The National Philharmonic: Bach Double

Last weekend I saw the National Philharmonic perform several Bach pieces at the Strathmore (one of my favorite concert venues in the DC area). Here are the pieces that were played (but by different groups):

Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major, BMV 1066

Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 (fast forward to about 50 seconds)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041

Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D minor, BWV 1060

He's one of my favorite composers. Check out my blog post about Bach's Brandenburgs!

Stephen Lynch at the Birchmere

This week I got to see Stephen Lynch perform at the Birchmere. I saw him there last in 2012, so it's been several years since I last heard him (and I honestly haven't kept up with his songs/comedy). I was excited to see him, especially to hear his new work!

He played a lot of newer songs:

And some songs that may not be quite as new but I had never heard before:

And here are some of his older songs that he performed:

I own his A Little Bit Special CD, so I was glad he played some of those songs! This show was great (he's fantastic live), so I recommend seeing him if you have the chance!

PS: Did you know that he performed in the Broadway version of The Wedding Singer years ago? And got a Tony nomination for it? Who knew! http://www.broadway.com/buzz/11188/stephen-lynch/

Recipe: Applesauce Pumpkin Bread

I knew I wanted to make a recipe that included pumpkin and applesauce, since I already had those on hand. I came across this bread recipe on AllRecipes.com. I cut the recipe in half, since the original is for two loaves of bread. I don't need that much! (Plus, I only have one bread pan. So there you go.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups applesauce
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans.
2. Mix white sugar and applesauce together in a large bowl; stir pumpkin puree and eggs into sugar mixture until smooth. Mix baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, and mace into pumpkin mixture; fold in walnuts and chocolate chips. Stir flour into pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pans.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean, 1 hour. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle each loaf with confectioners' sugar.

Along with cutting the recipe in half, I did not add the mace (I didn't know what that was, so I didn't use it. But I looked it up, and it's just another name for nutmeg!), nuts, or chocolate chips. And I didn't powder the loaf with confectioners sugar: who needs more sugar?! This bread is so moist and came out of the pan really easily (I sprayed with PAM beforehand). This is an easy (and yummy!) recipe!

New Year's Resolutions!

My feelings exactly. Image found here.

Every year I make several New Year's resolutions. I sometimes slip up here and there, but usually I'm pretty good about sticking to them. Here are a few for 2017:

1. Continuing past resolutions. I've made some good New Year's resolutions in the past that I really liked, so I'm just going to keep them up this year. I'd like to keep in better touch with friends by having a phone call or Skype date with someone once a week. I also will stick to my resolution that when I think of something nice to say to someone, I'm going to say it! What's the harm in giving a compliment? And I will try my best not to keep ice cream in the house, and limit my intake of chai lattes, bubble tea, and Rita's Italian ice. No sense in eating food with no nutritional value.

2. Taking better care of my skin. For about the past year, the skin on my chin has not been cooperating; it's been kind of bumpy and dry. So I'm going to use my Clarisonic brush several times a week, as well as use a mask on my face once a week. More exfoliating and more moisturizing!

3. Going to Shabbat more often. In the last six months, I have only been to services a couple of times. But every time I go, I feel happy: I get to see my friends, enjoy some good food, and it just calms me. 2016 was quite the roller coaster, and I need more peace in my life. Connecting with God and the Jewish community will allow me to feel more rooted and relaxed, which is how I want to feel in 2017.

4. Giving up online dating. I don't mean forever, but at least for 2017. I used OkCupid through a lot of 2012 and OkC/Match/eHarmony for roughly the last year, and nothing came of either of those searches. I want to actually look forward to a date, rather than feeling relieved when a guy cancels on me. I want to be excited when someone leans in to kiss me, rather than being absolutely apathetic to his touch. I want to feel a true connection, rather than setting the bar as low as "I hope he's not a total jerk and that he offers to pick up the tab." Dating is supposed to be fun, not a chore, and for the last year, it's been like a homework assignment I'm trying to get done so I can turn in my "single" card. But all of the dates have led to nothing more than meeting men who "want to keep things casual" or who seemed like a good fit, only to find out they aren't what I'm looking for (and I wasn't a right fit for them, either). While I won't say all of this was a waste of time, it certainly was exhausting, and I'd like 2017 to be a more restorative year.

5. Doing things I thought I'd never do. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a planner: I like routine and stability, and perhaps you could say I'm "rigid." In 2017, I want to be more spontaneous and stop setting imaginary barriers for myself. I want to say "Go for it!" instead of thinking, "No, you better not." I've already got a few plans on how to do this, but you'll have to wait for future blog posts to find out what they are...But I did ring in the new year with an ice luge shot, which is definitely a first!

What are your New Year's resolutions?

My Christmas Haul

I spent this year's Christmas with my family on Maryland's Eastern Shore. My sister and her boyfriend flew in from California, and my aunt and uncle came, too. It was so nice to see everyone, and of course we all celebrated by sharing gifts!

Here's what I got (there was more, like candy and such, but these were the top gifts):

1. UNICORNS! Unicorns have been my thing for a long time (I never grew out of my pony phase), and I love collecting them. My sister painted the geometric unicorn for me. How amazing is that?! This was my favorite gift this year. My sister also made me a purple ceramic bowl with a unicorn head on it (the mane and tail are painted on as rainbows!). My aunt made me the "Fierce" unicorn T-shirt (using a bleach pen), and I also got a unicorn night light and key chain. My family is so creative!

2. One of my new year's resolutions is to take better care of my skin, so my mom bought me one of those Clarisonic brushes (the Mia 2, specifically), and the pumpkin enzyme face mask from Naturopathica (it smells SO good!). I also got floss: not really good for my face, but for my smile? I always get floss in my stocking, which I love because it's one of those little things I just don't feel like spending money on.

