NYC and Philly Adventures

So PRIOR to the audition fiasco I spoke of yesterday, I actually had a very nice weekend with old friends. Christy Banker and I headed up to Philadelphia on Friday night to see our friend, Shannon West, who was in town doing some presetations for her work. (She demonstrates techniques and ideas for a rubber stamp company out of Provo, UT. Stampin' Up! I'm serious. And it's quite fascinating AND she is very good at what she does.) We got to see 2 of her presetations, and then just spend sometime with her catching up and eating and talking and laughing!

On Sunday, Christy headed home, and Shannon, her co-worker Amanda and I headed to New York City. We met up with my friend, Brandon, who was also on the East Coast for work, and we all went to see XANADU on Broadway (which really is ridiculously fun and well worth the visit!), we went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Vynl, and we walked around and explored the city. This was Brandon's first trip to the Big Apple and he wanted to experience as much of it as possible.

Anyway - it was a great weekend...up until Monday morning at 9:50am. But then again, is that how MOST weekends are? REALLY great until Monday? I rest my case.

Here I am...a rare blog sighting...heading up to the STAMPIN' UP regional meeting. I'm looking like I just rolled out of bed. I very well did. Don't judge.

Here is Shannon at the begnning of her first presentation. YES, she has a crown on her head. YES, I know it's blurry. And YES, she IS on a jumbo-tron. Lucky Shannon.

A couple of shots of Shannon presenting...and the THRONGS of people watching. 500+ each day of a 2 day conference. Wild. You know what I like to say....STAMP-IN' UP!

Queen Shannon, post-presentation. (And color accented...)

Christy and Shannon share a smile for the camera.

Christy tries her hand at stamping. She was a natural, folks.

After Shannon's first presentation, Christy and I went out to explore the Reading Terminal Market....

and decided to lunch at a lunch counter called Dinic's Roast Pork and Beef....

and it was DELICIOUS! Christy shows off her pulled pork and steamed spinach sandwich.

And here is MY roast beef and steamed spinach sandwich. HONESTLY folks...forget about Philly Cheesesteaks if you're in Philly. Head to Dinic's. This sandwich CHANGED Y LIFE!

Shannon celebrated her East Coast trip with stops at H&M's in Philly, NYC and Washington DC.

It's B&W. SO? It's ART, people! I call it: Shannon Ponders H&M.

Shannon also took us to the outside of the Courtyard Philly so she could try out her dance moves on us.

Art. I call it: Shannon's Dance.

We got to NYC the same day they did the Broadway on Broadway concert in Time Square....and THIS is the confetti aftermath of that concert.

Brandon Christensen makes his NYC/Central Park debut!

Brandon celebrates having ALL of Broadway Ave through Time Square to himself.

Check OUT these awesome buildings and how they reflect the clouds! Beautiful day in NYC.

Amanda and Shannon in line before heading in to see XANADU!

And Shannon, IMMEDIATELY after the show and her on-stage-sitting experience. She is POSITIVELY glowing with excitement and love for the show.

Shannon and one last look at the Xanadu theater. She OFFICIALLY became a FANadu of Xanadu.

Brandon, Amanda and Shannon celebrate a great day in the Big Apple! (Infront of Vynl - where we had a delicious dinner....AND saw Anne Hatheway. It's true. Don't be jealous.)