"What's the most swankified place in town?"

According to "Wicked," that would be the Ozdust Ballroom. However, after this weekend I believe it to the be the University Club.

Chris came up to New York for the weekend, and we had the best time. In true Emily-style we fit about four days worth of activities into 36 hours, and it was awesome. We started off the weekend going to Harry's Cafe Steak downtown. After getting lost (per normal with me), we got there. We realized that getting lost was actually totally a good thing because on the way we got to see the filming of Blue Bloods. We saw a take, actually, with Tom Selleck smoking a cigarette in his trench coat. It was AWESOME. Dinner was even better. Chris got the monkfish, I had a filet, and we split the best salad of my life and a stuffed baked potato. I had the best Riesling ever, and Chris had a delicious Pinot Noir, even though we technically should have switched wines based on our food. :) The restaurant is a wine cellar, and they age their steaks for 28 days, so it's no wonder the food was so excellent. After dinner, we met up with friends for Leslie's going away party and went dancing at a bar near Union Square. The people watching and music were both top notch.

Saturday we got up early and got student rush tickets. Deciding on a show was hard because I insisted on seeing a show Chris hadn't seen, and he wanted to see a show I hadn't seen, but considering I live here and see a lot of theatre, there was not much overlap. I won the argument, and we rushed Memphis. We had a delicious brunch at The Boathouse, my favorite. Seeing the snow covered park was such a treat! Central Park is beautiful in every season, but the snow is especially lovely there. We then checked out Rockefeller Plaza, watched the skaters, and hung out until our matinee. We had box seats for Memphis which sounds totally posh, but really it was obstructed view. The show was still fantastic, with awesome choreography and talent. We met Sherrie for an early dinner at Shake Shack (a must for anyone visiting NY). We headed back to my neighborhood, visited with my cute little neighbors Jackson and Olivia, and then chilled at the apartment a bit. We were so tired, that getting dressed up for the ball was not appealing at all, but we sucked it up, and I'm so glad we did.


The Blue & White Benefit Ball at the University Club was probably the most elegant event I've ever attended. I was nervous about not knowing too many people but I met lots, and had an amazing time. The open bar and dessert table were both well-enjoyed, and the space itself is incredible. It is the oldest social club in Manhattan, and was founded in 1861 by a group of Yale alumni. The Alex Donner Orchestra provided the music, and it was THE BEST. I also had the best dance partner of my life (sorry Dad, Chris ' moves are even better than yours. Maybe he'd teach you sometime :) ). After lots of schmoozing, dancing, and enjoying the lovely benefit, we headed to a bar next door. The Peninsula hotel has a great rooftop bar with a view of 5th Avenue, so we sat outside under the heaters and talked about the classy evening, in slight disbelief about what a wonderful night we had had. We ventured down to Katie Sue's party after that, spent time with friends and then headed back to my apartment. Two 3 am nights out in a row are exhausting, but well-worth it.

This morning we got up and went to my favorite place in the city. Well, my favorite place in my neighborhood for sure: The Jackie Onassis Reservoir.  The view of the Upper West Side across the park is so picturesque, and it's one of those places that always leaves me in awe of how lucky I am to live there. We then had traditional NY Bagels at H&H, and Chris headed to LGA. What an incredible two days!

Thunder and Snow

Last night, I decided to have dinner with Ashley Sigmon. She was in a hotel near Newark Airport, on a consulting project, and I hadn't seen her since October!!! So I headed to Newark from Manhattan! On the train, a woman heard me talking to Ashley on the phone and said, "Aww, how long is he in town for?" I said "Excuse me?" She replied, "You're going to spend the night in a hotel in Newark with your boy?" I said "Um no that's my good friend. She's a girl. We both like boys." Awkward, but Ash and I got a good laugh out of it.

After taking the crosstown bus, the C train to Penn Station, the NJ Transit to Newark, the AirTrain to the airport, and the Sheraton Shuttle, ASig and I were enjoying pizza, the Carolina game, and eachother's company. We were chatting and catching up, and at 11:30 decided it was time for me to go back to the city. The snow was getting pretty intense, so I though I should head back to Manhattan before the train tracks froze. I caught the 11:40 Sheraton shuttle, and away we drove to Newark airport. A 15 minute drive.

