Facebook Hiatus

I'm taking an official facebook hiatus. I'm going for a week, but we'll see if I can go longer. No facebook activity whatsoever.

Wish me luck. I need a break from social networking!

CHRISTMAS CARDS - Fail.

I had a whole big plan back at Thanksgiving to have a friend of mine come over and take a few pictures of me and the pups and then I'd get all my Christmas cards ready and sent by 15th.

....That didn't happen.

Instead I chose to do it last night on iPhoto and do "a year in review" and used pictures I've taken throughout the year and write a little "here's what I did this year" letter.

To be perfectly honest, I don't like it. It's fine, I mean, sure. But...I'm disappointed in myself for not planning ahead enough to get it done.

So uh...if you want my stinky card, send me your address and I'll send you one.

But I doubt this post has made you want to receive it anyway!

Love you all, faithful readers! (if you exist...hello? is anyone out there?!?)

Full Time Job

It's official. I'm an adult.

Not only do I turn (gag...) 25 next week, but this week I started my first official full-time job with a desk and a salary and health insurance and a 401K and all that stuff.

Yeah.

Whoa.

I'm still a little weirded out by it.

I have responsibilities and tasks to accomplish. And when I leave, I keep thinking about work. And I keep my phone near me in case I get an email that I need to respond to... It's SO weird.

But at the same time, it's quite nice. I am needed. I have things that I must do in order for the business to run smoothly. I have people ask ME questions and need MY help. Granted, I don't know anything about the stuff they're doing...but I can still help with office stuff.

So yeah. Oh, and I'm renting a car to drive home for the holidays...and this is the first time I won't pay extra for being underage.

Anyway, seeing that I have responsibilities and tasks and stuff, I should probably stop blogging and get down to it.

Happy Friday,

Your Working Girl

A Life In The Theatre

Tonight I saw "A Life in the Theatre".

It was so wonderful. I'm speechless. I have no words to type for you.

Except WOW. And, if by chance, you have an opportunity to see it before it closes, you REALLY really really REEEEEEEEEEALLY should.

Patrick Stewart and TR Knight were both phenomenal.

My mouth literally hurts from smiling and laughing.

Ok, now that I'm done gushing, let me tell you why this is such a great piece.

The title describes it exactly. As a "theater person", I have either had these moments or seen these moments happen. I have known these people. I have felt those feelings. It was just...so truthful and so heart-warming.

It was inspiring. It reminded me of what I loved about actors and the life we all share. Now all I want to do is go put on a show.

So...someone cast me. Now. :)

And go see "A Life in the Theatre".

That is all. Peace.

A Baking Bonanza!

Though I've had an incredibly busy autumn, I seem to have had a lot of opportunities for baking! Or...making some kind of dessert. So I thought I'd share my work with the world!

Most recent first:

A few weeks ago I was really in the mood for pie. And I wanted to try out these super cute pie-cutters that I got at work (Williams Sonoma). So I made a cherry pie and used the "fall leaf" pie cutter to do the top crust...here's how it turned out....

This is a before shot. Next time I will try to be a little less messy about the placement. I was rushing to finish putting it together before a rehearsal. But I'm still pretty pleased with it!

Before that, I baked some delicious pumpkin bread! And I used my new loaf pan from Williams Sonoma (ok, I went a little nutty shopping there in October...). Isn't it cool?!?! And this bread is DELICIOUS.

And another day, I was asked to make Muddy Buddies (Puppy Chow). So I did! I thought this was a cool photo. :)

The recipe made a lot....

I am a big believer that cookies can bring up morale. That's why I always try to bring them to long rehearsals...or when I was in school, to test days and things like that. So, for our first weekend rehearsal of LLO, I made cookies! Most are halloween themed, but at the top you can see some that are LLO themed.

Another artsy baking shot....

I've also got plans to do a pumpkin pie and more pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving. Perhaps I'll post more photos then! :)

Anywho....that's all the baking I've been up to!

...Can you tell I don't have much to write about right now?

But, in maybe a week or so, I will have a semi-exciting announcement to make! :) Not exciting for any of you, really...but exciting for me...in a boring sort of way.

Yeah, that gets you interested, right?

Ok, not so much.

I'm gonna go to Starbucks! Peace.

Couldn't Resist Posting Again

We got reviewed again.

And my hair was mentioned. Again.

"Within two hours The Lesbian Love Octagon had transformed me from a jaded pop culture critic to a screaming tween at a Justin Bieber concert. (In fact, there was even a cast member with Bieber hair.)"

And here is the link to the review:

Lesbian Best Week Ever

Yeah, apparently this whole Bieber Fever is really catching on. And I am the girl version of it.

Love,

The Biebs

MY SHOW!

My show got an AWESOME review! Read it! Read it!

Theatre Is Easy: Lesbian Love Octagon

They even mention me! Not by name...but I'm still pretty stoked about it:

"The show has every imaginable lesbian stereotype from diesel dyke to femme to Justin Bieber lookalike, but the roles are written with such heart that each one is a real person instead of just a caricature."

The Justin Bieber lookalike? Yeah, that's ME!

I thought it was pretty funny. :)

HAIR LOSS

Today I took off about 8 inches of hair. Yes, Ladies and Gents. Lauren is one of those "short-haired" girls now!

