The Holiday 101 in 1001 List!

I have just over six weeks of my 101 in 1001 challenge left, and am powering through checking a few last items off my list! The holidays were a surprisingly perfect time to hammer through some philanthropic items, as well as a few fun little adventures! 

First, I checked off #45, Participate in a Holiday Adopt-A-Family. I had a hard time finding an organization in the Twin Cities that allowed a group to adopt a whole family...it seems like things have gone more toward the "general donation" model around here. Fortunately, South Bend still allows full adopt-a-family, and the Notre Dame Piccolos always adopt a family!

This year, they opened it up to alums and shared details in our private Facebook group...because naturally the piccs have our own group. Our funds supported an adorable family with 4 kids: Sariah (9, girl), Jean (7, boy), Julien (7, boy), and Seline (4, girl). Per FB, the girls both love Frozen and Barbies (who doesn't really!?), and the boys both love Star Wars and Legos. The section also purchased them all warm clothes, pajamas, and socks for Christmas.

With Venmo to streamline payment, putting my money where my mouth was couldn't have been easier! 

Next up: #87, Send Christmas Cards! 

I went a little nuts in Emily McDowell's amazing online shop (seriously, I want everything they sell), and ordered three different options, plus a special inside-joke card for Kait. 

During the polar vortex, I stayed in all weekend, recovered from the plague that had completely knocked me out, and wrote cards in bed with Netflix holiday movies on in the background. 

Then I kind of blacked out in PaperSource last week and ended up walking out with, among dozens of other things, a stamp, gold ink, and stickers that matched my cards shockingly well. I stamped stamps, stuck stickers, and addressed envelopes to my heart's content. 

And boom! In the mail and headed to my friends' homes right in time for Christmas!

In other fun items, I checked off #92, See "The Nutcracker," with Jodester last weekend! The State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis is one of the prettiest historic venues in the Twin Cities, and couldn't have been a lovelier venue for Loyce Houlton's "Nutcracker Fantasy."

Jodester and I had a blast checking out the hundreds of darling little girls dressed up in their Christmas best, making fun of flamboyant Uncle Drosselmeyer (who creepily inserts himself in EVERY SCENE being creepy), and marveling at the ballet. A perfect way to escape the Polar Vortex!

One of the items on my list that I wasn't sure how to check off was #46, Donate time or money to a charity initiative for veterans or soldiers. When I stumbled across Wreaths Across America this November, I knew it was the perfect way to give back. My mom takes pride in making sure that my grandparents' graves have flowers or wreaths on them year-round, and as my grandpas are both vets, this cause was near and dear to my heart. 

While I only donated this year, I'd love to actually participate in the wreath-laying at Fort Snelling next year. Such a cool cause! Please consider checking it out and donating if you're interested!

Finally, another great donation opportunity arose in checking off #50, Volunteer or donate through the ND-MN Alumni Club! Every year, the Club sponsors a Christmas party in collaboration with Centro, a Twin Cities charity that serves more than 7,000 Latino-Americans. The party alone is host to 1200 Centro parents and children, and takes a massive effort from ND alums and families to put on every year. 

I've participated in the past, but I couldn't this year (again due to my lovely malingering illness. Instead I made a donation online, and am looking forward to participating in years to come! 

Here's to the festive season, friends - a great time to spread cheer, have fun, and give back. Happy holidays! 

The arts roundup - September-November 2016

God, I've been so bad at writing lately. Seriously think I need a resolution on how to not suck at maintaining this space. Excuse this time? The world's most brutal bout of cold/flu/PLAGUE that struck me down in tandem with the lovely polar vortex Minnesota enjoyed this weekend. Bleh. You know it's cold when the inside of your windows are completely frozen over...

It's always warm in theaters, though, and I've kept my hot streak of being a professional audience member going strong this fall! I've shared plenty about "Hamilton" (still OMG-ing a month later) and our holiday choral road trip, but that's just the tip of the iceberg...

