Opening Day at the Utah Shakespeare Festival

Its finally here! This week, we open our shows at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Today will be the opening performances of "Into the Woods" and "The Comedy of Errors". My husband and I are both in "Into the Woods", he as Cinderella's semi-drunk, absent father and me as Red Riding Hood's Granny, the Giant and also Cinderella's Mother. I am over the moon to be a part of this beautiful production and this stellar cast. Here are some production shots of our show followed by my own back stage photos from Instagram. Here we go!

Production photos taken by Karl Hugh.

Actors pictured in the above photos: 

Tina Scariano, James Sanders, Bree Murphy, Brian Vaughn, Melinda Pfundstein, 
Bri Sudia, Natasha Harris, Molly Wetzel, Jack Greenman, Deanna Ott, Misty Cotton, 
Peter Saide, Samantha Allred, Kyle Eberlein, Jason Michael Spelbring.

Ready to take the stage during our last preview performance...

Granny, as designed and rendered by the very talented Bill Black...

Probably the coolest prop I've ever held onstage: the skull of the Big Bad Wolf...

Oversize Artworks in Progress

These photos make me want to attack a larger than life project...

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Drought Tolerant Plants for Texas

Sorry for not posting yesterday. It was a very very busy day for me. The past 48 hours saw first preview audiences for "Sense & Sensibility" and also "Into the Woods". Both went fairly well and now I'm back at home taking a morning off with my family.

I also have the morning to journal and do some preliminary planning for my garden next year. As you may know, I'm planning on ripping out my front lawn and planting drought tolerant species that will require far less water and no mowing! Since I have small children who enjoy touching plants and scooting around the garden on their bottoms, I can't plant a compliment of cacti. So I've been looking into a middle ground: flowering, soft foliage that tend to do well and require very little water in the Central and North Texas climate. Below is a preliminary list of drought resistant plants.

Above: Sages, Rudbeckias, Day Lilies, Yarrows, Lavenders

Above: Lavenders, Sages, Rosemary, Thyme

Above: Flowering plants that attract pollinators

Drought Tolerant Plants:

(in no particular order)

Inland Sea Oats

Engelmann's Daisy

Blackfoot Daisy

Rudbeckia

Lindheimer Muhly

Mealy Blue Sage

Autumn Sage

Russian Sage

Jerusalem Sage

Parry's Agave

Wine Cup

Lavenders

Yarrow - Coronation Gold

Day Lilies

Catmint

Goat's Beard

Lady's Mantle

Mexican Feather Grass

Cape Blanco - white succulent ground cover

Angelina - green succulent ground cover

Voodoo - burgundy red succulent ground cover

Salvia Clevelandii

Salvia Leucantha

Giant Blue Hyssop

Creeping Thyme

Snow in Summer

Creeping Phlox

Mock Orange

Turkscap

Trailing Lantana

Calylophus

Fall Aster

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea)

Crossvine

Purple Heart

Damianita

Palate Cleanser

I love masculine rooms decorated with natural materials like linen, wood and stone. Add the simple beauty of wabi sabi design and you'll create the perfect vibe.

A little homesick...

Today, I'm missing my home. This is usually the time when my family and I return to Dallas from our 7 week contract at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. In the past, my husband has only served on the artistic staff, meaning that his job is over when the shows open. But this year, we are in the acting company - a job which we are thrilled to have.

We have 10 more weeks on our contract and we open our shows this coming week!  I am content to know that a marvelous family is in our beautiful home, enjoying the cozy beds, making breakfast in our homey kitchen and circling around the dining table at night. I love knowing that the home is in use. And I'm also a little home sick. So until I can be reunited with my house... here are some photos to tide me over.

All photos taken by me.

See more HERE. 

Summer Solstice | Litha

The summer solstice, known in pagan circles as Litha, lies directly across from Yule on the wheel of the year. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and today marks the longest day of the year. Today, enjoy the sun's rays and relish the long light hours. Have a beautiful summer solstice!

Final Dress | Sense & Sensibility

Tonight is our final dress rehearsal for Sense & Sensibility at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. We begin preview performances for paying audiences at the beginning of next week! Here's a look at my costumes for the show:

I cannot tell you how much fun it is to have a beautiful period costume, created from the ground up, just for me. Even my wedding dress didn't fit this well! The designers, artisans and crafts-people in the costume shop at USF are mind-bogglingly talented. This show is going to be so beautiful. Wish us luck!

And here is a production shot from last night's rehearsal:

Pictured with me are Bri Sudia (center) and Cassandra Bissell.

Summer is Here

My idea 

of the perfect 

summer vacation 

looks something like this:

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Sweet Peas

When my Mama was visiting a few weeks ago, she planted a bunch of Sweet Pea seeds in a plastic container on our patio. Sweet Peas are probably my most favorite flower. They're beautiful and hearty and perfect for cutting.They're already about 8 inches tall, sending up their thin tendrils towards the porch railing. I'm so excited to see them grow and pop out their happy little flowers. I wonder what colors mine will be?