Cincinnati Shakespeare Company presents "The 39 Steps"

I was invited by ArtsWave to attend a media preview of The 39 Steps at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company this week.  For as many shows as I've seen around town, I've never been to the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (at least not since that building housed the Real Movies...remember that place?!?!).  I'm so glad I rememedied this situation by going to last night's performance.  The production of The 39 Steps is HILARIOUS.  I was laughing so loud it was embarassing, but I couldn't help myself...these actors kept us entertained from beginning to end.  The actors were AMAZING...between the four of them they played over 100 roles!  It was crazy!  The costume and character changes were constant, but not hard to follow at all.  The story

moves quickly and keeps the audience engaged.  The show was fantastic, and left me wanting to go to more performances at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.  All in all it was a wonderful evening out for mama.  I got to see a great show, meet new bloggers in my area, and hang out with my good friends and co-writers from Family Friendly Cincinnati.  Plan your next date night or ladies night out at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Comany!  The 39 Steps will be at CSC from July 19 until August 11. 

More about The 39 Steps from  
Cincinnati Shakespeare Comany:

This runaway Broadway hit lands at CSC this summer. Alfred Hitchcock’s classic potboiler gets a tongue-in-cheek twist as four actors rocket their way through over 100 roles in a blood-tingling, and hilarious, tale of espionage and murder. Cincinnati audiences have raved about productions of “Every Christmas Story Ever Told” and “The Hound of the Baskervilles” that also feature small casts covering multiple characters in mystery-comedy adventures. They will not be disappointed by “The 39 Steps”. It’ll be an evening of comedy...to die for. Director of “The 39 Steps”, Producing Artistic Director, Brian Isaac Phillips says “’The 39 Steps’ is an exceptional evening of theater. The play’s comic spin on the Hitchcock classic not only celebrates the cinema but showcases just how magical live theatre can be. This play deserves every accolade it has received at homeand abroad and will be an evening to remember when it comes to life at our intimate home on Race Street.” Phillips continues, “I am also thrilled to be able to work with such an excellent cast. Our cast of four includessome of the funniest members of our ensemble.”

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at 719 Race Street, Cincinnati.  You can find all the details on the Cincinnati Shakespeare Compnay website.

Cincy Shakes Photo by Rich Sofranko

Family Friendly Cincinnati Posts

I'm sure I've mentioned this on here before, but I moonlight on Family Friendly Cincinnati.  I hope that if you read this blog and you live in the Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky area that you know about Family Friendly Cincinnati.  It's a great resource for finding fun things to do around town.  And I maintain that it's not just great for families, but for anyone who wants to find something fun to do around town.  There are many of us writing for Family Friendly Cincinnati, and we all strive to bring the fun to our readers. 

Here's a few of my favorite posts that I've written for Family Friendly Cincinnati.  I'd go so far as to say these posts are bookmark-worthy or Pinterest-worthy.  When I wrote them I intended them to be lasting resources for local families.  I hope you find them helpful!

 

This is just a small sample of the great content you will find on Family Friendly Cincinnati..I'm just sharing my personal faves, but there is much much more on Family Friendly Cincinnati, so check it out!

Christmas fun at Newport on the Levee

Today I took the boys to Newport on the Levee to see the Shillito's Elves at Santa's Workshop and the LEGO Holiday display.  They absolutely loved it, and I loved standing back and seeing it through their eyes, as their excitement was contagious.  The elves are adorable, and funny...and a blast from the past.  I remember going to see them with my parents when they were downtown.  The LEGO display was awesome, so many cool details and so many things going on at once.  I think we're going to have to make another trip to the Levee so the older children can check it out.   The tickets are $7 per person, but children under 3 are free with a paying adult.  I was lucky enough to be given free tickets, so we enjoyed the display without having to pay, but I would pay to take the older kids, as I think they would enjoy it.

To see all the pictures I took on our trip to see the elves check out the little things blog Facebook page.  And for a list of all the cool Holiday Happenings in Northern Kentucky you can read this post I wrote over at Family Friendly Cincinnati.  FFC also has posts about Holiday events downtown, Nutcracker performances, Holiday events north of town, where to find Santa, the best light displays and more!  Check it out! 

What's your favorite thing to do around town during the holidays?  (Even if you live in another town....)

