Christmas 2008 Weekend

Christmas 2008 was a wonderful, peaceful weekend for us. No family drama, not too much running around, and Steve and I actually resting some.

We stayed at the W San Diego once again, but this year it was MUCH less expensive than last year's stay. As you may recall, the W bedrooms have chalkboards and last year Steve drew Tinkerbell. This year, Steve graced the wall with Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Steve wanted me to offer a disclaimer that it's tough drawing something pretty on a chalkboard; he's very critical of his own work, even when everyone else says it's beautiful.

But just to make him feel better-- and to release some of my own artistic skill-- I drew a small smiley face on the left. It's brilliant, I know.

We then spent Christmas at Mom's house with my sister's family and played with my nieces and nephew. A lot. I mean, a LOT of playing, and it wore everyone out.Here is my niece Savannah, passes out on my leg while still clutching a leftover buttermilk biscuit.
Here we are with an awake Savannah and her brother Jacob.
And here Steve is with Savannah and her older sister Haylee. They wanted to make angry faces, which explains their funny expressions.

While we decided to skip exchanging gifts this year, I did get Steve a super cool little something-- but I'll talk about that sometime in the future. What matters is that we both decided to spend our gift money on a nice dinner and tickets to Xanadu at the La Jolla Playhouse.

The night started with a horrible meal at Jai by Wolfgang Puck in La Jolla. I won't waste your time talking about the fried gristle chicken popsicles, forgettably bland spicy tuna in a sesame cone, fatty short ribs or fatty duck, and simply say that Wolfgang Puck either A) signed his name to some amateur's menu in order to make a fast buck, B) phoned in the menu and recipes without any care in order to make a fast buck, or C) has simply jumped the shark. If you're down in SD, go to any of the hundred good restaurants and skip this place.

But what about the show? AMAZING! We'd seen it in New York and loved the show, so we could have been those snooty gays who say in bitchy voices, "Well, it was fine but it was NOTHING like the Broadway show..." But the San Diego show really was as much fun as the original. Elizabeth Stanley was a phenomenal Kira, and even though we're in love with Cheyanne Jackson, Max von Essen did an incredible job as Sonny.
And since this is the touring show (it's headed to Chicago next), you'll have the chance to see it very soon as well. Heck, we might even fly out to see it in Chicago ourselves.

Yeah, we're that gay. Don't judge us.

A Christmas Photo From San Diego

Ew... Perverts.

Merry Christmas 2008

Yes, it is awesome when you're printing up wedding photos at Walgreens and notice that they sell personalized postcards with your husband's artwork on them.

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Rick & Steve

Why We're the Best Guncles

Why are Rick & Steve the best guncles (gay uncles) to my nieces: Steve works for the Disney store, he draws beautiful princess designs incredible snow globes, AND we shop there to buy Christmas presents. Here is a sampling of last weekend's haul...
And here they are out of their bags...
Tow Cinderella globes, the Tinkerbell Faeries globe, the World of Disney globe from a couple years ago, the new Sleeping Beauty globe, and the Who Framed Roger Rabbit globe (which is actually for us, but we DO need one of everything in our collection, right?)

Yes, it's a little ridiculous... and we love it that way.

"Big" Celeb Sightings and a Random Music Video

Steve and I were leaving our hike at Runyon Canyon today, only to run into Mr Big himself, Chris Noth.

He's much taller in real life than I expected.

I wish there was some other witty things to say about the encounter, but alas, no. We saw him, that's that.



Then later today, we ran into Christine Baranski at Le Pain Quotidien in sweet little chi chi area of Larchmont Village. She ate a lovely ham croissant (perhaps with cheese) and put various yummy jams on it.




It made me wish I had a delicious croissant sandwich so that I could do the same, because Steve and I do love mixing sweet and savory flavors in one nice a tasty bite.







But last night was our big night. We went to Casita del Campo, a wonderfully cheesey Mexican restaurant formerly owned by Rudy del Campo who was in West Side Story. Anyway, they have a basement theater where they show silly campy shows, including Fruitcake Follies.

In the audience was none other than Mitzi Gaynor. Now you young people may not know her, but Mitzi was a great musical performer back in the day, most notably in variety shows and as the star in the movie, South Pacific.

My parents took me to see her in a musical review way back. I must have been 12 or 13. I blame this event for my gayness (though I did NOT 't tell Miss Gaynor that last night).

In a strange twist of events, my friend Tim Bagley was one of her back up dancers during that show. I did not tell her this, either, because Tim got in trouble a couple times for stepping on her dress during performances. I didn't want to bring up bad memories.

