anna and Beecher, Emily from CA, Hannah from TN and Chrissy from NJ.  Lamplighter Ministries is passionate about teaching young people excellence in the arts.  I warned Mr. Hamby before I arrived that I was not creative a bit, but that I was "organized and loved to arrange things".  Thankfully, he was delighted to hear this and told me that they always need people to organize things.  He was right!  I was in organizer heaven with the amount of scripts that we dealt with and the projects we worked on!  Anna & I both decided that we'd love to go into producing one day.

There's so much that we packed into that short two week trip, but the highlights for me included being in the studio and hearing the pure talent flow out of actors as they read life-changing lines, being behind the scenes, getting two new job offers, meeting new people and making friends, and of course, the laughter that was everywhere.

| happy girls with tired eyeballs! |

And they were two of the best weeks of my life.

quoteable | twenty two ninety five

Elle: "Just in case you're wondering, lock picking kits are on sale for $22.95 and my birthday is right around the corner!"

Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep that in mind.