Master Bedroom - After

I have "finished" (is anything ever really finished?) an entire room in the house! The kitchen, living room and bathroom are all close, as well, after I touch up some paint. It may also never happen because every time I think about doing stuff, I feel overwhelmed and go to bed instead.

 I've slept so much lately.

Here is the post with all the before pictures of the whole house. Before we get to the "after," I'm going to make a disclaimer that my wide-angle lens has decided to give up on useful things like focusing, so that's been fun.


This is right when you walk into the bedroom. We tore out the baseboards and door moldings and I learned to use a miter saw and nail gun to rehang them. They are not perfect, of course, but it was an accomplishment, so I like them. Eventually I'll replace the bedding. The blanket on the end of the bed is one Dad brought me from Peru and it's really warm. I know there is a fold-down ironing board in the laundry room, but I tend to iron more when everything is already set up and right next to my closet, so there's that.


Here is the view from the exact opposite corner. I don't know if that white desk will stay in here, but it's nice to put clothes on when I don't want to hang them up.


And my blue closet! Blue closets are awesome. Same with closets that have lights in them. The only other person I've met who organizers her closet the same way I do and that's my birth mom!


And a few of the other corner where the door to the sun room is -- that room's becoming sort of a storage catch-all because the small bedroom isn't painted yet, so I left the door closed.

I also had to hang the curtains the other day and it was way harder than it looked, but now my room is a pit of blackness and sleeping when they're closed. I've embarrassingly had to call into work multiple times to say I slept in because my room is SO DARK and awesome. It's the best. I love my new room!

Texts From Gretchen

For April Fool's Day (or, the day after, so it would be more of a surprise), Bruce called me into his office and asked me if I'd be interested in playing a prank on David. The obvious answer is "Yes! A thousand times, yes!" because, who doesn't love pranking David? 

A few days earlier, David had listed his truck for sale. He'd listed the truck price a little high and hadn't really had anyone interested. Bruce wanted to create a fake e-mail and e-mail David asking to buy it and then asking a few weird questions. I decided we could do one better. 

I immediately called Heather and asked her if she wouldn't mind texting David asking odd to full-on weird questions until he realized what was up. The original questions Bruce wanted asked were:

• This truck is kind of old, does it really run great? 
• Why are you trying to get rid of the truck?
• What kind of gas mileage does it get? 
• Is the body in good shape? No dents or dings? 
• Has anything taken place in the truck that would make me uncomfortable buying it? Nothing inappropriate? 
• Can I borrow it for a few days instead of buy it?

The questions I decided to add to the mix (with the help of my friend Daniel who is a million times funnier than I am) were:

• Has anyone ever died in the car? 
• Are the windows rock-chip proof? 
•  How's the fuel injection? Does it flow properly? Can I run it with hexagonal gasoline or does it have to be magnetized first? 
• How well will the truck regulate my aura? Should I align my chakra before I get in, just to be sure? How has the truck affected your chakra? 
• Do you mind if I bring my shaman to check it out? 
•  If I decide not to buy it on the recommendation of my shaman, which incense scent is the least offensive to you for future buyers? 
• I prefer to check out the car during a full moon. Can you wait until the 25^th before I can test it? 
• Do you accept poultry in lieu of cash? 

With that information, Heather (now Gretchen!) set to work. Here is the IM conversation that followed:
 

Heather: Hi, my name is Gretchen and I'm contacting you about the 2001 Ford Ranger you listed on KSL. My husband and I are very interested....is it still available?

David: Yes it is.

Heather: Great! I just have a few questions....the truck is kind of old - does it really run great? And if so, why are you getting rid of it?

David: It really does run great. There are just some minor things that need to be fixed, but it's been a great truck. I've had it for 6 years. I just wanted to get something bigger otherwise I'd keep it...

Heather: I totally understand that. We've been driving a 1999 Ford Fiesta and I love it, but my husband thinks we need something bigger and wants a truck. Is the body in good shape? No dents or dings? And what kind of gas mileage does it  get?

This is the point where David came out of his office making fun of these "losers" who drive a Ford Fiesta -- and then we had to look up the car because I'd never heard of it. Props to Heather for that detail! Then David told a story about growing up and they had a neighbor with a Fiesta and he and a group of neighborhood boys picked up the car and moved it to the middle of the guy's lawn. 

