Jenna's 12th Day of Christmas!

Well, I can't believe I'm to day 12 already! This whole month has just been speeding by, and it seems like the past two weeks, especially, have just vanished in the blink of an eye! Happily, though,I'm home in Middletown with my family now, relaxing in my reindeer pjs, sipping eggnog, and looking forward to a fun couple of days! Hopefully, being out of the NYC holiday madness will allow me to truly enjoy my time with the fam and my week off of the day job! I was scrolling through the pictures I've snapped over the last week, trying to decide which one to post, and as soon as I came to this one, I knew the decision had been made. For the past few weeks, the "Santamobile" seen in this picture (in case you're wondering, it's the car covered in toys, and Santa himself is actually behind the wheel!) has been driving around town, spreading holiday cheer in its own unique way! I was able to get a picture of it in action, coming through the intersection at 5th Ave. and 58th St. - hope it brings a smile to your faces, too!

Now, although my "12 Days of Christmas" project has reached its completion, I'm hoping to post some more seasonal pics in the next week, and to keep up with more frequent posts in the new year. Just in case I get sidetracked in the next few days and am unable to post, though, let me take this opportunity to wish each of you the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years! Here's to a great 2010!

Whew! Just creeping in under the wire for this one...actually, according to the clock, it's nearly 3 a.m. on December 22nd in the Eastern time zone, but since it's still December 21 somewhere in the U.S., I'm giving myself credit for not missing a day! Actually, I tried really hard to get this pic posted earlier tonight, but unfortunately, I just don't have the necessary tech savvy to use my phone to do a blog post with a pic! I just got home a little while ago, and have been packing my bags for my trip upstate for Christmas...and it just hit me that I never did get this posted! So, here it is - the glowing "Believe" sign on the side of Macy's. The holiday windows are great, but to me, this one word really captures the magic of the season...and, for that matter, of life in general! I think it's a wonderful sentiment to keep in mind each and every day...and I also think that it may just end up being my New Year's resolution: Believe! I kind of like the sound of that! Believe, believe, believe! Yep, I think it's as simple as that. And with that, my friends, I leave you for the night, because I am EXHAUSTED and need to be up for the day job in the morning! New post tomorrow (or later today!)!

Well, it was a fun, fun day up here in Middletown, NY! We had enough snow to make things look pretty and seasonal, but not so much that we had to postpone the annual Esposito Family Christmas concert! My family and I have been putting on this holiday songfest every year since I was in high school, and we always have a wonderful time! This year, in addition to my dad (Fortune Esposito) and my sister (Kelly Esposito-Broelmann), we were joined by Rob Broelmann on bass, Brian DeWitt on drums, and Brian Broelmann on tenor sax, soprano sax, and flute. AND Charlie (my 2-year old nephew) made his public debut! He sang "Jingle Bells" into the microphone and helped out the band by playing his toy guitar along with many of the numbers! We did two shows: one at 2 p.m. and one at 5:30 p.m., and it was a feel-good, holiday spirit-filled day! Today's pic features the star of the show, Charles Broelmann! Enjoy!

On My 9th Day of Christmas...

Well, I got an early train this morning and beat the snowstorm up to Middletown, NY, where my family lives! Shortly after I arrived, we headed over to the Manza Family Farm to pick out our Christmas tree. My nephew Charlie was there for the fun, and enjoyed meeting all kinds of animals, including a HUGE turkey, a couple of sheep, some goats, and TWO REINDEER, who were obviously in training for the coming week's travels! We also took a ride around the farm on a 3-mule open sleigh! :) And yes, the mules were wearing jingle bells (which prompted Charlie to break into a rousing chorus of "Jingle Bells!" He also met Santa and Mrs. Claus, and then went exploring on the stationary wooden train cars (or the "choo-choo," according to Charlie) that were set up outside, which is the picture you see here today! It was a fun (albeit bitterly cold!) afternoon...and in case you're wondering, we did end up with a beautiful Christmas tree!

Stay warm and check back tomorrow for my 10th Day of Christmas post!

Jenna's 8th Day of Christmas

Hooray, I finally got to hit a few of the holiday shops today! Every year in NYC, little markets/fairs pop up all over the city, making for a unique and fun shopping experience. Many of the vendors at the various fairs are independent, although there are a few chains mixed in. I always have a great time looking for handmade jewelry, candles and soaps, in addition to stocking up on gourmet chocolates and various other knick-knacks. My two favorite fairs are the Union Square Park Holiday Market and the Holiday Shops at Bryant Park, and as luck would have it, I had time to hit both of them tonight. It was freezing out when I arrived at the Union Square shops, but that just added to the feeling of holiday hustle-bustle...so I treated myself to some hot apple cider and started browsing! I ended up not purchasing anything, but I did have fun nosing around, and that apple cider was yummy! After I'd finished there, I hopped on the subway and headed up to Bryant Park, to check out the offerings there! I did end up making a few purchases there, but they shall remain secret since some of the gift recipients may be reading this! ;)

Anyway, Bryant Park is where today's picture comes from. This little scene was set up right in the middle of the south side of the park, and I only noticed it as I was making my way out, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it had to go in the blog. I hope you enjoy it!

It seems that we've got a big winter storm heading our way, so I'll close by wishing you all a warm, cozy, happy weekend!

Oh, and by the way, if you're looking for more info on the various holiday shops, there's a good site covering all of them, which you can reach by clicking here.

