One of the highlights of our New York trip (for me) was the Star Wars costume exhibit at the Discovery Center in Times Square. The exhibit featured tons of costumes, mainly from the first six films, and it was super cool to see them all up close and personal. I legit am just photo dumping this post because there were so many cool things and I took so many pictures and most of them are self-explanatory (if they aren’t I’ll, you know, explain). But anyway, the Discovery Centers tend to have traveling exhibits so I imagine this one will make its way to places other than NYC so if you have a Discovery Center near you, keep an eye out for this exhibit. It is a must for any Star Wars fan! I hope you enjoy my poor lighting and sometimes blurry picture tour!
Okay, so side note, Padme/Amidala had probably three times as many costumes on display as all of the other characters combined, and they are so freaking cool, all of them.
Also, this bikini is even smaller in person than it looks in the movie. There is a quote about it from Carrie Fisher that said something along the lines of everyone could see everything when she put it on, and it was super uncomfortable to wear (because in addition to being itsy bitsy it’s all legit made of metal).
So my favorite part was seeing the droids because I felt like I was meeting them in person. I also am a huge fan of Padme’s flowing sunset ombre caftan looking dress that she wore for like 2.5 seconds in one of her movies (2 or 3, can’t remember which since I tend to not watch those ones so much). Definitely a worthwhile experience and if it comes to LA, I will probably go check it out again!
Hello friends and welcome to Day Three of my recent trip to the Big Apple (you can catch Day One and Two here). So our first full day in New York was basically the best day of the theater in the history of the world and it was going to take a lot to top that. Theater wise, nothing could compete with seeing Hamilton and Fun Home on the same day, but Day Three was pretty awesome in terms of touristy stuff.
We started the day visiting the New York Public Library, home of Carrie Bradshaw’s failed wedding and surprisingly few books. Turns out the real library is across the street in a not nearly as gorgeous building and this building is mainly used for research and touring (and fancy weddings, apparently). It was very cool to see the building and tour some of the inside, but my favorite part was the gift shop. I didn’t know one could spend $100 in a library, isn’t that shizz supposed to be free? Anyway, I scored some really cool book nerd swag that I love, so that was definitely awesome.
After the library we walked to the Empire State Building. We didn’t have time to go up to the top, which was good because I wouldn’t have wanted to anyway, but we did snap some pics outside. Side note: you have to walk a good two blocks away from the building itself in order to be able to get a good pic.
Then we headed to the Museum of Modern Art, which I was iffy about because I feel like most modern art is weird. And a lot of it was. There was definitely one whole display that was a stool under a shovel that was hanging from the ceiling. Probably worth millions of dollars. Whatevs. We did get to see The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh which was pretty cool.
Then we went for a tour of Lincoln Center, which I truly only enjoyed because our tour guide talked about the end scene from Center Stage being filmed there (though we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside, which was lame). It was cool, but I really wanted to go backstage and apparently that ain’t happenin’.
On our way back to our hotel I had to stop for my obligatory Dunkin’ coffee with cream and sugar and then take this awesome tourist pic in Times Square. I have to say, I am a little less into Dunkin’ now that it is available here in Cali (though there is not one actually in LA proper, which I find annoying), but it was delicious nonetheless and I needed the pick me up because we had walked like twelve miles during the day and we still had an evening show to go to.
That night we went to see Something Rotten, which was hilarious and amazing and had we not seen Hamilton, probably would have been my favorite show (if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am really freaking into Hamilton). I am a huge Shakespeare fan and a musical theater nerd so I loved trying to figure out all of the references. We got to do a talk back with some of the cast members after which is always fun. I learned that the good tappers actually wear mics on their feet to pick up the sounds from the taps, super cool. I do have to say that Christian Borle (love him on Smash) and Brian d’Arcy James (love him a little less on Smash) did not come out for the talk, which was a bummer. Even if you come out for five seconds and wave, I feel like you gotta put in an appearance when you have a group of students there to talk to you. Uncool.
But loved the show, loved the library, and had a fun day three in NYC!
Hello friends! Well, I am slowly getting used to my new blogging platform. I think I finally fixed the issue of old links not redirecting, so hopefully you have been able to find what you are looking for. I am still working on some picture formatting issues, so images might look a little wonky still, but please bear with me!
I spent the first week of the new year visiting one of my favorite cities: New York. Given my background in theater, NYC is somewhere I have often thought I might end up living (though after now having been there twice in the winter, I think I will stay in the California sunshine). Living there does not seem to be in the cards for me, but I am happy to visit as often as I can! This most recent trip was through the school where I teach theater part time, and I went with a small group of students plus some chaperones. Our goal was to see as much theater and as many cool sights as possible and we definitely accomplished that! Here’s the report from our first couple of days:
We left LAX early in the morning, and it was cold and rainy in Los Angeles and sunny and nice in New York! How often does that happen?