David: It does have a little ding on the drivers side quarter panel, but I took it off and popped out the dent so it really doesn't show. It gets  20 miles highway and about 16 around town.

Heather: Yeah, my Fiesta gets on avg 31 mpg. But, my husband insists we get a truck.

How's the fuel injection? Does it flow properly? Can I run it with hexagonal gasoline or does it have to be magnetized first?

David: I'm the same way! The ranger gets good gas mileage for a truck. They are known for that. Can't beat 31 mpg though!

I'm not sure what hexagonal gasoline is but sure! The injectors work just fine.

Heather: That's good. My husband is the only one that cares about hexagonal gasoline anyways. Out of curiosity, are the windows rock-chip proof? My friend was telling me she bought a car with that type of windshield.

It's not rock chip proof... But it doesn't have any chips currently.

David: That sounds like a cool windshield though. I've never heard of that.

Heather: I'm a little embarrassed to ask you this, but has anything taken place in the truck that would make me uncomfortable? Like has anyone ever died in there? I practice Shamanism...and Im a huge believer in auras and spirits, etc. You can imagine that this has been a source of contention with my husband. If he's making me do all the leg work, I can ask!

At this point Bruce and I were both sad she didn't just ask if anything inappropriate had happened in the car because we wanted David to be uncomfortable, but practicing Shamanism wasn't only just a fabulous touch, but ironically the selling point to David so he knew it wasn't a scam. 

David: You don't need to be embarrassed! No, nothing crazy has happened to it! It's just gotten me from point A to point B!

Heather: Thanks for your kindness. Well, I'm really interested. Would you mind if I bring my Shaman to check it out? He may bring some incense with him - so if I don't end up buying the car, which scent is least offensive to you for future buyers? I was going tell him New Car or Pine scent.

David: Where do you live?

Heather: I live in Rose Park and my Shaman lives in SLC.

David: I'm cool with that. Either scent is fine.

This is the point where Bruce, David and some of the other guys went to lunch and David was talking about the weird lady who wanted to buy his truck but who has a, as he pronounced it, "Shay-man." I'm sad I missed lunch because it was apparently hilarious. David decided he'd show the car at Bruce's house so the shaman didn't curse his house. 

Heather: Great! If it's okay with you, I'd prefer to check out the car during a full moon - which is the end of the month...can you wait until the 25th?

Oh, and one more thing....my husband wants to know how many people you can fit in the truck..and if any of those people would be hidden well or if they are all visible? I have no idea why this matters to him, but it does. And he thinks Im crazy - go figure.

David: If its still available by the 25th then sure. I won't hold it though. It holds 5 people.

Diplomatic answer from David! He's REALLY, really good at being polite, we found! He was also ranting about how they were probably going to use it do do illegal boarder things. David was all, "I'm going to take a picture of me signing over the title so it doesn't come back to me!

At this point, Gretchen's "husband" who is actually just Heather's coworker texted: 

Andy: Hi this is Ricky u haf been talking to my wife Gretchen bout yur truck. Does the bed have the wheel well humps so I could suspend a sheet of plywood to create a hidden compartment?
David: Yeah sure.

David was more than worried about what they wanted the truck for at this point.

Heather: I understand that...my husband INSISTS we see it sooner, but it's a religious thing for me...I have to wait for the full moon. Thanks for all your help! If I get clearance from my Shaman before the 25th, I will contact you.

David: Ok cool.

Heather: Thanks! This may not matter, but do you accept poultry in lieu of cash?

David: No.

And that's where they ended for the day. Then Bruce sent me a text that night that said, "David: It really could be a sure thing. If the shaman says go for it, those people may pay full price." Over and over throughout the day he kept saying, "It can't be a scam! The lady practices Shamanism! You don't just make up details like that!" 

We waited a week until the next Monday when Heather was coming in for other fun things that I need to also blog about. When she was here, I asked her to send a text to let David know it was a joke. 

Heather: Hey. My shaman thinks the truck should be good, but can I just ask you one more question before I commit?

David: Sure.

Heather: On a scale from 1 to 10, how hot do you think my husband looks in these pants?

