More Surprises from Bethenny Frankel: Part II

And we’re back! I am continuing to recap my fabulous weekend away in New York. Where I left off was right after the show taping. If you missed my post yesterday, quick go and catch up here: A Surprise from Bethenny Frankel!

I definitely didn’t plan very well because I hadn’t packed any food to last me from 7:30 am until 12:30 pm. That is a long gap of time for me to not eat. Remember I’m a small meals throughout the day kind of gal whenever I can be. By the time I got back to the hotel to meet Dana who had just gotten in to NY, I a was extremely hungry. I was super excited to see Dana too!

We headed out on the town in search of food. I can’t even remember the restaurant we went to but I can tell you that I felt like I couldn’t get the food in fast enough. We shared a bison burger and a taco salad.

ny food

I was now energized and ready to explore the city for a couple of hours with my hubby.

We walked over to the Plaza Hotel where Home Alone: Lost in New York took place. What an absolutely gorgeous hotel. I googled hotel rates for the Plaza out of curiosity and it was something like $1500 a night. Pocket change, right? 😉

We walked the sidewalks, passing all of the fancy stores; Michael Kors, Coach, Tiffany, Saks, etc. Eventually we made it back to our hotel. It was time to get ready for the next event: the premiere party!

We got all glammed up and headed down to catch the shuttle. The shuttle took us from our hotel right over to the party which was in Chelsea.

melanie dana bethenny party

Right after we took that photo outside, Bethenny drove by and yelled hello to all of us and said we were all looking mighty sexy! She is so real and I love it.

Once we got inside the Minnesota crew bombarded the photographers. We had to get a MN Group shot! Represent! Bethenny MN Group

And then a couple’s shot.

Bethenny NY Dana and Melanie

We then followed the pink carpet into the main party area. The number of staff that were at the event blew my mind! There were so many of them; all with food or cocktails in hand. They were an amazing team.

bethenny party pink carpet

A lot of these photos are professional ones (not mine) taken at the event. They were taken before the crowd came in which is why it’s so empty in the next couple of photos.

bethenny party set up

As always there were plenty of Skinnygirl cocktails to go around…

bethenny party bar

And lots of delicious appetizers…

bethenny party food collage

We all hung out, enjoyed some music, and relaxed while we waited for Bethenny’s arrival.

The woman who sings Bethenny’s theme song “Calling All My Girls” came out and played for us for a while! She was pretty hard-core and there was some fist pumping happening for sure.

opening band bethenny party

melanie bethenny show

Shortly after, Bethenny made her grand entrance looking more beautiful than ever. Seriously she is so darn gorgeous!  bethenny  bethenny party close up    bethenny

She thanked us all for being there and supporting her and then she revealed yet another surprise to us all.

Salt-N-Pepa were in the house!!!!

Yes, Salt-N-Pepa who we all know and love from growing up. They make you wanna Shoop, Push It, talk about Whatta Man (what a mighty good man)….

And they are looking better than ever!

Bethenny Salt N Peppa

They still have the moves, they can still rap like it’s nobody’s business, and they know how to get the crowd hyped up!

Bethenny Salt N Peppa 2

I was giddy!

melanie bethenny show

I couldn’t wipe that grin off my face if you paid me. We jammed out to Salt-N-Pepa, totally on cloud nine until it was time to go. We ended up taking a taxi back to our hotel and on the ride back I got a phone call.

I won $500 in free Cosmedix products! Could this evening get any better?!

Cosmedix was one of the sponsors of the event. Cosmedix is an eco-friendly company. They “use the finest natural ingredients, uniquely refined for maximum effectiveness, our products work with your skin to target the most troublesome skin conditions—from acne and rosacea to sun damage and hyperpigmentation—without the irritation or downtime of conventional treatments.” source

bethenny party sponsors

I had signed up to win free products but never in a million years thought I would win. I’m just not usually a lucky person. I should have went out and bought a lottery ticket that night! They are going to mail me my prize and I will have to remember to show you everything I won once I get it. So exciting!

So we made it back to the hotel yet again. I changed out of my dress into comfy clothes and comfy walking shoes. The night wasn’t over yet. We headed out to meet my cousin Stephanie who lives in Queens. She kindly agreed to meet us in Times Square.times square 2013

Dana and I were in need of a bite to eat so Steph suggested we go to the Stardust Diner which is a diner where the waitstaff sings and performs for you. They have incredible voices and will someday hopefully be on Broadway. I loved every second of being there: being with Steph and Dana, hearing great singing, and continuing on my “high” from the events of the day. I was one happy girl.

melanie and steph ny

stardust ny times square

I didn’t want it to end. It was such a magical weekend. I went to bed thinking wow, did that really happen? I am thrilled to relive these memories with you all right now, although the memories still seem like a fairy tale dream.

Thank you to Bethenny Frankel and her incredible staff for making this happen for me and so many other lucky individuals. I am so happy to be able to support Bethenny and support the show!

Continue Reading More Surprises from Bethenny Frankel: Part II

A Surprise from Bethenny Frankel!

Oh my gosh, I’m overwhelmed thinking about writing this post because I have SO much to say and I want to make sure and give you a complete run down of my incredibly amazing weekend. Seriously, this weekend felt like a dream.

To those of you following me on Twitter and Instagram, you probably have some idea of what I was up to these past few days. If you’re not, come and follow me!

