Saturday!

Bruce arrived on the Vamoose bus last night, with only a little delay due to traffic--he found the bus a great way to travel from Arlington to NYC. Today was the first part of our birthday celebration for Amanda, even though her birthday won't be until tomorrow, because Bruce will have to go back to DC tomorrow. We were very excited about going to see Promises, Promises. We were able to take the subway and find the theatre without any trouble, so that was definitely a positive event!

As we approached the theatre, we noticed there was a Crumbs bakery right next door. We had been to Magnolia Bakery last year and enjoyed their yummy cupcakes, but Lauren told us that the Crumbs cupcakes were even better. So, we went inside and Amanda selected their chocolate cookie dough cupcake, which was complete with a little chocolate chip cookie on top. It was quite delicious and quite sugary, at least I thought so, but Amanda and I both enjoyed our cupcakes.

Soon it was time to go to Promises, Promises and we had the most fantastic time seeing the show! The show far exceeded our expectations, which were very high and we enjoyed every moment.

Sean Hayes was just excellent--he is so funny and has displays perfect comic timing throughout the show. I was surprised that he also has a nice singing voice and he was marvelous--it was easy to see why he was nominated for a Tony for his role. Kristin Chenoweth was simply awe- inspiring--her voice is absolutely the most beautiful I have ever heard in person. It was incredible to witness such a gifted singer--she is simply amazing. We loved the music--a lot of Burt Bachrach/Hal David music from the late 60's and early 70's. We also loved Katie Finneran, who was incredibly funny--she just won a Tony for her role and she obviously deserved it.


Although Katie Finneran was a supporting cast member, she was a real crowd pleaser and was fabulous! I guess being in a Broadway show is not as glamorous as one might think. We read in the Playbill that Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth hardly go out at all when they are not performing for fear they might get sick and not be able to perform. It is obviously a lot of hard work being in a Broadway show, especially on the days when they present a matinee and an evening performance.

After that it was time to make our way to the apartment to take Muff for a walk and then go to Pete's Tavern for our 6 pm reservation. As many of you know who read our blog last year, we really like Pete's Tavern and sat in a special booth last year for Amanda's birthday. In this booth, O. Henry wrote the classic short story, "Gift of the Magi" in 1905. They have left the booth the way it was that year and there are pictures of O. Henry in the booth and a lot of newspaper clippings about him. The restaurant is very historic and has been in existence since the Civil War--it is such a neat place!

Anyway, I went on Friday and requested the O. Henry booth for Saturday night for a special reason.

My mother and father had so thoughtfully prepared a special gift for her to open in the O. Henry booth. Amanda's grandparents had purchased a very special copy of Gift of the Magi with beautiful illustrations to give her as a keepsake and it was only fitting that she open this keepsake gift in the seat where O. Henry had penned his classic.

Inside the front cover, Amanda's grandparent had put pictures of the inside of the booth from last year, including a picture of Amanda sitting in the booth last year when we were in NYC.

When Amanda opened the gift and card, you could tell she was thrilled to received such a special and thoughty gift--one which I know she will treasure forever. It was a very special evening and we enjoyed spending time together and it was the perfect ending to our wonderful afternoon at the theatre. Bruce, Amanda, and I enjoyed such a fantastic day together!

Thanks for checking in,

Beth and Amanda