September kicked off with a VIP donor preview of the Minnesota Opera's 2016-17 season, hosted by new president and general director Ryan Taylor. With discussion of each opera, why it was programmed, and how it was going to be staged, along with excerpts from each, Jodester and I had a ball...even though she's NOT an opera lover and isn't my usual opera date! 

Legit the next weekend saw my actual opera plus-one driving down from Fargo to join me for the season-opening gala, Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette!"

Nothing like getting all black-tied up for a night in a theater. My happy place ;) The set for Romeo and Juliet centered around giant roses and hanging swords, which was graphic and cool and engaging. The opera, maybe not as much...it ranks lower on my list of favorites thus far. 

We still had a blast, though, and enjoyed the VIP afterparty too! 

That Thursday, Hal, AJ and I endured an utter fiasco trying to dine at Parlour before the Guthrie's Open Call night at "Sense and Sensibility." We're talking waiting two hours for a burger, only to receive them EIGHT minutes before showtime and having to scarf them in my car en route to the theater. Definitely my finest hour. 

We made it on time, though, and I LOVED the show. Jane Austen is my eternal homegirl. 

I'm also loving the (recent?) trend of revolving setpieces and turntables. "Sense and Sensibility" made extensive use of it, as did "Hamilton" and a few of my other favorites. Then again, the Guthrie's set shop never really ceases to amaze me. 

October ushered itself in with a performance I'd been looking forward to since February...the incomparable Renée Fleming opened the Schubert Club's 135th season at the Ordway! Matt was kind enough to join me...

...and to refrain from mocking me as I fangirled out so hard and took crappy iPhone photos of her. I spazzed hard, not gonna lie. The champagne reception afterward didn't hurt matters either.

(The above is what happens when an iPhone 5 is zoomed all the way in a dark theater and faced with OPERATIC LEGEND.)

Next on our Guthrie docket in October was "The Parchman Hour," which knocked my socks off in all the best ways. Focused around the Freedom Riders of the equal-rights movement, each actor played numerous roles, and digital media was used to stunning effect to illustrate their stories and the events surrounding them. I'm loving the Guthrie's powerful programming under Joseph Haj, in his first full season as head artistic director. 

Just days before the election, Jodester and I headed to Orchestra Hall for the first package of our season... Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," narrated by my bff (not kidding) Alan Page, seen above rocking VERY snazzy socks and dissecting the continuing relevance and power of the piece. "Lincoln" was followed up by prodigy violinist Esther Yoo performing Bruch's violin concerto, and the evening closed with an absolutely stunning rendition of Dvorak's "New World Symphony." 

I recently started thinking about how the hell I would pick if I had to choose between the orchestra and the Guthrie...answer is that I genuinely don't think I could. EEK!

Less than 24 hours after "Hamilton," Michael was back down from Fargo and we met up with his utterly lovely friends Michael and Antinea for Wagner's "Das Rheingold" at the Minnesota Opera! My first Wagner!! The Opera faced the challenge of fitting Wagner's super-sized orchestra into a too-small pit, so instead used the pit as part of the stage and put the musicians onstage right in the heart of the action. It presented an innovative, visually engaging and, for me, totally riveting solution to the issue, and I fell in love with the grandiose scale of Wagner's style hard and fast. 

Of course, pre-show dinner at the Saint Paul Grill as the Rice Park lighting ceremony took place, followed by post-show drinks and dessert at Meritage didn't hurt either. :) 

Lots more to come! I'm not even halfway through my calendar of LITERALLY 36 ARTS EVENTS THIS YEAR EEK! 

How lucky we are to be alive right now!

HAMILTON. 

As you should know by now, my "Hamilton" obsession knows no limits. I am an absolute fiend for that show...beyond all bounds of reason and practicality. Sadly, I just couldn't justify spending $2,000 to see the show in New York, so needless to say when we found out it was coming to Chicago this fall, a feverish group text ensued between my mom, sister and me. Laura and Drew hopped on the bandwagon too, and the moment tickets went on sale last JUNE, I started clicking like a madwoman to try to score some. 

