Happy Halloween!

In the grand tradition of recycling my dinner mystery show costumes into Halloween costumes, and because I affectionately call Chad "Frank" as in Frankenstein (because he's so tall and broad-shouldered with a habit of looming over me in our cozy house) we went as a modern day Munster couple to a Halloween party this weekend. Photo proof:

Breaking with tradition totally, a true dinner mystery show first, during Monday night's show at Maggiano's in the Domain there was a very interesting query from one audience member during the questioning of the suspects. A gentleman raised his hand, took the microphone saying, "I have a question", and proceeded to get down on bended knee while pulling a jewelry box from his pocket. He proposed to his date/girlfriend, who luckily said yes. Congratulations & best wishes to the happy couple!

Down with BYOP, Yeah You Know Me!

Chad and I broke free of last year's curmudgeonly ways. We found the time, energy and good cheer to throw what is turning out to be a biennial Bring Your Own Pumpkin party this past Friday. 

Pre-Party Candy Table

Pre-Party

Chad's pumpkin is all smiles, while mine is feline.

Kate shows off the tragedy side of their jack-o-lantern.

Lucy shows off the comedy side of their jack-o-lantern.

Dain wasn't ready for carving, opting for stickers.

The Fords chose a warty pumpkin monster with 3 eyes and a ghoulish grin.

I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday by far. This week promises two dinner mystery shows featuring fun costumes  and a Monster Mash dance party! Chad and I will try to squeeze in a few scary movies too, I'm sure. And lots of candy, I'm positive.

Halloween Hijinks

Even if you don't think you like dinner theatre, you'll want to be at this happening Halloween party. Two words: candy buffet.

I'm not proud of...

Each time I sell a sectional sofa to an urban dweller with a small living room, a little piece of my internal interior decorator dies. Sectional sofas are appropriate for large open living areas; not tiny downtown condos.

That dinner theater I do is sometimes just a battle to be heard over drunk audience members who think they are funnier than we are. Note to all hecklers: you're not nearly as dashing, witty, charming or funny as you think you are. Shut up and let everyone enjoy the show, or promptly leave.

I loathe shades of beige, white and grey as color palettes for decorating. Yet it seems to be the candy that some of my customers want. Be ready to use some color if you ask for my decorating advice, or back away slowly towards the nearest exit.

Some of the clothing pieces for which I get the most compliments come from Old Navy. I know it's sweatshop labor made in outsourced lands. I know it's wrong. It's just so cute, on-trend and cheap sometimes. I can't wear fair-labor, American-made, more expensive clothes everyday.

I want to dye my hair blond. Even blonder than it is now. Not strawberry blond. Not white blond. Not 1970s looking highlighted blond. I want expensive, has to be touched up every few weeks, honey-blond all over my head.

And then...

I just put three dinner mystery shows on my calendar for the next month. I could have put five on the calendar, but I have this pesky personal life. I'm a bit selfish in insisting that I have time to spend with Chad and time to sleep.

I can't quit doing theatre and occasional commercial auditions or extra work any more than I can quit breathing. I crave the creativity.

That exciting opportunity I blogged about last week? Not so much. I have seen the sausage being made (metaphorically, of course), and I can't stomach it. I don't want that double-edged job.

I must get myself to the sewing machine and finish some projects! Clothing repairs, a picnic quilt and a purse pattern await completion.

Remember when I made that crazy squid for the Fronterfest play I also acted in? No? It was fun. I used floaty noodles from the pool supply store along with poly-fil to stuff the squid for the right combination of structure and squish. Here are photos to jog your memory:

I wish I could work with my hands more -- dreaming up crazy ideas and making them happen.

And then I need to figure out what I'm wearing for my Halloween costume this year. Suggestions?

Be Careful What You Wish For

Remember last year when I wrote a blog post about how caring for little furry souls as a job proved to be too much pressure for me? Remember how I said that in my next job, I just wanted to make things pretty? An exciting opportunity is afoot. I hope to share details soon.