Sewn Studio

This week my dear friend Amy Q. and I went to Oakley to visit Sewn Studio.  It was a wonderland of fabric, patterns, kits, supplies and more.  They opened earlier this year, and I cannot believe it took me so long to get there.  They carry all kinds of cute fabrics made by great designers like Amy Butler.  You can read more about this store in Shannan B's post on Family Friendly Cincinnati.  If you live in the Cincinnati area and like to sew, and you are looking for fabulous fabrics that you wouldn't find at the chain stores look no further than Sewn Studio. 

I went a little overboard...fabric for skirts, fabric for gifts, an embroidery kit for Ella and a tie pattern since my boys love ties so much.  And then I came home and sent an email to my husband pleading for a Sewn Studio gift certificate for Christmas.

Now I just need to find the time to dust off the sewing machine.  In the meantime I'll work on my list of sewing projects I'm dreaming about (more on that later).

Do you sew?  Where is your favorite place to find fabric?

Coca Cola Lends a Hand in our Community

On Friday the boys and I were invited to a special event at the International Friendship Park in Cincinnati.  We were lucky enough to be on hand when Coca Cola presented Cincinnati Parks with a check for $10,000 to help build a new Bike & Mobility Center.  The Bike & Mobility Center will be located at a fabulous new park on the shores of the Ohio River, the Smale Riverfront Park.  Construction is underway on Smale Riverfront Park and it is set to open in Spring of 2012 and will link to the existing parks on the banks of the Ohio.  If you read Family Friendly Cincinnati, you know that I love to explore all of our area parks with my children.  I'm giddy about this new park, I can't wait to check it out next year with the munchkins!  And we can take a bike ride all along the Ohio River, stopping to play at the various parks. 

Friday's event was more than just a big check being handed over.  There were state & local dignitaries, spokespersons from Coca Cola and Cincinnati Parks, and even a professional BMX rider.  They all spoke of the importance of parks, the need for more people to get outside & live healthy lives, and the impact the park could have on our local economy if it brings more people downtown.  The speeches were heartfelt & everyone seems really excited about the new park & bike center.  After the speeches there was an bike ride through the park, which Sam loved (even though he trailed behind everyone else).  And Coca Cola bought bikes just for this event, and after the event they donated the bikes to our local Boys & Girls Club.  How cool is that?!  After the bike ride was my favorite part - free lunch, and Sam's favorite part - a BMX demonstration.

When we left he said he couldn't wait to get home and try some tricks on his bike.  I'm a little nervous about this.  Thanks to Coca Cola for helping our community!  And I'm so anxious to see this new park after being at this event.  If you are interested in helping other communities receive money from Coca Cola for their parks, I encourage you to go to LivePositively.com to help your favorite park win money for being "America's Favorite Park".  The city of Cincinnati has decided to help another community in desperate need of parks.  Cincy is encouraging folks to vote for Minot, North Dakota’s Oak Park. "Severe flooding in Minot devastated Minot’s beloved Oak Park this past June and the Cincinnati Park Board has emphasized what a significant impact the $100,000 grand prize would have for Oak Park and the residents of Minot.".  Our city was lucky enough to receive a grant, now we can help another city build their parks as well! 

here i am!

Is anyone out there in my blogosphere wondering about my sporadic posts lately?  I was doing so good at posting on a regular basis, and then POOF, lost my mojo!  I've been a bit pre-occupied with all our summer happenings.  We're on the go quite a bit with art classes, cooking classes, swimming, hiking, and general adventuring. 

And I've spent quite a bit of time working on note card jobs (thank you dear customers!).  For anyone who is interested, I'm having a Christmas in July sale right now, all of my seasonal cards are $3 a pack.  Just email me at: Katie(at)Cards-by-Katie(dot)com if you are interested in ordering!

I've also designed a few new sweet & simple note cards:

the lily pad photo note

and the butterfly "just a note" card

you can find both of these at my Etsy shop

Sorry for the shameless business plugs folks...just trying to find all the snail mail lovin' people I can!  So whenever we are not at play, and that is quite often, you can find me working on cards at the dining room table, surrounded by legos, arts & crafts, and other random activites the kids are working on.  We've spent most of our time adventuring though, exploring our area and just having fun.  I really try to make the kids' vacations from school fun for them (and maybe a bit educational at the same time).  Here's just a couple examples of our adventures...

