Surreal Sundays
One of the best parts about my trip to New York last weekend was taking my sister Caitlin around to all my favorite spots. It was her first time in Manhattan, and we made sure to hit just about every bakery on our must-eat list. We spent the morning before the Adaline premiere traipsing around Soho, TriBeCa, and Greenwich Village...come to think of it, these photos were shot one week ago today. I always end up on this street in Soho for outfit photos when I'm in New York, but the blossoms at this time of year made the setting another level of dreamy.
Aritzia trench coat, Lulu*s tee, J.Crew Pixie pants, Zara ankle boots, Kate Spade Saturday handbag, Ray-Ban sunglasses
Speaking of another level of dreamy, let's discuss the Age of Adaline afterparty following the premiere. It was held at the Metropolitan Club on the Upper East Side (look through the pictures. Gossip Girl allovertheplace). Caitlin and I took a cab from our hotel after freshening up post-movie and pulled up to paparazzi piled at the door. We handed in our tickets and slipped inside and were met with the grandest and most fabulous party either of us had ever attended. Ice sculptures, crystal chandeliers, marble this and marble that, and Hollywood's finest in tuxedos and cocktail dresses. It took us an hour just to take it all in. Champagne in hand, people-watching was our favorite activity, especially when we realized the young-Harrison-Ford lookalike actor, Anthony Ingruber, was standing right next to us and UNFORTUNATELY I realized he was to be my future husband a little bit too late and chickened out of saying "Hi, I loved the movie, great job blah blah blah."
I first fangirled a little when I saw Michiel Huisman, who I became familiar with last year watching Nashville, so when he walked right behind me and his perfect white suit brushed my arm all I wanted to do was call my mother (my Nashville viewing buddy) and be like "Mom. Liam from Nashville just walked behind me." However, nothing quite compared to when the woman of the hour, Blake Lively, walked into the room. A mob flooded the entrance and cameras flashed everywhere while Caitlin and I stood behind the crowd and took it all in. It's a pretty surreal feeling to see someone in real life that you've watched in movies or read about in magazines. My encounters with celebrities have been few and far between, but this one, I believe, tops them all. Isn't Hollywood weird? I mean...celebrities, man.
Once the press had snapped all their shots, Blake took photos and chatted with fans and then moved into the next room. Everyone followed her. Caitlin and I circled around the back and headed in through the other door when we realized D E S S E R T had been laid out on the tables. So there we were, treating ourselves to lemon something and fluffy little mocha cakes next to Blake's mom Robyn while ardent fans followed Blake around the room. Doesn't this all sound just...insane? I'm shaking my head and just about laughing as I type this all out. Blake made her way into the next room as I stood there thinking about how strange it was that all these people were following this woman around just waiting to say hello or take a photo with her. Then, I realized I totally owed it to you guys, my readers, to say hi and get a photo with her myself! Here I was, at The Age of Adaline premiere in New York City at a party with the star. Anthony Ingruber was one missed opportunity, and I was not about to make Blake the next.
So I popped into the next room behind the crowd, and there was Blake Lively taking a photo with a fan. I waited by the photographer while Blake said prolific "thank yous" to the crowd as she continued to make her way through it, only to be stopped by some studio exec offering her kind words about the movie and her performance. And then I was standing next to her. Shoulder to shoulder. Her perfect Monique Lhuillier ensemble was touching my little Heartloom romper. I MEAN, BESTIE CONNECTION, RIGHT? She finally wrapped up talking to the men in suits and I'm all, "Excuse me, Blake, could I get a quick photo with you?" And instead of saying no or sure or fine, she smiles and goes, "Yeah, let's do it!" So here we are, me and Blake Lively, cheek-to-cheek for a quick second before I told her that I loved the movie and a big congratulations. "Thank you so much," she said to me, and then I went back for more dessert.
Caitlin and I floated back to our hotel that night. I don't consider myself to be celebrity-obsessed (anymore, that is...that's what my teen years were for), and just the experience of getting to be in my favorite city, getting to see these once in a lifetime things like what a red carpet is really like and the super-posh Metropolitan Club in Manhattan, and experiencing a true whirlwind, dreamlike trip gave me memories I will never forget in this lifetime. I don't apologize for the run-on sentence and I don't apologize for the length of this post. I want to share every detail with you because you are the reason I get to have these unreal experiences. Thank you for supporting me and my dreams of becoming a writer, creator, blogger and successful young woman in a modern world. You guys are the best.