BB/DC - Save the Date!

Okay, as I'm realizing it's going to take me a bit to nail down a venue, I figured I'd better put out final date for BB/DC so everyone can start making plans. So clear your calendars for Saturday, August 28. That will be our official meet-up night, but hopefully most of you will come in on Friday and stay for the weekend (I'm happy to be a tour-guide!)

I recommend booking a hotel as close to Chinatown and Verizon Center as you can, since that's the area I'm focusing on as far as a venue goes. You'll also be near the Spy Museum and I HIGHLY recommend you take part in their Spy At Night event, which includes Operation Spy.

It's 6 p.m. Friday AND Saturday nights so, depending on how many of you are coming in, it might be fun for us to do it Saturday night and then head over to a bar or restaurant afterwards. I'll firm up such details as I finish planning everything.

Know that Chinatown is a metro stop, so if you find a cheaper hotel farther out, as long as it's near the Metro you should be fine.

Consider this the official, final RSVP post. If you're coming, let me know in the comments so I can figure out what the best venue for us will be. You can also let me know if you prefer a smaller, casual, more intimate setting or a lively club with a dance floor.

If we're going with the latter (which is my preference, because, well...DANCING!!!), I'm considering contacting the club owner to see about getting private tables reserved for our group in exchange for PR for their club (if you are coming and wouldn't mind posting about their club, let me know and I'll add you to the list of bloggers to show to them...and if you Twitter, even better as we can offer to live tweet from the club).

Here's the official logo/badge for the meetup, designed by the wonderful LeSombre:



And here's the code for you to copy and paste if you'd like:

<a href="http://ablondeandherblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/bbdc-save-date.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll303/BlondeBlogger/bbdc-1.jpg"></a>

Please help spread the word by posting the badge on your blog! Thank you!

I think that covers everything for now. Amanda, Shiny and I will be meeting at some point to finish out the planning and I'll post as soon as I have the final details.

I hope this date works for everyone! *fingers crossed*

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Ugly Sweaters Rock

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday! We definitely did here, and despite our Christmas party for my family being cancelled due to the DC Snowpocalypse, we were able to reschedule it this past weekend.

It seems 2009 ended up being The Year of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and our family joined right in. My mom made two trips to the store to try to get ugly sweaters and they were all out both times. The salesperson told her there was a run on ugly sweaters this year.

So I decided to contact The Ugly Sweater Shop shop to see if they would sponsor Rob, me and the kids and they gladly sent us the most awesome ugly sweaters! (Amanda was the only scrooge...she didn't want to wear one).

I present to you a mini-countdown of some of the ugly sweaters at our party, in order from ugly to ugliest (the last four are from The Ugly Sweater Shop):

My grandma the trendsetter, who has been wearing ugly Christmas sweaters before they were "in," and always making them beautiful.


My cousin, who raided my grandma's closet and scored this sweater AND a bonus turtleneck.


Natalie's makeshift ugly Christmas sweater from The Ugly Sweater Shop. Since I contacted them at the last minute, they had a limited supply so we went with this Mexican Fiesta design for her. She paired it with neon-striped leggings to complete the ugly factor.


Rob's snowflake sweater. Ugly looks hot on him, IMO. ;)


My sweater. I think the tassel zipper really makes this one. There was also a patch of a Christmas tree on my back shoulder. Awesome!


Matthew took the prize for the most epic ugly sweater with this beauty. When we opened the box from The Ugly Sweater Shop, this was on top, and everyone wished it was theirs. He has been dared to wear this to church by his sister.

There you have it! So much ugly. So much fun!

Christmas isn't the only time to host an ugly sweater party so go look at all of the sweaters at the Ugly Sweater Shop that can be worn year-round. I want to make up excuses to hold ugly sweater parties just so I can wear all of them!

Happy 2010 to all!

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A Spectacular Christmas

I have a confession to make. I have never seen the Rockettes or the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show before. After seeing both for the first time on Friday at Verizon Center in Washington DC, I learned what I'd missed out on and am now determined to make it a yearly tradition.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular Arena Tour is fairly new, having debuted in 2008, but the show itself dates back to 1933. Two of the scenes from the original show are performed today: the "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" and "Living Nativity."





I, for one, was moved to tears by the latter and was happy to see a celebration of the true meaning of Christmas come to life before my eyes. I asked my 9-year-old daughter Natalie, who attended with me, what her favorite part of the show was and she said, "The way (The Rockettes) were able to do everything at the same time."





She was referring to their well-known precision, and she's right. From every little kick, to every little turn, their timing was perfect. But she was just as dazzled by the entire 90-minute performance as I was, waving at the dancing bears and laughing at the "boom" flag shot out of the cannon. At one point, Santa ran down the aisle in front of us and she practically jumped out of her seat.



The only thing better than the performance itself for me, was seeing her reaction as well as the children around me. Eyes were wide, jaws were open and there were tons of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the little ones in the crowd.

One fairly new number, "New York at Christmas," made me long for another visit to New York City. The scene features a tour bus with an LED screen backdrop that makes it appear as if the bus is driving through the city. It was so realistic that I just sat back and soaked it in as if I was there.



The special effects were even more dazzling than the backdrop, costumes and scenery. A few times during the show, huge explosions of "snow" are shot out over the crowd, and glitter falls from the ceiling to create a magical snowfall. Colored streamers were shot out at another point to the delight of the audience.





The show was helpful in answering one of the age-old questions children have about Santa: How can he be in more than one place at one time? So asks a boy by the name of Patrick, who doubts the existence of Santa, despite the faith of his younger brother Ben.

It is then that "Santa" tells Patrick that as things have gotten busier for him, he's had to find a way to be everywhere and does so through the use of magic. That brought us to a fabulous number with dancing Santa clones.



My little girl still believes so I know this number went a long way in putting any doubts she may have to rest. In fact, the entire show made our Christmas much more magical. Indeed...spectacular.



Many thanks to Verizon Center for making this review possible. For information on Verizon Center, including events and ticket information, click here.

For more information on Radio City's Christmas Spectacular, including tour dates and ticket information, click here.

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Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Verizon Center

Tune in to my Twitter feed today at 4 p.m. EST, where I'll be bringing you live coverage of the Rockettes' Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Verizon Center in Washington DC.

I'll be posting a full review of the show here soon. Enjoy! :)

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Weezer's December Raditude Shows Cancelled

I'm late posting this news, but in case you haven't heard, Weezer's lead singer Rivers Cuomo was hospitalized after a tour bus accident in New York Sunday morning.

According to Weezer's website, Rivers suffered a punctured lung and injuries to his spleen but is on the mend. His assistant, Sarah Kim, was also injured but has since been released from the hospital.

The December shows for their Raditude tour have been cancelled, including DC101's Festivus tomorrow that I had planned to cover. I'm not sure if that particular show will be rescheduled or not, but I will post details if it is.

Many prayers going out to Rivers and Sarah!

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