I am heartbroken: Love Never Dies

I love the musical The Phantom of the Opera. I saw the off Broadway play for the first time when I was in 5th or 6th grade in San Antonio, Texas. We got the CDs and I listened to them constantly, memorizing every word. I even got a t-shirt and a Phantom mask. Yes, I did!  I have probably seen the live show 6 times over the years as well as the 2004 movie version. I have annoyed my family many times with my reenactments. This past fall was the 25th Anniversary of the play and there was a special performance televised live from The Royal Albert Hall in London, England. My mom and I saw it and it was wonderful. It was so great seeing the actual play, but up close on a huge screen.

 The original Phantom, Michael Crawford, and Christine, Sarah Brightman {via}

I would have loved to see the original! The music just takes me in and as it does to Christine in the play, entrances you for the entire time. "The music of the night" gives me chills. So when my mom and I were seeing The Vow a couple of weeks ago, there was a an advertisement of a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies. We knew we had to go see it! It was shot live from the Capitol Theater in Sydney, Australia. 

Spoiler Alert: If you don't want to know what happens, stop reading!

So Love Never Dies, is set in 1905, 10 years after the fire at the Paris Opera House, that the Phantom was supposedly killed in. Well, he escaped to New York City, Coney Island specifically, along with Madame Giry and her daughter, Meg. In Coney Island, he can run a "freak show" opera house and blend in with all the others. Word comes that Christine and Raoul, who have a child together, are coming to perform at another opera house in the city. They had to come because Raoul, who has become a drunk, has tons of gambling debts that they must pay off. It is obvious the love they once shared is no longer there. The Phantom of course is behind Christine coming to America and he finds her and persuades her to sing once more for him. Raoul thinks that Christine, who he knows has always loved the Phantom, will leave him if he sings for him and does not want her to. During this time, the Phantom has also discovered that he is really the father of Christine's son, Gustave, who is exactly ten years old. Raoul is in such a dark (drunk) place, that he makes a deal with the Phantom that if Christine sings, he can have her, and if she does not, the Phantom will pay off all of this gambling debts. Madame Giry and Meg have gotten wind of this as well and fear that their ten years of service to the Phantom is all going to be for nothing if Christine comes back in the picture. They are distraught, especially Meg, who had hopes of becoming the leading lady and making it big. Christine ends up singing the latest song by the Phantom "Love Never Dies". Raoul realizes he has lost Christine and leaves the side stage to go back to Europe. Christine and the Phantom reunite and kiss after the performance. Yay! All the sudden, Christine remembers that Gustave was waiting in the wings for her and they go to find him, but cannot. They suspect Raoul, but it was not him. They turn to blame Madame Giry, but it not her either. MEG! It is Meg! Meg has a thing for swimming in the ocean, so the rush to the water and find her dragging Gustave on a bridge, with the plan to drown them both. The Phantom talks her into giving Gustave back, but then Meg pulls out a gun on herself! The Phantom talks her down and as she is lowering the gun, it goes off and are you ready for it?? She shoots Christine!! As Christine is dying in the Phantom's arms, she tells her son who his real father is. Christine dies. The Phantom is beside himself, about to jump off the bridge to this death as well. As he is looking over the edge, Gustave comes and places a hand on his back, showing his love and acceptance of his real father. They embrace and the show is over.

Now guys, I was BAWLING as soon as Christine got shot! Crying like a little baby in the middle of the theater. I could not believe my heroine, the beautiful soprano, Christine, who I have known for all these years, dead, as soon as she and her true love are together. I turned to my mom when I could speak, and said "I am pissed." I keep saying it is not fair. It is not fair! I know it is a musical, but this play is in my heart, and I am just heartbroken for the Phantom! (Yes, I know it is a play. I am going to talk like these are real people for a minute. I promise I am not a crazy!) The poor Phantom, disfigured and tortured all of his life, living alone, found his true love and acceptance in Christine. They were going to be together with their son. And now it is over. I just could cry forever for him. I am happy he has his son, but he needs Christine and her voice to live. I got in my car and busted out my Phantom CDs and had a little singing/crying session all the way home to remember and mourn Christine. I got home and cried more to Eric. {What is wrong with me??} He of course told me it was a musical and pointed out that wasn't the Phantom a bad guy who killed people? Well, yes, but that is because they tortured him! It is not fair!

