Chicago+Me= AMAZING
So the trip was the experience of a lifetime. I had so much fun shopping on Michigan avenue! We almost got killed crossing the strret. I got hit on by a cab driver. We found this great little church in the middle of all of these highrises and shops that was amazingly serene and it had this courtyard with this little patch of grass and allof these amzing trees and plants and a fountain in the center. Really cool. We stayed in a hotel above an apparel buying mart where the conference was being held. It was amazing. My room was on the 22nd floor, one below the top, and we had a fabulous veiw of the city, the sears tower, and this river that ran right next to the hotel. my friend brittany and I had dinner at the rainforest cafe and then we went across the street to the rock and roll Mcdonalds where the had this bistro with leather couches and really expensive decor and we bought gellato. It was so amazing. I would have never believed it was a mcdonalds had i not seen the golden arches on the exterior of the building.When we returned to the hotel we sat and watched the city below. the traffic and boats on the river, planes taking off and landing in the distance. That was all on thursday. On friday, we woke up and went to starbucks. The city streets were so alive and i felt like i was part of the city sitting in the cafe watching the flow of trafic drinking my frappacino. We went back to the hotel and registered for the conference and entered the ballroom to listen to the keynote. Audrey Smaltz, owner of the Groundcrew, a professional dressing company that runs the backstage of fashion shows for all of the major designers of today, was the speaker. She was breath taking and inspiring. then we had breakout sessions with some pretty major names in fashion. One of the sessions i attended was given by the owners of MIchael and michael, the #1 hair dressers in chicago. The were the official hair sponsors of chicago's first ever fashion week this fall. super amzing. then I met up with brittany for lunch which was shitty so we decided to go to a bistro down the street. When we entered the elevator we were face to face with AUDREY SMALTZ! I was star struck but she was so nice and we complimented her on her talk and she was very gracious. How cool is that?! And as if that weren't enough, Austin scarlett, a favorite of mine from season 1 of project runway was giving a talk at the afternoon session. After being mualed by a crowd and an hour wait i somehow found myself in the 2nd row less than 15 ft from someone i am completely in awe of, he is one of my heroes!During the session I was selected to ask him a question and I actually got to speak to him. I was extremely excited. I nearly passed out, my knees were shaking, i was light headed. i felt like i was meeting elvis. It was crazy and inspiring and amazing. The fashion show rocked my socks too. all in all it was an amazing experience. definitely worth it and I couldn't be happier.