This past weekend, I had a fabulous surprise! For Beck's 60th birthday this year, my Dad got the two of them tickets to the Grammys. To say I was a tad jealous would be a colossal understatement. Actually, I felt the trip was slightly wasted on them when little ole me would appreciate it SO. MUCH. MORE.
Imagine my surprise and delight when Friday my Dad called and said, "okay, hop on a plane..I got you a ticket!" Yippee!!! While I was thrilled to go, I was sent in a tailspin. I needed to spray on a tan, mani/pedi and figure out WHAT TO WEAR. Basically, I had one day to get fabulous. Because I am me, I MIGHT have had a dress dry cleaned in the off chance that Dad would come through and invite me. You can never be to prepared...
I left Saturday and after being stuck in Dallas traffic for 2 hrs I had to valet (because that was the fastest option) RUN in the terminal and by what was a small miracle, I got to upgrade to first class. You may be wondering why this is so important? WELL, after being in the car for 4 hours and then having another 3.5 hr flight...that would be 7.5 hrs without eating...this prego would STARVE! Basically I was thrilled because in first class you get a meal.
Sadly, my luck seemed to go slightly south when I was seated next to a professor who was only to happy to talk my ear off. During the flight he had 2 Bloody Marys', and FIVE glasses of red wine. Awesome. His topics of choice included, Obama and why he loves him, weather patterns in the US and his upcoming conference in Australia....oh. my-lanta...shut up...please! I finally arrived at the hotel at 11:45 pm. What a whip!
The next morning (GRAMMY DAY!) Dad, Mom and I went to breakfast then went on a walk to get a little exercise. We walked to the Beverly Hilton where there was tons of media due to Whitney's passing as well as Clive Davis's party the night before. We then walked through the neighborhood and I immediately called Slade and said we needed to move HERE. The houses were amazing, the flowers were blooming...basically it was my happy place.
We had to leave our hotel at 2pm to head to the Staples Center for the show. The Grammys start at 5:00 sharp and you have to be in the building by 4:30. First, we went to the Ritz/JL Marriot which is right next to the Staples Center. There were people all over the lobby and in the hotel bar having a drink before heading over to the show. Since I am with child, I did not partake, but we sat down, had a drink and people watched. I thought the airport was good people watching....ohhh how wrong I was. LA during the Grammys brings out ALL kinds!
Originally, my ticket was not very good. Due to the diverse group of performers, tickets this year were even harder than usual to get. However, in true Tommy fashion, Dad found the only guy scalping that hadn't been arrested and got me a MUCH better seat! It was when we were waiting for Dad that Mom and I were approached by a Chinese News Station and asked to give an on camera interview on our thoughts about Whitney's passing.
I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. The three of us begin to be interviewed by the nice lady and when they get to Mom, she starts to get a little emotional talking about Whit. Oh dear...
The follow up question is can we possibly sing a few lines of our favorite Whitney song? Am, I being punked? Talk about feeling like you are in the twilight zone....We politely declined. I wonder if it would have made me a star in Shanghai?
We make our way into the Staples Center and immediately I realize that this is where I belong. The beautiful people in beautiful clothes, the stars, the cameras, all of it...it was like the mothership calling me home.Those stars who gripe and moan about the red carpet and "fame" in general...Puh-lease! Walk on a red carpet while people yell at you how fabulous you are and how beautiful you look...SIGN ME UP! What, Ryan Seacrest, you want to interview me....sure! You want my picture? No prob! How would you like me to pose?
outside staples center
Dad and I
Mom and I
Red Carpet
Anyway, back to reality. We went into the Master Card suite before the show and it was fun. A bunch of cast members from the Bachelor were in there...
The show was AMAZING. So cool to see so much talent in one room. I sat next to my new bff Sona. She is about 50 and from Atlanta. She has her own company and does charity events across the country. She did an event for the Grammys and now is a member of the Grammys so she has been coming to the show for years. She was a wealth of knowledge and so much fun to sit by!
Dad got us FAB seats
After Party
Mom and I at after party
All in all, it was an amazing experience and I feel so lucky to have gotten to go...now I want to go back next year!! My one regret is that I didn't take enough pics!