Two and a half hours later, after several computer/Ticketmaster crashes and a very undignified moment of yelling at my boss that "I JUST CANNOT WORK RIGHT NOW I HAVE TO GET HAMILTON TICKETS," we were the VERY excited holders of 5 balcony tickets to the November 18th show. And the countdown began. As 11/18 drew closer and closer, my excitement went up inversely to my ability to be even semi-normal. And on 11/17, Jodester and I headed to MSP, our on-theme reading material in tow...

I highly, highly recommend the Ron Chernow biography for all those show freaks who just can't get enough. It's riveting and very well-written...I found it so illuminating. We boarded the plane, I plugged headphones in and started the soundtrack, and before I knew it, this skyline came into view. 

We could not have had a prettier Thursday in Chicago! More detail to come...funny story, when we bought these tickets we had no idea Emily would soon be a Chicago resident. It added a whole new dimension of fun and excitement to the weekend to get to see her new home. 

To kill time while we waited for her to get off work, Jodes and I went shopping on Armitage Street. Imagine my delight when the very first thing I saw in the very first store was this little gem: 

DUELING HAMILTON AND BURR SHOT GLASSES. It was like a sign from the universe that this weekend was going to be flawless. I bought one for me...

...and one for my Schuyler Sister, which I appropriately personalized with song lyrics, duh. 

After reuniting with Meems at dinner and drinking a LOT of extremely good champagne, we tried to head to Cindy's Rooftop for post-dinner drinks, but the line deterred us. At that point, my Ham Fever had hit a peak, and knowing we were blocks from the theater, I basically begged Jodes and Em to walk over with me. We had the bright idea to try to buy merchandise before the Friday show, so they were altogether willing. 

When we saw the marquee, I genuinely started to feel a little bit like I was having a panic attack. Like, a little hyperventilating, a little bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet, a little hand-wringing and a whole lot of "OMG HOLY SHIT OMG TOMORROW." My poor mom and sister humored me...which is why I will love them always and forever for going on this pilgrimage with me. 

To my shame, I got the arms wrong, but still, I think I deserve a little nerd extra-credit for recreating to begin with. 

After a little more spazzing, chatting with the door monitor and a few theater employees (all RAVING about the show), and me barely refraining from storming the door to get in, we headed home to dream Hammy dreams and get excited for the next day. 

I woke up so early, and bolted upright in bed more excited than any Christmas. Legit actually probably more excited than college graduation (which, let's be real, was kind of sad!). It was HAMILTON DAY!!!! All day long, we three kept a running countdown. Only eight more hours. Eight dwindled to six, dwindled to three, down to two, and we headed to dinner to meet up with these loves: 

Not before Jodester ditched Em and me to join the real Schuyler Sisters, though...

As we dined on filthy amounts of pasta and meatballs, I could hardly restrain my freakouts. I think poor Drew genuinely came to fear that he was seeing the show with a crazy person. My excitement ratcheted up another level when these alerts crossed my phone screen...IT WAS HAPPENING IT WAS HAPPENING. 

We headed over, bought our souvenirs (I got the fancy program and, naturally the vocal selections/piano book for our next singing night with Matt and Hal), and climbed to our seats. 

Do you want to hear something terrible/hilarious? Jodester brought BINOCULARS. To the balcony of the theater. Not like opera glasses...full-on hunting binoculars. Because the balcony is much higher than she's accustomed to ;) 

To be fair, we were pretty far up. That said, it didn't hamper the experience at all. 

Now, for some rapid-fire thoughts: 

1. Karen Olivo as Angelica was legit better than Renee Elise Goldsberry, and I don't care what circle of hell saying that consigns me to. I GOT CHILLS every time she opened her mouth. 