I know all the great love stories end tragically, but I didn't want this one to. I wanted them to live happily ever after. If you have a chance to see these plays live (or even the movie versions), I highly recommend them. And it is true, my love for The Phantom will never die....

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Hi, I am alive. Never fear. Don't really know why I haven't been blogging. Just haven't! This is not a very exciting post, but I thought I would share what I made for dinner on Monday night. I am trying to use ingredients we have around the house up and just buying fresh fruit and vegetables at the grocery this week. I had two chicken breasts so here is what I did!

I took 2 chicken breasts and dredged (soaked) them in a cup of low fat Italian dressing then immediately coated them with Italian bread crumbs. (I just put a cup of bread crumbs in a pie dish and smushed it around!) Put them in a Pyrex baking dish (sprayed with Pam) and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes. Easy easy dinner and it was so good! Served with rice and asparagus. No picture, but for picture's sake, here is an Ollie pic.

 My, what long legs you have!

Happy hump day! I am off to my last physical therapy appointment. Hopefully I will be able to run again sometime before it is 100 degrees again in Dallas!

What do YOU want for Valentine's Day??

Hey girls!! Valentine's Day is right around the corner and if you are like me, I don't get anything unless I tell my husband what to buy!! Actually it is a joke that I get rugs for Valentine's Day!! Two years ago, we bought a rug on Valentine's Day and called it my gift (those things are not cheap!) and again this year, I bought a rug this past weekend for our dining room, so I once again, will probably not be getting a gift.

What do y'all think? I am working on making this room more put together!! Don't mind the bare table!

Well, if you want something pretty for yourself this year, I would love to help be your husband or boyfriend's "secret cupid"! As many of you know, I sell a line of jewelry called Stella & Dot. It is gorgeous, high fashion jewelry that has been featured in dozens of fashion magazines.

You can check out my personal website at:

www.stelladot.com/emilybase

If there is something you love, I would be more than happy to email your significant other and give them a little hint! Just email me or leave me a comment! In addition, I wanted to let you guys know that through tomorrow, February 9th, if you spend $125, you get the Renegade Layering Necklace FOR FREE!!! That is a $69 value!

How to apply the discount:
1.  Place $125+ worth of product into your shopping bag
2.  Then, add the Renegade Layering Necklace to your shopping bag*
3.  Double check that the Renegade Layering Necklace is added to bag. The Home Office will not send out the necklace separately if necklace is not added to your order. No exceptions.
*Shopping bag must total $125+ before the necklace is added, discount of the Renegade Layering
Necklace will automatically apply when necklace is added to bag. No promo code necessary.
Quantities are limited. Limit one offer per customer.

Check out my website and let me know what your favorite piece is!! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at emilybase83 @ gmail.com.

Happy shopping!!!!

Fabulous Valentine's Challenge : Day 7

Jumping back on the challenge wagon after a day off yesterday... today's topic is to write about why I love blogging.  Well, let's go back to January 2011 when I started this blog. You can actually read my first post here. I read a lot of blogs, mostly recipe and home design blogs at first. Some of my favorite recipe blogs are Picky Palate and Two Peas & Their Pod. I thought well, since I read so many, I should try to start my own. Just for my friends and family. Basically I thought I would be less annoying to my facebook friends if I had a blog and didn't post 398 pictures of Oliver a week. So I came up with a cute name, Bases Loaded, which is a pun on our last name in case you were wondering and the blog was born! As you can tell from my header, this blog is about "everything you need to know about Emily, Eric, and a crazy dog named Ollie". I like pretty things so about a month of so in, I had my blog customized and I love having a fun and clean look!

