weekend roundup

Starting with going to Sweeney Todd on Friday night, Nate and I had a very good weekend. Perhaps I shouldn't say a good weekend so much as a relaxing and fun-filled weekend. This doesn't happen all the time. We always do something with a few friends, which usually involves a couple of beers and some excellent conversation, but we don't always actually get out.

This past weekend, however, was quite nice. And I'm not talking about the weather, even though that was definitely nice! On Friday evening, before we went to Sheboygan to see Sweeney Todd, we were attempting to find a place to get a fish fry that wasn't super busy since we only had an hour and a half. I had worked until 4, the play was at 7:30, and it took some time to get ready. Only to be expected, of course! Anyway, our usual Friday night haunt, Lynn's Creekside, was most likely busy and was the opposite direction of where we were headed, so that was clearly out. Our second usual haunt when Creekside is packed, Benson's Hideaway, was also the opposite direction, though it wouldn't have been as busy. So basically, we started driving towards Sheboygan in the hopes that we discovered some new place and wouldn't have to stop at Subway! (It's the only fast food I'll eat.) This was probably the best thing we could have done, because we came across a little place called Twisted Root just outside of Sheboygan Falls. It didn't look too busy, so we decided to at least stop for a drink and find out if we'd be able to order and eat right away. The waitstaff were wonderful and did rush us through, which only worked because it looked like we got there right before the evening influx of people. The food was superb, and so was my beer. As usual, I tried something new; this time it was New Glarus Black Top, which was a very dark beer, very full-bodied, and it went excellently with my fish and chips. Nate had his usual, an Old-Fashioned, but at Twisted Root, some of the bartenders know how to make them from scratch, which always makes for a better drink. All in all, we've decided it's a neat place and we'll have to go back. As for the musical, it was also excellent. See my previous post for a review.

Saturday was a typical Saturday; Nate hauled milk in the morning while I did housework. We went to a flea market/farmer's market and brat fry on Saturday afternoon, and hung out with a friend at Creekside for a while, and made it an early evening because Nate had to start work at 2 am. That worked out nicely because he stopped back home around 5:30 for breakfast. I made scrambled eggs and sausage. The eggs were farm fresh (I had bought them at the farmer's market), and man were they delicious. Then he went back to working and I went to church, which was an all morning affair because choir sang at 8:00, then I went to Bible class, and the confirmation service was at 10:30. It being Pentecost, I certainly didn't mind being in church twice! Not that I ever mind being in church twice, haha.

That afternoon we attended a confirmation party, where I was able to see a dear friend of mine who was in town since her sister was being confirmed. (I actually sat with them at the late service.) Jaimie, Nate, and I all sat in the sun and chatted for a little over an hour, during which time I tried yet another craft beer (this past weekend was a good one for trying new drinks!) from Furthermore Beer that was brewed with cracked black pepper. It was weird, but actually really good.

And on Sunday evening, we went to see Star Trek: Into Darkness, which was stunning and intense and I loved it. Perhaps I'll write a separate review, we shall see. But I'm definitely loving this reboot of the classic series. It's beautiful and quite heart-wrenching at times.

That was a long post to basically say that we had a great weekend, and I guess that's the start of our summer. :)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (a review)

Last night my hubby and I went to see a stage production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I had wanted to see this since we received the season schedule last September, but then of course forgot all about it as is my habit. On Thursday morning, I was reading one of the local newspapers and it was advertised for this weekend. So basically I begged (only a little) Nate to take me to see it. We both had Friday night off, it was inexpensive, and I knew he'd enjoy it.

Yes, this is Johnny Depp.

This was the first time I went to a production by the Sheboygan Theatre Company, and I must say that I was impressed by the production as a whole. The high school auditorium they used must have been built with a small professional company in mind. The sound system was incredible; this is particularly of note to me as I do have a hearing loss which causes me to be unable to fully understand what people are saying/singing when recorded. (It's why I use subtitles or captions when I watch television.) The set that was made for Sweeney Todd was well made and versatile; never did scenes take long to change because no piece ever had to be moved off the stage.

The actors and actresses in this production were incredible. I have to admit that my first exposure to Sweeney Todd was through the film by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter, so blood and an air of all things gruesome took center stage. (Yes, I like the movie; I happen to own it.) A friend and I did watch a DVD of the original Broadway musical with Angela Lansbury, which had a slightly more comedic feeling at some parts. I think what we experienced last night was somewhere in between the movie and the original. Definitely not as bloody (I mean how do you even do that on stage?), but not quite as comedic as I recall the original being.

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Many people that I know just squirm when I tell them that this is one of my favourite musicals, and with good reason. If you've only been exposed to the Burton film, and you're not at all into Gothic horror, then you'll just be grossed out and bewildered. Fair enough, really. But the stage musical is superb. Musically speaking, it's actually very difficult. Stephen Sondheim writes technically challenging music. Wicked, anyone?

And then there's the story. First of all, the character of Sweeney Todd has been around for kind of a while. He first appeared in a penny dreadful in the Victorian Era. The original tale is available on Amazon for the Kindle here if you're interested. I have a paperback edition that I think has a few other penny dreadfuls in it. But I digress. The point of the story, or at least what I take away from it now (it was simply a Gothic horror tale at first), is that age old question on revenge: when have you gone too far? In the end, Sweeney's obsession with revenge, and Mrs. Lovett's almost fanatical love for Sweeney, get them both killed. Oh yeah, spoiler alert.