Our first stop in NYC, was Top of the Rock, which is the rooftop levels of the 30 Rock building, which happens to be right across the street from Radio City Music Hall.
Top of the Rock is an amazing place to see the city, especially at night. It is a nice welcome to NYC!
After Top of the Rock, it was California dinner time, so we headed out for some local pizza. It was alright, but certainly not the best pizza I have ever had. Definitely had better in Brooklyn (sorry Manhattanites).
On our second day, we went out on a water taxi tour, which is one of my favorite things to do as you have great views of all the major landmarks of the city. We saw the new World Trade Center building…
The main attraction of the water taxi tour is the Statue of Liberty. I have never gone out to the Statue itself, but I have heard the view from the water is much better since you can actually see the entire statue.
After our water tour, we headed to lunch at Schnippers, where I had my first of like twelve grilled cheese sandwiches throughout our trip. I don’t know why, but everywhere we went, I was craving grilled cheese. It was decent food for being quick and easy.
We were able to see two shows on our first full day in the city, a matinee and an evening performance. It was almost unfortunate that we saw Hamilton first because it made the rest of the shows (which were all great) seem not so amazing. To put it simply, Hamilton is the best show I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot (and worked on a lot). Seriously, it is absolute perfection and I am SO EXCITED that it is coming to Los Angeles in 2017. I cannot wait. If you have the chance to see the original cast, it is so worth it. Buy those $400 tickets, you won’t regret it!
Our evening show was Fun Home, which was also amazing. We scored front row seats at the TKTS booth, which was amazing, especially for a show in the round. The performances were so stellar, and Fun Home is truly a beautiful show. Basically our first day in New York was the most perfect day of theater ever. How often do you get to see two Tony Award Best Musicals (okay, Hamilton hasn’t officially won yet, but it’s pretty much a given) in one day?
Because we got out of our show pretty early, we decided to hit up the M&M World store, which was right across the street from our hotel (the Crowne Plaza in Times Square). I particularly enjoyed the Star Wars display, of course.
After that we called it a night and headed back to our hotel for some much needed rest. It was a perfect day in New York, and one that I am not sure will be replicated ever again!
If you follow me on Instagram (and if you don’t, get on that!) you know that I spent a few days in New York at the beginning of the month. I was there with a group of students and our goal was to tour as much of the city and see as many shows as possible. It was an exhausting few days, but we had an amazing time (trip report will be coming soon). On our last night we got to see the Broadway production of Aladdin, which I was so excited about. The Aladdin/Lion King/Beauty and the Beast/Little Mermaid years were probably my favorite (possibly because of my age at the time, but also just because they are awesome movies) and Aladdin holds a special place in my heart since I put on the production with my students last year.
The Broadway show follows the same basic storyline as the movie, but has new added music and some new plotlines which really help deepen the characters. We learn that Aladdin has recently lost his mother and is trying to clean up his act by not stealing anymore (unless it’s food, since that’s a necessity and all). Jasmine is as fiery as she is in the movie, which is something I have always loved about her. Jafar is still evil, Iago is still hilarious, and it is of course, the Genie who steals the show.
I loved so many things about this show, and many of them are what we have come to expect from Disney Theatricals. The sets and costumes were absolutely stunning. Given my background in tech theater, I always pay attention to costume changes and set/lighting changes during a show, and this one had a lot and they were flawless. I loved the new songs that were added to the show, along with the new characters (mostly Aladdin’s three friends). The magic carpet ride was just that, pure magic. It is such a beautiful moment to watch (and seems like basically the best job ever, riding on a magic carpet each night). Courtney Reed was a beautiful Jasmine; I loved her voice (even though she seemed like she was recovering from a cold, she still nailed the high notes).
Adam Jacobs was an amazing Aladdin. His voice is truly gorgeous (as are his abs). Plus, he was super sweet after the show, posing with all the fans and signing lots of autographs.
The true star of the show was Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart, who is the Genie. “Friend Like Me” was the indisputable highlight of the show (though “Whole New World” is a very close second). The stamina of this guy (and the ensemble) was pretty impressive. The cheers at the end of the song went on for a loooong time, it was so good (I always try to applaud for a long time after those kinds of numbers so the actors can catch their breath!). I told him I saw him at D23 and he thought that was cool (at least, in my mind that’s what he thought). He was silly and fun in his interactions with the fans.