3. I go snowboarding every year with my dad in February, so I got some warm leggings and a fleece mask thing to keep me warm on the slopes!

4. This was a specific item on my wish-list. This leather jacket from Express is so cool! I had one of their other jackets for five years, and it was finally getting worn, so now I have a new one!

5. I got more gift cards this year than ever before! Looks like I'll be making purchases from DSW, Sephora, and the Cheesecake Factory in 2017!

6. Little shots of alcohol. Need I say more?

7. Socks. Everyone gets socks for Christmas, right? I know some people think that's the worst gift, but I like fun socks! Plus, when you buy Bombas, another pair is donated to those in need, which is so fitting with the holiday spirit.

How did you make out this year with your gifts? Share your favorite present in the comments!

Play Review: Sleeping Beauty at Synetic Theater

Image found here.

One of Synetic Theater's claim to fame is that they perform a lot of silent plays. This version of Sleeping Beauty had no dialogue, but instead uses exaggerated movements from the actors to reveal what's going on.

Image found here.

The set for this play was incredible! There were multiple curtains hanging from the ceiling, and images were projected onto them (which is a complete other component to the play that most performances don't need to have!). The curtains performed many functions: they represented trees and waterfalls in the woods; they were the sky full of lightening from the witch's wrath; they are obstacles keeping the prince from saving the princess (like in the picture above). It was amazing to watch the set transform. The set was a character itself!

The play also had a curtain in the back used to make shadows, which I thought was clever.
Image found here.

Image found here.

The actors did a great job. Irina Tsikurishvili, the founding choreographer of the theater and the wife of the founding artistic director, played the witch. She is very dynamic and full of energy, and she was definitely scary when she was mad!

Image found here.

I also thought the fairies were a lot of fun. Francesca Blume, Kathy Gordon, and Emily Whitworth (I think that's the order in picture above, left to right) were the fairies, and they were quite fun. They brought slapstick comedy to the show, bumping into one another and generally being silly. I believe Gordon played the orange fairy, who was the most emotive. Their costumes were fun and eclectic, and I liked that the play brought in fun moments from the Disney version, like when the fairies are putting together a birthday party for Briar Rose (the name of the princess) and keep changing things different colors (see below; GIF found here).

Image found here.

I have seen Zana Gankhuyag (the prince) in several of Synetic's productions. He's very good, but it was distracting to watch him as a blonde (as if we couldn't believe he was the witch's son without them having the same hair color...). I think when I saw him in this play his hair was dyed, but in one show he must have worn a wig (like in the photo above). Costumes can make or break a character, and with the light hair, I just wasn't buying it.

And I have to say that Eliza Smith looks so young as the princess Briar Rose. I actually thought it was a child playing the role! Her petite frame and sweet face give her the appearance of an eleven year-old girl. I couldn't get past it! So I never bought the romantic part of the story in this show. 

Like most of Synetic's plays, I enjoyed the show, but I was not overwhelmed. And I usually fall asleep for at least a little bit. This was only a 90 minute play (with no intermission), but it easily could have been made shorter. Some scenes were dragged out, especially near the end when the prince is trying to save Briar Rose; we all know he's going to save her, so we don't need to watch ten minutes (or more!) of him struggling to get to her. So, not Synetic's best, but not a waste of time if you do decide to go.

Read another article about this play from the Washington Post.

Play Review: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

Image found here.

Like many women, I love the Jane Austen story of Pride and Prejudice. I grew up watching the A&E version (i.e. the best version), read the book in high school, and even sat through the Keira Knightley version (ew). So when I saw that the play Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley was playing at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, I knew I had to get tickets!

This play did not disappoint. It was everything you would have wanted. The play takes place in the drawing room at Pemberley, and Elizabeth is very excited about having a Christmas tree in her new home, even though it's a German holiday tradition. The rest of the family is visiting, from the lovely eldest sister Jane and her happy-go-lucky husband Bingley, to the younger, exasperating sister Lydia, to the studious middle sister Mary, the protagonist of the play. Mary is glad to be with her sisters, but has been feeling lonely recently; she feels trapped in her role as the unwed daughter who is destined to remain unmarried and take care of her elderly parents. But Darcy's cousin, Arthur de Bourgh, comes to visit for the holiday, and he and Mary instantly hit it off, talking about maps and books and their mutual wish to explore the world. A wrench is put into their budding friendship when Lydia tries to flirt with Arthur, and THEN Anne de Bourgh (another of Darcy's cousins) shows up claiming that she's already engaged to Arthur! Conflict ensues, misunderstandings multiply, but in the end, all is right, and you get the happy, romantic ending that you always expect from one of Austen's stories.

This play was so well done! The set was beautiful, as were the costumes. But my favorite part was that the play assumes you know the story of Pride and Prejudice. There's no background, no time wasted explaining who's who and what's going on. They throw you right in, expecting you to understand why no one seems too sad about Catherine de Bourgh's death or knowing why Mary insists that her mother talks all the time (though Mrs. Bennett is not in the play at all). I loved how the actors completely embodied their characters, just slipping in right where the book or film left off. Brandon McCoy's Bingley is jovial and content as always; Miranda Rizzolo as Lydia is just as annoying as you remember; Erin Weaver and Katie deBuys as Elizabeth and Jane are as lovely as ever. But we also get to know Mary (played by Katie Kleiger) much better. Yes, she is always reading or playing the piano, but she is also passionate and curious about the world, and has deeper feelings regarding relationships (and lack there of) than any of us ever knew.

This performance was perfection. I laughed, I cried; it has everything! I certainly recommend it, and tickets are on sale now! (or you can find some of Goldstar, too)

Here's another review if you'd like to check that out!