Gigi on Broadway starring Vanessa Hudgens: Full Review

Good morning beautiful,

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Happy Saturday! So, as promised on yesterday's blog post I am here to offer a full review of the Broadway show GiGi which I had the privilege of seeing with my mom this past week. The show was scheduled for 7pm and the theater is somewhere in midtown so I had to rush after work to pick up my mom and off we went!

So anyways, let me back track to how I got the tickets. A few weeks ago I decided to request 1/2 day off from work in order to be part of  The View- one of my favorite shows since I was in college! Vanessa Hudgens (the main character) was a guest that day and the entire audience won tickets to the Broadway show. Thank you, abc TV networks, or whoever paid for this ;).

Now, let me just say I had no clue what GiGi is or was based on. I just remember hearing is a re-make of a very famous show that has been around for decades (pardon my ignorance). I was just excited for the free tickets.

If you have been following the blog for some time you may already know that France is my absolute favorite country in the world. Mind you, I have only been there once in my life. However, for some reason I've always had an affinity with the place and see myself going back several times over during my life time. So anyways, you can imagine my excitement when I realized the whole story takes place in France:

In a nutshell (without giving too much away) Gigi is about a girl from France, coming of age as she is being raised by her grandmother --  who she sweetly refers to as 'grandmama'. The grandmother goes out of her way to make sure Gigi grows up to be a proper lady and tries to teach her the ropes. Meanwhile, Gigi thinks all the luxuries and ambition for money in France is silly and understands from a young age there are more important things in life. She is happy being a simple girl. 

As the story develops, she eventually finds herself, falls in love, and grows up to be a beautiful, 'well polished', young lady. Every single character in the performance does a phenomenal job. I also found a new found respect for Vanessa Hudgens. I always wondered why or how these Disney celebrities become so famous. Seeing Vanessa in live action made me realize this girl actually has some freaking solid talent. At the end of the performance, everyone gave her a standing ovation. Congrats to her! I really enjoyed the whole experience.

....And specially getting to share that with me dear mom:

Please disregard my tired eyes. It was a long day at work.

The show runs for over 2 hours. As good as it was, I felt like we were there forever. To be quite honest-- my mom and I were about to leave at one point during intermission (we thought it was over). Luckily we noticed no one was leaving the place and then we realized there was more to come so we immediately sat back down. Pretty funny situation.

During and after the show we were both starving! We grabbed a pizza at Sbarro afterwards. I hate that place. I just kept wondering, how are they still in business?! Anyways, we were hungry.

And that's all folks. Had an awesome time in Manhattan with my mom. Looking forward to having those dates more often.

Tell me, have you seen a Broadway show before or wish to see one? which one? 

I was not compensated for this post other than getting the free tickers from the View. I was not asked to make a review either. I did this because I really enjoyed my time and wanted to share it on the blog.

*Birthday Highlights*

Just had a chance to sit down and share some of the highlights of my wonderful 30^th bday.

First of all, as planned—I took off from work and it felt amazing not to wake up rushing to catch the bus/train. Oddly enough, I woke up at the crack up dawn without an ounce of sleepiness in me (most of the time around that time I am usually dying of exhaustion). I think that’s when I fully understood the phrase “Cant keep calm, is my Birthday!!!”.

I had a light breakfast (had brunch plans for later on that day) and then went to get my hair done-- which usually only happens for special occasions. After my hair appointment I met up with my best friend and we took the train towards the city.

She chose an amazing brunch spot called Sanabeth.

 

The atmosphere was amazing and the food was beyond delicious. I cant wait to go back and try some more of their breakfast/brunch items. We also had a couple of mimosas to celebrate. I could have not asked for a better way to start my birthday. My best friend really went all out with this! Love you Christina!!

 

After a nice brunch and a few hours of conversation about our past, present, and all of our amazing goals for the future we headed our separate ways. It was also her brother in law birthday so she had some other plans that day. I had to head back to my parents house to continue the celebration! Before leaving the city I did a little shopping at H&M (which had so many cute clothes, by the way) and then headed towards to the subway back uptown.

Let me just say one thing: The love I have for my family is beyond words. Those are the people that have been there for me 24/7/365 and whom I can always count on. I had a low key/super amazing birthday dinner, received gorgeous flowers, and then was surprised with the coolest birthday gift I gotten to date: An IPad!!! I know I may be late to the ‘IPad’ world but I could not be more excited. It is something I’ve wanted for a while.

Below are some birthday pics for your viewing pleasure:

 Birthday Flowers:

Make a Wish:

My Lovely Sister and I:

 

 

Thank you for reading! Hope you all have an amazing and super fun Halloween and be safe!

Tell me, what was your favorite birthday gift ever?

Hungover on a Wednesday

Random side note: this is post number 275^th! Ive always had an affinity with the number 5 or multiples of 5. Just thought u should know ;)

So, Hello blog world!

This morning I woke up feeling like I had spent the last week drinking and wondering whether it was Saturday or Sunday. When my alarm went off I was immediately smacked in the face with the cruel reality that it is only Wednesday and I have a job so off I went to get ready.

Why the hangover status? Well, last night I went to dinner with a really good friend of mine. Lets call him Mr. R; Hi R! J. We went to one of my favorite places:

It is a tex-mex/Mexican spot with affordable food and super strong drinks. I ended up drinking 1.5 cups of something they like to call “the white flower” which is a mix of white wine sangria and some sort of alcohol that may or may not include tequila. I had to share the 2^nd half of my 2^nd drink with my friend because it was just too much. For food I had a “Mexican chicken wrap” which was amazing. I also had a salad on the side. I love Mexican food no matter how you slice it! I got caught up in the conversation and drinks and forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

My friend and I talked about everything under the sun (as usual) and then somehow managed to walk out of the place without falling on our way to the door. Fun times for sure! That’s one thing I really enjoy about our friendship—we can chat about anything, act silly and then pretend we are normal after all that. Haha

(Random note: my friend found my blog by mistake last year and this is one of his infamous comments about it: “You are very photogenic”  (huh? What is that supposed to mean? Lol)

Anyways, I managed to make it home around 12 ish. Thankfully my favorite bus driver was on shift and dropped me off right on the corner of my apartment (not an official bus stop). He is always super nice. I hope he didn’t notice my drunken status when I suddenly got up and asked if he minded leaving me “at the corner”. He jokingly (or half joking?) offered to drop me off in front of my building. That would have been pretty hilarious.  

Yesterday was day 2 of my “30 day shred” Jillian workout DVD series. I have to say the first day was rough but I am getting used to the workouts and once again loving her exercises. You know you are doing something right when you actually see results on your body. I was also super excited to know she’s back on the biggest loser. I am such a big fan of hers now!

So the last couple of days I’ve been having overnight oats (inspired by my Greek yogurt expiration date of 12/31). I had an empty peanut butter jar which I used yesterday. No jar for today so I used a regular container for this morning’s breakfast.

Today:

 

Either way, soo good! I added raisins and cinnamon to the mixture. I also had my café w/ soy milk. Can’t go wrong with the Greeks for breakfast.

…And here’s today’s work outfit/accessories:

H&M cardigan, express skirt, NY&C bracelet, regular black shoes/print stockings.



Happy Hump Day!

Question: Have you ever been to a Blockheads? Do you like Mexican food?