A Night at the Theater

This past Friday night I had the extreme pleasure of taking Christy to see The Lion King at The Landmark Theater.  Originally know as The Mosque, Landmark Theater opened it's doors in 1927.  According to the web site the original construction included a bowling alley, a pool and 42 hotel rooms.  Today it has seating for 3,565.  And on Friday night it looked like a full house. 




On approach

I have been to Landmark before but it's been a few years and didn't have a good memory about parking, walking distance, etc.  So I left the house and gave myself about an hour of driving time before the play started.  We got there in plenty of time (even after I missed a vital turn) and found parking in the deck next door to be the easiest option.  The theater is right in the mix with VCU campus buildings so to me it doesn't usually stand out.  But this particular night it glowed!  As soon as we saw the building we both were like little kids in a candy store. 




Landmark Theater



I had heard reviews of The Lion King but really even after hearing that it was great I was not prepared for how great it was.  I promise you it is MAGNIFICENT!  The music, the costumes, the everything are just indescribable.  

Hear him roar....

Once inside the had to climb to the third floor balcony and find our seats.  There is not a lot of room to manuver once in the seat but really once the show starts you won't be moving anyway.  The first act was maybe and hour and twenty minuets.  After a breif intermission the second act got started and lasted about an hour.  The play is of course based on Disney's movie The Lion King and many of the songs are similar to the movie.  There are a few changes here and there but it just adds to the play.  Both Christy and I thourghly enjoyed ourselves!  I would recommend it to anyone that either enjoys musicals or enjoyed the original movie. 




Curtain call



The center ceiling.



Now that is a light fixture.



Sorry folks....no pictures from the play since they don't allow photos to be taken.  And there was no way I wanted kicked out of this play!




My Christy.

It was a wonderful evening sharing something great with Christy.  So glad I had the oppurtunity to do it with her :)





Monday Love

Please keep all hands and arms inside the vehicle until the weekend comes to a stop!  Whew!!!!  What a busy/exciting/fun weekend :)  I think from the time the weekend started to the time the weekend ended we were going non stop.  I've tell you all about it this week but just a few pictures to share for now. 



Christy and I saw The Lion King in Richmond



The girls up early on Saturday to play with the stuffed Pumba



Mark and I attended the Red Dress Gala
in support of The American
Heart Association



Mark playing Capt. Morgan after a run
at Henricus Park



Emma helping her Aunt Sharon
blow out the candle on her cake



And after all that fun....we got to come home and clean up after the E-2 (2 year old Emma) touched down in our living room...




Looks like Daddy and Emma had
a good time while Momma was
busy at the park.

Hope everyone had a grand weekend.  I'll post more on some of the chaos that was our weekend during the week. 




Friday! Friday! Friday!

Ohhhhh I am so glad it's the weekend.  The work week for me was short.  But it felt so long!  So let the Friday happy dance begin!  OK glad you guys can't see me doing that, cause that would be embarassing :)


So this weekend.....




Christy and I will be going to see The Lion King at Landmark Theater in Richmond.  I am so excited.  It will be just the two of us going and I think that some much needed girl time was long over due! 

Saturday night Mark and I will be going to the Have a Heart Red Dress Gala.  This is a fund raiser for the American Heart Association.  So a fun night to support a good cause....win-win. 

Sunday we will be getting outside to get in shape for all the up coming races we've signed up for.  We're going to Henricus Park (which I blogged about here) with some friends to get in some running. 

We do have a couple other things in store for the weekend....I really need to get some paint to work on my kitchen :-/  and I'm working on a new craft that involves making a bunch of these............

Hope everyone is doing their own version of the Friday dance :)  See ya on Monday!

Blue Mountain Brewery

A couple weeks ago, while we were visiting the Wintergreen Resort in Virginia, we found ourselves in need so somewhere to sit and have a meal.  Some friends had recommended Blue Mountain Brewery.  It was located directly on route 250, the main road leading to I-64.  So for us it was perfect since we had to pass by it on our way home.  When we had come through that morning it was empty but by late lunch/early dinner it was packed! 



Walk this way....

There was a large outdoor patio, a covered sun room with seating and a second story inside for customers.   So plenty of options for your dinning pleasure. 