2. The staging, choreography, lighting and set created possibly the most dynamic, intense, continually engaging theater experience I've ever had. Seeing it felt, to me, like the first time I saw "Les MIs" at the age of 13...totally overwhelming, totally sensory overload. 

3. Joshua Henry, one of the original Guthrie "Scottsboro Boys," was incredible as Aaron Burr, who still has my favorite song in the musical ("Wait For It"). 

4. By the end of "Guns and Ships," I had legit pulled the neck of my dress up over my chin and mouth to muffle my squeals of delight. 

5. Songs that I appreciated much more seeing them live: "Dear Theodosia" and the "Cabinet Battles." 

6. Songs that I was kind of meh on seeing them live: "Right Hand Man" and "One Last Time."(nobody will ever equal Christopher Jackson).

7. Songs that made me cry: UM MOST OF THEM. In reality, "Wait For It," "Hurricane," and practically everything from "Burn" to the end with a few exceptions. I was out of tissues by intermission, and from "Stay Alive (Reprise)" to the end I had essentially become a teeming, soggy mess of tears and feelings AHHHH. 

8. We waited at the stage door and met Ari Afsar (Eliza) and Miguel Cervantes (Hamilton) and they were both delights and absolutely delighted. It was precious. They signed my Playbill, nbd :) 

9. We happened to be at the Chicago production the same night that Mike Pence was at the NY production, and I've gotta say, having seen the show, if anyone could have communicated a message of political significance with class and decorum, it'd be the "Hamilton" cast. The messages in the show are as topical now as they were in the 17-and-1800s, and the drivers behind politics have scarcely changed. The rest of my thoughts on that matter will stay private, though. 

10. GOING AGAIN ASAP WHO WANTS TO GET TICKETS AND COME WITH ME??

How lucky we are to be alive right now, and how lucky I was to be in the room where it happens! 

The weekend update

When it's hovering around 70 degrees in Minnesota in November, one gets out and does things. This last week or so has been no exception...I have barely been home! 

Thursday was the second Open Call of the year, "The Parchman Hour" at the Guthrie...which Matt, AJ and I pregamed at Freehouse. 

The show closed this weekend, but it absolutely blew my mind - the fusion of digital effects, soul, gospel and popular music, and an unbelievably talented cast conveyed the message of the show so powerfully. The programming the Guthrie is putting on continues to leave me so excited for its future under new artistic director Joseph Haj! 

On Friday, Jodester and I made a pilgrimage to the lovely Saint Genevieve in south Minneapolis - a beautiful little French café in the old Lynn on Bryant space. Their champagne list is comprehensive...so we built our own flights! 

After running into multiple people we knew, including one of my favorite high school English teachers and the wife of a college friend of my father's, we settled in to savor the creamiest rosé...

...along with a perfect-size-to-split croque Madame and a butternut squash dish that I'm still fantasizing about. 

Naturally, nothing pairs better with champagne than perfect French fries and bearnaise! 

Having snacked ourselves silly and gotten completely champagne buzzed, we headed off to Orchestra Hall to hang with my bff Alan Page, who was narrating Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" that evening. The pre-show discussion featured Page and new associate conductor Roderick Cox, discussing the power of American music to influence perception and open social dialogues. It definitely got interesting...and sure feels topical in the light of this week's events! 

The program, in addition to "Lincoln Portrait," also featured 22-year old violinist Esther Yoo making her Minnesota Orchestra debut on Bruch's violin concerto, and closed with Dvorak's stunning "New World Symphony." I can honestly say it's probably one of the most stirring programs I've ever seen there...superbly conducted by my silver-fox crush Osmo Vanska, and just incredibly moving and passionately performed. So grateful to live in a city with such a superlative symphony! 

I had a sleepover in Lakeville with Papa Bear and Jodester, mostly so I could check out their new bathroom renovation...that floor ahhh! 

After much deliberation, we headed to Glam Doll Donuts for a "light breakfast." Funny how a light breakfast gets so much heavier when one member of your group can't pick a flavor...cough...RICHARD. (My personal favorite is the blackberry Hennessy donut, closest to the camera in the photo above. Get it! You won't regret it.)