Because I tend to be a bit of a critic when it comes to theater, I of course found some things I didn’t love during the show. We had the understudy for Jafar and his performance was lackluster in my book. And since this is a show designed for the whole family, some of the comedy is a bit cheesy and doesn’t necessarily work for the adults in the audience. However, the show is so visually and vocally stunning that these small flaws did not take away from my enjoyment at all. Director Casey Nicholaw is quite the talent (he also directed Something Rotten, which we saw and loved, and is about to have four shows running concurrently on Broadway-not an easy feat). I am really hoping that Squirt is old enough for the theater when the show tours here in California because I think it is the perfect choice for a first Broadway show. The kids in the audience loved it (it was one of my student’s favorites and we also saw Hamilton!), and the adults did too!
This is a sponsored post. I received compensation in the form of payment, a discount, or a product in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are my own.
As you know, the hubs and I ran the Disneyland 10k Labor Day weekend (and we made it!). If you have ever run a Disney race before, you know it is pretty much essential to stay at one of the local hotels the night before your race (unless you live super close, which we do not). I was really excited to have the opportunity to stay at the Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel as it is one of the most beautiful hotels you drive by in the Disneyland area. I’ve stayed at quite a few hotels in the Disneyland area and this one definitely felt the most “Disney”, in terms of both looks and quality of service. And it turned out to be the perfect place to stay for a Disneyland run!
If you are a Disneyland frequenter, you have no doubt traveled by the Majestic Garden a time or two (when I was telling the hubs where we were staying, I described it as the “castley looking one” and he knew exactly what I was talking about). I have always wanted to stay there because it looks like something out of a fairy tale and I have to say, it is even better on the inside!
The outside of the hotel reminds me of being in Fantasyland. I love the brick and the chalet style buildings. This courtyard was directly outside of our room. I mean, could there be a better place to sit and have a cup of coffee in the morning? (Sadly we didn’t get to do that, since you know, we were like running the whole morning, but we enjoyed the view nonetheless.)
Inside the rooms feels just as royal as the rest of the hotel. The headboard was so cool and sparkly, I was looking for a way for it to fit in my suitcase. I was also a big fan of the purple draping on the side of the beds.
Another plus inside the room was the amount of space. We traveled without Squirt this time since there was nowhere for him to go during the race, but had he been there, we would have had plenty of space for his travel crib, which is awesome. I am also a big fan of having a table in a hotel room so you don’t have to eat in bed. Inside the cabinet under the TV was a mini fridge, which is essential when traveling with a kids, and a nice bonus when traveling without.
The bathroom was nice, nothing special, but it certainly got the job done. And seriously, my shower after the race was one of the best in my life.
We had a great time hanging out at the pool the evening before the race. There were these awesome cabanas set up, which I thought was a really nice touch. We sat in the hot tub for a while to help relax our muscles before the 10k and it felt amazing.
Bonus? The pool has an outdoor server so we were able to not only order drinks, but have them delivered right to us in the hot tub. It’s the kind of service you get at a luxury hotel, but the Majestic Garden is actually very reasonably priced.
Some other awesome amenities offered at the hotel are a free Disneyland shuttle (though it is also a short and easy walk to the park), a full service restaurant, and a quick service deli. For me the best part about the hotel was the gorgeous setting. The grounds were so beautiful and the rooms were decked out for the most discerning of royals. The only downside for us was that we only had one night to stay and enjoy the hotel! I would 100% stay at the Majestic Garden again, especially for a runDisney race trip (the walk from the hotel to the corrals was about ten minutes and served as the perfect race warm up). From the moment we entered the hotel to the moment we checked out, we had a great experience. I’m looking forward to my next trip there, spending a little more time exploring the grounds and enjoying all the amenities the Majestic Garden offers!
So as many of you know, our hotel experience at the La Jolla Cove Suites was not exactly the best, but despite that, my mom, Squirt, and I had a really nice time on our mini vaycay down south. La Jolla is a beautiful city and we had fun exploring the town’s main drag, and of course enjoyed our stunning view and multiple walks along the beach.
After checking into our hotel in the afternoon, we ventured out to find a market to get milk and some other food supplies. While we were out and about, we decided to stop for a quick drink at the La Jolla Brewing Company. It had been an easy drive in terms of the baby, but nonetheless, it was a long trip and I needed a beer!
I enjoyed a citrusy hefeweizen and some fried pickles while my mom enjoyed a Starbucks (she doesn’t really drink). We had the patio to ourselves so it was nice and quiet and Squirt was able to wander a little.
