Reality Bites....

Smack!

Reality just punched me in the face...

I returned home late last night...

Me:  "Um, where is my pillow top mattress with the white feather comforter and the billowy pillows?  And the bottled Pierre water on my night side table?  The remote to the 42 inch flat screen hanging on the wall resting on the edge of my fresh bed sheets that have been turned down for me?  Where is the silence?"

Hottie Husband:  "Welcome home baby!"

Me (whiney voice):  "I don't wanna be home...." 

I stomp my foot.  My lower lip juts forward into a pout and I tightly cross my arms.

Whatever.

I just returned home from a week long adventure, and reality just punched me in the face.

It started with a business trip to New York City, I landed at LaGuardia airport around 3:30 pm last Sunday.  Dinner that evening was at a local Mexican restaurant and during my meal a man was tasered by the police for acting like he was going to pull a gun from his coat pocket...."welcome to New York!" were the words floating through my head as I reached for my camera to snap a few photos! 

The hotel that I stayed in while in NYC was called The Muse...it's a Kimpton hotel....and it was UN-BELIEVEABLE!!!  Here are a few photos of my room...

Monday I started my morning early....dropping in on a prospect that I had met with back in May when I was in New York that I haven't had much luck getting in touch with since.  I was so glad I decided to drop by...it was the beginning of an AWESOME day of business in the Big Apple!

Monday evening I met up with a friend that lives in New York and she treated me to dinner at an Asian restaurant called Buddakan, the same restaurant where the rehearsal dinner scene in the movie "Sex and The City" was filmed!!

Tuesday morning I jaunted down to the small coffee shop on the corner of 46th and Broadway and as I stood in line for my cup of Joe I looked up to the gorgeous face of Duane "The Rock" Johnson...OMG!  There he was, in the flesh....his forearm brushed against mine....if I didn't have OCD I wouldn't have ever showered again!

Tuesday evening, after another successful day of business, two of my favorite clients took me out for an evening of dancing!  It was a BLAST!!  We ended up going to a dance club owned by Jay-Z (Beyonce's better half) and I honestly believe that I burned around 5,000 calories dancing!  It was SO MUCH FUN!

Wednesday morning I awoke to the news of an incoming snow storm...a MAJOR snow storm...in fear that I would be stuck in NYC if I waited to fly out on Thursday (my original plan...and by the way, being stuck in NYC is not a bad thing...except when it comes to OPRAH)...I changed my flight and boarded a plane to Chicago....well, sort of...I boarded a plane to Chicago after a THREE HOUR delay!!!

Wednesday evening I (finally) landed in Chicago around 10 pm. I was greeted at the hotel by my mother's college roommate and best friend, along with another friend...the Park Hyatt Hotel in Chicago....

Do you hear the angels singing?!?!?.....

Thursday the three of us met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant and then went shopping in Chicago while we waited for my mother's plane to land. When my mother arrived that afternoon all four of us went to the AMC Theatre for a special Oprah viewing of an Oscar nominated movie titled, "The Single Man" starring Collin Firth (one of the guests on the Oprah show that we would attend the next day). After the movie (which was AMAZING) we went to dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Luxe...it was delicious!

Me, Draza & my mother...

Me & Anne (my mother's best friend)...

Friday morning we met for breakfast and then we headed to the Oprah show!!!  Even though the show wasn't being taped until 2 pm we were instructed to arrive no later than 10 am.  We waited in a holding area in the Harpo Studios for THREE HOURS!!!!  No cell phones, no cameras...they emptied our purses....this is when I started to get over the whole Oprah infatuation....seriously. 

FINALLY they took us into the studio on the set of the Oprah show!  The set is very small compared to what it appears to be on the television....we were rallied for approximately 45 minutes with up beat music and lots of laughter....

And then....

Oprah walked out on the stage.....ABSOLUTE MAYHEM....the audience went W-I-L-D!!! 

She walked out in flip flops..and then a stage hand came out and she held onto him as he placed her feet into a pair of 4 inch Jimmy Choo shoes....(note to self:  get stage hand and Jimmy Choos)....

Taping began immediately.  The Pre Oscars Show....first guest was Roger Ebert....what an uplifting story and an incredible spirit he has....if you are not familiar...google it.  I SOBBED the entire time he was on stage!!

Next up was the lead actor from the movie we had previewed the night before, Collin Firth....WHAT A HOTTIE!

After the commercial break Oprah introduced Tom Ford, former designer for Gucci and now director of the film "A Single Man" (again, the movie we previewed the night before)....OMG....HE IS DELICIOUS!! (but gay)....

Another commercial break and MORGAN FREEMAN....LOVE HIM!

Just before the show wrapped up Oprah made an announcement that Sprint wanted everyone in the audience to take home a brand new, top of the line, newly released cell phone!!!  You would have thought she said, "I'm going to pay all your bills" or "I bought you a house...", everyone was jumping up and down, screaming, hugging the person standing next to them....as I stood there and thought..."great, a Sprint cell phone....um, got anything AT&T?"  It was completely useless to me...I don't use Sprint...and no free phone in the whole world, even from Oprah, was going to get me to change over.  That sounds selfish...so let me redeem myself here....I am very grateful that I got to see Oprah in person, in her studio and she gave me a gift.....even though I felt she was completely disengaged from the audience and I can't use the free gift.

After the Oprah show we shopped the Oprah store (of course) and I spent a ridiculous amount of money (would you expect anything less) on an "O" pink (again, a shocker) sweatshirt that I am now on day three of wearing....(the OCD in me is feeling very attacked right now).

That evening we ate at Ralph Lauren....no, not the clothing store....but YES, owned by the man that makes the clothes.  It is a restaurant in Chicago that has AMAZING food and a quaint and rustic atmosphere....and Oprah frequents the restaurant...so it kept with the whole "O" theme for the day!  ;)

Saturday morning was our last breakfast in Chicago, followed by one last shopping spree and then off to the airport!  We landed late last night and this morning is when reality hit....

8 year old: "Mom....Jack hit me!!"

9 year old: "He hit me first!"

13 year old: "I hate these jeans....I have no clothes....MOM!!!  I need jeans!  I'm not going anywhere!"

Hottie Husband: "We are out of coffee....here is a mug of ice water..."

Me (eyes closed, clicking heels): "There's no place like New York and Chicago, There's no place like New York and Chicago...."


Before I wrap up this post I would like to leave you with two last photos....the first is a photo of the grocery store that I would shop if I lived in Chicago...(and by the way Mr. Mayor of JC, if you are reading this post, I fully expect for JC to have this grocery store within the next year....it's totally up my alley)!

And...the name of the street that I would live on if I lived in Chicago....(again, Mr. Mayor of JC...I would like to change the current name of my street to the below):