NYC End Of Year Celebration

 We met in the Safeway parking lot. I told the girls to dress in layers, wear comfy shoes and to plan to spend 15 hours with me. We jumped into 3 cars, crossed an intersection, parked again and then got on a bus. We sat down and I told them we were going to NYC. Then I told them we were going to see the Rockettes! Yay!

5am touch-ups

 It's still dark out!

We headed North on 95 and I had one more surprise! I handed out $5 to each girl. The only catch is they can't spend it on themselves. They need to pay it forward. Buy the gal behind you coffee, pay the toll for the person behind you, donate the money, anything that will make the world a better place.

 The sun is coming out! Time for some more pictures!

 

First stop: Times Square

 Second stop: Starbucks

 Third Stop: Buying some goodies from the street vendors.

 Fourth Stop: Elmo and Tweety Bird

 Fifth Stop: Team Photo

 There is something very magical about NYC during the holidays. The decor is so festive that it is so hard not to sing Jingle Bells all day!

 Oooo Kara...she is going to hate me for this one!

Lindsay capturing the famous tree. 

 Sixth Stop: Rockefeller Center

Moving along....

 Seventh Stop: LUNCH!

 We had a quick 30 minutes to grab lunch before our show. We enjoyed salads, sandwiches and soup from a very yummy cafe.

 Due to the normal crowding in the city we decided to park it on the floor....

 ...and then we got kicked out because the floor was private property. So we enjoyed our lunch on the stairs.

 

Mmmmmm

 Eighth Stop: Radio City Music Hall

 Remember this...you will see it again later! Take note: Mullet is coming back!

 Inside Radio City

 Team Photo

Yay for ornaments!

 Bathroom break...

Who doesn't have a bathroom picture?

Serena...well she is AWESOME!

 Getting ready for the 3D part of the show!

 How cool!

These ladies are spectacular. We enjoyed every minute of the show. Highly recommend!

 Happy faces after the show! We took up an entire row!

 We LOVE the Up-Do's team!

Ninth Stop: The Plaza Hotel

Loving the pink Betsy Johnson Tree! 

Shopping? Yes please!

LOVE! Can you tell some of us got our Bronzedberry spray tans on before our trip?? Hehe!

Thankful for Steffani's phone charger. You would be surprised how quickly your phone dies when you're gone all day.

 Tea part at Eloise's store.

 Danielle was the first of our group to pay it forward with her $5. She gave it to a lady who was buying her daughter a doll. Instead of accepting the $5 and using it for her daughter, this nice lady donated it to the charity that Eloise's store sponsors. She then came and told Danielle what she did. So sweet!

 

Central Park and a very interesting hairstyle and lip color on the lady to the left. 

Tenth Stop: Break dancers who were almost as entertaining as the Rockettes. 

See the girl on the left? Red scarf, breaking it down? Yep, that is Lindsay. She may have done your makeup before. She volunteered to be a part of the show. One of the amazing dancers jumped over the distance of 6 people lined up. It was fun to see! A New York experience for sure!

For people in the wedding industry, this window display is so inspiring!

 We can all drool over Harry!

 ....ah remember the fun picture from above? Well... we were exhausted on the ride home... to make it more entertaining Mindy volunteered to let me do her hair....check it out. We recreated the stylish mullet without hairspray or tools. I did cheat and had a few bobby pins in my pocket.

 and for fun....this is all natural.   Can you imagine what she looks like in the morning? :)

 The real reason for our trip to NYC was to reward our team with a fun end of year celebration. Our team is dedicated in bad weather, sniffles, coughs, break-ups, baby deliveries and on happy days. We are so honored to share a wedding day with a bride and thrilled that they have invited us to be a part of their big day. This day was for us and for us to be together. It's not often the entire team is together in a room. We are on-site at different times. This day in NYC reminded me of why I am so lucky and blessed to be in the industry. I work with creative, inspiring and loving people. Without these girls (and a few that couldn't make the trip), we wouldn't be able to help make the world a more beautiful place. Unfortunately we forgot to hand our card to the lady with the mullet in line. Happy Holidays! Thank you for a great year! 2012 is already shaping up to be amazing!