That night we took in our first sunset and it was pretty spectacular. By far the best part of being at the beach (in my opinion) is the view of the ocean.
There was a huge park area across the street from our hotel and a nice walkway that went right along the edge of the beach cliffs. We walked along the path in the morning and I loved seeing all of the greenery along the cliffs. Usually with the beach you don’t get a lot of green, but there was a lot of plant life around, which was awesome.
We took a quick two minute drive up to the city’s main drag and did some shopping. There were lots of cute little antique and home decor shops that we wandered through. Even Squirt found fun stuff while we were shopping.
After nap time, we took another walk along the water, because why not. This time we were able to get a closer look at some of the seals. I’m not sure Squirt was actually able to see them as they are similar in color to the rocks, but they were fun to watch (for me).
The beach down below the walkway was pretty crowded with swimmers and snorkelers. It kind of looked like a beach in Hawaii, which I had never really experienced in California before. The water was calm in the cove, and some of the clearest waters I’ve seen at our lovely So Cal beaches. I would love to bring Squirt back when he is old enough to go out and do some water exploring.
That evening we went back up to the main drag for dinner. I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of this adorable pink building with the black and white striped awnings. I would do this to my house if the hubs would let me.
The sunset our second night was even more spectacular. I loved being able to sit on our balcony and watch the sunset. We fed Squirt out there so we could watch and sat and chatted out there after he went to bed.
Our final morning my mom had to go to her business meeting so Squirt and I ventured out alone after breakfast for one last walk along the beach. Really, these views cannot be beat.
I’m glad we got to enjoy a relaxing and beautiful morning before the debacle of checking out of the suite. My mom, Squirt and I had a pretty great time considering some of the troubles we encountered with our hotel. La Jolla is truly a stunning location and I would love to take Squirt back when he is a little older so he can experience some of the fun beach activities he’s too little for right now. La Jolla is a great place for some family fun, and a gorgeous place to relax at the beach!
First, let me state for the record that this is not a sponsored post. I did not receive any compensation or perks from La Jolla Cove Suites in exchange for writing this post. This, like all my reviews, is a reflection of my personal thoughts and experiences.
My mom invited Squirt and me to accompany her on a business trip down to the San Diego area and I jumped at the chance. San Diego is beautiful and I knew it would be a fun little getaway for a couple of days. She was in charge of booking our room, and found a suite at the La Jolla Cove Suites.
I did a little research online before our trip and the reviews of the hotel were pretty mixed. It seemed they were in the middle of renovating and some of the rooms were really nice, and some were not so great. (Side note: I did email them and ask for any press kit or info they might want to give me about the property and the renovation and they told me to just look at their website.) So I was a little wary going into our room, but was mostly pleasantly surprised when we walked in.
The suite is basically like a one bedroom apartment, with a separate living and dining room, and small kitchen. For a hotel room in Southern California, it’s huge.
The decor in the living room had a bit of a sixties vibe and I honestly couldn’t tell if the room was one that had been renovated or not. It was definitely clean and spacious, but also looked like it was straight out of Mad Men, but not in a chic retro way, just a this looks old kind of way.
By far the best part of the room, and the hotel in general, is the location. We walked out onto our balcony to see this…
We probably spent more time on the balcony than we did in the actual room. One great factor of the suite was the kitchen. I cannot express enough how awesome it is to have a real kitchen when traveling with a toddler or baby. Between washing bottles and binkies and storing milk, a kitchen is a must. While this one was certainly not the prettiest ever, it was large and got the job done.
The bathroom was also spacious, and seemed clean, though it did look like it was out of the seventies. The shower and tub were nothing noteworthy. I do love lots of counter space in a hotel bathroom, but the space could have been better served by adding another sink.
The bedroom looked like a standard hotel room with two queen beds. I did love that it was a separate bedroom, so we were able to put Squirt down, close the door and still be able to hold a conversation while he slept. It was so dark in there (great for nap time!) I couldn’t get a good picture, but it was again, spacious and seemed clean.
The hotel serves a complimentary breakfast each morning, and it was one of the better ones I have seen at a hotel. They had waffles, bagels, muffins, fruit, cereal, and juice and coffee. Bonus, it was served up on the roof deck, so we got to start off our morning with this view…
In many ways, this hotel had a lot of pros: the size, the view, the kitchen, the separate bedroom, the breakfast. All of those are qualities I look for, especially now that I travel with a kid in tow. However, there were some big problems with the hotel that would prevent me from staying there again.