 Meet Eric, Emily, and Ollie

So what is Bases Loaded about? Well… a lot of everything! My husband Eric and I got married on June 19, 2010 and I started this blog about a year ago to share our lives as newlyweds with our friends and family. Little did I know I would enjoy blogging so much and I would expand out into the blogosphere.

 You can see more pictures from our wedding from the recent Valentine's Challenge here

It has been about a year since I started this blog... a lot of posts are about this guy.

This is Ollie, our German Shorthaired Pointer, and the current love of our lives. No kids yet. Just the dog, but we love him lots! He is about two and half and just a big puppy! He can be the craziest dog or the most loveable dog. Within seconds. He definitely fills our lives with joy and we don't know what we do without him.

 I also run and blog about it....

You can read about my most recent half marathon here

I try to cook but who am I kidding, Eric is the real chef around here. I like easy recipes!

Here are some of my favorite recipes that I have posted. 

Cheesey Corn Dip Appetizer

Chicken Spaghetti 

Pork and Green Chiles Casserole 

Soft Brown Sugar Cookies 

I promise to start cooking and posting more!

Eric's family has a ranch and we enjoy going their to spend time in the country with the cows, horses, and donkeys! So you can expect some posts about life in the country!

As you can see we live a full and fun life! So blogging has become even more than just a place for pictures and recipes. I have found some great blogs out there and started making some blog friends even. I never thought I would actually have followers (strangers!). I thought I would never get past the 14 followers I got of friends and family when I started, and here I am today with like 65... Not huge, but wow, thank you to all of you that read and comment. I appreciate each of you (and the silent readers... Hi Mom and Dad!)

Thank you for stopping by!!

Fabulous Valentine's Challenge : Day 5

 Ashley is my oldest and dearest best friend. We have been friends since we were 3 years old. In fact my mom picked her out to my best friend! We have remained close despite living in different cities from 5th grade until after college. We always stayed in touch and once we both ended up working in Dallas we picked right back up where we left off! She and her husband are expecting their first baby (a girl!) in May! I am so excited for her and Jerad to start their new family! I love Ashley like a sister and am so glad she is in my life!

Brittany and I met in college at the University of Texas in Austin. She is part of the Crazy Trio! My college days would not have been the same with out her. After college she moved to NYC (loved visiting!), then back to Dallas (which was the best!), and just recently she moved to Kansas City with her fiance who is in medical school. I miss seeing her regularly!  Brittany is getting married in June and I am so honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! I could not be happier for her and Dave!

 Ashleigh is the third part of the Crazy Trio! She is a just a blast to be around and always a friend I can talk to. She moved to Washington, DC after college and currently lives in the Los Angeles, CA area. With her crazy work travel schedule I feel like we have still got to see each other lots over the years!  She in engaged to Scott and getting married in September! I can't believe all three of us will be married by the end of the year!

 Kate and I met working at my last job. She and I shared an office space and bonded pretty quickly over work stuff :) Kate is a Pennsylvania transplant in Texas so I quickly introduced her to my group of friends and she fit right in.  I love Kate because she is a great friend, who is always there for you, and is always up for a good time! I miss seeing her every day at work!

 The joke is I work places to meet friends. Karla and Tracy below are more examples of this. I met Karla and Tracy working at Sprint and we all became fast friends. They took me under their wing, showing me how to "work" from Kona Grill at North Park Mall. :)  Karla is a fun loving, crazy girl who also is always up for having fun. It is always a blast when Karla is around!

 Tracy is a sweet friend who is the mom to the cutest little girl Cate and two boys. She is married to Brandon and they are loving the family life. We don't get to see each other as often anymore, but when we do we make the most of it! She got married this past December and was the most gorgeous bride!

 Casey is another life long friend. We knew each other in preschool when we lived in Corpus Christi, but then she moved, I moved, and we both ended up in Plano in middle school and our dads worked together. We became best friends in middle school and drove our families crazy with our quirky friendship. Russian anyone?? :) We now live about four streets apart and it is great being so close. She is a great friend and one of my biggest supporters :) It has been a lot of fun getting to hang out with her and her husband Michael and their dogs, Rowdy and Max.

