On the Air: Writing a Musical – Part 2

July 7, 2014 by ·

Now, where was I? Oh yes, recording a demo. (In case you missed it, here’s part 1)

This can be a very intimidating task considering all that goes into recording.  Do we need to rent a recording studio? Who do we get to record? How much is this going to cost?

Anybody can record a demo and believe it or not, it doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg.

Robby and I invested in a mic off of Amazon.  This one to be exact.  It won’t cost you your first born child and the sound quality is pretty good.  We got a pop filter, music stand, a mac and were ready to go. We recorded the majority of the demo in my room, not some fancy recording studio.  The music stand was our mic holder.  This was the set-up (please excuse the mess, I was a shell of a human being remember?):

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Filed Under: Writing · Tagged With: , , , ,

Greek Yogurt Chicken

July 5, 2014 by ·

Looking for something to make for dinner tonight? Indulged in a little too much junk food for the 4th and looking for something a little healthier? I gotcha covered!

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On the Air: Writing a Musical – Part 1

July 3, 2014 by ·

So I realized I haven’t spoken about the musical Robby and I wrote.  Ya know, that little thing I mainly started this blog for.

ON THE AIR Album Cover

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Filed Under: Writing · Tagged With: , , ,

Book Tuesday: ARC – The Kiss of Deception

July 1, 2014 by ·

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Title: The Kiss of Deception
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Publisher: Henry Holt
Publication Date: July 8, 2014
Pages: 492
Buy: Amazon

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

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Another Grad Party!

June 30, 2014 by ·

‘Tis the Season!

Of graduation parties, I mean.

Our cousin Matt graduated from HS this year (crazy!).  My Aunt and Uncle threw him a fantastic party where we all ate too much and played with bubbles.

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Filed Under: Life ·

Lemon Cake with Mascarpone Cream and Berry Compote Filling

June 28, 2014 by ·

Mom and a bunch of her coworkers went out to a retirement dinner for one of the teachers at her school.  Barbara (yes, she and mom have the same name and both teach music!) had been teaching at the school for years.  Since we live so close to the restaurant, my mom invited everybody back for coffee and dessert. She asked if I would mind baking a cake for the occasion. Not at all!

I then realized I had no idea what kind of cake to make.  Chocolate? Cannoli?

The weather has been gorgeous lately and I wanted to embrace that summer feeling so I decided on something light and refreshing.  I had some extra mascarpone cheese in the fridge I had to use up and knew I had some frozen berries in the freezer–Bingo!

The Lemon Cake with Mascarpone Cream and Berry Compote Filling was born!

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Filed Under: Nom Nom ·

A Wop Bop A Loo Bop!

June 27, 2014 by ·

So let me tell you one of the benefits of having a brother in this business.  You get to steal inherit his friends.  It’s great.

Robby was in a production of Sweeney Todd at the Fulton Theatre 3 (!) years ago.  Let me tell you that show was amazing.  Not only was the talent outstanding, especially that guy playing Toby ;-), but the people were awesome.  Almost every day I would be getting texts from the bro saying how incredible everybody was.  Not just talent-wise, but just great people.

Can I tell you how rare that is in this business?

Needless to say it was one of those show experiences that just stick with you.  I wasn’t even in the show and I can’t imagine not having met any of his friends.

Naturally, I stole them for my own.  Cause well, duh.  They’re awesome.

So one of his awesome friends, Shane, was Kenickie in Grease at Papermill Playhouse.  For you non-theatre folks, that’s a pretty big deal.  A bunch of the “Sweeney” crowd headed out to see him.

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Filed Under: Life ·

Leftover Frittata

June 25, 2014 by ·

We had so many leftovers from Robby’s Grad party.  I wanted to use some of them up so I decided to make a Frittata.

A Frittata is a typical Italian dish made with eggs.  It’s basically a big omelet.  What I love about them is you can throw anything you want in it. My grandma used to make one every week with spinach and parmesan cheese.  Frittata always reminds me of my childhood.

It’s a great meal to be had at anytime of the day.  Have it for breakfast or pair it with a nice salad for lunch or dinner!

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Filed Under: Nom Nom ·

Book Tuesday: The Girl Who Never Was

June 24, 2014 by ·

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Title: The Girl Who Never Was
Author: Skylar Dorset
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: June 1, 2014
Pages: 304
Buy: Amazon

THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS is the story of Selkie Stewart, who thinks she’s a totally normal teenager growing up in Boston. Sure, her father is in an insane asylum, her mother left her on his doorstep—literally—when she was a baby, and she’s being raised by two ancient aunts who spend their time hunting gnomes in their Beacon Hill townhouse. But other than that her life is totally normal! She’s got an adventurous best friend who’s always got her back and an unrequited crush on an older boy named Ben. Just like any other teenager, right?

When Selkie goes in search of the mother she’s never known, she gets more than she bargained for. It turns out that her mother is faerie royalty, which would make Selkie a faerie princess—except for the part where her father is an ogre, which makes her only half of anything. Even more confusing, there’s a prophecy that Selkie is going to destroy the tyrannical Seelie Court, which is why her mother actually wants to kill her. Selkie has been kept hidden all her life by her adoring aunts, with the help of a Salem wizard named Will. And Ben. Because the boy she thinks she’s in love with turns out to be a faerie whose enchantment has kept her alive, but also kept her in the dark about her own life.

Now, with enchantments dissolved and prophecies swinging into action, Selkie finds herself on a series of mad quests to save the people she’s always loved and a life she’s learning to love. But in a supernatural world of increasingly complex alliances and distressingly complicated deceptions, it’s so hard to know who to trust. Does her mother really wish to kill her? Would Will sacrifice her for the sake of the prophecy? And does Ben really love her or is it all an elaborate ruse? In order to survive, Selkie realizes that the key is learning—and accepting—who she really is.

 

Le Sigh. Where to begin with this book.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Book Tuesday ·

The Little Bro Graduated

June 23, 2014 by ·

So the little bro graduated.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude with his M.F.A. in Children’s Literature.

Obviously, he’s not very smart. Or talented.  He only had to write a BOOK for his dissertation.  Ya know, nothing impressive.

We had a small get together with the fam to celebrate and I decided to make a cake for the occasion.  Since his degree was in Children’s Literature, I thought I’d decorate the cake with children’s book covers.

Here is the finished product:

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Filed Under: Life ·
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