New York Bakeries

One of my absolute favorite things about New York is there are bakeries everywhere. I love just about any sweet there is but I especially love chocolate! Two Little Red Hens is right beside my apartment. I passed it every time I went home, so you can imagine how many times I went there. My favorite thing to get is their Harvest Cookies. They have dark chocolate chips, pecans/walnuts, cranberries, raisins and other dried fruit. The carrot cake cupcakes are also amazing. Another one of my favorite bakeries is Magnolias. There was one I could walk to from work, but I preferred the one on Bleecker Street in the west village. I prefer everything in the west village over midtown.

Regis and Kelly Round 2

During the week Laura Lee was here I decide we had to try to see Regis and Kelly. We woke up at 5:15 and left my apartment by 6:00. We decided to take a cab, which my mom and I figured out was the best idea after we made the trek over to 67^th and Columbus Circle. We got there just in time to be first in the standby line. It was dark and windy, but definitely worth it!

They filmed 2 shows that day. Anderson Cooper and Kelly did the first show and then Mark, Kelly's husband, came for the second show.

Everyone called and texted after the show saying they saw us on TV! So I got my dad to record it for when I got home to watch it. I was almost done with the whole show and did not see LL or me the entire time and then it hit me Anderson Cooper gave the entire audience crack pie from his favorite bakery on 2nd and 14th street and they must have filmed us eating it. How embarrassing...

Anderson Cooper and Kelly Rippa. Anderson's mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, was also in the audience a few seats down from LL and me.

Please click on the picture to see it bigger and notice how Anderson Cooper is staring directly at me! He came over and talked to me about my boots during one of the commercial breaks.

Hugh Grant

Judy Dench

Mark!! Show #2

Jude Law

The second show was filmed for the week of Christmas so they gave the entire audience diamond earrings and a cashmere sweater, scarf, gloves and hat!!

Gossip Girl

The one thing I wanted to do before leaving New York was to see Gossip Girl. The day Laura Lee came to New York Gossip Girl was filming. As soon as she got to my apartment, we went to Chelsea where they were filming to see if we could find them. We found all the trucks, but didn’t see anyone famous, so Laura Lee found someone working in one of the many trucks parked on 3 streets. She asked him where they were and what was going on. He showed us a sheet with all the scenes they were filming that day, where they were filming and what actor and actresses were in each scene. We saw from the sheet that we had already missed Chuck Bass, but everyone else was still there.

Then a different crew member came up to us because he could hear out southern accents. New York people love southern accents. I will miss the attention I got just from talking. He told us to come with him. He showed us which trailers belong to which actors. So, we were standing outside Chace Crawford’s trailer with the man, while LL told him that Chace and her were getting married and so on. Then the guy looks behind him and then looks back at us and says Chace is coming. LL and I were in shock and the guy runs off, because he shouldn’t have showed us or told us all the things he did. Chace turned the corner and was walking toward us. LL and I just stood there. We had no idea what to do so we just stared at him. As soon as they got close enough to his trailer, that we were still standing outside of, the body guard immediately said not now ladies, not now. And then Chace looked at us and said no we can take one. So we took out our cameras, while the body guard was still yelling hurry up ladies, we don’t have time for this. We got 2 pictures. LL closed her eyes for her one chance at a picture with Chace. She will never forgive herself. We ended up seeing Blake, Leighton, and Taylor that day.

The crew members told us to come back that night because they were filming outside. So of course we came back for a scene of Jenny drunk and stumbling and a scene of Nate and Serena getting into a limo.

LL, Chace and me outside his trailer

LL closing her eyes

Finally an Update

I keep getting request from all of you to update my blog. So here is a quick update. I would have done this sooner but everything was so busy during December with all my visitors!

Brittany came to visit again! We both love Christmas and everything that goes along with it! We tried to see as much as possible in one day that is Christmas in New York.

Everywhere we looked that day there were Santas. I finally had to take a picture because they were seriously everywhere. This is in the subway.

Tree at Rockefeller Center

Outside of the Plaza Hotel

Me, Brittany, and Brittany's friend from high school Sammy

Live with Regis and Kelly

My mom and I decided to wake up at 5:40 Monday morning and try to get into Live with Regis and Kelly. It worked! We had to wait in a standby line from 7-8:30. Then they sent all the standbys through security, but they still didn’t know if they would have room for all 20. My mom and I were numbers 10 and 11 in the line. At 8:50, 10 minutes before they start filming they brought us in! It was well worth getting up early and waiting in line.

We were the audience for Monday’s show, but we will also be the audience for December 29, 30 and January 1. Those are all vacation days for them so everything is prerecorded. It’s crazy how they film! It was so exciting to see it all! Regis and Kelly were the exact same on camera as off camera. I always wondered what they did during commercials and they stayed out and talked to the audience!

Laura Lee and I will definitely try to get in to the show when she comes to visit!

Before the show started

Regis walking to work

Matt Dillon

Thanksgiving!

I have gone to my aunt Ann's house in Rock Hill for Thanksgiving for 21 years. This was a big change to stay in New York and have Thanksgiving here. My mom, aunt, uncle and cousin came to NYC for Thanksgiving. My mom was here for almost a whole week! We did so much this weekend. I showed them everything I knew to show and then my cousin, Elizabeth, who has lived here for 3 years showed them around too. She always has the coolest places to take me! I love walking around the city with her. I was terrible at taking pictures this weekend, but I got a few of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then one of all of us on our stroll through Central Park. I had a great week/weekend, but missed my dad and brother!

Ugly Betty

I work on 39th and 7th Avenue and Ugly Betty happened to be filming on 29th and 7th today! It was interesting to watch. They were filming America Ferrera walking down the street over and over and over. She is very pretty and a lot tinier than I thought.

Roxy and Erin from The City!

I met Roxy and Erin from The City tonight! They were both really nice!

Work Day

I’m trying to remember to have my camera ready everywhere I go. I found these elves on motorcycles at Union Square on the way to Jodi’s store the other day.

Since the time has changed this is now what it looks like when I leave work. My mom and I have the worst sense of direction. I have been here for almost a month now and I still have to think when I get to 7^th Avenue which way do I turn. I know to go towards the lights of Times Square, so it makes it easier!

2nd Weekend in NYC

Jamie, my roommate, has been telling me I need to eat New York pizza, so for her birthday Saturday we ate pizza for lunch. She swears Totonno’s is the best pizza place in our neighborhood. We all split the pizza in the picture. She was right it was very good.

Saturday night we went out for her birthday and then I went to a place called Ship of Fools where a bunch of Clemson Alumni were watching the Clemson game. My friend, Krystal, has a friend Bryn that started the Clemson Young Alumni group. They get together for all the games. It was a lot of fun, but I will definitely have to find somewhere else to watch the Carolina Clemson Game, but I have heard there is a Carolina bar downtown somewhere!

Sunday was an adventure. I did laundry for the first time since I have been here. I was thinking it would be similar to washing clothes in Manning, my freshman dorm. It was nothing like that. The machines were smaller, Amanda wasn’t there and you can’t leave your clothes and come back. I do not plan on doing it again until my mom comes for Thanksgiving. It really wasn’t that bad after I asked a million people how to work the machines and where everything was. I will be a pro next time! After that, I met Bryn at Union Square and we went to the Young Designers Market, which I had heard a lot about and was dying to go to. It was very interesting. I got this ring. I can’t put up pictures of the other things I got, because they are all Christmas presents!

Next we went shopping at Mango, where I got these cute leggings! Then we went to TOPSHOP!!!! I will do a better blog post on that later, because that places deserves it’s own post.