Pack it up

At Twin Peaks, overlooking beautiful, San Francisco

With less than 2 weeks left in San Francisco, I've started organizing my belongings and am preparing for my journey back to the Big Apple. Weee! After touring for almost a year, I've discovered that there actually is an art to packing. When I first started tour I had two large suitcases, a Mary Poppin's size purse AND the enormous trunk that the company generously provides and travels for us. After the first three tour cities, I realized that I was traveling way too much "stuff." I had to sit myself down and weed through each article of clothing, high heel and accessory that I had stuffed into my bags. I separated everything into piles of "must haves, " "might needs," and "wastes of space." For example, I must have my computer, humidifier.... and Michael Kor's boots, I might need my yoga mat and box of stationary but traveling 3 extra purses and a million pairs of shoes was a waste of space. After dividing things into categories and forcing myself to part with the material things that I love but don't "need," I managed to Fed Ex an obese box of stuff home to my parent's house in Ohio and continue my travels with just one suitcase, a backpack and my trunk. For all you fashionistas, trust me, I know how difficult it is to condense your walk-in closet to a zipped up box on wheels but you can do it!! Honestly, traveling light makes the hustle and bustle of airports much less stressful. Prior to tour, I used to get packing anxiety before I went on trips and now I've mastered the art so it's easy breezy. :) My top 3 tips: 1.) Pack heavier articles of clothing on the bottom so they don't wrinkle the lighter fabrics 2.) The "rolling the clothes" method really does save so much space! 3.) Only pack the necessities!!!!

Our last day of rehearsals in NY before we left for tour 

So, as I've started to pack again, I can't help but reflect back on all of the amazing cities Wicked has brought me to. A lot of people ask me which was my favorite and it's really difficult for me to decide because they all had their own unique charm. I think San Francisco is my favorite though- maybe because I actually lived here for 7 months and was able to truly explore the city. 

Here are a few things I loved about the tour cities:

Marilyn and I onOpening Night

Fort Myers, FL- I loved driving to Sanibel/Captiva Island on our days off. Also, we had our opening night party here which was special. I loved living in a condo with Marilyn Caskey. She quickly became a very special mentor and friend to me. Love my Mama Morrible!

Birmingham, AL- The audiences were wildly fun and this is where I started getting into yoga. The Civil Right's museum was great.

Jacksonville, FL-  Building sand castles at the beach!! Don't worry,  I always wore sunblock! :)

"Sanctuary" roomies

Norfolk, VA- Made my Glinda debut here which was special.  I lived in an ocean front beach house called "The Sanctuary." It was located in Virgina Beach and truly was a sanctuary to me and my lovely roomies, Erin Wilson and Kristine Reese. 

Indianapolis, IN- Being the grand marshals at the Gay Pride parade and performing a Madonna medly at an 80's benefit were both thrilling and fun. I also loved running the 5K along the scenic river walk. The downtown here was fabulous!

Memphis, TN- The Orpheum theatre is a gem. Graceland, Sun Studio, sweet potato pancakes at the Arcade and delicious soul food everywhere! Such a passion for music in this lively city. Loved it!

Tulsa, OK-My parents and grandma flew out to see me play Glinda here. The people in this town were incredibly friendly! :) 

Daniel and I at Sadie Hawkins

Where Johnny Cash and Elvis recorded

Austin, TX- The Whole Foods headquarters!!! I loved the bohemian environment here. Floating down a lazy river with some of the cast, swimming in the natural springs and you gotta love those amazing Texas audiences! 

Nashville, TN- Country music, karaoke and cowboy boots everywhere!!! Also, loved the Grand Old Opry! We had a Sadie Hawkin's themed birthday party at a line dancing bar for Kristine. We went full out by renting costumes and a limo. 

Gothic Dolls on Halloween

DesMoines, IA- On one of my days off, Cody and I went to Center Grove Orchard, played with farm animals and got lost in a corn maze!! Had really fun benefit here for Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids.

  

Wichita, KS- Being a gothic, wind-up doll with Carrie Manalakos for our Halloween party at the famously haunted, Broadview hotel. We had another fun Broadway Cares benefit here as well. 

Cody and I at the orchard

Kansas City, MO- The Power and light district was a lot of fun with it's amazing restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. Spent a lot of free time at The Plaza- where I had the best Vegan food at Eden's Alley. Helene Yorke and I lived together in a swanky downtown apartment and we rented a VW beetle to drive while we were there. Loved living with her!

