Goodbye '10...hello '11

2010 was a fantastic year for us. In fact is was our best year yet. As we are celebrating the new year tonight, we thought it would be fun to take a look back and a quick look forward.

Highlights of 2010

Mexico
We started off the year by performing several shows for the Pioneer Corporation in Cancun, Mexico. We kicked off our new show option where we perform a 90 minute dueling pianos show followed by a 90 minute dance party with our band (drummer-extraordinaire Glen Schricker and guitar-god Chris Vazquez). We got to perform and stay at 5-star resorts down there and even had a few days off to explore. We took a trip to one of the 7 wonders of the world, Chichen Itza. Our time in Mexico was a definite highlight of the year.

Vegas
We performed several times in Las Vegas this year at the world famous casinos on the strip. We always enjoy the chance to head to Sin City...but are always very happy to get home.

Space Needle
We had our first show at Seattle's landmark, the Space Needle. The view was spectacular, the load-in challenging, and the show a lot of fun (it was for BP - pre oil spill).

EMP
We also had our first show at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. It was a great venue to perform in...and just one night after Heart played on our stage!

Repeat Business
This was the year of repeat business for us. We had several companies and organizations who asked us back for a 2nd, 3rd, and in one case, 5th repeat performance!

Fantastic Hotels
We had the opportunity to stay in some of the nicest hotels and resorts this year. We are definitely spoiled in the accommodations our events take us to. This year we got to stay at the Ritz in Naples, the Bellagio in Vegas, the nicest resorts in Cancun, the Westin in Chicago, a penthouse suite in Playa del Carmen, just to name a few!

No Cruise Ships
In the 9.5 years Jeff and I have been together, this was the first year we did not step foot on a cruise ship. We can't begin to describe how great this is! In fact, in the last two years, we have only done one five-day cruise. We are very much enjoying the next stage of our career.

A Very Microsoft Christmas
This holiday season was our busiest one yet. We had 7 corporate parties just in the first half of December. Many of these were for the Microsoft Corporation. We are lucky to have such a huge, successful company in our backyard (especially one that throws so many great parties!)

Corporate Success
Over the last several years, Jeff and I have created the perfect corporate show. We take all of the best aspects of the dueling pianos concept, add our own twist, adapt for any audience and event, and the result is a show that keeps our audiences asking for more. We are extremely proud of our show and believe it is the strongest of its type.

Looking forward to 2011...

Next year is already shaping up to be just as exciting as 2010 if not more so. Just in the first two months of the year, we have shows in Seattle, Vancouver, Mt. Hood, Phoenix (at the Biltmore), Houston, New Orleans, Charlotte, and San Fransisco. We are also looking forward to performing in Switzerland in the spring and then vacationing in Paris.

Happy New Year to all!

Vegas, baby!

We have had the busiest holiday season yet and a highlight of the season was a show we had at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. The event was for Bridgepoint Education and we had a blast! Our show was part of a multi-day conference where they had entertainment each day, including a performance by Cirque du Soleil. We were the last night of the event after a 5-star dinner and the award ceremony:

This is a photo taken with my phone from the back of the room. If you look really close, you can see our pianos way up on the stage. It was pretty great having two large screens projecting video of us (especially for those audience members way in the back). The ballroom of the Bellagio is absolutely gorgeous and the decor was just stunning.



Backstage of the show



Our greenroom. They had A LOT of soda for us.


Another greenroom shot.


A video of backstage

Being Christmastime, the Bellagio was beautifully decorated for the holiday season. Below are some photos from the 'garden' of the casino:

We are fortunate that our job takes us to some of the most beautiful places in the world and we get to stay in some of the most beautiful hotels in the world. The Bellagio is definitely high on the list of gorgeous rooms....

The hallway leading to our room.

Our room (we were upgraded to a suite!)

Bathroom

Bathroom 2

After our show in the ballroom, the company had a *sweet* after party in The Bank. They rented the entire nightclub in the casino and partied into the wee hours of the morning. Below is a not-so-legal video we took...

We make several trips to Vegas a year for work, but this was definitely up there for us. The client was great and we had such a wonderful time.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Chicago

In October we had a show in Chicago (see previous post). As I wrote, we were there for a very short period of time but the city left a huge impression on us. We were lucky enough to have a show in Iowa over the Thanksgiving weekend which left us the opportunity to spend a couple more days in this magnificent city. We stayed at the Westin River North which is extremely centrally located, and we put on our tourist hats and scoured the city. Below are the highlight photos from our trip. Enjoy...