The menu was primarily burgers, sandwiches, thin crust specialty pizzas, salad and 3 or 4 desserts.  Then there was the beer...it is a brewery after all!  They have a number of beers on tap (made by their brewery) and then beers that are bottled to take home.  While in the restaurant you can try a sampler so that you can figure out what best suites your palette.  They go from light to dark....and by the time we got to the really dark I was letting Mark do all the heavy lifting :)



Objects in picture are smaller than they appear.

The samples are actually just enough for about two mouthfuls out of each.  They do have a non-alcoholic beverage as well.  Christy got in on that one.  Well actually we all tried it.  It was light and fruity with a little fizz thrown in.  We all enjoyed the food and drinks and since there are still wineries in the area we haven't visitied (gasp-I know) I think we'll be stopping by here in the future. 





A shot of the restaurant.

If you are ever in Nelson County stop in and enjoy some almost home made brew :)



Going from this....to that

Since I change out my Seasonal tree so much I am always on the search for new things to add to it.  I wish I could say that I have an unlimited budget (wouldn't we all) but I don't.  So in my searching I'm always looking for ornaments that are cheap or that I can make myself.  And now with my discovery of pinterest I have loads of ideas :)  Friday night we had no major plans so it was the perfect time for me to turn a container full of "stuff" into some pretty cute things. 





I turned this.....



into this!






And I made lots of these.....

 




To put on here



For the first craft I wanted to use an idea I had found on Pinterest. I used a bag of split peas, a couple glass containers and a couple candles....





Super easy! 

Then I moved on to something a little more difficult, a garland made with strips of fabric.  I found a cute ribbon, cut four different fabrics into 1/2 x 6 or 8 inch strips. I tied all the strips onto the ribbon.  And voila!




The ribbon and fabric





And the finished product

The frame I picked up at Walmart and put an old St. Patrick's Day greeting card in for some added green.  My last craft was another idea I had found all over the web on crafting sites.  The first few times I saw them I thought the crafter used a special tool or had a special skill....I was wrong.  You just need yarn, a piece of card board and scissors.  I used a piece of card board about 4x6 inches.  I can't really say how much yarn I used.  The first couple I tried were ok but I kept adding more and more yarn to the next new one and the more I used the more I liked them.

1) Loop your yarn around the card board like a spool until it is all completely on there. 2) Then cut another piece of yarn (mine was maybe 10 inches long) and lay it flat. 3) Slide the yarn off of your cardboard spool and lay it down on the single piece of yarn.  4) Tie the single piece of yarn around the center of your "cluster of yarn".  Tie it tightly!  That should leave you with a sort of ball of yarn with loops on the ends.  5) Cut those loops.  I used that single long piece of yarn to use as my hanger so I didn't cut that.  6) Give the new "ball" a trim. 




My first color



With all three colors



I would stand the card board up
and pull up and board while
holding yarn



Center it on the single piece of yarn



After tied it looks something like this



Now cut the loops at the ends



Hold in center and trim the ends

And thats about it.  After doing it a couple times I could do one in about five minuets tops.  A cheap and cute way to fill up holes on my St. Patrick's Day Tree.  I totally plan on getting all kinds of colors to make these for my other trees!  

I think the material, candles, glass containers, yarn, frame, peas all cost less than $40.  That doesn't sound too cheap but I can reuse the frame and glass containers for each season and I still have plenty of fabric for another project I want to do.  I certainly could of got the yarn and material on sale had I been more patient.  Now that I sure I can do these I'll be scoping out my craft stores for coupons and sales :)




Monday funday

It wasn't our busiest weekend of all time...but it was a fun kinda busy weekend.  A birthday party, a game night with the family and staying inside while the Virginia weather decided what it wanted to do. 

We got a couple inches of the white stuff.



I put out the St. Patrick's Day decor.






Emma make some new friends :)






I got some crafting time in.

Mark and I agreed that if you don't like weather in Virginia...then wait a minute because it will change.  One day it was 60 degrees and the next it was sleeting and snowing.  The great news is that I already had off today for President's day....but Mark had to go in :(

We have fun stuff in store this week.  Hope you do too.  How is the weather where you are?

Dinner and a massage

Does anyone else feel like Valentine's Day has become a mini Christmas?  With all the gift giving and cards and decorations....I sorta expected a fat man dressed in red and shooting arrows to show up.  Now that I think about it maybe I could of had Mark dress in boxers with hearts and wear a beard and red hat...anyway....what was I saying?  Oh yea....I know I'm guilty of decorating for it but that's what I do for almost all holidays.  But going shopping the night before was like a mad house!  Mark and I are not the kinds to exchange gifts for Valentine.  We rather do something fun and then later just cherish the memory of what we did. 