If I jump at this opportunity, I'll leave the acting agency I'm with currently, and likely quit doing dinner theatre, at least for a while. I need to let go of one trapeze bar to catch the next. I have a lot of self esteem and identity wrapped up in being a (paid!) part-time actress. Thank goodness I have a sturdy net in the form of Chad.

Once More with Feeling

Come see children's TV show hosts behaving badly in "Can You Say Murder?" I play Detective Safety, also known as Clarice Dixon. She has a lisp. So it sounds like "Detective Thafety, altho know ath, Clarithe Dikthon." I try to give every character I play a unique quality that real-life people have. Real people sometimes have speech impediments or verbal idiosyncrasies. I sometimes repeat what people say to me if I like the way it sounds or if I'm trying to process exactly what they meant by what they said. That's my real-life verbal oddity.

Hope to see you at the show! (Click on the above graphic to make it larger so you can call for reservations.)

Guest Post: Janie Redecorates

Um. Hi. This is Janie. I am the dog. I have some thoughts and suggestions about the 1952 House.

I like my Mitchell Gold couch. It's real nice, but sometimes the people try to lay on it too. There is not enough room for both of us to stretch out. I found these chevron beds on flash-sale site Ruelala.com. If Jenn and Chad curl up, one of them could fit on each, and I could have the couch to myself.

Let's talk about the artwork in the 1952 House. Too many photos of chandeliers and too many limited-edition, hipster-made prints featuring cats and Pee Wee Herman. Let's have some dogs in the art. Not those silly poker playing dogs. Dogs don't play poker. We don't have thumbs. Our wagging tails would give away our hand, because we're guileless creatures. So here is some nice art from that sale too. I especially like the one about mutts that is a riff of that Sir Mixalot song. Although, I prefer the term "mystery-mix" to "mutt".

Also, and I can't stress this enough, please put the treats in the kitchen where I can reach them. I get tired of looking at you hopefully 15 times a day. Trading tricks for treats cheapens us both. Really.

**Credits: chevron beds by Thro, Marlo Lorenz. Artwork by Artehouse, Ginger Oliphant. All available on Ruelala.com for a limited time.**

Vay-cay-shun

We needed a break from our jobs, the 1952 House, our sweet (but demanding) pets, chores and whatnot. The rule in selecting the vacation destination this year: no big dirty cities. We wanted nature, cooler weather and not much of a hipster scene. Hood River, Oregon filled the bill.

Waterfalls, hiking, a brewery tour, daily siestas, reading fiction, touring local fruit stands/orchards and gazing out our hotel balcony doors at windsurfers filled the schedule. Being out in the boonies as it were, we had a great view of the Perseid Meteor Shower and the Milky Way. 

We also toured the Bonneville Dam mainly to check out the innovative, wildlife-friendly fish ladder. When we heard about the 450 pound Sturgeon fish down at the hatchery, we HAD to go meet him. His name is Herman. He is a big boy. 

On the way to the Portland Airport (just over an hour drive from Hood River) we decided to take a detour through Portland to shop at Powell's Books and deconstruct some Voodoo Doughnuts. The short time we spent in downtown Portland reminded us why we didn't want to vacation in a big city. Too many one-way streets, too little parking, too many aggressively weird people being aggressively weird.

Hopefully by next summer, the bank account will be ready for a trip to Ireland. If not, I vote for a stateside vacation in some other small town with not much to do aside from gawking at nature and soaking up cooler temperatures. 

Oh yeah... the show

I'll be performing in another dinner mystery show at Maggiano's on Monday. If you want to make me cry, ask me if I know all my lines yet to play the Master of Ceremonies / Detective, Heather Weathers.

Pretending to Redecorate

Just like the nation's economy, the budget at the 1952 House isn't what it used to be. On the count your blessings side of the fence, we have all that we need. On the glass half empty side of the fence, we don't have all that we want. Who does, right? A friend asked recently what I bought with my generous employee discount at my part-time retail job. My disappointing (to her and to me) reply, nothing. I got that job to help with the financial situation, not to be Spendy McGee.

Indulge me while I tour the items I would purchase if I could redecorate a bit right now. Starting in the living room:

I want this special order Chester sofa in Dandelion performance velvet from West Elm.

