Fashionable Friday: One Thing that Never Goes Out of Style

It's been an intense week. Four auditions, two sets of rehearsals a day, one cookout, one eye patch, one missed post and one broken-down truck. The adventures will continue (Stone Mountain's summer season opens tomorrow, Joseph goes into tech on Monday, and I'm buying a new car very soon) but this week everything came to a head.

Yesterday, when I found out my car is done for, I was very upset. I love my little truck, and it's gonna be hard to say good-bye. But instead of griping and feeling sorry for myself, I would like to practice Grattitude. 

Grattitude isn't always easy, but it looks good on everyone and it never goes out of style.

I'm grateful that I have the ability to buy a new car. It will be
tough (and I'll need some help) but I have resources to draw
from, and not everyone does.

I'm also grateful for amazing friends like my Roomie who let me
drive her car so I could attend my Wednesday audition/rehearsal
marathon. Friends like her are worth a hundred Mazda pick-ups.

I'm grateful for my Very Excellent Boyfriend and Very Attentive Parents
who are all helping me find a new car. They all have my back, and I feel
much more prepared with them on my team than I would alone.

I'm grateful to be a working actor. My chosen field is hard, and every
time I step into a rehearsal I'm reminded of how lucky I am to
have a job.

I'm grateful for healthy food and drinks (and the not-so-healthy stuff,
as well). When Life gives you Lemons, whip up a meringue pie.

I hope you're thoroughly disgusted. I hope you're all rolling your eyes at my optimism, and muttering under your breath. It's no matter - I'll still be grateful for you, too.

My truck, in happier times.

Whatever Wednesdays: What is CentUp?

I love writing and maintaining this site - it brings me so much joy. I get so excited when people ask me about posts they read, or tell me a related story. It might be the biggest thing I've ever created.

I've recently joined a community called Cent Up, which allows readers to throw a few nickels toward an online creator whose work they like. It's like a "like" button, only every time you click, you give the person you liked a few cents. I'm now an official CentUp publisher, which means that if you like what you see/read here, and you'd like to show your appreciation with a monetary gesture, you can click a button to donate pennies at a time. The best part is that every time you donate to a publisher, half of your donation goes to a charity of you choice.

There's a CentUp button at the bottom of every post - they look like this:

Just give it a click, and you'll find out how to join.

Most people are pretty strapped for cash these days (the economy isn't exactly booming) and I understand that it can seem a little odd to donate towards a site that you read for free. That's why I like CentUp, though - just a few pennies at a time will help me offset the costs of running this site.

CentUp has a small group of great publishers, and they're all worth a visit.
I'm really excited to join this site right at its inception, and I hope you're inspired to join.

Tasty Tuesday: Memorial Day Cookout

The friends I mentioned yesterday, Laura and Jeremy? The ones getting married this summer? They invited us over yesterday for a prehearsal cookout.

The bacon-wrapped brats were so good that I forgot to take a picture until I was halfway done.



Same with the salmon kebab.


Jeremy grilled-up some delicious chicken, too.



Also, we had some amazing sides - pasta salad, a fromage fort, and Asian-influenced cole slaw.



To top it off, we took a swim in the pool. And one of my contacts escaped me. No matter - I made an eye patch once I got to rehearsal.



That's the head of a plastic spoon and masking tape, soyaknow.

National Holidays, 1; Galen, 0.

Make-it Monday: The Perfect Wedding Season Dress

I ordered a dress from Anthropologie a few weeks ago, and I finally got it yesterday. It was on MEGA sale ($35!) and the moment I saw it, I wanted it for this year's wedding season. But, as expected, it didn't fit perfectly.

Adorable, right? But too big in the bodice. That's to be expected - the dress doesn't have a structured back. Instead, the silk straps cross each other and reattach at the hips. Today, I set out to get a better fit.

I didn't want to shorten from the bust, because of the ruching. 

The sides would be difficult to work with because the zipper is sewn onto the silk on the left side. 

So I decided to take from the straps themselves - hopefully disguising the seams under the twist.

I laid the dress out and folded an inch of material from under the twist on both straps.

Surprisingly, the thread that matched the best was red. 

I took out exactly enough fabric - it fits like a dream! However, I overshot on one side and sewed too high. The dress fits great, but the seam is visible. 

What do you think - should I leave it as-is, or should I try to move the seam down? 

I'm nervous about messing too much with the fabric - it's very delicate, and my machine has been pulling at the thread a bit. The visible seam bugs me, though. Am I obsessing, or does the seam need to be hidden?

I'm really excited to wear this dress. My friends Laura and Jeremy are getting married in July, and this frock will make it's debut at their wedding. Plus, I have two shoe options.

For the ceremony:

For the reception:

Ain't no way I'm dancing in those heels!

