Want to see an NYC Broadway Show for under $40?

Let me tell you how you CAN.  It is completely reasonable to pay $25-$40 a ticket to see a Broadway play or musical in New York City.  I've done it.  I've also not done it and it is so much better if you can.  It's not without some work and planning though.  You can't just show up at the ticket office and ask for a $30 ticket.  There are three ways in which you can get cheap tickets; student rush, rush, and lottery.  I've done all three so let's start with student rush because I think it's the easiest.  

Student Rush Tickets:  These are usually going to be tickets sold in the morning when the shows box office opens and you have to have a student ID.  In my case only one person in our two person group needed a student ID.  I would still recommend getting to the box office and waiting in line before it actually opens in the morning.  They don't have unlimited tickets, but by getting there early and having a student ID you have a good shot.  When I did this we got there right when the box office opened, but I'm sure it depends on which show you're trying to see.  We ended up sitting towards the right side of the theater and about the 5th row back. We paid $30 each for these tickets. Not too shabby.

Rush Tickets:  Rush tickets are open to anyone.  You don't have to have a student ID to get these tickets, but that means you have to work a little harder for them since anyone can get them.  Let me tell you my story on how I got rush tickets.  The box office opened at 10am for this show so I wanted to get in line no later than 8am.  Yeah I'm serious.  I'm sure it depends on the show, but I think it was completely worth it.  When we got there a little before 8am we were about the 6th and 7th people in line.  Once I saw where we were in line and how long the line got after us I was glad we were where we were.  I wasn't too worried about getting the tickets at this point, but I was sitting outside on the street in New York City in some very cold weather.  A man walking by was kind enough to hand my friend and I a cardboard box to sit on...he said it would be warmer than the pavement...and who said people in NYC weren't nice?  Anyway we got our tickets and ended up on the right hand side again but the 2nd row.  By the way Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) starred in this show and I almost had to be restrained from jumping on the stage and hugging that kid.  These tickets were $30 each.

Lottery:  I'm going to give my specific experience with the Wicked Lottery.  Each Lottery can be different, but I know this is how it works for Wicked.  The day of the show you have to be at the box office two and a half hours before the show starts.  For half an hour they will take your name down (for free) and put it into their lottery.  If you're with a big group keep in mind that if you win you can only get two tickets total.  My friend and I each put our name in.  Then you wait.  After the half an hour they shut down taking names and start rolling the raffle barrel with everyone's name in it from the last half an hour.  One by one they pull names out and find out if they are taking one or two tickets.  People...they called my name.  I screamed like I was a 13 year old about to meet a backstreet boy in 1999.  And I didn't care.  They put us in a line, had us pay (they only take cash so remember that before you go), and gave us our tickets!!!  We sat...drumroll please.........front row center.  Now you might say, didn't you have to look up the whole time?  Yeah, but not that much, it wasn't like watching a huge screen movie in the front row, but I could see them spit when they were talking.  I was pretty pleased with our seats.  And to think the poor suckers a couple rows behind me probably paid $300 or more for their seat.  I'll take my front row center $25 seat.

Now each show is going to be different so I suggest going to this website and looking before you go.  Do your research people.  It pays.  I can't tell you how happy I am to say that I saw these 3 Broadway shows all for under $100.  Considering I paid over $100 for my balcony seat the first time I saw Wicked, these prices rock!!

These gentlemen jumped in the picture with me,
the tall one said he played for the NBA...
anyone in the basketball know want to tell me if this is true??

Cirque Du Soleil: Beatles Love

I was fortunate enough to go see what I consider to be the best show in Las Vegas...Beatles Love.  Now, I'm a pretty big Beatles fan and every time I had been to Vegas I went home extremely sad that I hadn't forked out the cash to see this show...well when I finally did I decided that I should have a long time ago...because I loved it.

This show is everything you would think it would be:  trippy, lots of smoke, crazy, and of course all put to the best of the Beatles (best meaning all of it).  We were able to get really great seats and to be honest, because the seats are set around a round stage there really aren't bad seats.  I will say the tickets were over $100, but I completely think it was worth it.  I won't spoil everything, but I will give some of my favorite parts:

• The people greeting you and walking you to your seats
• Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
• The VW Bug
• When they covered the entire audience with a sheet (yeah this happened)

I haven't seen any other Cirque Du Soleil shows yet, but just based on the fact that I could sing along with this one makes me think that this will be on the top of my list.  Go see it.  Embrace the inner-hippie.

Stitch Fix March Review

Have you heard of this yet?  It's an amazing service where you tell Stitch Fix what kind of clothes you like, how much you usually spend, and what styles you want to try and they pick out clothes for you and send them right to your door. This is my first box and so far I'm extremely impressed.  You decide when you want it sent to you, you can choose every month or just here and there when you like.  I love that I didn't have to sign up with any kind of contract.  If I don't want a fix I just go onto their website, sign into my account, and press a button that allows me to skip that month (sad face).  When they pick your 5 items for your fix you're charged $20, but as long as you keep one of the items that $20 goes toward the item...and if you keep all 5 items you get a 25% discount on all of it.

I told Stitch Fix that I usually dress in business casual, I do like more glamourous items, and that I'd like to start getting more color in my wardrobe.  I specifically requested that anything I'm given have sleeves, and if it's a skirt it needs to be at least knee length.  I also asked that I don't get any earrings.  I have a pair of diamond studs that I wear so I usually don't stray from that often and I am not a fan of dangly earrings on myself.