Then off to Lake of the Isles, for one of the most stunning fall walks ever! 

Temps hovered around 65-70 degrees, the sun was shining, and it felt like everyone was smiling. If Minnesota was always like this, nobody would ever leave! 

Sunday found me at a different lake...Harriet this time, to play with my favorite pup, Molly! Kelsie is kind enough to borrow her and share her with me whenever she likes...and we took her on her first 5k as we walked the whole lake! 

Miss Molly was having none of it. She wanted more attention than she was getting, and crapped out, naturally, right around the halfway point. It took us almost two hours to get all the way around with a capricious, hyper and then exhausted pup! 

So we rewarded ourselves with beer, naturally. First at Indeed, then down the block at Able! Molly was her cuddliest, most snuggly exhausted self. 

And I, being a Molly fiend, was in heaven. 

Nothing better than an Internet full of adorable puppies, right?! 

A few noteworthy things lately...

Lots happening these days! 

A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend the annual WomenVenture fall gala luncheon at the Depot in Minneapolis with my company. One of the female executives I've developed a great working relationship with is on their board, and she invited a dozen of the company's lady leaders to join her at our table. I was honored to be included, and so inspired by the program - featuring keynote speaker Lara Merrikin of Larabar, the day featured female entrepreneurs and business leaders from across the Twin Cities, and brought together over a thousand female professionals for the day. So galvanizing to see firsthand how much women in business are doing these days, and to count myself among their number! 

Yiddle brudder Jonathan is officially employed! After a few months of patience, perseverance and positivity, he was offered a role as a marketing coordinator for a company in Detroit, and will be starting there in early November! While I'm so, so sad to lose him here, this opportunity is so exciting and he will absolutely rock it. We celebrated his happy news with cocktails and burgers at Parlour...

...before heading to Marvel Bar for a round of champagne. What better reason to pop champagne on a random Tuesday than 3/3 Schwegkids gainfully employed?! Here's to your success and your brilliant future, Jonny D!!

Last Wednesday, I was invited to represent my company's Foundation and the board I sit on during a roundtable discussion with US Senator Al Franken! Senator Franken is working to pass legislation that will encourage corporate America to partner with students seeking educational and professional opportunities, and the organization my board represents fits perfectly with his mission. 

We spent over an hour discussing our mission, success stories, and goals with the senator, and I was so impressed with our student representative, William. He was articulate, funny, and natural - skills that I still struggle with when doing professional speaking! So impressive in a seventeen-year-old. Senator Franken was similarly impressed...we really enjoyed talking with him after the roundtable ended. 

The day ended with interviews for some of our brightest students - the Saint Paul Public Schools crew and some local networks were covering Senator Franken's visit, and they all got miked up to discuss our experience! Again, our students did a fantastic job representing our program. Proud to serve on a board that helps advance kids like this, and does so much good in our community. 

Finally, we celebrated Papa Bear's birthday last Thursday! Starting off with wine and presents at my place...there's clearly no family resemblance among the three of us, ha. #buttchinsforever

We then headed to Butcher and the Boar, where the service was as bad as the food was good. Fortunately, we had Manhattans to dull the pain...

...and to encourage a little silliness on the part of the Schwegkids. 

It makes me incredibly happy to spend time with these two, and it's really gratifying to see them just as much in love 32 years in. (They celebrated anniversary #32 in early October!)

After dinner, we dashed down the block to the Orpheum to catch "Cabaret!"

I had never seen the show before, and was blown away by the production. We all really enjoyed it, and had a pretty great discussion in the car on the way to drop me off about the social commentary being so ahead of its time. Gotta love a good theater night! 

Highlight of the evening: running into the one-and-only Paul Reuvers at intermission! Can't wait for some Schweg-Reuvs shenanigans this weekend in the Bend! 

Happy Monday, campers! Counting the days til Friday already...