Fashionable Friday: Resisting Temptation

Sometimes, I a able to exercise self-control. Not often enough, but at least sometimes. I'm gong to start bragging about those rare occurrences; maybe it'll inspire me to create more of them.

I tried-on this ensemble at Anthropologie. The shirt - so cute! The pants - SO GREEN! Green is my color - I just LOVE to wear it. These trousers were surprisingly bright; a lovely cross between emerald and forest. But you know what? They were seventy bucks.

Ladies and gents, I believe in quality fashion; I believe that certain wardrobe essentials are worth an investment. However, I also believe in exercising frugality, whenever possible. I loved these pants, but I think I can find something similar secondhand.

At least, that's the lie I'll tell myself.

Raise your hand if you're not a millionaire!

Thrifty Thursday: Thrifty Disasters - Buford Highway Goodwill

I live really close to a Goodwill, but until last week I'd never been inside. It's on Buford Highway, and stores along its stretch of road have a real hit-or-miss quality. On Friday, Roomie and I made our first visit.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with what I found. Like this slinky blue number.



And this sweet little dress (so perfect for auditions).



And this bright green one from J Crew.



I didn't actually buy that one, and I regret that decision. I think I'm gonna go back and see if it's still there.

The day was not without it's disasters, though.

I have a short waist, so most things I try tend to be too big in the shoulders - but this is ridiculous:



Eyelets are really in this season, and this Ralph Lauren dress seemed promising, but it didn't deliver.



Do you like embroidered velvet 80s party dresses? Then this is for you!



I put this one on and Mandi said, "You look like you're from The Virgin Suicides."



Here's a close-up:



When I tried this one, she said I looked like an auto worker. I asked her to please not insult auto workers anymore.



I've reached an age where certain styles look absolutely ridiculous on me - like this extreme bubble skirt.



Uuhh. It might as well be Limited Too.

Lastly, there's this gem:



You can thank Mandi for finding this one - it's from Friedrick's of Hollywood.

You've seen a lot of really interesting pictures of me, but I want to see some of your shopping disasters. If you don't already take pictures when clothes don't work, I'd like you to start. Send them to galensdaysoftheweek@gmail.com, and maybe you'll see yourself in a post.

Whatever Wednesday: The Serenbe PR Tour

In July, I start rehearsals for Hair down at Serenbe Playhouse. It's an outdoor production set in a wildflower meadow, complete with a technicolor bus. Of course right now I'm working with a different technicolor prop (a dreamcoat) but Serenbe is already gearing-up for the big musical with some scattered PR performances.

In July, this will be a stage.

Our standard set for these appearances is a mash-up of Hair songs ("Aquarius" and "Let The Sun Shine") and top 40 hits ("Girl on Fire" and "It's Time"). We threw the five-minute number together in a single hourlong rehearsal, proving that this cast has some serious chops.

Our first event was the Human Rights Campaign Gala at the Hyatt Regency. As you know, Matthew Morrison was the keynote speaker. He was one of fifteen hundred people at the event, and we opened the dinner to cheers like I've never heard.

(Photo credit: HRC Atlanta)

(Photo credit: HRC Atlanta)

The next day, I went down to the tiny town of Serenbe for something completely different - the May Day festival. While the night before was loud and crowded, May Day was simple and bright. I sang with one other cast member for a small crowd, and explored the vendors all over town. Oh, and I had an amazing bacon cheeseburger from the Grazing Here food truck.









Last week, we did our thing at a fundraiser for C4 Atlanta. C4 is a nonprofit that aims to give artists the marketing and business tools they need to make a living from their work. Their event was held at the Fuse Arts Center downtown, and it was an intimate, eclectic gathering. We got to see local steampunk band Extraordinary Contraptions play a few of their songs. Definitely check out their Bandcamp page if you like story-central songwriting (I especially like "Prelude to the Nocturnis").


Saturday was the grande finale, a performance for the Playhouse's Dali Gala.

Serenbe's Artistic Dirictor, Brian, as Dali
(Photo credit: BreeAnne Clowdus)

(Photo credit: BreeAnne Clowdus)

There are a lot of really great things about being an actor, but this week I'm especially thankful for big, glitzy events. It's such a blast to wear surreal make-up and schmooze with a great group of people. Oh, and sing for a wild crowd.

The Jackson Family, reunited
(Make-up by Jared Boty)

The food was to die for. Gloriosa provided some excellent noms. I was especially charmed by the Parmesan and truffle oil fries. I also had a couple shots of the melon and champagne soup. I may start inviting myself to their events - or maybe I could get a part-time gig as a taster. They wouldn't need to pay me; it's a volunteer position.

I can't wait to spend the second half of the summer in Serenbe. So far, I'm completely taken with it.