 This was the point where David was supposed to realize it was a joke because David ALWAYS says, "On a scale from one to ten...." and it's a weird picture, so clearly funny! (and, for the record, that is a random picture Andy sent Heather and the picture looks SO MUCH WORSE when it's full-screen!!!). David, sitting in Bruce's office, read it and said, "What the heck?? This lady is totally nuts! This is totally inappropriate and really weird!" And I asked him what he was going to rate the guy. He said, "Probably a six, but I'm not going to tell her that!" He started to write a reply that said, "This is really inappropriate. Look, do you want the truck or not?" but then he decided not to respond, so Heather sent another text that said, "On a scale from one to ten, how confident does this guy look?" and it was a picture of David sitting in his office. He looked at the picture, looked up, saw me there laughing and groaned. It was so perfect!

I won't lie, I'm going to miss Gretchen. She was so new age and a lot of fun! I told Heather she needs to dress up as her (Shamanistic chicken farmer) for Halloween, but we'll see.

The New House Before Pictures

It may be known that I'm moving into my Cannegieter grandparents home. They've both passed away years ago and my dad and his sisters own the house, but my dad manages it. The upstairs renters bought a house and moved out, so, loving a good DYI challenge (and I can promise I will need tips and suggestions and ideas from any of my amazing, talented friends) and the allure of living in a house with a garden, I'm going to be the new renter.

My family went to Silver Reef this past weekend and I drove down with Mom and Dad, so "on our way" (which is a lie, it was totally out of the way by a lot), we stopped by the house to take a few before pictures so I could let people start thinking of decorating ideas they want to give me.

Fair warning, the pictures are entirely unedited and some of them are a little blurry because my wide-angle lens is struggling with focusing.


This is the front. The sidewalk was newly-poured last summer, which is good as I remember it was in bad shape. My favorite part is that little lamp with a flower bed unevenly bordered around the bottom.


Against the side of the house are flower beds. It's north-facing, so if anyone has some good garden suggestions for the area, I'm open to them.


The main room is large and gorgeous. My grandparents put the wood in the fireplace there when they built the house in the late 50's (according to Mom). The renters seemed to think the fireplace was drafty, so, of course, the logical solution before cleaning out the chimney or checking the flue closed properly was to screw (yes, screw) a piece of canvas into the brick and that beautiful wood. It's been days since we saw it, and Mom and I are still horrified that someone would do that. The walls are all popcorn textured, so we're getting someone in to sand it down.


My favorite feature in the entry (which is apparently common to houses of that era), is the bookshelf thing by the front door. Before I'd been in, I'd remembered it was there and planned to paint it, but now I realize it's that same gorgeous wood, so it can stay.


A pulled back shot of the shelf along with the front door (which I am painting the inside part grey and the outside part turquoise because that feels right) and the coat closet.


The open coat closet. The mirror inside is shattered -- does anyone have need of a broken mirror? Also the light switch is completely broken and most of the lights in the house are burned out, so there are a few early projects piling up already.


Here is a shot of the kitchen. Right now we're going to take out the laminate counters, put in granite (and a stainless steel sink) and, eventually, put in wood floors (or uncover the natural wood floors -- I don't know that it's been decided). I don't love the floor now, but clearly my world won't end living with it for awhile. Jenny used to live here when Ziggy was born, and she's the one who redid all the kitchen hardware (which looks GREAT -- it's all loose, but that's not too hard to fix) and added curtains all over.


The other side of the kitchen. We're getting a new stove (how do you even lose the front of the stove???), and it also has a tiny little dishwasher that should be just perfect for me.


Here's the dining room (when we do the floors, we're also pulling the wood out into the dining room so it won't be carpet any more) with the door that leads outside to the side yard/patio area. Can you see on the ceiling where Jenny got sick of painting? The ceiling tile is acoustic, but it has gold flecks in it. When Dad gets the walls sanded, we may have the person paint the ceilings. I love painting, but not ceilings.


The view from the dining room back into the kitchen. I love the wrap-around counter and the little dividing shelf. I'm going to take the dividing part and tile it with something...as soon as I pick out what I want there.



There's a random cupboard under the bar (and the renters left A TON of random junk all over the house -- how long do I have to wait before I can reasonably throw it all away?). Mom said it's for  phone books, so I'm not sure what I'll do with it. Never-the-less, there it is. I'm going to peel the carpet off above and below the door (because, honestly, why???) and paint that all grey.


The hallway to the bedrooms - kitchen is on the left, coat closet on the right.


