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Monday, June 9, 2014

Disney at the Tonys 2014

Last night I watched the Tony Awards. I love theater and it was a big part of my years in high school. My theater teacher would always encourage us to watch the Tonys on television during the summer and I have always tried to ever since.

There were several faces that would be familiar to a Disney fan at the Tonys this year and even a performance from Disney's Aladdin so I am sharing some of them here! So here goes- let's start off this week at the theater!

Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Disney Theater Productions celebrates it's 20th anniversary this year. Their most recent production is Aladdin which received 5 Tony nominations. Honestly I wasn't as excited when I first heard about this musical because we have a pretty spectacular version of Aladdin already in Disney California Adventure. "Friend Like Me" was one of the music numbers at the Tonys however and it did seem like a fun show to see. James Monroe Iglehart, the actor who plays the Genie was delightful so it was no surprise when he was rewarded a Tony for that role. Check out his performance from last night:

Idina Menzel, the voice of Elsa in Frozen, was also at the Tonys. She was nominated for her role in If/Then and I was happy to see her perform a song from it. It was so good- it gave me chills! I was also glad to see that she received a proper introduction- the "wickedly talented" reference was funny.

Anika Noni Rose, voice of Tiana from Princess and the Frog, was nominated for her performance in A Raisin in the Sun. She didn't win but her co-star, Sophie Okonedo, did! I really wish that Disney would do Princess and the Frog on stage and that Anika Noni Rose would star as Tiana! How cool would that be? Get on it Disney!

One of the biggest names of the night was Neil Patrick Harris. For Disney fans, you might know him as the voice of California Screamin' at DCA. Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Tonys the last few years but yesterday Hugh Jackman took on the role as host while Neil Patrick Harris attended the show as a nominee. Harris took home a Tony for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

There was also a bit of Peter Pan in the mix when Jennifer Hudson performed a song from an upcoming show called Finding Neverland. I enjoyed the film years ago but I am not sure how I feel about this musical yet. We'll see where it goes!

Hugh Jackman was the host of the Tonys and although I still prefer Neil Patrick Harris, it's a treat to see Wolverine dance and sing! I recently read that the first role he ever played that involved singing and dancing was actually Gaston in a production of Beauty and the Beast in Melbourne. You can see clips of his performance in the video below:

I recently rewatched The Music Man so I really enjoyed watching Jackman perform "Rock Island" from it with LL Cool J and T.I. This was one of the highlights of the Tonys for me! Especially since whenever I see LL Cool J, it reminds me of how he did a version of "Big Bad Wolf" in Simply Mad About the Mouse. The following video's sound is off (hopefully CBS fixes it) and it skips a lot of Jackman's intro but it gives you an idea of what they did- they turned it into a rap!

Watching the Tonys last night definitely left me in the mood to go see a show! Maybe I'll stop by DCA to watch Aladdin again sometime soon!

You can see a complete list of the Tony winners here:
Tony Award 2014 Winners

Did you watch the Tony Awards last night? What were your favorite moments?

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Blog Update

Hi there!

As you may have noticed I have given the blog a mini makeover. I took a blogging break and decided to start back up with a new look. The biggest change I made was that I created a different avatar for myself. It's simpler and I like to think it represents the kid I am at heart! Here is the new avatar in various outfits... it's like a paper doll fashion show!

My schedule has been busy the past couple months but part of it included a vacation! My husband and I went on our first Disney cruise and after returning we spent the rest of the week at Disneyland. There were a lot of fun experiences that I hope to eventually share here.

Finding time to blog has been a little bit of a challenge but I'm going to continue to try! I've been thinking of restructuring the blog a bit and possibly even changing the name sometime so there may be some edits here and there as I get around to each item.

I hope you can stick with me! I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post but I'm starting off with a goal of once a week.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,
-N-

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

New Drinks at Trader Sam's!

As some of you may already know- I love going to Trader Sam's! I've had a lot of fun times there. It replaced my favorite bar that was there before called Lost Bar but it was a decent replacement and my husband and I still like to go.

Last week we stopped by on our way home from work and noticed that the menu had changed. Two new drinks are now available- the Murky Mojito and the Passionate Python. We each got one so we could try them both!

One of the new drinks is the Murky Mojito. "Refreshing as a scoop of deepest river water...Sam stirs up rums, lime juice, mint and Angostura bitters. It'll float your boat."

I was happy to see that the Mosquito Mojito was next to it and also still available since it's one of my favorites.

I decided to give the Murky Mojito a try and was not disappointed. It looks dark and murky so the name suits it well! It's definitely different from the Mosquito Mojito. The Mosquito Mojito is more of a light and refreshing drink and the Murky Mojito seemed heavier but still tasty!

The other new drink is the Passionate Python. "This breathtaking potion has a sqeeze of citrus juices, wrapped in passion fruit and rum that will really get a hold on you!"

My husband gave this one a try. I loved the orange peel "python" that they decorated the drink with! He said it tasted a bit like a Mai Tai. We both swapped drinks and decided that of the two new drinks I liked the Murky Mojito and my husband liked the Passionate Python better but that they're both worth a try!

There was one other change to the menu that we noticed that I was admittedly not as excited about. They no longer have my favorite fish tacos! They have been replaced with Shrimp Tacos which may be exciting for some but since I don't like shrimp, I was pretty disappointed. I wish they had added the Shrimp Tacos but had kept my fish tacos too.

There seemed to be a couple other changes to the menu too like the "Big Island Flatbread" but I was so distracted by my missing tacos I didn't notice! Despite being sad about the tacos, it was exciting to try the new drinks. We had a great time and I look forward to going back soon!

Which of the new drinks do you want to try?

Friday, April 18, 2014

Easter Eggs at Disneyland's Springtime Roundup

This year instead of the Bunny Hop on Main Street that they had last Easter, you can find lots of springtime and Easter fun (including that bunny hop!) at the Springtime Roundup at Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree. I've gone a couple times so far and the last time I was there, I had a nice time looking at the amazing art that their egg decorators have created. They didn't seem to be actual eggs but I thought it was awesome anyway. The egg decorators were there working on more and as someone who loves to paint designs on my nails, watching them paint definitely made me jealous of how they get to spend their day! There was so much creative work to look at so I took several photos to share with you all!