So Much Stuff

FRIDAY NIGHT FUN: Apologies for the dearth of posts last week. It was, shall we say, a week. More like two weeks, fit into one, actually. CJ recently asked me "when's the next day we have that we won't be busy?" And by busy, he meant crazy busy, I'm sure. 

Following are a few highlights of what kept us so busy at the end of last week and on the weekend. 

The kids both attended "Fridays at the 5th" for the first time. We dropped them off downtown at 4, and I picked them up a bit after 11, so time wise, it was a pretty big deal. Not only did they get to see the play "Austen's Pride," they had dinner and some workshops, as well. I'll have Annabelle share a bit about the experience. 

Austen's Pride is a musical based on the creation and story of Jane Austen’s famous novel, “Pride and Prejudice.” The musical tells not only the story of the book, but also of Austen’s real life experiences that shaped her views on romance stories and happy endings.

My brother and I were lucky enough to have a workshop at the 5th Avenue Theatre before their show, where we were taught a verse from one of the songs and choreography to go with from the actress that played Jane Bennet, Manna Nichols. She showed us how to partner dance like the actors and actresses on stage would be doing minutes later. 

We also had a small presentation detailing some important things about Pride and Prejudice before the show began. For example, when the book was first published it was so unusual for a woman to be popular in the writing world that Austen’s books were attributed as being written by “a Lady.” Despite writing about love and marriage quite a bit, she never got married herself and lived solely on her own earnings.

The musical did a wonderful job at clearly condensing the story of the novel into the time allotted without losing too many major details or plot points. The actors and actresses were amazing singers and despite being told at the Q&A afterward that there were a few mistakes in blocking, I wasn’t able to notice any of them during the show proper. While the show’s run is now over, it was a wonderful musical and I’d definitely like to attend another workshop at the theater and see these actors again! 

We're hoping we can sign the kids up for future Fridays at the 5th.

SPRINKLE PLENTY: One of the tasks that kept us extra busy last week was finishing a big cake for a big to do. Birthday Dreams, a non profit that provides birthday parties for homeless children, had their biggest fund raiser of the year Saturday night, and they asked Annabelle to bake a cake for the occasion. 

She was asked for something that incorporated their logo, something fun, something elegant, a tiered cake ... We talked about various ways to pull that off and wound up going with a mocktail theme for taste. The first tier was five layers, a lime margarita cake with a salty sweet filling. 

We decided to ice the tier and then encrust the whole thing in blue, green, white and silver sprinkles. We made a mix to fill that bill. 

To figure out how to get all the sprinkles on the cake, we turned to the Internet. Many people pick up the cake and roll it in the sprinkles. We weren't comfortable doing that, though. So we came up with our own way, and got better at it as we went along. 

The top layer is strawberry daiquiri with fresh strawberry filing and rum icing. 
She made the edible balloons out of gelatin. They're so pretty!

TEEN SCENE: Saturday night, Annabelle, Kennedy and I had an obligation in the U District. It's the fourth Saturday, so that means a Teen Feed dinner service for us.

It was the Saturday before Halloween, so we felt compelled to embrace a spooky menu. Here's a small version of the menu poster we had as diners filed in.

As always, they were *so* hungry. It's a daunting task feeding them. We can only physically bring so much food - a finite amount. When a whole bunch of them ask if they have have four or five hot dogs, it puts us in a hard spot. You don't want to say no, but what about the other diners following them during our hour service. Should someone only get one or none because the first 20 people got 5 apiece? ... I've been thinking a lot about how to manage that and need to consult with the Teen Feed powers that be.

Anyway, that issue aside, it was a super fun service. The kids loved having Halloweenies as the entree. 

And they actually ate healthy, because the Clementines and Boo-nanas were so darn cute!!

Annabelle and I even dyed cream cheese yellow and black and some volunteer kids there decorated Ritz Crackers. 

Kennedy showed up in a full on pumpkin suit (blazer and slacks), and brought *the best* maple baked beans.

All in all, a busy and good night.

GLAMOUR SHOTS:  Fall's my favorite season, and these photos below are proof positive.

Here's a view form the (dirty, sorry) window above our stairs on Sunday morning, around 9 a.m. 

And here's a shot from the deck. 

Clouds filled the valley (goodbye Kent, Renton and Tukwila), and it was like there was nothing but us and the mountain. Just gorgeous!

INSIDE THE LINES: Thursday afternoon we made a whirlwind trip up to Mukilteo to celebrate birthdays (mine and Annabelle's) and have a nice lunch G&G R.

Annabelle spied some coloring sheets on the counter and couldn't help herself.