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a woman named Meghan who works in Public Relations for the Bethenny TV show. Remember a month ago when I went to Bethenny Frankel’s Calling All My Girls cocktail party? It was the same gal who had contacted me about that party. The email’s subject line was ‘One More Surprise.’

Mind you, I am opening this email on a Wednesday morning before work. I quickly opened the email and read that the surprise was that Bethenny was sending me out to to New York, flying me out, putting me up at the W Hotel in Times Square, sending me to watch a taping of her show, and inviting me to her premiere party!

WHAT?! I emailed Meghan back and asked her if it was for real. She said YES! What do you think? After a crazy day of finding someone to work for me, getting all of the necessary papers over to the Bethenny team, and shuffling a few other things around in my schedule, I was finally able to tell them that I could go! I had a week to get ready for this amazing opportunity! Was this really happening?!

Fast-forward to a week later: Thursday, September 5th.

After a couple of flights, a taxi ride, and some motion sickness, I arrive in style at the W New York Times Square hotel.

W New York Times Square

I have to say I felt a little bit like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when I first arrived at the hotel. I was in comfy jeans and a baggy cardigan from the flight and I felt like everyone else there was dressed to the nine!

The staff at the W made me feel right at home and got me all checked in. I headed up to my room with an envelope in hand; I knew what was inside the envelope and was so excited to open it! As soon as I got into my hotel room (actually room #2 because there was a little bit of a mishap with the first room they gave me—someone was still in the room), I opened it up. Inside was a note from Bethenny welcoming me to NY and thanking me for supporting her through this exciting time in her life. There was a $200 gift card inside too! This is why I say the weekend was a dream…

gift from Bethenny

 

There had to have been at least 50 of us staying at the W on behalf of Bethenny. She is so generous! As I was overwhelmed with this greeting, I was also overwhelmed by the views from my room!

 

W Times Square W Times Square W Times Square W Times Square

It’s Times Square! Right there!

W Times Square

I probably said “Is this for real?” about a million times while on this trip. After a while of ooing and awwwing over the views, I got myself together and headed out on the town to do some exploring. I had been to Times Square a couple of times prior to this, so it was nice to be able to go out very leisurely and explore versus feeling like I needed to go see everything! 

I made a stop at the M & M store of course and got myself a bag of Peanut Butter M & M’s. This will be in my heaven someday. Of course, calories won’t count in heaven.

M & M

I also bought a huge salad from down the street of my hotel. Before heading back to my room I made one last stop at Forever 21 and just about lost my cool because of how crazy busy it was. So. many. people. everywhere.

salad

 

It was time for me to relax. After I ate dinner and some chocolates, I made my way to the hotel gym. I didn’t have the right shoes with me, just my Privo’s, but I still managed to crank out some weights and some walking on the treadmill.

After my cool and easy workout, I went back to my room and got cozy. Like real cozy. I showered and snuggled up in the fancy white robe.

Melanie relaxing W Times Square

I gawked at the nighttime views, read a magazine, painted my nails, and relished the moment.

 

W Times Square

 

A girl could get used to this!

After a terrible night of sleep and looking at my clock every hour on the hour, I was up and at em’ at 5:30 am. I scarfed down a make shift breakfast: an apple with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter.

melanie w times square

 

After a short panic attack about a stain on my shirt, it was time to go to the taping of Bethenny’s show!

melanie w hotel times square

 

The shuttle picked us up at the hotel at 7:30 am to bring us over to the show. Btw I was on my own at this point (Dana was meeting me in NY later in the morning), but I met some amazing people! The group I hung out with all weekend was the Minnesota group (you’re right—we are kind of a cliquey state). It was comforting to be with them! Minnesota nice isn’t a lie. I love these girls (and guys!).

Bethenny Show with Kristy Bethenny show with MN gals

 

Once we finally got into the set of the show the staff got us all hyped up by playing dance music, talking with us, and giving us countdowns to Bethenny’s appearance. Her set is ADORABLE. I can’t wait for you all to see it!

After what seemed like an eternity, it was time for her to make her way to the stage. We all went crazy when she finally arrived! The show was taped from 10 am-12 pm. I can’t divulge any info about the show I saw but I can tell you that it will be on September 16th on Fox 9 at 3 pm and that it is a lot of fun! I don’t think you will be able to see me at all because I was on the very left side (if you’re looking from the stage) but look for me just in case! It was a blast being there. There was such an incredibly supportive and fun energy in the room!

Bethenny is hysterical. She is witty, genuine, and is so so much fun. She has no limits to what she will say or do. I highly recommend you check out her show!

Guess what?! The premiere of her show is TODAY!

premiere bethenny

 

Set your DVR to Fox 9 at 3 pm everyone. Nick Cannon will be on and apparently he teaches Bethenny how to dance (okay, how to twerk). I’m sure it will be highly entertaining. You know I’ll be watching it!!

It’s weird that I’m getting all jittery and excited again as I relive the moments of the weekend in this post. I have SO Much more to share but in order to keep this post from becoming novel length, I am going to have to split it into two separate posts. Can you handle it?! There is more coming your way tomorrow. A lot more. Dana will arrive in NY, we explore the city together, and attend a jaw-dropping cocktail party!!

Continue Reading A Surprise from Bethenny Frankel!