I can't believe I forgot to share this! For those who have followed my blog for a while, you know I love to cook and that most of my recipes are based from one of my favorite chefs, Giada De Laurentiis. Back on February 19, I was lucky enough to find out (just in time) that she would be signing autographs at the Crate & Barrel here in San Francisco. I also lucked out that my boss is a total fan, and with his blessing, I took off from work with my mission. They don't let you bring in books to sign, so luckily there was one more cookbook of Giada's that I didn't have yet, so I bought that one, and another for my boss. After about 40 minutes in line, I was able to meet Giada!
She's so beautiful and just full of energy. She was either seven or eight months pregnant at that time, but she's so petite that it was hard to tell. I totally gave thanks to her for her show and making it easy for people to cook really good food.
Like I said, there few people whom I would go out of my way to see. I think I've managed to see two of my top three this year. Michael Ball is my last big one, but I'll have to trek back to London to see him. I heard he's back doing theater now - currently in Hairspray - so I may have my chance. Not like I can just drop anything and go, but knowing he's back on the stage means I'll have more opportunity one day.
So, I've been asked to tell a little more about Lea Salonga's concert - and I'm happy to oblige.
As soon as the Cache Creek self promotion video ended (tacky!), Lea came on stage and the magic began. She's so petite! For those who care, she was in a black sequins top with a long silk skirt. She was amazing - nonstop for over an hour and a half. Three encores! I kind of feel bad for the people who left after she first said "Goodnight" because they missed her last three songs, and most likely didn't know she would be signing autographs - which was announced after the last encore.
I can't name all the songs she sang, but some of my most memorable favorites include:
I Don't Know How to Love Him
I'd Give My Life for You
On My Own
Tomorrow
The Way You Look Tonight
You Must Love Me
Reflection
Imagine
Promise Me
A Whole New World (just a small sample of it)
There were a few jazz songs and one Filipino song.
I really wished that she would have sung Defying Gravity from Wicked, but hopefully, if she comes back to Northern California, I'll have a chance to hear her sing that live one day.
Seven years today. Time sure does fly when you're having fun - and what better way to describe our marriage. We have a lot of fun together. Not a day goes by that we don't make each other laugh. My husband still has that magic that makes me smile when I see him walking towards me, and I get the warm fuzzies when he's with me. We celebrated tonight by trying the new steak house near our place - Epic Roasthouse. Oh my - it was so good. We definitely ate too much, because it's hours later and I'm still full!Wishing my hubby a very happy anniversary, and many, many more years of fun for us.
That's the only word that comes to mind when describing one of my singing idols... Lea Salonga. I guess most people in America would know her as the singing voice in Disney's Aladdin or Mulan movies.
I was first introduced to her talent when, at 17, she auditioned for the show Miss Saigon, and they had a documentary on the audition and production process. She's absolutely incredible. There are very few people in the world that I will make a special effort to see in person, and she is number one on my list. Unfortunately, most of her performances are in the Philippines.
My luck changed when I happened to check her website, and there it was in black and white. Lea Salonga would be performing at the Cache Creek Casino. Within 10 minutes, I had my tickets ordered and the long wait began for April 26 to arrive. Finally, tonight was the night.
My husband and I drove to Cache Creek and it was the most magical hour and a half in my life. She was perfection. I've never heard anyone sing so beautifully. Her voice is absolutely flawless. She sang some of my favorite Broadway songs and only boosted my already deep admiration of her talent.
To cap off the evening, she came out and signed autographs after the show! Seeing my idol within two feet of me, being her fan for over 20 years, it was an amazing moment for me. I hope she comes back again soon. I can't wait. Now that I know she'll sign autographs after the show, I'll bring my camera next time, and not just have fuzzy pictures from my camera phone. :(
Life can only be described with one word lately - hectic. Too many projects, too many meetings, planning for more projects - planning includes more meetings. Lots of traveling. Yeah, I admit it. I'm pretty tired of driving from SF to Sacramento once a week for the past two weeks. I have a two night trip to look forward to next week. Which reminds me that I have to book my hotel there tomorrow.
On top of it all, there's my little baby, Monte. He's doing well. The new 'less protein' food wasn't really working for him, so we went back to his original food now. We're still giving him medications twice a day. We're trying to figure out how to incorporate the special food into his diet. He needs less protein, so that his kidneys don't have to work so much.
Some good news in the middle of all this chaos... my friend J is pregnant! YEA!!! All I can say is that it's blessing this baby is coming soon. It's been a rough road - and I'm waiting for the day I see that little girl in J's arms. With this good news, I somehow found time to knit again. A gift for the baby already.
Isn't it cute? I love the little frillies on the edges. It's the Miss Dashwood hat from Knitty. I first saw this on Kuky's blog. Totally fell in love with it, but didn't have any baby girls to knit it for.
Another sweater that I had started a long time ago, and totally lost steam, is this little number.
I first saw this sweater on Cosmopolitan Purls. My friend in Japan helped me track down the pattern book. I've changed the color from a beige and pink yarn, to the white and light blue. I had finished both sleeves, until I realized I had messed up one of them and couldn't easily fix it. So, it was frogged and I'm starting over. I think I got worn out from the switching back and forth between the color yarns to make the stripes. Anyway, I've got back a little momentum. Let's see if it will last through me seaming this baby up.
And now I leave off with this bundle of cuteness. Monte was very intrigued by this piece of bread that had a smidgen of BBQ sauce on it. You can kind of see it. He has both paws around my husband's hand and is pulling the bread toward him. SO CUTE!!!