On My 7th Day of Christmas

For the past couple of weeks, I've been wondering when in the world I'd get to see the Rockefeller Center tree! I know - for those of you who don't live in NYC, you're probably wondering how in the world I could miss it...but seriously, I usually don't have any reason to be by Rockefeller Center, and my schedule's been so crazy, I literally have not had the time to wind my way over there! Well, as luck would have it, I got sent on an errand from my day job today that took me to 47th St. and 6th Ave., so I finally had my window! After running the errand, I made a brief detour to check out the tree, and thanks to the frigid weather, it wasn't even insanely crowded - can you believe it?! The lights don't show up as brightly in the daytime photo as they would if I'd been able to get over there at night, but oh well - can't win 'em all, right? Anyway, here's the pic - hope you like it!

On Jenna's 6th Day of Christmas...

She shares this image with you! This is a photograph of some of the lovely decorations at Loews Regency Hotel. I had the pleasure of being at Feinstein's the other night for Jim Van Slyke's terrific Neil Sedaka tribute (where I got to meet Mr. Sedaka himself - woohoo!), and the lobby decorations were absolutely gorgeous. There was a big tree, and beautiful decorations surrounding the main entrance, but this basket filled with ornaments really caught my eye. Also, the picture of the basket of ornaments came out much better than either of the other pictures! If you have a chance to stop by during the holiday season, I'd highly recommend it! First of all, there is some terrific entertainment (Michael Feinstein & David Hyde Pierce in their holiday show, plus singer/pianist John Proulx entertaining Sunday-Thursday after every show) at Feinstein's, and secondly, just walking through the lobby is sure to put you in the holiday spirit!

Jenna's 5th Day of Christmas!

Okay, today is a fun one! I subscribe to the newsletter "Manhattan User's Guide," and in this morning's issue, I was delighted to find a link to the Gingerbread Extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien Hotel! Le Parker Meridien is only a few blocks from my day job, so I knew I MUST head over there at lunchtime to check out the gingerbread creations! There were only eight (I was expecting a few more!), but the ones that were there were adorable! If you're in the area, it's well worth taking a few minutes out of the holiday madness to stop and smell the gingerbread! Well, actually, you can't really smell it, but you know what I mean! Also, if you pay $1, you can vote for your favorite and be entered to win a 5 night stay at the Parker Palm Springs and two round trip tickets courtesy of American Airlines! All proceeds are being donated to City Harvest. I had a tough time deciding, so I'm posting my two favorites here!

Haha! Almost missed posting today - am actually running out from work to get to my voice lesson; however, I'm determined to do my twelve days of Christmas consecutively! Today's pic, while not necessarily "Christmas-y," is DEFINITELY seasonal and very pretty (if I do say so myself)! I took it while traveling up to Middletown this weekend, as the train was going over the Salisbury Mills trestle. It's always a gorgeous view, and it looked particularly stunning this past weekend, with the first snow of the season glistening in the sunlight! Hope you enjoy it!

Jenna's 3rd Day of Christmas!

Hello, Friends! Well, I'm on a roll here - 3 days in a row of holiday-themed posts! I'm upstate now for my sister's birthday, and thought I'd post a picture of my nephew, Charlie! This is him getting his picture taken with Santa - obviously not the professional pic, just Aunt J. snapping a shot from off to the side! He was a good boy, though, and when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said, "a muffin." "A muffin maker?" asked Santa. "No, a muffin," said Charles. Ah, those were the days - when a muffin was the ultimate joy!

Woohoo! 2 days in a row! Betcha thought I'd forget today, didn't you? It's okay if you did; I kinda thought that myself! But I didn't forget and I DO have another holiday photo to share. This one was taken as I was running out to get soup yesterday on my lunch break. It was FREEZING and I was rushed and stressed, and then I saw these pretty purple ornaments, shining in the sunlight on Park Avenue! So I slowed down for a few seconds, got my phone out, and snapped a pic. Hope you enjoy it!

Have a great weekend and be sure to check out Broadway World for my newest article if you want to see what I've been seeing in the world of cabaret this week!

Jenna's 12 Days of Christmas

Hello All!

Sorry for the delay in posts, but I've been taking some time to consider whether or not to keep this blog running, and if so, whether I should change the subject matter/format. Since I started writing my column for Broadway World, most of my show-going anecdotes end up in that column, and I'd feel silly just repeating them here! So, I've come to the decision that YES, I will keep this blog up, but it will be more of a personal blog. Posts may or may not have anything to do with music or shows I've seen, but I'm hoping they'll still be enjoyable, and hopefully, a little more frequent! To kick off the new format, I'm going to be doing a holiday feature, Jenna's 12 Days of Christmas. Beginning today, and continuing for the next 11 days, I'll post a picture of something I've seen that captures the spirit of the season for me.

Today's picture is of the beautiful, glowing stars that hang from the ceiling of the Time Warner Center at Columbus circle - I LOVE them! It's funny, but walking into the Time Warner Center at this time of year puts me in the best mood! "Carol of the Bells" is playing continuously, and I could stare at the color-changing stars for hours! Of course, I usually don't have hours to spend looking at stars, so I watch them for a few minutes and then run into Sephora to freshen up makeup and apply glitter before heading on to the next event! Anyway, here are the stars, in my favorite color scheme - hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Heck, put on "Carol of the Bells," do some online shopping, and it'll feel like you're right in the middle of things at the Time Warner Center!


Have a great evening and check back tomorrow for my 2nd Day of Christmas!!