First, the rooms have no air conditioning. I’m sure that this is not a big issue most of the time, however, California has been experiencing a very hot and humid summer. While there was a nice ocean breeze, it was definitely not enough to cool off the entire suite. In the bedroom, the only window overlooked the walkway so there was no good way to leave it open when Squirt was sleeping because people were constantly walking by and talking. They did have two fans in the room, which helped, but not having AC in Southern California is a big minus in my book.
The balcony of our room was one of our favorite places to hangout, and the view was killer. But there were two rods on our balcony railing that were completely detached at the bottom. This would be a serious safety hazard for anyone, but given that we were traveling with a toddler, it was a huge concern.
We also had some major problems with the hotel on the final day of our stay. My mom was gone for the morning for her work event so I loaded Squirt into the stroller to take him up to the roof for breakfast. In order to get to the breakfast without encountering stairs, I had to go down to the first floor, walk across the property, and then take the main elevator up to the roof deck. Our room was in an adjoining building and there was no direct way to get from our floor to the deck without encountering stairs. It wasn’t a huge deal, though it did seem odd that they would put us in one of those rooms when they knew we were traveling with a small child (as I had asked about portable cribs beforehand and Squirt was with us, in his stroller, when we checked in). After breakfast, Squirt and I went to go for a walk. There was some construction going on and the only ramp from our room to the front of the hotel was blocked off, meaning the only way we could get out was to go down stairs. Again, not the end of the world, but since I was on my own with him, I had to take him out of the stroller, hold him, and walk with him and the stroller down the flight of stairs.
When we were walking back to our room, I asked one of the workers how we were supposed to get our luggage cart down to the first floor as we were going to be checking out soon. He told me I could walk over to the other elevator (in the main building). I told him there were stairs in between my room and the main building and he said there weren’t any. Given that he works there, I figured there must be a way. I went back to our room and started packing up our stuff. My mom was going to be arriving back at the hotel right when we needed to check out so I was on my own for loading up our stuff. So I called down to the front desk to ask for bell service. The woman told me they didn’t offer bell service normally but since I was alone with the baby they would send up a cart. I asked her about the route from my room to the elevator that didn’t involve stairs and she couldn’t given me directions, only told me that there weren’t any stairs. Okay? I mean, it’s hard to mistake stairs. Either they’re there or they’re not.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, I opened it and one of the male housekeepers was there. I asked him if he had a brought a cart since we had a lot of stuff. He communicated that he didn’t speak any English. I pointed out the bags that needed to go and watched him walk out the door and down the emergency stairs to the first floor. I got Squirt loaded up in the stroller and grabbed the rest of the bags, figuring I would make my way to the elevator in the main building as ours was still blocked off and apparently, there were no stairs.
Except there were definitely stairs. And not one or two, because that I could have handled with the stroller and the bags. More like five or six. At that point my mom came up the stairs and she was not happy. You do not want to mess with my mom when she is not happy. Apparently she had parked the car, got out to come to the room, and noticed that all of our bags were sitting on the ground in the middle of the parking lot unattended. And when she tried to get up to the room, she found the elevator blocked and the door to the staircase locked. One of the construction workers let her in and then came to help us get down the stairs, with our remaining bags, the stroller, and Squirt. The construction workers (not employed by the hotel) were by far the most helpful in the whole situation.
In all, it took us about forty minutes to get all of our stuff, and the baby, down to the car. The first hotel employee we talked to seemed to think that it was no big deal and we shouldn’t really be upset that we were trapped in our room (no elevator and stairwell locked), which aside from being unsafe and annoying, is also totally illegal. What if one of us had been on crutches or in a wheelchair? Luckily, the manager was much more understanding. He did refund my mom the cost of one night’s stay. He then informed us the construction was unplanned and they had to be called in on short notice as the landing in front of the elevator on the floor above us was starting to collapse. So this totally unsafe situation was created due to a totally unsafe building.
I do appreciate that the manager took the time to rectify the situation, at least financially, but these were some big problems we faced. And I’m not sure why a hotel that has a lot of bad reviews online wouldn’t take the time to make sure someone who has forewarned them they will be writing a review (I mentioned the blog when I asked for the press kit) has a good experience. I don’t ever expect perks or special treatment, but you might want to make sure I’m not trapped with my toddler. The room charge (during the week, mind you) was $250 a night. Outside of the Disneyland properties, I have never spent that much on a hotel (and wouldn’t, my mom did :o)). If I were going to spend that much, I would expect a lot more than what this property provides. I am from LA, I know the value of a good location, but for me, this location, while stunning, was not worth the cost and the downfalls of the hotel.
