{My Trip to NYC} Part Three :: Martha Stewart's Bloggers' Night Out!

I apologize for my delay in reporting back on the amazing experience that I had visiting NYC! Things have been crazy busy here at The TomKat Studio! So here we go....
As you may have read, I was invited to Martha Stewart's Bloggers' Night Out event, held at Martha's headquarters! After my last minute shopping excursion (read more here), it was time to head to the event. Here I am waiting for a cab! Melissa from Project Nursery spotted me and took this picture!..... Flash forward....15 minutes. No cab. No cab. No cab. The hotel door man can't even get me one. Frantically, I went across the street to try to hail one in the right direction. No luck.
PANIC. I NEED TO GET TO MARTHA STEWART.
I did not want to be late. I was invited to come up early and I did not have time to be delayed. All of a sudden, this young guy says...need a ride?
Ummmmm.....well.......
"HOP IN.........MY BIKE."
Really? Really?
I mean, it's hot and humid and I'm all dress up, hair done, fresh makeup, little dress, high heels...and you want me to get in the back of a pedicab? I've never been in one, so I though it was more for tourists taking slow tours. I didn't realize it was a viable means of transportation!
Well, people I would do anything for Martha....so I JUMPED in!
I wish I had a video of this. I called my husband from the pedicab and yelled..."I'm on my way to Martha....in the back of a bike!" All of a sudden I looked up and yelled..."I think I'm in Times Square!" It felt straight out of a romantic comedy where the girl is rushing through the busy city, trying to get to her true love before he marries the wrong girl. Guess what? Instead of being 30 minutes late taking a cab, I was 2 minutes early! Bless that guy who gave me a ride and swerved through 100 taxis to get me there! I took a few minutes to compose myself and freshen up (in the men's room, girl's was locked) and then called up to meet the lovely, Courtney of Martha Stewart! Whew.
Courtney invited me to come up early before the event (I felt so special!) to chat and meet other fabulous event planners, Tara Wilson of Tara Wilson Events and Stephanie Grimm of Couture Parties! I have worked with Tara on several television segments (here and here) and Steph and I have been chatting online forever! It was such a pleasure to meet them, along with Courtney and her friend, Anne Marie of Perfect Bound. We met up and then took a tour behind the scenes of MS Headquarters! After the tour, it was on to the big event! There were beautiful displays from Martha Stewart Weddings in the hallway on the way to the event location! Gorgeous cupcakes, cakes, craft projects and more! All of a sudden, I was walking right behind Ms. Stewart herself! Sadly, I did not get the opportunity to have my photo taken with her. She only took a few photos with fans and then decided no more so that she could enjoy the short time she had at the event! She welcomed us all and talked about the various Martha Stewart blogs. Inside the party, there were tables and booths set up by the various Martha departments. Of course, I went straight to the craft department table and tested out some of their new punches coming out! For more photos of the event setup, visit the Flickr photo pool! The best part about the event was meeting some of the amazing women who have inspired me to create this business! Not only was I steps away from Martha, but I finally had the opportunity to meet my idol, Amy Atlas. It was such a pleasure to meet her in person. She was so sweet and everyone was flocking to meet her. She told me that she was proud of me and loves how aggressive I am when it comes to my business. I was so happy to be able to thank her in person for the wonderful exposure and opportunities she has given me. Next time I'm in NYC, I hope she'll let me take her out to lunch! I also had the amazing opportunity to meet and chat with Darcy Miller, Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Weddings! She was so friendly and sweet to everyone. I told her that I style children's parties and she asked for my card! (thrill!) Meet my new best friend, Stephanie of Couture Parties. Stephanie and I hit it off immediately and stuck together during the party. We were even interviewed on camera about the event! Stephanie is a super talented event planner in Newport, Rhode Island. We ended up going out to dinner together after the party and had a great time! We could have talked for hours about ideas, parties and business! Love you, Steph!Here I am, right at home at Martha's Headquarters! After the party, we were waiting sitting in the lobby waiting for some friends and I just didn't want to leave.
It felt so surreal being in Martha's building.
Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll be back!
I also had the opportunity to meet some of my fans and fellow party girls!
See collage photo at beginning of post! From top left:
Kate of Kate Landers Events
Tanya of Save the Date for Cupcakes
Stacy of Scrumptious Swirls
Kristy of Posh Pixels
Megan of The Decorated Cookie & Amy of Amy Atlas Events

Center: Amy Atlas, Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart

It was truly a pleasure to meet you all!