The first bedroom is the little one. The wood is the houses' natural wood floors (aren't they so gorgeous???). The renters put vinyl on the wall and didn't really get it off, or, scrapped big chunks of the wall off in their attempt. There are chunks out of the wall all over in that room. Jenny painted the room when she lived there, and, while I like it, I'm going with a new color scheme.


The view toward the door. My sewing machine is going against that wall as soon as I get that room painted.


The thing I love about the little room is the inside the closet dresser that's attached in. It clearly needs some new hardware since it's missing quite a bit.


And the closet.


Across from the little bedroom is the bathroom. We're debating doing entirely new counters since the ones in there are SO SHORT and have zero storage. If that happens, I just want one central sink since I don't really see the point of two. If that doesn't happen, we'll probably put granite in there, too, in which case I'm getting rid of the sink by the door.


The window next to the shower is now missing a curtain. Glad the glass is frosted! Also the towel holders are in the weirdest places... Good thing I'm repainting that room so I can rehang everything where I want.


The shower is dirty....This is going to be a Heather cleaning challenge (o: I also can't figure out why the corner holding thing is up so high! At least I like the tile.


Bathroom from the other direction. The whole room has exactly one outlet. One. And all the outlets are two-pronged. Do I have any friends who are good at being electricians who want to change the outlets to three-pronged and give me some more bathroom outlets? Because that would be awesome. Next to the door is a frosted yellow window. I'm thinking of putting a mirror in on the hall side (because there is still framing out there) and making the inside part a shelf or something. But that's....open to discussion since it will be a long time before I ever get there.


The middle of the bathroom closet (this house has a lot of closets!). I want to do something with it to make it more functional. The shelves are all covered in weird laminate and they're deep and close together, so I'm taking suggestions here, too. I saw something on Pinterest about making closet doors glass, and I love it, but...again, nothing set in stone since that's a project that will wait awhile.


The laundry room is much bigger than I remembered! At some point, I'm going to take off the wall paper border, repaint and replace the warped metal cupboards with one wooden cupboard and some shelves like I saw on Pinterest. Any suggestions on what to do with the gap between the washer and dryer? It's very big.


The other side of the laundry room with the built-in ironing board down (the other renters left clothes all over the laundry room).


Now with it up so you can see the sink and the little medicine cabinet.  


One of the hallway closets which is filled with stuff the renters forgot (and I went over there last night and the clothes were gone but the closet was still filled with boxes and blankets and toys), but they also have the key (because the former renter's brother lives downstairs and all the locks are the same -- note to self: get new locks... -- so he has until I move in at the end of the month for this to be all gone.


The master bedroom, which is what I'm going to paint first and I can't wait because I love painting!


The bedroom looking back at the door and the closet with the sun room off to the right.


The closet. I'm excited to paint it and get in a closet organizer. It's going to look great.


In the sun room. Apparently the renters decided they didn't have enough closet space, so they drilled holes in the tile and hung a bar. At least that solves my nonexistent problem of worrying where I could potentially hang clothes to dry if I so desired. It is not tacky looking at all. I'm pretty sure I'm going to make this room a greenhouse since it's south-facing and so warm in the summer and I only want to grow tomatoes and red peppers anyway (and everything I read said they'd do fine in pots).  It'll buy me time until I decide if I want to commit a portion of the yard to a garden or build raised beds or realize I kill everything that depends on me and just mooch off friend's gardens like a normal person.


The other side of the sun room. Does anyone need a desk? Because that sure is not staying in there. I'm going to repaint the whole room and put my white desk under the bookcase.


The bottom half of the second hall closet.


And the top half. I love how EVERY SINGLE closet in this house (and there are many!) have lights in them.


And the scary closet. This closet is built over the stairs that go to the downstairs apartment/outside to the back yard. You get to it by climbing a ramp, but it has tons of boxes in there and I need them to move. Dad wants me to clean it out, which might also be a Heather project because I'm afraid of heights (o:


Back to the dining room, here's the door off to the side yard.


The newly-poured patio. Raspberries grow REALLY well along that fence, so those will be a spring priority.


And the little deck that attaches to the house. I'm thinking I should some day be brave and try my hand at an herb garden out here -- so I'm taking tips for that as well.