At 1:40 am we were still stuck in the snow. The blizzard was pretty crazy, and it was just the driver and myself. The driver backed down a ramp for a good half hour, and after 2am made it to the airport where 40 Sheraton guests were waiting to cram on the 20 passenger shuttle. "Sweet, see ya later," I sad to the driver, with whom I'd just spent 2 hours with. I thanked him, and could tell he was glad to have my inquisitive, perky self off the shuttle. I was then quickly informed that NJ Transit was not running. The blizzard was too bad. So I got back on the shuttle and rode with all 40 other people to the Sheraton. My phone had now been dead for about 2 hours. Yay Droid Incredible...not

We got stuck on the way back and the driver said, "Alright, you guys have two options. Sleep on the shuttle, or walk a mile to the hotel." All of the women stayed on the shuttle, and the majority of the men decided to walk. I walked with my new guy friends, and was the second one to make it back to the Sheraton. It was now after 3 am, I was soaking wet from the snow, and I'd walked a mile in the thunder, lightning, wind and snow. I knocked on Ashley's door, after being hit on by some drunk guidos, (They were clearly drunk because I was not in an attractive state after hiking in the blizzard), and she woke up and let me in. Luckily I had a leotard in my bag, so I put that on to sleep in, grabbed a toothbrush from the front desk, and went to sleep. I slept four hours, met Ashley's coworkers this morning, and then made it back to Manhattan. Thank Goodness!

the shuttle.

Things I'm thankful for today:
1. Hunter Boots and Welly Socks
2. Ashley Sigmon
3. The nice guys who were on the shuttle and became my friends
4. That I lived through last night
5. My down North Face coat

Snow Day!

We had a "blizzard" on Wednesday night, though it's amazing how 8 inches is basically a non-event here in the city.  Mayor Bloomberg was working extra hard to make sure that the streets were cleared after the issues that followed the blizzard over the holidays. Thursday morning, I got up and headed to auditions thinking I'd be one of the few people there...oh no, everybody was out and about just like usual.

After auditioning, I went to work because the kids were home from school. We went sledding in Central Park, which was SO FUN! The hills are incredible. It was a little too crowded, but that is to be expected on such a glorious snow day.

Wonderful Weekend with Jenna!

Jenna and I have been friends since the first day of first grade, and it is truly awesome that we're still so close now. She came up to visit me this past weekend, and we had the best time! I love it when friends come and force me to take time off from all of the acting work I do when I'm not nannying, because otherwise, I just don't take time off.

On Friday, we slept in a bit and then had bagels and coffee in the neighborhood. I wanted Jenna to experience the amazingness of New York bagels. We then ventured down to Times Square so she could get her ticket to "A Little Night Music," and so we could get an infamous Times Square picture. We got our nails done, and then walked around the beautiful, snowy Central Park.

Saturday, we had a delicious brunch at the Boathouse (my favorite!) and then spent the day shopping in SoHo. We went EVERYWHERE, and it was a blast. After lunch we grabbed 16 Handles (another favorite of mine), and then got ready for the night!

Awesome 80s Prom

Saturday night was my friend Lindsay's debut performance in "Awesome 80s Prom," and interactive off-Broadway show at Webster Hall. We had dinner with Katie before at Patsy's, and then went to Village Pourhouse for drinks. "Awesome 80's Prom" was unlike anything I've ever been to before, and Lindsay was awesome. After the show, we met up with a bunch of UNC people for my friend Erin's birthday! The theme was "Party Like You Just Got Out of Rehab." I was Drew Barrymoore, and Jenna was Jenna Bush. Fun times! It was so great having Jenna in town!

Great start...

If yesterday was any indication of what 2011 will be like, I am quite excited! I was invited last-minute to sit in on a masterclass with Katie Finneran. It was awesome to hear all of her insight, and to see some of my favorite teachers in New York, who are good friends with her.

After that, Ben came into the city to meet me for dinner and a show! We went to Schnipper's Kitchen, a casual favorite of mine. It was great to catch up with Ben, and hear all about the happenings at UNC.

After dinner, we saw "A Little Night Music" from our front row seats, and the experience was breath-taking.  Seeing Bernadette Peters live was unbelievable. What struck me the most about the performance, was how every actor was completely connected and committed to their character for the entire three hour show. Of course their voices were fabulous too, but the actors were so in the story. After the show, we got to chat with Stephen Buntrock, and my friend Dan who was sitting in with the music director conducting the orchestra. After walking Ben to Penn Station, I met up with Greg and Leslie at "Don't Tell Mama" and caught up with them. What a fun night!

Stephen is so talented, and so kind!

2011

"2011 is a prime number - divisible only by itself and 1. I hope that means 2011 will be a prime year for everyone." - New York Theatre

This was the first year I've spent New Years Eve anywhere but North Carolina, and I realized that I was definitely missing out the first 22 years of my life. NYE was something I always kind of hated, but not anymore! There is such an exciting energy to New Years in New York.  During the day on NYE, I had lunch with Dan, got manicures with Sarah, and had dinner with Lindsay. Just being out and about in the city (despite the masses of tourists), was exciting. Everyone was preparing for something, and the air was filled with excitement.

New Years Eve itself was so awesome. I certainly did not go near Times Square to see the ball drop, though I did see the swarms of people herded into their pens like cattle, waiting for the "celebration," when I walked by at 1 pm. After dinner with Lindsay at Blockheads (um, where else?), we went to Hunter's for a party on the Upper East Side. A little while before midnight, I caught a cab down to Sherrie and Jordan's so I could ring in the new year with my friends from UNC! Both were wonderful celebrations! :)