Lady Liberty

I moved to the city fifteen years ago this August and I had every intention of soaking up all that the city had to offer.  From the arts, to the music scene, historical sights and more, I have never wasted to miss a thing.  That second Tuesday morning of my second year at NYU I had all the time in the world and lived under the guise that this stuff would always be around.  So when I looked out the window and saw the Twin Towers on fire I started to realize you can't just take these for granted.  Not only had I not made it down to the WTC my freshman year, but then they decided to close the Statue of Liberty to visitors as well.  When it finally opened back up, I made it my resolution to go every year and then Hurricane Sandy happened.  

It finally opened again, but apparently crown tickets have to be ordered several months in advance.  So just this week, at 37 weeks pregnant, I scaled 186 narrow steps to scratch another line off my NYC Bucket list.  I have always been enamored by this statue and the story of how it was gifted from the French.  It was pretty cool to be up in something that old. We went to Ellis Island after and looked around, although the documents were removed because of hurricane damage.  My ancestor

s didn't come through Ellis Island anyway, although they did warrant mentions. 

They try to make you think the climb is super arduous, but it is not.  The hard part is waiting for the ferry back to the city.  

Up in the crown

Bottom of the pedestal

Fun Home

Yesterday I took a long lunch to go see Fun Home with R.  With no intermission and being less than 2 hours, it was the ideal show to take a long break to see.  We both really enjoyed it. The story is based on a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.   The story is about her relationship with her father who she only found out was gay when she came out as a lesbian in college. The musical was super entertaining and the kids in it were fantastic.  The first half was mostly lighthearted and fun.  It turned more serious as the story progressed but it wasn't nearly as dark as the average play.  I think the musical aspect makes darker subjects easier for me to digest.  I can definitely understand why Fun Home won the Tony.  I would have given it to An American in Paris because of the phenomenal dancing and chemistry. Nevertheless, Fun Home made incredible use of the Circle in the Square theatre to tell one of the most interesting stories I've ever seen utilizing only a few actors brilliantly. It was definitely a nice break from the office.  

Blackbird Sisters Mysteries

I really need to have a good mystery at my fingertips at all times.  Since I recently ran out of books from the approximately 15 series I keep up with, I added this one.  Nora Blackbird and her sisters grew up on Philadelphia's mainline in a well to do old guard family.  Just the descriptions of the clothing Nora wears make these books interesting to me.  Her grandmother left her a bunch of Chanel and Schiaperelli and she has to wear them to her work assignments/high society soirees.  I am only on the third book right now so I am interested to see where the protagonist's love life takes her.  Fortunately I have 9 books left to enjoy while finding it out.

Stockpile Savings: The Sequal

I keep going back to Duane Reade for this 90% off rack and Monday I hit the jackpot.  I got four packs of Charmin toilet tissue for 2.79 and a 40 pack of Pamper's Swaddlers for 1.49. Let these couponing moms beat that!  They don't even live in Manhattan. 

All the baby classes are over now and I am in full on nesting mode.  He could be here any day now . . . but let's hope it's a few more weeks!

Therese Raquin

This weekend A and I went to see this 19th century play starring Keira Knightly and Judith Light.  I have never been a huge Broadway play person, but lately I have been enjoying them. Maybe as I age my tastes are becoming more mature.  I enjoyed this show.  As usual, it got pretty dark, but the acting was good and the story was interesting.  I also really like the set and the costumes.  I don't think there was enough going on for the cast to expect any Tony awards but I would still recommend it to anyone who wants to see a non musical show.  Plus I have always loved Judith Light and I was excited to see her live.  

The Martian

I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a movie in the theater since Pitch Perfect 2 so I was in the mood for one.  I didn't think I would like The Martian.  I absolutely hated Gravity and I was scared it would be like that.  It wasn't.  There was so much dialogue and suspense.  The first hour of this movie = nerd heaven.  That was actually my favorite part.  Matt Damon has been in the news for saying a lot of dumb stuff lately, but I always I always really like his movies and I loved this one.  It also had Kristen Wiig and Kata Mara in it which was a surprise for me since I had never seen a preview.  If that is the last movie I see in the theater this year, that's fine with me.