That's pretty much it. I have chosen a color pallet I like -- pretty much every room is going to be that light tan-ish color with accents in grey. The insides or closets are also going to be grey. The bathroom and sun room are going to be turquoise (because I love it, so why not?), and the laundry room will be the light blue with the orange accent. Which is all subject to change deciding on my mood (o:

And there we are. I have a long month of repairing and painting ahead of me!

The Best NYC Trip Ever

I had lunch with my family on Saturday and as I was sitting across from Jenny (and Gigi), I started telling her about the trip and how wonderful and perfect it was and Jenny made some comment about being sad she couldn't go. I told her I like to reward myself with a trip for every year I don't have a child. Good job on not having kids, me!

This may have been my favorite trip I've ever taken to NYC. From leaving JFK to arriving at JFK again, Melanie and I spent roughly 48 hours there and it was just perfect.


We were supposed to fly out on Thursday on the red eye (against my better judgment. I become very low-functioning on little sleep and then no one wants to be around me), but they kept delaying our flight and it was snowy and foggy and icy and kind of terrifying to drive in, so I looked at our flight information (to see if it would just be canceled) and there was a button that said, "rebook for free!" and I wanted to see what flights were available and I clicked on it and ended up booking myself on the 9 am flight out. The problem being Melanie's ticket was still on the red eye. I called her in a complete panic saying, "I broke everything! We are in trouble!" and she, not having a computer because she was staying at Wendy's house, gave me her Delta information. Luckily I was able to get her in and book her a ticket on my flight and all was well. And we went to bed not having to worry about the delayed midnight flight.

All of that worked so well. We got to sleep in our beds, eat breakfast, get to the airport without stress and I got an e-mail that our original flight didn't leave (or at least wasn't scheduled to leave) until after 2. I would have not functioned even a little bit at all.

It was a relief to finally leave the city (we were both worried about never getting out and missing all our shows) and the disgusting air.


Our first stop after the airport was to our hotel. It was the Presidential Best Western and we booked on Priceline because Melanie likes an adventure (another good thing about the changed flight, check in was at 3 and originally we were getting there at 7 am and...that would have been bad). They were nice enough to give us a room with two beds and the beds were really high off the ground so monsters didn't have a chance to grab our toes.


I imagine the hotel's under-the-bed monsters looked like this Thomas Jefferson lamp...the eyes are so creepy! The hallways also were really close and long and wallpapered in dark purple. It felt like The Shining. And the pipes made horrible noises, especially the heater which was right next to my head. The first night, it was making noises like someone was inside it alternately pounding or scratching to get out. I told Melanie I was freaked out and she got mad at me for teasing her (because I was by it) and so I jumped over to her bed and the noises continued and we were BOTH freaked out. It was a little unnerving trying to sleep through (I admittedly didn't sleep through much of it).


We then went to have dinner at The Shake Shack because it was close and so many people raved about it -- neither of us loved it, so, there was that. It was pretty much our only travel disappointment (well, that and the haunted hotel, but I think that in retrospect that adds to the adventure). Seating was hard to find (probably because it was -10 degrees and windy and snowing) and we ended up sharing a four person table with two strangers. Melanie, at one point, went up to get our food at the same time the guy's date went up to get her food. The guy and I were left alone staring at our phones and awkwardly not talking. I almost told him that he was my worst date ever, but then I worried he'd think I was serious and his girlfriend would come back.

We immediately left the Shake Shack and bought warmer gloves because it was ohmygosh so cold.


Our first show -- the one we booked the whole trip for -- Phantom of the Opera, was across the street from The Shake Shack. I wanted to go because the 25th Anniversary performance was the next night (but no way to get tickets to that, which is fine. I was still happy) and because Sierra Boggess was flying in from London to be in the show for six weeks and I wanted to see her again (I've seen her in Little Mermaid -- my first Broadway show! -- and Music in the Air, but I didn't have an autograph since those were before my brave stage dooring days).


We had seats on the front row of the mezzanine right in the center.  Everything was absolutely perfect! Here is the chandelier.

Thoughts about Phantom: When Carlotta started singing, Melanie leaned over and whispered "I hope Christine is as good as her!" because Carlotta was a really good singer. Sierra Boggess, Christine, is even MORE amazing in person than she is on CD/DVD, so it was not a worry.