Singing on rollerskates at BCEFA benefit

Schenectady, NY- We were here over Christmas and New Years Eve. It was freezing and very snowy so we didn't get to experience much of the city but the venue was a historical, Vaudevillian theatre which was beautiful. With all of the snow, it really looked like a charming classic American town that you see in the old Christmas movies.  I did get to Saratoga Springs on my day off which was lovely!

Philadelphia, PA- The theatre had the most stunning chandelier! It was breathtaking to look out from the stage and see it twinkling above the audience. I loved living in the heart of downtown and being able to walk to yoga class as well as some of my favorite shops such as Lulu Lemon and Anthropologie. Plus there were tons of restaurants and cafe's everywhere- reminded me of New York a little bit. Saw the Liberty Bell and many other exciting parts of American history here.

 Rehearsal at the
stunning theatre in Philly.

Let Freedom Ring!! 

Greenville, SC- So many cute local boutiques and restaurants downtown, near the theatre. I went to the Coffee Underground cafe almost everyday. My going away party was at The Lazy Goat. Sweet restaurant in a very sweet town.

San Francisco, CA- I'm going to have to write an entire blog post on my love for San Francisco. I can't believe my time here is almost over!! Time has flown by! sigh.

   
My next stop- Maumee, Ohio! I love my hometown. It's small and almost everyone knows everyone. I will be doing a little concert/benefit at Maumee High School on Sept. 11 with hopes to raise money for the music dept. I can't wait to see my beautiful family!!! I love them all so much! 

After a short visit in Maumee, I'm moving back to NYC!!!! My favorite city in the whole wide world. :) 

Friends in town = upside down frown.

I am so sorry for my recent lack of posting. I've been a busy little bumble bee swarming all over the bay. Busy with what, you ask? Well, so many things, my friends. As my time in San Francisco is quickly coming to an end, I've had to start packing and preparing for the next step. I've also had a few recent visits from some wonderful people in my life. 

My boyfriend in my life jacket <3 

My boyfriend, Cody, surprise visited me from LA.  On my day off from the theatre, we spontaneously drove up to Lake Tahoe to visit his cousin, Julie. She lives in the Incline Village community of Tahoe which was only about a four hour drive from San Francisco.  Let me just say, Lake Tahoe is GORGEOUS! With San Francisco being a little too chilly for my liking lately, this was the perfect remedy for my cold weather blues. Cody and I went kayaking, swimming, rock climbing and basically enjoyed Mother Nature as much as we could. I think my boyfriend secretly hates kayaking with me because I get sort of lazy with rowing after 30....no 10 minutes and tend to just float and soak up the sun. In all seriousness though, kayaking/floating in the lake was incredibly peaceful. The water was crystal clear, the sky was cloudless and I was trying to inhale enormous gulps of the delicious fresh air. In the evening, Julie, Cody and I were walking and admiring how brightly the stars were shining. Brighter than the stars in the observatory from my college Astronomy class!! That's right, I took Astronomy.... and got an A in the class!!!! High fives for everyone! Wooo! Anyway, after we found the Big Dipper, we went to a cute restaurant called "Bite," and enjoyed each others company over wine and the best sweet potato fries I've ever tasted. If you love nature and you haven't been to Lake Tahoe yet.....you need to go! It's stunning. :) 

Me practicing my kayaking in the parking lot. 

The following Monday, I had dinner with two of my friends from high school that now live in San Francisco, Erin Stuckey and Derek Bower. :) We went to Claude Cafe in Union Square. It was so fun to talk with them about their lives after not seeing them for almost 6 years.  Well, Erin came to see me in Wicked, in June but we didn't have enough time to really chat about everything we wanted to. Anyway, it was refreshing to hangout with them. Hearing how successful they both are made me so happy and it was of course fun to share hometown stories. Yay Maumee, Ohio. Thank you Facebook for reconnecting us. :)

I also had a fun visit this week, with two of my friends, Daniel and Matthew Tweardy Torres. Daniel and I were on the second national tour of Wicked together and he quickly became one of my favorite human beings in life. If you want to hear how insanely talented he is, look him up on youtube or iTunes. He sings with The Broadway Boys and their CD was released a few months ago. He covers "Shadowland" on the album. I'm telling you, his voice will make you melt.  

Last week, a few fellow cast members and myself went to the Oakland Children's Hospital to sing a few songs from Wicked for the kiddies. It was heartbreaking that some of the children were not well enough to come out of their rooms to sit by the stage, instead they watched us on the monitors in their rooms. It was really special to see the kids faces light up when we were singing for them. I wish we had more time in town so we could have a benefit to raise money for the kids- maybe the next tour that comes through can do something like that. 

So, those are just a few highlights of my recent "busyness." I promise not to abandon my blogging duties like I have these past two weeks, ever again! 

xoxoxo