Audiences Won't Curb Their Enthusiasm

Venturing out into this, for a night on the town!

If you are a New Yorker, chances are you have attended opening night of a theater production, art exhibit, dance performance, or other cultural event.  Always safely on the peripheral of the show business community,  I have had the privilege of attending many such openings, most recently last week -- at the Fish in The Dark premier.

After trudging through the slushy New York City streets, I arrived at the theater to find it full of celebrities -- it's a hot ticket!  The play, written and starring the familiar Larry David, features Rita Wilson, Ben Shenkman, Lewis Stadlen and one of my favorites (and former neighbor), Rosie Perez.  Reminiscent of a 1960's comedy, Fish in the Dark is enjoyable; and the wirery and entertaining Larry David, while not a celebrated actor, delivers laughs in almost every line he says...and doesn't say.

In the play, largely sold out until summer, Larry David plays the misanthropic, sarcastic son of a man who has just passed away.  The outlandish, politically incorrect comedy spins most of its humor from the petty conflict that arises as the family attempts to reorganize itself just before and after the death of the father.  It's a commentary on a dysfunctional family, a family that is sexist, racist and thrives on constant bickering. While the pace could be a bit tighter, there are plenty of laughs to make the high ticket price (and millions of dollars in advance ticket sales) worthwhile.

Star-studded premier of the Broadway play, Fish in the Dark.
If you look closely, you can see Ron Howard standing at the bottom of the picture. 

After the performance, we were invited to the exclusive after-party at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, where everyone was encouraged to wear festive attire. Packed into the bar's impressively large space were, of course, the cast members, including Rita Wilson, with her husband Tom Hanks, as well as numerous other celebrities such as Matthew Broderick and Charlie Rose.  It was fantastic to see Diane Sawyer enjoying the festivities.  She would make a fortune is she considered sharing her youthful beauty tips and regiment-- she is still flawlessly beautiful (this, despite having just lost her husband).  Both the play and the after party were the quintessence of a star-studded New York evening -- such great fun, indisputably memorable -- I was happy to be a part of it all!

Don't Get Hangry, Get Cold Pressed.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Jamba Juice. All opinions are 100% mine.

Cold Pressed Juices

Ahh, the perditious call of the caffeine siren!

Years ago, before our daughter was born and available leisure time supported lengthly gym workouts and other activities that now seem like indulgences, we would frequently go to juice bars -- to get quick nutrient slams. Our favorite -- Jamba Juice -- conveniently located near our gym and, not surprising, across the street from my second home, Whole Foods. Over the last few years, as our parenting and work schedules got tighter, and working out became less frequent, our visits to the juice shops had become a little less recurrent; well, nonexistent, really.

I still love you coffee, but I need to make
some new friends!

So we tried self-juicing with the Vitamix. And while the Vitamix is an indispensable kitchen tool when cooking meals, using it for juicing quickly waned. It requires a considerable amount of fruit on hand, as well as enough time to cut and core all the produce. It also requires a good deal of cleaning. All this can be a tall order at 6:00 in the morning, when I have to prepare 3 breakfasts and 2 lunches, track down homework, get kids dressed, brushed, and coiffed, and unearth shoes, jackets, library books and other miscellaneous paraphanelia. Needless to say, home juicing hasn't been a top priority, of late!

Earlier this week, while queued up in an unbelievably (but worthwhile) sample sale line in Manhattan, I noticed a Jamba Juice across the street. Ahh, it had been a while. Luckily, I had befriended a fellow sample sale junkie standing beside me, and after offering her my New York Times and promising a similar beverage, she generously agreed to save my place while I jumped over to the juice bar.

In the past, I went to Jamba Juice to boost blood sugar quickly, especially before working out -- all that fruit quickly and effectively fostered pleasant energy jolts. And now that I am in my 40s, and more prone to the heart palpations that come with too much coffee, I look for non-caffenated energy revivers. I am also more cognizant of vitamin intake, specifically in the form of greens -- dark bitter greens. So, taking all this into consideration, it was a pleasant surprise to see that Jamba Juice has recently added healthful paleo ingredients, such as beets, kale and other organic super greens to their Fresh Squeezed Juices. Smart!

One for me, and one for my new sample sale buddie, Evelyn.

I tried the new Amazing Greens drink, which comprised of super greens, lemon, peaches, banana, and pumpkin seeds. It was delicious, and I was surprised that my energy was boosted, without coffee. Yesterday, I received an email that further reductions were being taken at the sample sale. I rushed over, but not without stopping, once again, at Jamba Juice. This time I just picked up their new cold-pressed line called Tropical Greens -- apples, pineapples, super greens (organic baby spinach, organic red and green chard, organic baby kale) and lemon. Yum!! This drink was pre-made, but packed with the same vitamin-rich energy properties. And, I can throw it into a gym bag to drink before or after a workout.

When I got home from the sale, having looked more closely at the container, I realized that I really didn't understand what cold pressed meant. So, logically, I looked it up. These days, I have discovered it is better to understand topics before my daughter does. Cold Pressed Juices use thousands of pounds of pressure to extract and preserve the juice. This is markedly different from the blending of juices, which heats up the ingredients, aerates them, and ostensibly eliminates some of the nutritional properties. Makes sense to me!

So I mentioned to the counter staff at Jamba Juice that I was doing a blog post on the sample sales and that I might include the benefits of juicing, and they offered to give away a $20 gift card to one of my readers. So, I will send this gift card out to the person that comes up with the best reason they enjoy their favorite juice drink. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and the Jamba Juice website has some coupons that are worth checking out:
http://jambajuice.com

Go get some Happy Juice!