So without further ado...here are my 5 items:

Bay to Baubles Weston Abstract Spike Bangle Bracelet ($32)-This is the only accessory I got in this fix, which I was fine with because I'm more about the clothes.  I usually don't wear a ton of silver, but I'm trying to try new things with Stitch Fix and honestly with everything else I got I fell in love with it.

Collective Concepts Cathleen Split-Neck Tulip-Sleeve Blouse ($68)-This is an awesome top I got.  I felt it was perfect for spring.  As soon as I opened it I knew it would be really nice on and the color fit.  You can't see it too well, but the sleeves have a "tulip edge".  My only complaint was that I looked later and it was dry clean only.  Honestly though I just bought one of those dryer bags and that's what I used after I wore it.  It freshened it right up.  Excuse my crazy face.

Just Black Banks High Rise Cropped Skinny Jean ($78)-The third item I got were these black pants.  They are stretchy and high waisted.  I absolutely love them too.  They fit and I'm pretty happy when pants fit.  Who isn't?  Also here's a shot of this outfit all put together.

Sweet Rain Isaac Floral Print Tab-Sleeve Blouse ($48)-The next item I got was this black floral sheer top.  These people must know me.  I seriously don't know how they picked this on their first shot.  It's something I will wear to work and out on the weekend.  It goes with so much and the print is perfect.

Mystree True Smock-Detail Open Cardigan ($78)-The last item I got in this fix is this light gray ruffle top cardigan.  Not a fan of this one...at all...the ruffles seem to hit in the wrong place for me and I think it makes my arms look bigger than they are.  It just doesn't fit with my style nor do I feel it pushes any boundaries with changing anything up.  I did end up keeping it...and I'll explain why.

At the end of the day I loved the other four items and I could send it back (free shipping), but by keeping all 5 items I would get the 25% discount and so the cardigan ended up only really costing me $7.  So I figure I could get rid of it somewhere.

Once you see what you get you have 3 days to decide what you want to keep.  I thought about it overnight and the next morning I went to the Stitch Fix website and left my feedback.  They list each item they sent you and you say if you're keeping it or not and what you liked or didn't like about it.  I gave feedback on each item because the more they learn about you the better the fixes are supposed to get.  Whatever you don't keep you put in the prepaid bag they sent with your items and drop it off at the post office.  After this first fix I already feel addicted to it.  It's exciting to see what items you'll get and to add to your wardrobe.  I'm waiting two months between this fix and my next one, but I'm already getting impatient waiting.

If you're interested in Stitch Fix here's a link to try it out. Find out more about Stitch Fix. It's so much fun, give it a shot.

The Oregon Coast

Growing up I was fortunate enough to get to spend many summers enjoying the beach life on the oregon coast.  Specifically in Waldport, Oregon.  I loved it.  I just want to point out the highlights and some tips from a few of the cities I spent time in.

The gorgeous view...

#1-Waldport
Waldport was the heart of my summers.  It's a unique coastal town that has a couple of my favorite spots.  My all time favorite spot to eat is Grand Central Pizza.  I love food, and I'm pretty sure I went to eat here at least every other day while I was there.  No, they don't serve anything super different, and no it isn't fancy or anything out of the ordinary, but it's good and sometimes that's enough.  My other suggestion there is just to walk around.  The town is small enough that you could walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes.  When I used to stay there there were no fast food chains at all.  Now I believe there is a Subway, but all other restaurants are non-chains.  There's no Walmart, no Costco, and one small chain grocery store.  Check out the shops and just enjoy beach town life.

The view in Yachats

#2-Yachats
If you thought Waldport was tiny...Yachats you will pass in the blink of an eye.  Not a whole lot to it, but a couple of gems are hidden there.  The Adobe hotel and restaurant is my favorite.  I requested to go there almost every year on my birthday.  It's a little fancy, but you can still show up in jeans.  The best part is that they have huge windows facing the ocean.  If you're lucky you might even spot a whale.  I also love the candy shop in town and by town I mean one of the little shops just off the highway.  They have ice cream, fudge, and all sorts of yummy sweets.  I'm not usually an ice cream eater, but for some reason whenever I come to the coast I suddenly need some one two times a day.  It's vacation...why not?

Yaquina Head Lighthouse--Tallest in Oregon

#3-Newport
This will be where you can find more of your creature comforts...Walmart, McDonalds, Fred Meyers, Taco Bell (thank goodness), etc.  I loved going into Newport.  It's only about a 15 minute drive from Waldport.  As a kid though there's much more to see.  There are two light houses I would definitely recommend stopping to see, one on each side of town.  One you'll have to pay to go to, but it's worth it for the views.  There's even a small hike you can do.  I also recommend heading down on Bay Blvd where they have Ripley's Believe it or Not, a Wax Museum, and an Under Sea Adventure.  There are lots of good places to eat and grab sweets...like ice cream...enjoy the shops.   The last must see area is the Aquarium and Aquarium Village.  The Village will have fun shops and places to get trinkets unique to the coast like blown glass globes.  The Aquarium used to house Keiko the killer whale a.k.a Free Willy.  Of course he's no longer there/living, but I was fortunate enough to see him a couple times while he was still there.

The harbor you leave from out to the Ocean

#4-Depot Bay
Whale watching galore in this tiny town...and more ice cream.  This is the smallest harbor in the world. My last trip there I went out on a whale watching tour and within an hour we saw a few whales.  I suggest taking a tour out.  They have charters most of the day and they are fairly priced.  It's truly nice to be able to go out on the Ocean when you're visiting the coast.  It's nice to walk the beaches, but what's better than actually being out on it?

These are just the top cities I stayed around, of course there are many more stops along the Oregon Coast route, but these towns are great in their feel and vibe.  Personally I love them.