 I love all my friends and I am so fortunate we have such a big group.

Katie - you are always the happiest, most fun person in the group and we can always count on you to make something happen!

Lauren H - the quiet shy one at first but then lets loose and is a blast. I have really enjoyed getting to know you lately!

AJ - AJ actually is Brittany and Ashleigh's other high school best friend. She and I became good friends through them and I am so glad I have gotten to know her. She is fun and smart and my most fashionable friend :)
Lauren K - Brittany's sister who is the nicest person ever. I always enjoy talking to Lauren and can count on her to be the sane one in this crazy group :)

I am glad for all my friends who come in and out of my life. Some friends are only around for a short time and some stay around for ever. I cherish all the times I have spent with friends at all times in my life, even though we might not talk now. I enjoy the friendships I have made with Eric's friends' wives and girlfriends and hope those friendships only grow stronger. I am enjoying getting to know the girls in my neighborhood group and look forward to getting to know them better as we have kids and they go to school together. I appreciate the friendship my family shows me - my mom, my sister in laws, my cousins, my aunts. Those are friendships that are truly special.

I LOVE YOU ALL :)

Fabulous Valentine's Challenge : Day 4

Eric and I got married on June 19, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. The ceremony was held at Perkins Chapel on the Southern Methodist University campus, where Eric went to school. The reception was at the Warwick Melrose Hotel, also in Dallas. All pictures were taken by the fabulous Margaret Wolf of Moving Images Productions. I had a blast working with her on our engagements, bridals, and wedding day. I will have to share both (yes, two bridal sessions, one at the ranch, and one at the Melrose) on another day. Ok, I went over board. I knew it would. I hope you enjoy our special day! I obviously did! This is the story of our wedding day and I couldn't leave anything out!

 The Warwick Melrose Hotel, Dallas, TX

 Loved my bridesmaids dresses from Priscilla of Boston in Cornflower

 Writing a letter for Eric to open before the ceremony. That red bull got taken away later by my father when my prewedding anxiousness got the best of me!

 Eric's turn!

 All the boys hanging out before getting ready.

 Loved my flowers by Fete des Fleurs

 In the limo on the way to the church - pretty sure we are dancing to Miley Party in the USA!

 Gorgeous June day in Dallas

 The guys arrive

 All dressed!

 My parents, grandmother, brother and sister in law, and nephew Mason

 With my beautiful bridesmaids!

 My handsome groom! I love the solo pics she took of him because he does NOT like pictures!

 Eric with his parents and grandmother

 Such good looking guys!

 "in waiting" in the bride's quarters of Perkins

 My sweet mother giving me my great grandmother, Baba's, ring as my something old. This was a very special moment.

 Love my pop!

 My brother, Matt, and his son, Mason, my super cute ring bearer

 Waiting....

 Mason walked with his mom. That pillow is my mother's wedding dress!

 I love this picture because I am looking back at my mom.

 The church and everyone!

 You may now kiss the bride!

 Yay!

 Wedding party

 Mason!

 On the way back to the hotel

 Reception ballroom

 Delicious cake by Delicious Cakes

 I was ready to get in there!

 First dance

 Father Daughter dance

 We had PicFlips at the reception which was the most fun thing ever. They take a 7 second video of you and turn it into a flip book. Ingenius! Everyone loved it.

 Some of my good girlfriends!

 Yes, he smashed cake in my face.

 So fun!

 The sign says it all!

 "I got my hands up. They're playing my song! The butterflies fly away!"

 I just love this picture, Brittany.

 Mason getting down!

 My dad and I doing our signature moved, the washboard. It goes way back.

 As you can see, it turned into a dance party. Which is exactly what I wanted.

 Dance with my bro

 Sparklers!

 Is it really over??

The end to the most wonderful night ever!

If you made it this far, wow! Thanks! I know it was a lot. It was the best day and I could not have asked for anything different.  We have the best parents and family and friends and it was a perfect day that I will remember forever! I married the love of my life and for that I am forever thankful. The beautiful wedding was just the icing on the (yummy and delicious) cake!