What a whirlwind.

I couldn’t even believe I was given the opportunity to cover New York Fashion Week for Hey, Hey! Gorgeous… and with only a few days to shop!! I would be back stage and at the shows taking photos, watching closely, and interviewing some of my favorite names in fashion, makeup, and hair. I was so excited, and SO NERVOUS, I didn’t know what to expect.

I woke up at 6 a.m to get dressed and take the train into the city. Choosing my outfit very carefully, I put on my camouflage, midi pencil skirt from Anthropology with a leather shirt from Zara. For accessories, I wore two gold Jennifer Zeuner necklaces that go so well together! As for shoes, I wore my cool black pony hair and gold booties from Anthropology. I topped it all off with my signature Sandro half leather/half peacoat, and I was ready to rock New York, snow and cold be damned.

As per usual, I gave myself waaay too much time before my only show of the day, Marissa Webb, finding my way from the train to the mecca of fashion week, Lincoln Center, in only 15 minutes. With two hours to go, I parked myself in a window seat Starbucks across the way and watched the amazing fashions walk by.

When it was finally time to head into the Pavillion at Lincoln Center, I was overwhelmed by the booths and people bustling through the center. Free magazines, diet cokes, and Papyrus stationary was thrust my way, and I was eager to accept! Feeling the nerves, I avoided talking to new people, something that would definitely change as the week went on.

I took my seat for the show and watched as mauves, cool suits, and sumptuous reds traipsed down the runway. Taking notes, I was already forming the article in my head. Once the show was over, I headed back towards Grand Central, where the adventure would really being.

Proud of how easily I navigated the day, I confidently sauntered onto the train at track 23… not track 24, where my train back to New Haven was waiting. Realizing I had yet to eat since 8 in the morning, I munched on my power bar until the conductor collected my ticket. He stared at me and asked if I was going to New Haven. “Yes!” I said, wondering if maybe my off-peak ticket was going to cost me another $6. “Well,” he said, “you’re on the wrong train.”

“You’ll have to get off at harlem, and get on the next train back to Grand Central.” I felt so stupid. With a dead phone, I meekly asked the woman next to me to borrow hers so I could let my dad know when I’d be coming in. Boy, did I ask the right woman! She took out her schedule and found me a new way home, cutting the four hours it would take to get back to Grand Central and then New Haven, to just over two hours. I would get off the train with her at Scarsdale, take a cab to the next station over and take a train to New Haven.

We arrived at Scarsdale only to find a HUGE line at the taxi service. In fact, these were group cabs that take 4 Scarsdale commuters at a time back home. When a man came up to me and asked where I was going, I nervously told him I needed to get to Larchmont station to catch a train home! He left me before I could finish my plea. I was in trouble.

Or that’s what I thought. Two minutes later he called my cab! Winking at me he said, “I bet you weren’t expecting that, Larchmont girl.” Dropping off three others around town, I still made it to my station in time. Waiting, and freezing, on the outdoor platform for 20 minutes, I was finally able to grab a seat on the train that would actually take me home. Though I was originally supposed to be home by 8:30pm at the latest, I had now extended my trip to 10:30pm. And I still had to write!

The next day would go a bit more smoothly, but hey, at least it made for a memorable story.