I could easily go more in depth with this story and analyse the entire thing, but I won't. If you get a chance, you should see it on stage, especially if the film bothers you. That, and you actually get so much more of the story when you see it on stage, since there are ensemble songs cut out of the film.

a simple introduction

Most folks who are acquainted with me in real life understand that I have this compulsive need to organize anything. Unfortunately, this also ended up translating into my online life, meaning I ended up with not one, but four separate blogs. At first I was okay with this, but I slowly began to realise that perhaps it was not the best way to accomplish establishing an online identity. (Beyond the usual Facebook, of course.) I now have a personal blog, a book blog, a lifestyle blog, and a poetry blog. Whew. I don't really need all of those, do I? While I will most likely keep the lifestyle blog going, the others will no longer be updated; posts that would have been published in their various places will now be published here.

I will keep links to my other blogs as an archive of sorts, because I am proud of what I have written, and I'd rather not see those posts disappear into the internet past. But now is the time to consolidate. My life has become hectic and thus if I want to be able to record anything on the internet, it simply needs to be in one place.

Thus I give to you my new and improved (not really!) blogging happy place. Though I'm certain it won't always be a happy place, because since when was life completely happy? I mean, come on, we all have our ups and downs.

I hope you will join me on this new and hopefully not confusing journey. Though with a name like Alice in Faerieland, you can surely expect confusion!

Sincerely,
Elisabeth

friday loves (in which I prove what a nerd I really am)

As I listen to Rush Limbaugh and bask in the warm air coming in my windows, I realised I have quite the collection of links to share with you. This is a wishlist kind of post, so yeah.

I'm looking for a swimsuit for the summer, and while I love most of the swimsuits on ModCloth, I found these two adorable swimsuits from Black Milk Clothing. Since I can't seem to get nicely proportioned photos on here, one of them is R2-D2 and the other is Alice in Wonderland. I've been sort of in love with the Star Wars one for a few years now, but the Alice one is so neat, too! I'll probably end up going with one from ModCloth since I can't decide...

This Book of Sith I also would love to have, because Star Wars, duh. And I have The Jedi Path already. Maybe this will be a lightning deal on May the 4th like the Jedi one was last year. I'll be watching!



I haven't had a new funky beach towel in probably ten years. We do have some very nice ones, but I need a geeky one just because. And what would be better than a TARDIS towel??? That's right, nothing. Well, except the real TARDIS with the Tenth Doctor inside.

Have a fantastic weekend, and allons-y!

fresh homemade pasta

I have been intending to make homemade fresh pasta for some time now. Unfortunately, I do not have a pasta machine, which is the main reason I have been putting it off. Today, though, I was thumbing through The Silver Spoon: Pasta, an Italian cookbook given to us as a wedding gift, and decided tonight was the night. The original recipe I was going to use from the book called for two kinds of flour that I don't have, so I abandoned that track and went in search of a simple "how to" online. What I found was a tutorial on a blog that will probably now be one of my absolute favourites, mostly because I adore Italian cooking.

The Italian Dish has a great post about making fresh pasta, along with a short video. The nice thing about making pasta is that it's not quite an exact recipe, which makes it perfect for me. Basically, it's a ratio of flour and eggs, plus a little water if needed. And there is the possibility of adding other flavours, like tomato or spinach. I decided to make the tomato-flavoured pasta because I had leftover tomato paste from the other day.

See, flour and eggs. And a food processor because that was less messy than mixing by hand.

I'm rather proud of my dough.

Look at the ickle noodles!

 

 

 

 

YUM.

As you can probably see from the photos, the noodles aren't uniform and are rather thick. As a result, they had the texture of over-cooked pasta, but they still tasted excellent with the sauteed veggies (green and red bell pepper and shallots) and homemade meatballs. This meal went really well with a glass of red wine.

addicted to life

Hi, my name is Beth and I am addicted to life.
And books, Doctor Who, and geek/nerd culture...)

But seriously.

New experiences.
I eat them up.
Sometimes quite literally, as new experiences often come in the form of food.

This week I have been in the process of creating a goal list for my life. There are so many skills I wish to learn, so many places I wish to see (i.e. the entire world), so many foods I wish to taste and/or make. And when there are only 24 hours in a day, at least a few of which I ought to spend sleeping, I become easily frustrated with myself.

But then I remember that I can always begin my goal list closer to home. I have a kitchen; cooking new foods isn't an unattainable goal! Actually, I cook new foods with regularity, interspersed with old favourites to keep Nate happy. Though he has liked everything I make. (I think that's a win for my cooking skills as a wife. ^_^)

Plus, there is so much to explore in this corner of Wisconsin. Granted, at this point in time, it's difficult and occasionally impossible to make plans for us. Nate works a lot and his schedule is erratic at best. All a part of the job. And now that I have gotten a part-time position at one of the local grocery stores, our schedules may conflict. I'm praying hard that this doesn't happen since we see little enough of each other as it is.

Anyway, I digress.

Life. I've heard it said that life is what we make it. And I suppose that rings true.

In the meantime, I shall continue to write my goal list and dream.
And, you know, clean the house so that it's not in shambles when I start work next week.

blessings amidst the clutter

Ah, blogging.
It's fantastic and sometimes not.
It can generate jealous and envy quicker than you can snap a finger.
(Pinterest has a way of doing that, too!)

Not that I am super prone to feelings of envy, but they can sneak up on me.
All of a sudden I look around my tiny and always cluttered home and sigh.
Why don't I have a beautiful kitchen?
Why can't the walls be free of scratches from previous owners?
Why this?
Why that?

But really, it's not such a big deal. Yeah, it may take me almost the whole week to clean up after our friends visit on the weekends (just in time for them to show up again, haha), but we spent that time with our friends. It's not our things that matter.

Obviously, I take pride in a clean house and yard and stuff.
But if when I wake up in the morning I give thanks to the Lord for all I have been given, clutter included, then I remember I am blessed.

Though you're still not seeing photos of the house on here when it's a wreck.