The Phantom has an AMAZING voice! I wished we could vote on who she'd end up with, because I would have picked the Phantom in a heartbeat based on voice alone.

She picked Raoul, who did not have a good voice and I was disappointed and expected better. He sung and talked SO SLOWLY! I'm still not sure how he managed any song involving other people because he was just so. slow. that he couldn't possibly keep up with everyone else.

I hate disappointment with singing. 

There was a weird part right after Music of the Night where the Phantom is maskless and singing and he started crawling around on the ground while singing. He looked like Spiderman scaling a wall. But, you know, on the floor. I maybe started to laugh (quietly. Out of surprise). Also I haven't seen the stage production since the Monsons took Jenny and me when I was 15, so I'd forgotten about the mannequin dressed up in a wedding dress to look like Christine. Also laughed there.

But not seeing it in awhile meant I'd also forgotten about the boat going over the mist with the candles coming out of the ground and the music and the mood and the ambiance. I loved it ALL.

The chandelier didn't fall fast enough to be awesome. I blame safety standards.

I've been watching the Phantom 25th Anniversary movie a lot (a lot), so I had expectations. The graveyard scene? There are supposed to be fire balls that the Phantom flings to be all scary and stuff. Instead it was like those Fourth of July shock things that make a tiny spark and don't even hurt that much. I was not impressed.

One advantage the live production has over the movie, is the stage wasn't just there for a one-night concert, but for a show that plays every night, so they were able to do things that helped the stories, like divide rooms with curtains or walls or, my favorite, an iron gate that comes down when Christine is trapped in the Phantom's lair. Suddenly a lot of the songs/dialogue made sense where they didn't make sense before in a big, wide, totally open stage.

A different kind of fun was how someone on the front row was dressed as the Phantom. He even had a fake wound over all his face and then the mask covering it (I know this because he was at the stage door). He threw roses at all the cast. It was...odd.


After the show we went to the stage door -- which was crowded. Sierra Boggess came out and she was rushing to get into her waiting car, but Melanie, who is bold and assertive, got her autograph (and then she dropped her purse on Melanie's foot right as I was about to take a picture of her and Melanie) and then she hopped in her car. Melanie was a hero. There were really SO many people back there.

Raoul also came out and we got his autograph, but I was still annoyed with his disappointing singing speed. The Phantom didn't come out, or maybe he did, but it was after we left because we were so cold and just wanted to go to bed in our warm, haunted hotel.


The next morning after sleeping in (or lying in my warm bed with a pillow over my head trying to block out the possessed radiator noises), we went to breakfast and took a leisurely walk down to The Mystery of Edwin Drood theater to get tickets. They sell them for $35 the day of. They're at the VERY back, of course, but neither of us knew anything about the show; we were only seeing it because Stephanie J. Block is in it and I wanted to see her (clearly there is a theme to the shows I pick -- Melanie is a really good sport). We also found out that the guy from SMASH was in it, so that was a bonus.


After procuring out tickets, we took a picture of one of the characters named "Janet Conover." Melanie felt an instant kinship. Then we wandered around again and went shopping. We found a store with a lot of lunch boxes, so I got a Tinkerbell one for Giselle and a Darth Vader one for Ziggy. Then we went to Times Square and the Disney Store and I bought even more cute things. Also there was street art shopping along the way. Then back to the show!


The one thing I knew about Edwin Drood was the audience votes on who the murderer is. I would vote Melanie to be the murderer.


We were SO far back. The guy in front of me was HUGE. And not only was he (and his head!!!) huge, but he had long, greasy hair the he'd play with the entire show, so his head would block me and then his arm would be up blocking me. I was super annoyed. So we moved back further but with no one in front of us.

We went in with zero expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. I actually really enjoyed the show, the music, the characters, everything. Even the part where the audience gets to vote on who is the murderer and who plays certain parts. LOVED that. I want to see it again. Badly!


Of course we went to the stage door after. I had a program that needed to be signed!


Stephanie J. Block (who played Edwin Drood and was soooo good and I can't stop listening to her songs on the album) came out first and I had Melanie practice taking pictures so she'd be ready to take my picture. This is one of the shots. I love the SJB has a purple pen. Maybe I need to add purple to my black and gold stage dooring pens. Possibly I also need a silver, but that's neither here nor there.