Brandy did an amazing job. I thought there'd be a point, either at the salon or after I got home, when I would cry...and...I didn't! Because I LOVED IT! Correction: I Love It.

It's scary. I am nervous for people's reactions. But...yeah...I am pretty stinkin' happy with it! Woo woo woo my short hair woo!

So dear readers, here it is. Me with short hair:

So then I came home and showered and this was my hair after the shower! A little less styled. I have so many ways I can play with it! Woo woo! And I bought lots of headbands. To "girlie" it up!

And one fun photo. Just for kicks! ;)

So...any short haired girl reading this, comment something cool I can try with my new 'do! And to any of you longer haired folk...compliments are always welcome. ;)

Peace!

Dear World,

Could you make the hours between 12am-7am last a little longer? I find that they feel shorter and go by faster every night. I'm quite busy with the 2 jobs and rehearsals right now and would like just a bit more sleep.

Best Regards,

L.S.

It's in the air.

I love the smell of earth.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't mean just the smell of dirt, though that's nice too. And I don't mean just...earth as in the world in general, cause frankly- here in NYC- sometimes the world is pretty stinky.

I mean, the smell of the seasons. The smell of the wind. The smell of ocean. The smell of snow. I love them all.

And today, for the first time this year, I smelled autumn. It put the biggest smile on my face. I had just gotten off the subway and was walking home and a gust of wind came and I smelled it. Changing leaves. The chill in the air. The change.

And then, another gust. And I smelled the cold wind. Though sometimes I don't enjoy the wind itself, I always love the smell of it. The cool frostiness of it. It reminds me of skiing and riding the chairlift at Hidden Valley while growing up. And whenever I smell that, I know that soon I'll also smell fireplaces. I love those smells together.

It's those little things that just remind me how grateful I am to be here. To notice them. To celebrate another year gone by.

And, completely off subject: At work today, John Lithgow came in and I helped him pick out a jelly roll pan. He was very sweet. And I couldn't stop thinking of all the shows he's done. Awesome.

The Shoes I Love (aka You HAVE to buy these!)

It all started this spring, when I saw a commercial for a shoe company with a great idea. For every pair of shoes they sold, they donated a pair to children in need in underprivileged areas of the world.

I was so moved.

That this company was inspired to help make the world a better place. To help children. And now, it's fashionable. It's a trend. You see someone wearing these shoes and you think to yourself "that person helped a child in need...and they look cool doing it".

For me, at first, it was "this is a great cause! and i need new flats...good NYC walking shoes". So, I bought my first pair. The Classic Women's Canvas Shoe in Ash:

Those little shoes were my obsession this summer. As a formerly flip-flop obsessed woman in summertime, my flip-flops took a backseat to these babies. They are comfortable, easy, and totally adorable. And I just wanted MORE. Cause I mean, yeah, gray goes with a lot, but not with eeeeverything.

So one day, my sister facebooks me to tell me that TOMS is having a sale. $5 off every order. And I think to myself "$5 off?! that's totally a good reason to buy a new pair!" So I did.

Except...

I couldn't decide which pair I wanted.

So instead...

I just...

Well-

I bought 3 pairs.

So, Classic Canvas in Navy, Powdered Wool Cordones in Indigo (the ones with laces), Siebe Perforated Nylon Classic in Black...Welcome to my TOMS shoes family.

Now I have a pair for nearly every occasion! I wear them to work, I wear them to play, I wear them to do other stuff, I wear them ALL DAY! (ok, I had to make it rhyme at that point.)

So, my suggestion to you all is:

Go to www.toms.com and buy yourself a pair of wonderful (and adorable) shoes that will make you feel great- not only because you LOOK great- but because they support a really great cause.

And boys, don't feel left out! They have mens shoes too! And youth, and babies! EVEN SHOES FOR WEDDINGS!

They're the best. Seriously. I've never felt better about spending money on shoes.

So, really, go check them out.

www.toms.com

Peace my friends.

Benefit (...Or "Me with Pink Hair")

So last night was the Lesbian Love Octagon Benefit. It was at the Stonewall Inn, which is a famous gay bar here in NYC (because it was the place of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, which is said to be the start of the Gay/Lesbian liberation movement). It was a night of frivolity, full of all sorts of things that I had never seen before. Lesbian Burlesque, Go-Go Dancers, me in a pink wig...it was an educational evening, to say the least!

So, presenting for the first time EVER in the whole UNIVERSE...

LAUREN WITH PINK HAIR

We did a 50/50 raffle and I had to sell tickets. Unfortunately, I did not sell that entire strand around my neck...I only sold like 8. But someone else took them and sold them for me!

Some of the cast sang the song "Drink To Being Single" from the show, which was also the name of the party! So we raised a glass to being single and sang all about it!

This is Ti, Sue, Me and Kat, who is belting it out while I am sipping my water. I am so hardcore. (PS: Like my tights?! I wish I got to wear this outfit for the actual show.)

Aww, see, here we're kind of sad about being single...but then we get happy again at the end and rock it out!

We had a great turnout for the party and it was a whole lot of fun! It made me really excited to start rehearsals and get this show up and running! Woo woo pink wigs! Woo woo striped tights!! Woo woo party party!!

Ok, the end.

Peace.