She looked pretty damn fabulous, though.


Finally, Steve and I hung out with friend DJ Scotty K today and he showed us the video for "Can't Stop Moving" by Sonny J. This is a super fun video, and it reminds me of some 1970s/1980s-style PBS music special. I can't explain what it is-- maybe the colors or the choreography-- but it's just super fun and worth a watch.

Enjoy...

We May Be on TV Again

I have a big pitch with the boss this morning and it's a busy weekend, but here's some fun news: HGTV might replay our episode of Urban Outsiders.
Friend Stephen Albright was on the HGTV site and noticed the network was playing Urban Outsiders again, but since the show has been canceled it's playing at the God-awful time of 7:00am (4am if you have Dish Network on the West Coast). It plays right around all the knitting shows. Yeah, that's right: KNITTING SHOWS! Shows with names like The Knitty Gritty and crap like that.

Anyway, they have our episode currently listed as playing February 13 at 7:00am. If you're new to the blog and haven't seen photos, you can check them out here.

The Company Christmas Party

No drunk co-worker stories, no photos of passed out dates-- nothing too exciting-- but actually a lot of fun. You have to understand, this is my first company Christmas party ever. I've always worked freelance or on productions where they didn't have office events like this, so it was a nice new experience.

But during the party Steve and I wandered with our friend Mike throughout the hotel. Turns out, the men's restroom linked to an adjacent area of the old hotel. They had a photo booth. First the three of us busted in and took our picture...

Then Steve and I did a second lap and took our own shot. Best party gift EVER!

Steve is HUGE in Hollywood

Here is Steve on Hollywood Boulevard standing in front of a Little Mermaid KeepOceansClean.org poster he drew. He created this poster when he did the DVD cover and press art for The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, but we never saw it in use; we'd seen the old "Oceans are a part of our world.." where Ariel is holding a water droplet with a globe in it (he didn't draw that one), and more recently a Sleeping Beauty "Don't burn the forests" ad (again, not his art). But we never saw this one. So we wondered if it had been scrapped altogether.

Then last week we saw Kathy Griffin perform at the Kodak and noticed the GIANT billboard. So Sunday we stopped by and took a pic.

It's on the wall at Hollywood & Highland, which houses the Kodak Theater where the Oscars and American Idol finales are shown. To give you some perspective, here's the whole city block.

And then a close up.
Here's another version with the full ad that we found online:
Read more here.

Company Party Tonight - Watch What You Drink

Tonight is the company's annual Christmas party, and compared to what Steve's office is doing (a potluck lunch) we've got a really decked out affair: dinner at the Park Plaza (former hotel, now an event venue-- the ballroom is pictured here), sit down dinner, prizes like i-Phones (plural), wine country trips, $1000 gift card for an airline, and tons of other things. They also have open bar, and if I haven't mentioned this before, the owner and employees love their liquor. Fortunately, Steve is coming (yes, spouses, partners and dates are invited) and he will keep me in check because there's nothing worse than coming in Monday and having to face all the photos (dancing shirtless or trying out insane circus tricks) that will be stored on the company's shared drive.

We also get a half day today, so that all the ladies can get their hair "did" and I can shave or whatever. Because of all this, I'm strapped on time and talent, but thanks to friend and funny lady, Amy Witry and others, I'm going to leave you with one of our favorite segments: Annoying Expressions From the Office!

Annoying Expressions From the Office

"Well SOMEONE drank the company Kool-Aid." "SOMEBODY better start drinking the company Kool-Aid if they want to stay working here."- What? Who are you? Elizabeth Hasselbeck? THERE IS NO KOOL-AID! Kool-Aid is a drink and no one is drinking anything you frickin' idiot. ("Ohhhh yeeeaaaahhhh!")

"That being said..."- So basically you just wasted our time with your first long-ass monologue and are now going to say, "Yes."

"At the end of the day..."- What, are you about to sing the opening line from Les Miserables? "At the end of the day you're another day older..." Because if you are, I'm going to bust out a mean barricade box shuffle.

"To be honest..." or "To tell the truth..." - No, please continue lying like you have been during all those meetings when the boss is around and you've been kissing ass. Don't try to be all "honest" and shit with me like we're now going to be friends.

"Let's start thinking outside the box..." - Yes, because thinking inside the box is EXACTLY what I've been doing. Because everyone knows that up until this season, boxes were totally in fashion-- especially with mimes. But now I understand that I need to move on. Thanks.

"Who drank my Diet Coke?" - Ew. That one came from Amy and I don't have a response. But really? Do you want the answer (unless there was rum in it)?