We had our picture together and I'm regretting not doing my hair (or, rather, I did it but it's so cold and wet and snowy that I just popped it back in a ponytail).


Next came Will Chase, who is in SMASH. While Melanie was talking about how hot he was, the girls next to us were talking about how he was old enough to be their dad (I looked him up on IMDB. They are correct).


So Melanie, who has so far shown complete disinterest in stage dooring (she really only does it for me because she is a good, kind, brave person), wanted her picture with Will and I was happy to oblige (and Melanie's hat is new because the hat she brought was too cold so we bought a warmer one on the street).


We then made a trip to Canal Street. We were meeting my friend Lisa in a store near by and they happened to have Idaho Potatoes that are baby size. I've never seen this kind of potato be that small before. It was interesting and adorable.


We found Lisa and went to the waffle cart. They had a Twitter promotion where if you talked to the person taking your order like he was your 90 year old grandmother, you got a discount. So Melanie did it and rocked it. Lisa also did it but she didn't commit to her role. She has room for improvement. (o: I did not attempt at all because....that is not me. However, I savored my full-price hot chocolate without a single regret.

We then spent the next hour or so shopping on Canal Street. Well, Melanie shopped and I looked disinterested in everything so people kept offering me really good deals. Too bad I didn't want to bring any of it home with me.


We dropped off our purchases at the hotel before our next show. Someone lost a glove and some pretzels and someone else arraigned them artistically on the phone outside of the elevator. The hotel looked more haunted by the minute.


We walked through Times Square to get to our next theater -- Melanie seems to like Times Square for some weird reason I will never understand...


And we saw NEWSIES (The one show Melanie got to pick!)! This time we were a row behind where I was back in September, but I loved the show A LOT more this time. I knew the plot (I hadn't seen the movie before, so I didn't know what to expect) and what was coming, so I was able to enjoy the emotions and the dancing and the creative staging. Also the little boy this time was actually little and not annoying, unlike last time. This round was a million times better. Melanie also pointed out that the one Disney show we've seen on this trip is the show with the worst language. So true.

We did not stage door because I did that last time and it was SO cold. We didn't want to be outside another minute.


The next morning we only had one show planned and the weather was warming (7 degrees), so I did my hair and makeup and we went around to the theaters so I could have cute pictures in front of them, starting with the Edwin Drood theater.


Walking around we found a guillotine. We love random sidewalk guillotines.


Melanie missed her calling being in Phantom. She fits right in as Christine. Arctic Christine because it was cold.


Our hotel was across the street from The Heiress. Guess who Melanie is mad at for (whited out for Spoilers -- in case people care about that) leaving Downton Abbey.


This is what it would look like if one were to take engagement pictures with a skeleton.


Melanie had a blister, so we didn't walk down to the Newsie's theater, but here I am in front of a sign for it!


And in front of the theater for our last show, which was Annie; a show both of us dislike but we were only seeing it because of Anthony Warlow playing Daddy Warbucks. Annie was a little stressful. We went to the theater at 10:50 to put our name in for the ticket lotto and the guy running it was a jerk. We asked when to come back and he said, "Noon" and Melanie asked if he was sure he said it again and I asked, "Not 11?" "No. Noon." And we both, one more time, asked, "Noon?" and he seemed really annoyed with us, so we left and came back at noon to find they drew it at 11, like I'd thought! I was so sad. And we went to the people and told them what happened and the guy didn't care and I wanted to cry. But the ticket booth lady cared and said she'd give us some extra seats for $40, so we took them. 


This Hyndai ad is REALLY cool. People go up the stairs and the camera takes their pictures and puts their heads in a car commercial.


Here were our $40 seats. Front row on the side. We were so close that I spent a considerable amount of time watching the conductor just because it was interesting. Also Anthony Warlow is SO TALENTED and all my dreams have come true seeing him perform live.

And the biggest surprise for both of us, we actually liked the show! 


We did the stage door, but only the little girls came out. They were adorable and it was fun, but I'm disappointed having not met Anthony Warlow. Ah well. I saw him perform, so I'm happy.


Then we hopped in a taxi and headed back to the airport. Then we flew to Salt Lake where the airport was closed, but then they opened it, but we had to wait forever on the runway for a gate to open. We also made friends with all the people around us because they were fun. And then we had to drive through a horrible snow storm to get home. But four shows in two days? Totally the best.