Janie-dog agrees that this sofa would be a lovely contrast to her dark fur.

Of course, pillows are needed for the sofa. 

These Kantha pillows from West Elm are handmade, and each is one of a kind.

This Swirl Rug from West Elm in an 8x10 size would be the perfect pop for the living room floor. 

I want a pair of these Turned Pedestal side tables from West Elm for a lighter, shabby-chic look,

or maybe a pair of these Carved Wood side tables for a more exotic look.

I love these unique Wezandla Wire Pendants from West Elm for the existing dining room light fixture. They would match our black dining table and red dining chairs most magnificently.

Perhaps you've sensed the West Elm theme? Um, employee discount! However, there are a few non-West Elm items for which I am pining.

I love this Orla Kiely bedding set from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Mark your calendars for my birthday on October 8th. I'll be accepting gifts in the form of large bags of cash or preloaded Visa gift cards. Thanks in advance for your generosity.

I Love Fireworks

 I love fireworks. The lights. The sounds. The goofy musical accompaniments. 

What's your picnic?

The phrase, "it is no picnic", usually refers to something, someone or some event that is not fun or relaxing. Conversely, picnics are supposedly fun and relaxing, sustaining to the body and spirit.

Growing up, when my family had been apart for long periods of time between moves to new cities for my Dad's job, he usually wanted to spend time together with a picnic. He loved nature, healthy food and time together. That's not to say that there weren't ants, other creepy-crawlies, sudden gusts of wind/rain, or eye-rolling from my sister and/or I. My dad loved picnics.

What's your metaphorical "picnic"? That thing you like to do with other people that makes you feel great?

My picnic is going out dancing. I love a good DJ, swing band or 80s cover band. Though I lack formal training, general skills or innate rhythm, I make up for it with enthusiasm.

I also love playing board games with friends: especially Clue, Apples to Apples and Taboo.

Ricocheting Thoughts

Working part-time at West Elm, helping Chad plan an open house celebration for his office and learning a new script for last night's dinner mystery show that premiered to an appreciative audience, have eaten up most of my time, energy and brain power over the past few weeks. A few fleeting thoughts managed to ricochet briefly inside my noggin.

The people I work with at West Elm are so fun, interesting and unique. I could certainly make more money at another job, but would miss out on colorful coworkers who share my aesthetic sensibilities and extroverted nature.

I still like doing dinner theatre, but I don't like learning a new script nearly every month. When I spend hours at home studying lines, the profit margin plummets on those paychecks. Not to mention that my fellow actors also feel and display stress at performing a new script for the first time. Collectively, we most enjoy performing a script we've done a few times.

When someone is needlessly rude in my general direction or earshot, I remind myself of this quote from Plato, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Of course, sometimes someone is so needlessly rude that I look up their profile on one of many social and professional networking websites to find out that they love littering the internet with photos of themselves and hope to go to seminary school. Really?!

Sometimes the people that you think are your best, most loyal friends are just passing through your life like tourists snapping photos. Conversely, people that you once thought of as a temporary acquaintance become your most trusted advisers, sympathizers and conspirators.

I miss puppies and kittens. I don't want to adopt anymore furry housemates, but would love to foster some temporarily after vacation.

I love my gym. I love the yoga class that a sweet soul named "Pixie" teaches. I love putting my headphones on and spending quality time listening to music I like. I love a good stretch. I love feeling healthy and strong.

In the summer, I am even less interested in food than usual. It's too hot and sticky to eat, but then I get cranky from not eating. If left to my own devices, I'd subsist on a steady diet of fruit smoothies and non-dairy Italian ices all summer.

I leave you with this deep thought:

Murder on the Links in Two Weeks

I play a realtor who frequents an upscale country club. 

Decision Indecision

I have this weird decision weighing on me. It's weird, because I've rebuffed it so many times. Yet it keeps circling and buzzing in my ear. It defies logic and a simple pro-con list. It's eating up any extra brain power (which isn't much) I have. It's the kind of decision that if I wait a little longer, will probably cease to be an option. It's one of those things that might make me happier and more fulfilled, but I also have nightmares about it.

