Monday, November 29, 2010

#8~See The Trans-Siberian Orchestra Again

My husband has really gotten on board with this whole list thing, and thanks to him I was able to cross off #8. A short back story, I've always loved the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Andrew and I were able to see them 5 or 6 years ago in California and it totally blew us away. The laser light show and pyrotechnics were a total surprise, and since that year we've always said we wanted to go back. After throwing it on my list, Andrew bought the tickets within a few days. Yea!
We had some super far away seats, but with a straight on view of the stage, I was thrilled! Here are some of the pictures of the concert I snagged.

This last picture sums them up for me. I love TSO!
My favorite song they play is Wizards in Winter, and I managed to grab the last minute of the song, just to give you a better idea of the kind of show they put on. They're the little blips running around on stage, and playing guitars/violins! And the images running across the displays are just pictures from their current album. If you like a little electric guitar mixed in with your Christmas or classical music, these guys are for you!
(Turn down your speakers)

#4~Meet Bakerella

A few weeks ago I was able to cross one of the goals off my 26 Before Twenty-Six list, and honestly it should have been #1 on my list based on my anticipation level. I got to meet Bakerella! Now for anyone who doesn't know much about my life right now, I started a small baking business about a year ago that has grown substantially(thank goodness!). We're thinking all kinds of expansion ideas because of it, and it all started with Bakerella. A little over a year ago I started baking anything and everything that sounded good or came with a great picture. I stumbled on Bakerella's site and was instantly inspired to make everything! The big thing she's known for are Cake Pops, starting with the Cupcake Pop. I attempted a non-stick version of this for my first Cupcake of the Month installment and they were a huge hit. Long story short, I played with her 'recipe' for a few months, started selling those babies, and now I'm running to catch up with orders for these and other treats. Yea! So anywho, Bakerella ended up publishing a how-to book and going on a signing tour. Typically D.C. attracts book signings pretty well, but the closest she was coming to this area was King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. 3 hours away, but a day after getting back from our California vacation, we started the road trip.
As always, we got lost along the way(thank you, Wonderful Husband, for being my real life gps!). I've gotta say though, K.o.P. knows how to make a shopping mall. That sucker was full of every kind of place I love to window shop at :o)
Williams-Sonoma hosted the signing and I was thrilled to hear they had the place set up for a demonstration. There was a big hole in the planning of this though. It seemed like all the tall people were at the front of the signing line, making them first to get front row standing space. I was about 3 or 4 'rows' back on my tip toes. See?

Yeah, you probably can't see it, but as I was scrolling through the slideshow she puts after each signing, my first thought was 'Who's that tall dork by the tree? Oh yeah, that's me.'

After the demonstration and questions, it was back out to the line. Now here's where 'Dork Brittanie' really set in. I was so zoned out after seeing her that I just stood in line with a huge grin on my face, completely blocking out my Mom as she talked up my business to other Bakerella fans. She was doing such a phenomenal job of this that she insisted on showing people my blogsite on my Blackberry and giving out my cards. Hilarious huh? I need to hire her.

So, skip about an hour and we're almost to the front of the line. My Mom looks at me and says, 'So what are you gonna say to her?'. No joke, I went totally white and almost passed out. Nutty me, I completely forgot that I'd actually have to say something to her. I don't know why I thought sitting next to her with my mouth open in awe would be ok. I'm just gonna glaze over my lack of conversational skills once I actually sat down and just say that she was super sweet and it took a lot to resist hugging her. As she started signing 5 books(gifts for some lucky ladies in our family!) I listened as my Mom talked to Bakerella's Mom about how much of an inspiration her daughter had been to me and she actually gave her a business card too. Crazy! The 4 of us took a picture together and right after her Mom kinda half hugged me and said she was so proud of me! It was completely surreal. I said 'Thank You' to the both of them 3 or 4 times and then skipped over to get our books and freebie buttons. I floated out of that store grinning and giggling like a nuthead.

It was quite an amazing day, and every day since I've looked at her book amidst my other cookbooks and thought how incredible it is that a little piece of her lives in my dining room. She's been a huge inspiration and I'm so grateful to women like her who make me want to try new things!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Crown & Crumpet-Part 2

So if you've read through my blog, you saw this post where I showed you some pictures from the tea shop Crown & Crumpet that is in San Francisco. Talk about an amazing twist of fate this past week. We ended up in California for a family wedding and ended up staying for a whole week. Tuesday was dedicated to San Francisco, and a trip to Ghirardelli Square made my day. I'm moseying along, staring at all the over-priced shops that I'd be afraid to walk into, and then Whammo! It hit me.
Ta-Daaaa! Talk about awesome. I actually stopped in my tracks and let out the biggest gasps ever. What a dork moment. I felt like a 6 year old that had just been given a pink pony. After I started breathing again I looked at Andrew and said 'It's gonna be a while'. My Friend Courtney and I both walked into that place as if the floor was made of glass. We started off the in 'shop' area.
I'm gonna have to post some of the pictures Courtney took because I was too awe-struck to take pictures. Seriously, I feel like such a dork even thinking about the place again. I'm sure it looks like overkill, but if the things in this area had been separated or done up in any way other than being slammed together, it would have taken away from the overall feel. I'm not a huge fan of red, but mixed with pinks, teals, greens, greys and white, it was perfect. The lady that worked in this section was super patient with me. I don't know how often people just come in and stare at the place, but she seemed amused by us.
On to the tea section. Now I'm not a tea drinker at all, but this place makes me wish they had something other than tea and coffee they could serve me in those adorable tea cups. I would've paid for some warm water if it meant I could stay in there and really take it all in. I settled for lots of giggling and picture taking instead.
I fell in love with these chairs. They were all the same base, but the cushions were all done in different bright colors, the kinds I'd be too afraid to try but absolutely love when someone else does it.
The same goes for this couch. I never would've been awesome enough to actually make this happen, but I couldn't stop staring at it.
I gotta say, it was pretty cool to look at the pictures in this corner and actually recognize some of them. This Tea For Two print by Black Apple of Etsy first caught my attention. And those polka dotted chairs were so comfy!This corner of the shop really caught my attention. In a room full of so many bright colors, this heavy dark brown table was a beautiful weight. The women at the table are the owners(I believe) and had the cutest setup. The table was covered in colored fabrics, tea cups, storage containers, and of course teapots. I had to snap a quick picture while they weren't looking, but I wish I could have taken more, but after some quick research, it looks like this is the best shot of this corner online anyway. Oh well, it's good enough for me! I let Andrew know that someday I was planning to have something similar. Poor guy. I'll have to mellow out the pink I think. Maybe.
On my way out I passed by a display full of cute marshmallows. These Magic Mushrooms and the Pink Acorns were my favorite.
So in case you couldn't tell, I love, love, loved this place! It made me want to go home and get brave with colors. That has yet to happen, but I'm working on it slowly. I'm ready for my next trip to Ghirardelli Square. Anyone want to come with me?