This year we made reservations at a local eatery for Valentine's Day and then a couples massage the following day (note to self-we should do this EVERY special occasion). We hardly ever splurge on something like a massage so it was our treat to each other  instead of getting a box of chocolates or flowers. 

Dinner was at Hiram Haines' Literary Coffee Shop in Old Towne Petersburg.  I had read about the shop some time ago and then around Christmas found it but still never went in.  Last week before having dinner with a girlfriend I stopped in to see what they had going on.  I found out that not only did they have books and coffee but they also have wine, beer and desserts.  Hello!  Where have I been?  A book store with beer and wine?  My kinda place!  They told me that they are going to be serving foods (sandwiches/entrees) in the near future and that on Valentine's Day they were having a special dinner.  Since we hadn't made any plans I arranged for Grandpa to keep Emma and made our reservations.  I am so glad I did too because it was a great night.




Our table setting.



Another table setting...they had already gone.



They made dinner a very special event.  Fresh roses on all of the tables, a gift at each table for the ladies, candles to light the room and white linen table clothes to make it look all that more special.  Dinner was a slow process with time between courses to sip wine and cuddle with your sweetie.  The food was good...but dessert was down right AWESOME.  Chocolate covered strawberries, a slice of mousse cake, and then a cream puff with chocolate on the outside....and no you didn't pick one....your plate came with all three.  It was AMAZING!  Before leaving we sipped coffee while they wrapped up our roses to take home.  It was a wonderful night with my honey.




OMG!



Such a cozy place.



It's all in the details.



But the fun part was that we carried over the special occasion into the following day.  I had made arrangements to have a couples massage at a Therapeutic Massage.  Also in Old Towne Petersburg, the owner has created this little place that just makes me smile every time I walk in.



Therapeutic Massage.



The kitchen area



Their products.



The couples room.



I love old buildings and I like to support local businesses.  So this fun excursion was a double plus...along with getting totally spoiled.  Who wouldn't love that!    Before we left they asked if we wanted to book our next session....sadly we'll probably wait until another special event to do it.  Ho hum.  But all the fun was certainly the way I want to remember how we spent Valentine's Day in 2012!



Swift Creek Mill Playhouse



Swift Creek Mill Playhouse.

Just a short drive across town is a small dinner theatre, Swift Creek Mill Playhouse.  Built in 1663, this mill changed hands several times before becoming the historical landmark it is today.  Located right next to the Swift Creek, in Colonial Heights, the theatre has a beautiful backdrop for a location.  It seems that they have about half a dozen shows a season with times varying to include some matinees on weekends.  Tickets for dinner and a play were about $50 a piece.  You can buy tickets to only see the play.  The dinner is buffet style and starts at 6:00 for an evening play.  You have dinner on the first floor and then move upstairs for the play.  I didn't see an elevator for anyone that might have trouble with the stairs but they have a number to call to make arrangements for assistance. 




Theatre to the left....dinner to the right.



This particular night my Mom had asked to do something with our men.  And when I say our men I mean my dad, my brother-in-law and Mark.  So my sister and I made some arrangements and told the men what day and what time to be ready but we didn't tell them where we were going or what we were doing.  I think Mark was a little nervous :)  And if I tell you what he guessed then you would think he had lost his MIND.  But come Saturday night we all arrived at the Playhouse around the same time.  Mark was happy to find out he was not going to have to do something crazy (like I would make him do that) and since he had never been to the Playhouse he considered it an adventure. 





Swift Creek



Dinner at the Playhouse is....o.k.  It's not great food but it's also not the worst food I've eaten either.  We saw the play The 39 Steps.  It's an adaptation of an Alfred Hitchcock movie by the same name.  I have no idea if the movie was a comedy but the play sure is.  We really enjoyed ourselves and now Mark has a new fondness for live theatre! 



The Playhouse gift shop.





Our little crew waiting for me to take pictures.





Wouldn't this be pretty at Christmas.



The mill no longer functions but they refurbished
some of the equipment to add to the atmosphere.



The 39 Steps






The stage before the performance.




It was a really fun night.  My dad did make it clear however that the next "secret date night" would be planned by him and he did mention Hooters...ha ha ha.  I certainly think Mark's first trip here will not be his last.