As Angie and Greg made plans to attend Fashion Week, I knew I would have to find a way to make it to the NY meet up. Maya offered to make breakfast and lunch reservations. It’s no small task to find space for a big group in NY. Lisa reached out to everyone on the forum to finalize our guest list.

I had to get up extra early to catch a 6:30 train to the 7:30 bus to land in Soho at a decent time to meet the group. That wasn’t a problem. I was so excited to meet my YLF family that I popped up out of bed at 4:00 am! I checked the weather to figure out which of the 16 versions of outfit possibilities was going to to be the right choice for the day. Luckily it was going to be a bright, sunny day so I got to wear my first choice NYC Blackout outfit! The day was already starting out great.

I got off the bus at Penn Station and had this feeling that I would see a huge group of fabulously dressed YLF’ers. There are so many well dressed people in NY, this method of spotting YLF wasn’t going to work! I called Lisa and made my way down to Soho to meet the group. I missed breakfast with Tara and April but was able to meet up with Maya, Lisa and Angie for some morning shopping. As I walked into Zara, I immediately found my crew. There they were, Angie instantly recognizable with her beautiful smile and blonde pixie haircut, Lisa’s NAS boots and Maya’s pretty face and jet black hair. Anyone who’s had the the chance to meet with people they only know online knows this feeling. It is shocking at first to see your online friends in real life. They are different and beautiful and interesting and multidimensional in ways are difficult to convey in an online forum. We laughed as we hugged, like old friends but meeting for the first time.

We spent some time shopping in Soho. What a treat to shop with Angie! She can instantly spot the best items in the store, figure out if they are worth your time and money, and she knows how to style them immediately. As I fumbled with a black obi belt at Club Monaco, she popped one on, tied it tight and rolled one around my waist in a matter of seconds. I bought it as a souvenir of my trip to New York City. We had some fun feeling up the gorgeously tailored coats and softly structured bags at Prada on the way to lunch.

Greg, Janet, Lisa’s husband and Sheila and her husband joined us for lunch. It was great to meet YLF’s behind the scenes man. We had a rowdy lunch in the basement of a restaurant full of NYU students, talking and laughing like old friends. After lunch Greg got to work taking action photos of our group. I was so excited to meet my YLF family, I forgot to take pictures the whole time! And as if that wasn’t enough YLF family fun, Auburn, who was in town from San Francisco, met with us for tea at the W hotel! Thank you Angie and Greg for coming all the way to the east coast for fashion week and setting aside a day for all of us. This forum, and especially Angie, have had such a profound impact on my life since I joined. I am so grateful to you all.

What a FAB day! Just look at all these lovely ladies!