Small Town Life In Big L.A.

Danny Elfman Performs The Nightmare Before Christmas At The Hollywood Bowl!

My big birthday year continues as my husband treated me to 3rd row BOX SEATS! at the sold out Danny Elfman performance at the one and only HOLLYWOOD BOWL! It is quite the tradition to bring a gourmet picnic dinner when you attend the bowl. Here is the menu I planned!

WOW! I can't believe how close we are to the stage!!!

Our candlelight main course Pesto Pasta with Shrimp and Pine nuts.

This is the view behind us. The bowl is FULL tonight for this historic occasion.

And so it begins...

This is the opening music. LOVE!!! I had to pinch myself!

These are the actual performers who sing "This Is Halloween"

 

And here they are singing it.

 

 

The crowd went wild when Composer Danny Elfman hit the stage. He composed this music and is the voice of Jack! What an AMAZING voice he has!

 

Just listen to him!!!

The orchestra played the entire score as we watched the movie on giant screens. Just AWESOME!!!

Danny and the crew singing their hearts out! Perfection!

Actress Catherine O'Hara ( Beetlejuice) and Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) are part of the original cast.

This is the original Oogie Boogie man!

Catherine O'Hara singing the part of Sally.

I wish I would have taken more pics of the amazing costumes. We are in Hollywood after all.

Bravo Danny Elfman and the entire orchestra and cast! A once in a lifetime experience we will never forget.

 

 

 

Inside Harry Potter Los Angeles

 Yesterday we were in for a big surprise. Being the day after the Oscars and a Monday all was on the quieter side at Universal Studios Hollywood. They are busy getting ready for the grand opening of Harry Potter on April 7. SURPRISE!!! They were testing things out and we were able to see and experience the whole thing first class!!!

Ahh! Snow and Hogwarts only thirty minutes from home!

Many of the great shops were open too.

Honeyduke's Sweets Shop was a fun experience with novel treats like Pumpkin Juice.

We received a grand welcome to the star attraction, Hogwarts, featuring Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

I don't believe we will ever see a sight like this again. These winding walkways are made for long lines and big crowds. We were able to walk all the way in. Amazing!!!

And there they are! Harry, Ronald, and Hermione! The ride was awesome!

Then it was onto the roller coaster at Hagrid's Hut.

We were thoroughly entertained by this frog chorus as they sang, danced, and then posed with us. What a treat!

Being the "foodie" that I am it was nice to meet Executive Chef Anthony at the brand new Three Broomsticks Tavern.

The comfort food menu is very appealing and reasonably priced.

We chose the Lemon Roasted Herb Chicken with corn on the cob and roasted potatoes. Yummy!

Checkout the view from our table!

What an exciting day! One of my favorite things about Universal is the music. The beautiful instrumental musical score from the Harry Potter movies is perfectly played throughout the attraction making you feel as if you are really there. This is going to be a huge draw. How thankful we are that we got to see it all up close and personal before the throngs arrive. WOW! WOW! WOW!

Seeing Cinderella in Hollywood

Here we are on Hollywood's Walk of Fame to see CINDERELLA at Disney's El Capitan Theater. It's "girl's night out" and we are beyond excited!

In the lobby is the original dress worn by Lily James in the amazing ballroom scene. Simply stunning!

Upon being seated the curtains went up, just like in the old days!,  the organist rose out of the floor and we were treated to live music and a Cinderella light show.

 

Only in Hollywood!!!

Just seeing the original glass slipper was worth the price of admission. It spun slowly in a glass case and I have never seen anything like it. Breathtaking!

Downstairs all of the costumes worn in the movie were on display, like Helena Bonham Carter's fairy godmother dress.

 

This movie is a "must see"!!! It was so good that I'll be going back to to see it with my husband. Perfect casting, enchanting scenery, and moving soundtrack...Go see it!

Babette's Feast Slumber Party

I have wanted to write this blog for a long time and somehow it got lost in my sea of pics and future blog ideas. It gives me pleasure to relive this special night so I'll set the stage: The men were off to the mountains for the annual Christian Men's Retreat so L, S, and I decided to have a sleepover at my house.

We started with a sit down dinner: candlelight, roses from S's garden, wine, healthy food, good conversation, and lots of laughs. What FUN!

I enjoyed sharing my Mini Meatball Soup. There's nothing like a bowl of steaming soup on a chilly night.

After dinner L gave us a candy making lesson. S & I pulled up chairs in the kitchen to watch. Of course we won't talk about how L burnt the first batch of roasted almonds.

The finished product! A delicious break apart chocolate filled with almonds and coconut. Perfect for the movie!

Tonight's feature was "BABETTE'S FEAST". L purchased the movie to share and I am absoluetly in love with it. It's about the lives of two sister's who were raised by their Pastor father in 19th century Denmark. I don't want to give the story away but at some point Babette, a gourmet chef from France, comes to live with them. This is a fabulous movie that honors the Lord. The end to a blessed evening.