We've been on a pirate ship where the kids had to walk the plank.

And we made very cool glass art at Brazee Art Studio in Oakley.

please note, these pics were taken before our people were fired in the kiln, they look much cooler now!

You can read more about these adventures on http://www.familyfriendlycincinnati.com/ (another shameless plug!)

I'm also determined to get more organized this summer, so I try to fit in some work on that when I can.  This week I've got a great discount on the blog for CleanMama printables, check out my post about her Etsy shop and take advantage of the deal, it ends this Sunday, 7/24.  I'm going to be ordering a few things myself tonight!

So what have you been doing on these hot summer days?  And feel free to give your small business endeavors a shout out in the comments, you all know I've been doing it for most of this post ;)

our family's summer bucket list

It seems that summer bucket lists are quite popular this summer, so we've made one of our own.  I sat down with the kids and we created a long list of things we want to do this summer.  Some of the items on this list are things we already do on a regular basis, while others are new to us, or things we don't get to do very often.  I don't know that we will be able to have all of these adventures, but having this list will help us focus on what we want to do for fun.  It's pretty lengthy (remember I had three young ones helping me dream up this list) but we've already crossed a few things off in the first few weeks of summer break.  I can't wait to see what else we end up doing this summer!  Please feel free to leave comments below if you have ideas I should add to this list!

Our summer bucket list: (Updated 8/18/11)
We were lucky enough to do many things on our bucket list this summer!  We even added a few things:  Hike at Shawnee Lookout, A ride on the Anderson Ferry, A hike at Dinsmore Homestead, and two vacations!  We were very busy!  We'll have to add some of these activities on to next summer's bucket list!
~ Hike at Big Bone
~ Storytime
~ Highfield Discovery Garden
~ Visit Ault Park
~ Explore Fort Ancient
~ Newport Aquarium
~ Cincinnati Museum Center
~ Totter's Otterville
~ Grocery shop at Jungle Jim's
~ Spend a day at Eden Park, visit the Art Museum
~ Roller Skate
~ Swim at our swim club
~ Day trip to Louisville Zoo
~ Bike ride at the farm
~ Behringer Crawford Museum
~ Walk the Purple People Bridge
~ Ride bikes at Pioneer Park
~ Hike at Withrow Nature Preserve
~ Take a walk at Spring Grove Cemetery
~ Day trip to Lexington to visit friends
~ Cincinnati Zoo
~ Bike riding at the International Freedom Park
~ Play at Lunken Airport's Playfields
~ Explore Rowe Woods
~ Hike in the woods at Highland Cemetery

If you are looking for more fun ideas in the Greater Cincinnati area, check out Family Friendly Cincinnati's bucket list as well!  And don't forget to give me your ideas!

Family Friendly Cincinnati

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before...but I am a contributing writer for a very cool local blog called "Family Friendly Cincinnati". It's a fabulous resource for families in our area. You can find so many fun things to do around town just by checking out this blog! There are posts about local parks, restaurant reviews, a "what's up this weekend" section every Friday, and so much more!
Right now, Family Friendly Cincinnati is excited to announce that we are partnering with the Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau (WCCVB) during the month of May for Ohio Tourism Month. We'll be working with them to help raise awareness of all the great events, activities & places in Warren County.
Each day in May we'll be promoting 31 Prizes in 31 Days. The promotion will include a daily giveaway of fun Warren County related prizes here on www.FamilyFriendlyCincinnati.com. Items up for giveaway will include things like tickets to Ozone Zipline Adventures, The Beach Waterpark, the LM&M Railroad, golf at Shaker Run Golf Club, dinner for two to Valley Vineyards, VIP goodie bag to Cincinnati Premium Outlets and more.
Winners will be announced weekly by the WCCVB on the Warren County CVB Facebook page and via it's Twitter account, @WarrenCountyOH. You can also follow along on Twitter by searching for the hashtag #31Prizes31Days.
Known regionally as “Ohio’s Largest Playground,” Warren County boasts more fun activities locally, and within 30 miles of Warren County, than anywhere else in the state of Ohio!
Starting Saturday May 1st, don't forget to check the Family Friendly site each morning to see what the day's giveaway is and to enter. Also -- be sure to "Like" the Warren County Facebook Page so you don't miss the big news if you win!