Please feel free to leave your favorite expressions.

BREAKING NEWS: Day Without a Gay!

In an effort to protest the passage of Proposition 8, gays across the country disappeared from mainstream society, accomplishing in one day what the Christian Right has been trying to achieve for years.
Said a representative from Focus on the Family, "Great job. Thanks!"

Maybe I Need to Couch My Words

As you may recall, Steve and I went sofa bed shopping, and on that trip I mocked people who love their poofy couches with built-in cup holders.

Well, we found a sofa bed. It's kind of a swank little number that transformed our spare room into a hip reading room that guests can sleep in (one guest comfortably, two less so-- which helps when you don't want people staying at your house for long periods of time). But the irony...?
IT HAS CUP HOLDERS! A middle pleather panel folds down and you can put your Riedel wine glasses (or any glass) in the holders, a plate on the little "table" section, all the while grooving to a Beyonce tune on your ghetto-blaster purse that holds and plays your iPod. Not that we own the ghetto blaster purse-- we can thank our friend Megan for loaning us that-- but we do have the couch, which turned out to be very fun this past weekend.

So maybe the next time I decide to be Judgey Judgerstein from Judge Town, I need to couch what I have to say and think about my words. Lesson learned.

Christmas Tree 2008

This is our Christmas tree without ornaments. You know the economy sucks when you go to the tree lot, find no one there but you and the employees, and a tree like this which would have cost us $120 is suddenly much cheaper. I won't say how much, but I will say that my bargain-shopping mother would be very proud.
As you may or may not know, every year Steve and I make a big deal of decorating our tree, and it becomes a bit insane. We have tons of cartoon character and other quirky ornaments that mean a lot to us for various reasons: a talking I Love Lucy figure, Wonder Woman's costume on a hanger, and ornaments from the many Cirque du Soleil shows we've attended. But this year? None of that. Why? Let me explain...

Here is Steve putting the first ornament on the tree. It's Gus and Jaq from Cinderella. He designed this ornament and it sold out almost immediately from The Disney Stores.

And here I am putting up one of Steve's glass orbs, this one containing Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. Super cute. It too sold out.

And here's the ornament Steve created last year for Enchanted. It's Giselle in her ginormous princess dress. He also created a snowglobe of Giselle, so if anyone knows Amy Adams help us with a hook up because we'd love to share some wine with one of our favorite actresses and give her these two items. (If you can't use your blog for a fun hook up, then what good is it, anyway?)
But what about the tree? Well, we realized after putting up 65 of Steve's ornaments that we didn't need any of those other pieces. It was complete with just his creations, and it was really beautiful. But taking photos was difficult, so I made a silly video, with Bette Midler singing in the background.

Please enjoy.

Steve's Disney Christmas Ornaments 2008

It's that time again, when The Disney Stores sell out of all the Christmas ornaments that Steve designed. And I mean-- literally-- sold out.

These aren't your typical glass balls with some image slapped on them. Steve designs super cool sculpted pieces, ideas that haven't been seen before (like this rose from Beauty & the Beast that lights up), and which real Disney or Disneyana folk totally appreciate. (But being a huge fan himself, that makes sense.) Steve then travels to China to work with the sculptors to make sure the sculpts and paints look accurate, the stores fill up, and then at $6-$8 a pop they sell out pretty dang fast.


Though this doesn't help any of you, I am very happy to note that we have one of each. And our tree, as you've seen in past years, is a bit insane.

Steve even came home the other day and made a very strict statement: All of the initial sculpted ornaments that go on our tree this year will be of his creation, and if we have any more space then we'll put on the other ones we own, starting with Lucy, Wonder Woman, etc. If there's any space after that (very doubtful), then we'll go to the Disney ornaments some other person made.
Our tree goes up Friday and gets decorated Saturday. I'll have photos of the insanity next week.Needless to say, our house is a HUGE hit with friends' kids. More to come...

Disney Christmas Ornaments & Battlestar Galactica Stuff

Steve came home with most of the Christmas ornaments he designed for The Disney Stores this year, including this incredibly cool Jack Skellington light-up ornament.

There are many more ornaments, and I swear in a totally un-biased way that these things should be sold for much more than their $6 price tag. The detail is amazing.

I'll have more photos soon, but we're waiting on some more to show up at the house.

FANS OF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

In case you haven't heard, Caprica probably won't run until after the last BSG episodes air in 2009. People, as you can see, are very sad. No word on why this is, and my friends who worked on the show don't know any details. But you can read about it on super blog i09.

That said, there's a new trailer for the final season out. Check it out here and look on the right column for preview option.