Making a Starbucks run on Michigan St before heading out for the day

With our limited time, we decided to take a double decker bus tour through the city. Best idea! Not only did we get to see everything, we got to see it with no obstructions! I highly recommend taking in a city this way. Of course, since it was late November and cold, we were the only people sitting on the upper level.

This is the Presbyterian church on Michigan. It was featured in the movie 'My Best Friend's Wedding.' Beautiful old architecture in the mix of the high rise buildings.

This is the Wrigley Building. Note the walkway in between the two buildings. So cool!


Another view of the Wrigley Building

A view of the city. The building in the middle is the Hard Rock Hotel. The top of the hotel is gold (they call it the champagne bottle) and just stunning. It was originally the Carbine & Carbon Building.

Jeff at the front of the bus. Seriously, the best tour...look at our view!

As I said, we were the only wacky people who sat up top in the freezing cold!

Jeff's favorite building in the city...the Chicago Tribune. The interior is amazing as well.

Part of the Michigan bridge

The Navy Pier! Okay, so we would probably enjoy this more during the warm months of the year, but at least we didn't have to deal with crowds!

Another view of the Navy Pier. The ferris wheel in the background is a replica of the first ferris wheel created (an original Chicago invention).

On the bus again! One person joined us up top for a total of 2 minutes.

Pretty!

My free sample of the famous Garrett's popcorn. Seriously tasty!!

The famous Chicago sports announcer, Harry Caray, has a few restaurants around the city. Lots of cool memorabilia inside.

Another picture of the Navy Pier!

One of the best view of the city!

We traveled 100 stories up the John Hancock building as we were told it was the best view in town. This was absolutely true! A must do if you are in the city. Here is a view from above.

I picked up a second job washing windows.

Made famous by SNL, we ate at Billy Goat's tavern. Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger!

Jeff had....you guessed it...the cheeseburger. I had a ham sandwich with a fried egg on top. SO GOOD.

YUMMMM!

One of our favorite activities of our trip was going to see a show at Second City. For those of you unfamiliar with this theater, it is a comedy group that has launched many of Saturday Night Live's most talented performers. The show was outstanding. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. Worth the trip in itself.

At the pub across from Second City after the show.

Half price bottles of wine!

We finished our stay by taking a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago. What a stunning art gallery! It reminded me of the Parisian museums. This is the set of stairs that goes up to the exhibits.

The farmer and his wife. American Gothic.

This painting is...so...choice.

We have officially decided that Chicago is our third favorite city in the country: 1) Seattle 2) Boston 3) Chicago. We had a fantastic time in the windy city and can't wait to go back!

Florida

I am horribly behind on my blog posts mostly due to our wonderfully busy holiday season. My hope is to get all caught up before the end of the year (emphasis on *hope*). This post takes us all the way back to September when we had a corporate event for Berkshire Life in Naples, FL. The event was at the Ritz Carlton in the tropical oasis that is Naples. Needless to say, the hotel was incredibly beautiful:

View of the resort

Photo of the entrance of the resort

The resort's 'driveway'

At the front of the Ritz with our drummer, Glen

Glen checking out the beach

Jeff & Glen near the pool

Work never stops...Jeff on a business call

Our room

The event called for our band show that we have done several times this year. We perform a 90 minute dueling pianos show then bring our musicians onstage and play an hour dance party set. It is an amazing formula and we love every chance we get to do it.

Having dinner in our green room before the show

One of the best client provided pre-show meals ever. Lobster, filet mignon, and soufflet for dessert. Yum!!!

Post-show photo with the boys

Awwww....

Post-show drinks compliments of some of the members of Berkshire Life

One last trip to the beach

After spending a couple days in Naples, we drove to Ft Lauderdale to see some of Jeff's family. Then we drove north to spend a few days at Disneyworld. Yes, you heard me right. We figure it had been long enough that we could actually enjoy the happiest place on earth again. And boy did we ever! We stayed at the Ft. Wilderness Lodge on Disney property. I highly recommend this onsite resort. It is perfectly located and the pool is awesome.

We hit every park a couple times during our stay. Jeff ran into several people he knew during his time working at MGM Studios (now called Hollywood Studios). My favorite ride continues to be Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster, but the newish Everest roller coaster at Animal Kingdom was a close second.

Giraffes from Animal Kingdom

I had to do it

We had a great time in sunny Florida. It was fun to be back in our old stomping ground. Afterall, without the magical world of Disney, Jeff and I would never have met!