Last week I took a little break from my regular routine (work, blog, work, maybe workout, sleep, repeat) for a quick trip to New York. And even though the trip was go go go from start to finish, it still felt like a break. I’m pretty sure that can be attributed to the fact that I not only abandoned work responsibilities but I was also kid and housework free. Definitely a break from the ordinary.

But enough of those boring details and on to the fun stuff. My trip centered on attending LuckyFABB – Lucky Magazine’s conference for fashion & beauty bloggers. This was my third FABB and more than anything, it was an excuse to hang out with some of my favorite blogger friends that I only get to see once or twice a year.

To keep things concise, I thought I’d adopt the David Letterman method and give you all a top 10 of my favorite New York moments. Starting with…

10. A solo stroll through NYC. Wednesday I had the day all to myself so I took to the streets to enjoy a walk around Manhattan. I wandered aimlessly from Rockefeller Center down to Times Square over to Bryant Park back up to Grand Central Station and over to the edge of Central Park. It was nice to walk with no where in particular to go. Added {random} bonus: Spotting of fellow Floridian Jeb Bush.

9. This Panel, Specifically Alisa Gould-Simon’s, style. The very first panel of the day featured some pretty enviable style – both inside and out – from Gabi from GabiFresh, Erica from P.S. I Made This… and my new style crush Alisa Gould-Simon co-founder of Pose. Basically her look was the epitome of effortless, cool girl. Pretty obsessed with her boots (which she tweeted me to say were a HauteLook steal) and necklace but mostly just envious of her thrown together chic style that I certainly cannot pull off.

8. Crushing the Paige booth with Beth. Beth and I were partners in crime at the conference and one of our first stops was the Paige Denim booth where we basically showed the photo booth how it’s done. And by how it’s done, I mean the complete opposite. Either way, it was hilarious, fun and super awkward which is how I like it (that’s what she said). I think it goes without saying that we did not win any of the prizes they were giving away.

7. Kate Bosworth. This California girl can be described in three words: beautiful, chill, radiant. Seriously, her skin was glowing – not sure if it was her new wedded bliss or the shine from her gorgeous TopShop collaboration – but either way, girl was a true beauty. My blogger gal pal Nikki saved us front row seats which gave us a birds eye view of her flawless skin. The proximity also tempted me to leap on stage and steal her amazing Stella McCartney heels.

6. The Lou & Lex What Wear Reunion. I think that maybe only Alex’s family are prouder of her than me. I couldn’t have been more excited when Alex started Lex What Wear and my excitement and pride swelled to extremes when she took the plunge and moved to New York. Catching up with her was amazing and I loved hearing about how successful she has been in the big city. She’s working hard and it’s great to see it paying off. I’m just bummed I didn’t get to stop by her place. Next time for sure.

p.s. – sorry about the less than great picture. it’s all I got!

5. Dinner with Friends. One of the trip highlights was grabbing dinner with an amazing group of gals on Thursday night. Lauren from PRBlonde organized a delicious and fun dinner for 15 bloggers – that included old friends like Nikki from My Style Diaries, Beth and Ashley from SideSmile Style alongside gals like Hallie from Corals + Cognacs, Jessica from Bows & Sequins, Kristen from Living in Color Print and Jenna from The Over Analyst.

It was really fun to met girls who’s blogs I’ve been reading for a long time while catching up with (aka laughing my ass off) with friends. Getting to do stuff like this is what coming to these events is all about and I’m so glad we all got to take time to drink wine and chat.

Photo: Seersucker + Saddles

4. lucKYfabb Kentucky girls were taking over the place. It was so fun to catch up with Shelby from Glitter & Gingham while meeting Jordan from Opal & Violet, Krista from Southern Shopaholic and Whitley from Simply Whit.

But best of all was taking in the two days of fun alongside Beth. I’m sure you all get tired of me gushing on her but we had way too much fun and I wish she lived in Louisville instead of Lexington. It also didn’t hurt that she let me raid her suitcase whenever I needed something something to finish off my outfit.

Photo from Opal & Violet.

3. Eva Mendes. Talk about girl crush. Not only is she insanely pretty (that bone structure!) but she seems like a crazy cool girl. Definitely someone you would want to be friends with. No wonder Ryan Gosling is a smitten kitten.

She was on hand to talk about her new collection with New York & Company which features pieces with her signature lady-like style. It was fun to hear about the process of designing the collection but it was way more fun to hear about her love of thrift shopping and scoring a great deal. She also did an impromptu head scarf tutorial that made looking fabulous look so easy. You’d want to hate her if she wasn’t so darn adorable.

2. Laughing non-stop with Nikki. Sometimes you meet people and you just click. That’s what happened with Nikki and I when we met in LA in April at the West Coast LuckyFABB. Thankfully for my pictures and my celeb gawking, she was on time and saved us some killer front row seats but even better than the unobstructed view was getting to share snarky commentary all day. I also got to live vicariously through her when she got the stink eye from Anna Wintour herself.

And while we may have only hung out a couple of times, she’s one of those people you feel like you’ve known forever. It’s just a major bummer that she lives way too far away. Thankfully text messages and a constant stream of instagram commentary keep the snark flowing. I think we’re also going to work on some more collaborations so stay tuned for that.

Photo from My Style Diaries

1. Catching up with seriously old friends. Everything about this trip was fun but by far, the best part was getting to catch up with friends from high school. Everyone needs a good dose of reality and no one serves it up better than the people who remember you with braces, a lollipop head and painfully out of proportion limbs. The night was a combination of old stories, catching up and hearing about their exciting NYC lives while filling them in on life in the bluegrass (mostly me trying to convince them to come to Derby).

So there you have it. My New York adventures in a nut shell. I’m guessing the majority of people gave up on this essay around #7 but if you made it this far, well bless your heart. The good news is, I left feeling excited and energized about this little corner of the interwebs so I promise to step up my game and bring some fun, new stuff to lou what wear.