I <3 New York!

But, as much as I love New York- I love home even more.

The past week has been a whirlwind of events. My Lovebug's Birthday Bash and of course, packing for and driving to New York.

Wednesday, after waking up at a rediculously early time, after not much sleep. Hubby, Lovebug, and I headed out the door to meet up with Corrie, Little E's Momma, and her Momma. An hour of driving later, and we met up with Melissa, Multi-Tasking Mama. Thankfully, Lovebug was so good for the drive up. She slept most of the way, and when she wasn't sleeping, she was playing with Daddy. He was a good sport and moved to the backseat to keep her company.
I, unfortunately, had to drive the entire way. Hubby is excluded from my car insurance, to keep the cost down, and we just didn't want to chance anything happening.

Around three pm, we pulled up to the hotel. After a minor communication error as to where the parking garage was and a small accident (I hit a parked van trying to merge onto a busy road, oops), we made it to the parking garage and back to the hotel with our things. After taking a short rest, and Lovebug getting a bite to eat, we decided to head out and explore New York! Minus hubby. He wasn't too interested in seeing the sights, so he stayed behind.

I was a little worried about toting around Lovebug. I had her in my Dittany Baby Mei Tai. But still wasn't sure about having her in a cab, sans car seat. It turns out, it IS legal to have a kid in a cab, without a car seat. As long as they are in the back seat. Which is something I didn't know when we got into the first cab.

The first cab driver was super sweet, but was still a little crazy behind the wheel! We headed over to Tiffany's (of course!) and then walked to F.A.O. Schwartz, where I picked up an adorable teddy bear for the Lovebug. From there we visited Dylan's Candy Bar.

Dylan's Candy Bar is a candy lover's dream. I had seen this place on TV before, but it wasn't until we got in there that I actually recognized it. The frugal side of me decided not to purchase anything there. It was so expensive. $13 for ONE pound of candy? I don't think so. It was still neat to look over all of the cool items in the store though! Dylan's also has a display case set up. Celebrities come in, choose their favorite candies, and then sign the little box! Can you see the signature on this one? That's right! It's Martha Stewart!

After Dylan's we headed back to the hotel. Unfortunately this cab driver was the worst of them all! He was speeding up to forty, then slamming on the breaks. Our necks hurt when we got out of the cab. Lovebug had managed to fall asleep through it all though. At the hotel, we prepared to go out for dinner and to the tweet up at the Roger Smith Hotel! This was going to be my first real time away from Lovebug. I love her so much, but Mommy really needed a night with the girls!

Dinner at the Roger Smith Hotel was pretty good! Expensive, but good! We only stayed at the tweet up for a short time, it was just so loud! Then Little E's Momma, her Momma, and I headed back to the hotel for a drink!

Lovebug was missing me by the time I got back to the room, so I got a quick shower, and after some tears on the Lovebug's end, we headed to bed. Thursday was going to start early, and then we had to make the long drive home.

It was really rough to wake up Thursday morning. But the excitement of The Martha Stewart Show got me through. After getting dressed, we made the chilly, but short walk to the studio.

Getting up early paid off! We were the first four in the line! Plus, we got our picture taken with Joey! Shortly after that we were let in and got our tickets. We also had the chance to browse The Martha Store. I was able to get a signed copy of one of her books, as well as a sweatshirt, since they were BOGO! I saw so many other bloggers that I recognized. It was sort of crazy, so I only got the chance to say "Hi!" to a few.

Dagmar and I in the holding area.

When we finally got to the set, I was amazed at how gorgeous it is. And how many people it really took to get the show going! Everyone was doing something! Straightening up the craft table, tons of camera people, etc. Wow! We we were seated, my jaw dropped, we were in the second row, on the floor. AMAZING seats! We were going to be | | this close to Martha, freaking, Stewart!

The rest of the show was just great. I tweeted and blogged from the audience. You can still look back at all of the tweets from audience members, just by searching #blogshow on Twitter!

Martha was really nice! And even took a few questions after the taping was over!

We headed back to the hotel, and the other girls stayed back as they had a few more places they wanted to go. Hubby and I decided to get on the road, so we wouldn't be driving late at night. We got turned around a few times, but finally made it past the Holland Tunnel and it was smooth sailing from there!

I had such a wonderful time! I hope to go back soon!