That's all I can say.

Wait! I can also say that the decision does not in any way involve human babies. I'm not pregnant, nor do I want to be. That's one decision with which I'm very much at peace. My maternal instincts only kick in for puppies and kittens.

Stuff I like vs. Stuff I don't love

Stuff I like that some other people don't like:

reading for fun

sewing things like pillows, makeup bags and quilt-tops

spending time alone being quiet

cats

dogs

cloudy days

rainy days

lukewarm coffee

a club DJ spinning dance-y, trance-y music

simple, vegetarian food

going to my gym

long walks at night

small parties where I know most attendees

acting in live theatrical shows

almost anything on public television's Masterpiece series


Then there's stuff that other people love for which I do not see the appeal:

outdoor festivals or concerts

zoos

super-sunny days

snout to tail "food"

overwrought food with more than ten ingredients / heavy food

Wes Anderson films

food trailers

parties with a bunch of people I don't know that get so loud I get tunnel-vision

visual disorder, messes or chaos, which also give me tunnel vision

jogging or running, especially outside

95% of all reality TV

having my picture taken

baby showers / wedding showers - I'll just send a gift. I absolutely don't need to watch you open it.

monster-trucks

rodeos

Practicing My Italian for Spaghetti Western

Next Monday, June 4, I'll play famous Italian movie star Anjelika Lotta in Maggiano's Murder Mystery Monday series, The Good, The Bad and The Dead. It's a spaghetti western... at an Italian restaurant... get it?

Why I Got a Second/Third Job

Some might argue that being an actress is a hobby, but I get paid to act, so I argue that it is a job. I also argue that being a homemaker is a job, because many people pay housekeepers to clean, organize, launder, tidy and whatnot their houses. I got my second/third (depending on how you personally look at it) job at West Elm, because we need stuff at the 1952 House. Here's a partial list in order of priority:

VACATION - need to see some nature in the Columbia River Gorge at end of summer

Car Repairs for my lovable, aging vehicle

King Size Mattress - current one boasts amazing hill and two deep valleys

Fridge - current one makes bad noises and was born in the 1980s

Microwave - big crack in the door frame that Chad assures me is not a problem?!?

Stove/oven - born in 1991 and cantankerous

Parking Pad - full of treacherous cracks and doesn't match paverstone driveway

Fat, Prosperous Savings Account

I also got my second/third job to meet some people and be social. At this stage in our lives, friends are so busy with family and careers, that working is the new socializing.

Have a great memorial day weekend. I'll be at West Elm for part of it. Come say hi.

Summer, Summer, Summa-tiii-iiime

This summer is going to be fun. I'm determined. Even if I can't get the Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff video from youtube to embed in this post!

Record-breaking heat? No problem! Chad & I anticipate much fun in the air-conditioning with the Paramount Theatre's Classic Film Series courtesy of our Film Fan passes.

Limited finances? I start my new part-time job at West Elm on Monday. As if the employee discount weren't enough enticement, they'll pay me. The location is perfect. I get free garage parking. Dinner theatre gigs have also been abundant lately. I'll post info for the next open-to-the-public show soon. Mark your calendar for Monday, June 4!

Need to fly the coop? Chad and I plan to hightail it to the cooler climate and slower roll of the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon in August or September. I hear it rains there -- even in the summer!

Want some icy refreshment? Hello, Rita's! We've already been a few times this spring. Cotton Candy and Icy Pear are my favorite Italian ice flavors, while Chad usually opts for an ice and frozen custard mix. Of course I also like getting my meal through a straw with "The King" fruit smoothie from Central Market's smoothie & coffee bar. Who knew that putting peanut butter in a smoothie could be so deliciously perfect? Um, the fine smoothie mixologists at CM did!

Feeling outdoorsy? We're taking ourselves out to the ball park for a Round Rock Express game this weekend. We've already enjoyed a movie in the park courtesy of Austin Parks Foundation and Alamo Drafthouse's Rolling Road Show. Deep Eddy Pool, always a favorite, reopened after repairs and landscape renovation.

Ready? Set. Go!