A Tale of Two Cities...

The Windy City

The Big Apple (my sister took this pic. Cool huh?)

Cubs vs. Yankees, Sugar Bliss vs. Magnolia, The Bean vs. The Statue of Liberty, The Sears Tower vs. The Empire State Building, Oprah vs. Regis and Kelli (sort of), Pizza vs. more pizza....COLD vs. COLD!

We tried it all, we ate it all and we lived to tell the tale! Girls trip '09 was an absolute blast. I have a ton of pics, so I'll do the week in review with photos. Also, most of the pictures with people were taken with my sister's camera, most of mine are scenery. I'll share when she uploads....although I shouldn't flatter myself with thinking that you actually care, so I will probably just leave it with these!

The Oprah Show! It was a lot of fun, but I'll be honest, Oprah really didn't interact a lot with "the people". Tyra Banks was on and it was the live show about teen dating violence. It was in response to the Chris Brown and Rihanna issue. Oprah pretty much talked to Tyra during the commercials and didn't say much to the audience. It is pretty funny to watch a taping though and see the crew that runs out during commercials to fluff, primp, fix, touch up, hairspray and "fix" Oprah. I'm thinking, she only talked for 5 minutes and her hair needs another spray?? She is Oprah! And yes, she is Oprah, but she cannot walk in heels! Girlfriend did the most abnormal, excruciating walk (5 steps) EVER to her chair. She also admitted she wears a size 11 shoe! I wanted her Manolo's since she clearly couldn't walk in them, but size 11? Maybe I could put a pair of socks in the back...

Yes, we're tourists. I'm not sure why I'm standing so weird.

Sugar Bliss. The strawberry cupcake was to-die-for! I loved that they had the little baby ones. It didn't make me feel so bad when I had TWO!

In these next few shots I think I'm a photographer....indulge me.

I love this one...

Lunch at Minnie's in Lincoln Park. Everything was Mini and it was SO cute! These are our shakes. We laughed SO hard at the thought of my dad and brother eating/drinking here. As Kristen said, "Taylor would look like Buddy the Elf!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The parade was in Chicago on Saturday and they dyed the river green.

Our trip to the Navy Pier.

A beautiful church we passed on the way to Bloomingdale's. I'm not sure the name of it, but it was gorgeous!

Arriving in NYC! This was the tag that came out on mom's suitcase! Background: Kristen asked us to bring large suitcases to help her move a few things home. Well, Mom brought this huge, ugly, HEAVY suitcase, but SHE filled it! It was 54 pounds and the American Airlines people were nice enough to only charge her for the 50 lb bag. We were standing in the terminal taking things OUT of her bag and putting it into Nana's bag to make it lighter. When we got to NYC we laughed so hard when her bag came out marked "HEAVY! Please bend at the knees."

If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'. The cab dropped us off on Kristen's street corner at 10:55pm and mom and Nana made a bee-line to Magnolia Bakery before they closed to get our first round of cupcakes NYC style. Kristen and I were left on the corner to guard the bags. Pathetic. We know.

Mom and her Cruella De Ville sweater. We passed a shop that had her twin in the window!

Dennis Rodman's look-a-like skating in Central Park.

The precious Boathouse from 27 Dresses. Or from Central Park, however you associate it. :)

Traveling buddies

The early morning crew waiting standby for Regis and Kelli. We didn't get in, but we got free coffee, bagels, hot chocolate and a Regis and Drew Carey sighting. Not all was lost.

Shrek the musical. Very funny.

A little trip to Coney Island. We all virtually got frost bite, but it was fun!

Everything was closed down, but we had fun walking the pier. I hope someone cleans the area up and really revitalizes CI. It's has major potential.

Dear Mr. Trump,

Since I know you're an avid reader of "Life is Glam and Fab", could you please take pity on Coney Island and make it pretty again?

Thanks,

T-Rog

My life on the D-List: Celebrity sightings....

Sam Champion. Weatherman extraordinaire! He was so cute and very nice. Mom: "Austin, Texas LOVES you!!"

Drew Carey. He was on Regis and Kelli and we saw him going into the studio. Kristen literally RAN to catch up with him and got him to take a photo with us. It's on her camera. :)

Michelle Aguilar. Winner of Biggest Loser Families. I didn't get a pic with her because she was on my plane to Austin yesterday. It was going to be really hard and awkward and I wasn't in the weird-and-awkward-but-worth-it mood.

And finally, as promised, the first thing(s) to touch my lips once I was back on Texas soil. God Bless Texas.