Butterflies in the City

Yay I finally made it. When I arrived in Newark, I headed down to baggage claim, only to find out that my luggage wasn't there. They had told me that this possibly could happen but it was unlikely. I wasn't sure what to do. I had never experienced this before. So I went to the claims desk to file for it. Once I handled that I made my journey into the city. It was some what scary taking the trains so late at night, but I was kind of familiar from being in the city just over a month ago.

 Although nervous, I was still excited. I had finally made it and even though it was later than when I thought I would be arriving it was still before Trae :) Well Brad met me when I arrived to the hotel, we went to grab me a few necessary items since I didn't have luggage. And then it was time for bed. I was so exhausted from traveling but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. All I could think about was Trae and how after 20 days I was finally going to be able to see his face smile at me, smell his cologne, feel his arms wrap around me as he kissed me.

I missed all these things so much. I missed him. I woke the next morning early, Brad and I grabbed some coffee and headed to SoHo so that I could find something to wear for when Trae arrived. All morning I was so nervous, and excited like a little kid on Christmas morning. I bonded with Brad that morning, showing him some of the city, having breakfast and eagerly waiting for Trae's arrival. It was really nice that he helped me surprise Trae. As we waited in the lobby I was constantly looking at every door that opened hoping that it would be the man I so desperately couldn't wait to see, until there he was...he turned the corner and I felt a rush flow over me. I had missed him so much, and there he finally was in front of me.

The surprise was great, my heart was racing and I could feel the love melt me away as he kissed me. This was what I had been missing on my days spent traveling. We took Trae up to the room to get settled. Once he unpacked and settled in we headed down to see if my luggage had arrived to hotel yet and NO it didn't.

SO we then left for lunch at Justin Timberlake's restaurant Southern Hospitality in the upper eastside... it was pretty good. After lunch we headed out to Times Square where we went up to a bar that over looked the square and had a few cocktails.

It was nice to see the city from there since it was raining. Later that afternoon we went to visit with some of their family that lived in the city. Their place was so awesome. We spent the evening with them and had a wonderful Italian dinner, after dinner we headed back to our hotel to get some shut eye. When I got there I checked to see if my luggage had arrived and YES!! it did!!

I was so relieved and ready for bed after a long amazing day!! I remember laying down next to Trae and feeling him wrap his warm arms around me, I was the happiest girl in the world, I just drifted away in peaceful dreams.

The next day I got up to do a quick photo shoot and met the guys for lunch and shopping down in SoHo it was such a fun day. The shopping in New York is like NO other. All of the little vendors with such unique stuff and crowds of people. I really enjoyed spending that day with them. That evening Brad wanted to take me to Harlem for a little soul food dining experience. We had dinner at Sylvia's.

The menu was full of savory mouthwatering dishes, it was hard to choose. I ended up having the bbq salmon with mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. The best thing though about soul food restaurants is the sharing! We all ordered different things so we could taste as much as possible!! After dinner I was so full, but we walked around Harlem and went by the famous Apollo Theatre, then headed back to the hotel. I wasnt quite ready to call it a night, so Trae and I walked down to the Hardrock on Times Square for a couple drinks, it was so amazing to spend time with him in the city.

The next morning we went shopping some more and just walked the city. Later that evening we headed back over to visit with their family and have dinner. It was so delicious and also very enjoyable learning some of the families history. It was the perfect way to end the weekend.

I have to say that I have been to NYC a couple times but this one was the best. I really truly got to bond with Brad and to see Trae after 20 days was a wonderful rendezvous in the city before coming home. I couldn't have had a better time. But I was ready to come home, living out of a suitcase for almost a month was getting old.

xoxo .:TMarie:.

.:Model Behavior:.

Well as my weekend came to a close, so did my job. I was no longer happy with it, and I was ready to leave. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone in my office but I was focused on other things and just couldn't seem to keep my mind focused somewhere that it didn't want to be. I went the whole month of June booking modeling stuff and preparing for my month on the road in July.

My last weekend before I left was Independence Day. The night before we went to a party to hang out with some of Trae's friends. It was so much fun, my favorite part of that night was singing to 80's music. LOL Trae really gets in to that. I love just goofing off and letting loose with him. He melts my heart. The next day we went to the lake. I was super excited because this time we could bring Bentley. He was so cute with his little life jacket on.

The poor thing didn't know what to expect. He was terrified of the water. So he mostly chilled on the boat. We didn't get to see any fireworks that 4th of July because it rained. Which ended up being OK, since we were all so exhausted from the lake. The next 20 days in 3 different cities were gonna be so busy for me. I started in Atlanta working for Americasmart Gift & Home Furnishings Market for 10 days. It was fun to visit and stay with my friend/ model Ashley. She is always so fun to hangout with. We mostly stayed in with a glass of wine, shared recipes and cooked some yummy dinners while I was there. She also took me out one night to go with some friends of hers.

It was the only night I could actually get out, because I worked so early everyday I was down there. I also went to see my girl Alexis one night while she was working. It went by so fast and before I knew it I was boarding my flight to Miami for fashion week and the swim show. After a couple days of fittings I got booked to model for Blue Glue swimwear. The line was based out of LA, and it was their initial launch on the east coast. It was a lot of fun, I got to meet some great people that week. Amanda was one of the girls I met that I am still friends with. She was so much fun to hang out with. The ladies I worked with were also amazing! I stayed with my mom's friends Debbie & Larry once my fittings were over and I started to work. It was a relief to have them there. They were so welcoming, I felt like I was home away from home. I was having a blast, but I was really missing Trae. I had decided to surprise him in New York City. We had originally planned to go there with his Dad, but there was a problem with me getting a flight. I ended up getting it all worked out, and didn't tell him that I would be joining them after all.

With Brad and I scheduled to arrive the evening before Trae, it was the perfect plan to surprise him :) I was so excited to leave for New York City. That day Debbie took me to get my nails and toes done at this cute little place she liked on the way to the airport. I was full of butterflies, I couldn't wait to see Trae and to feel his arms around me. Nothing could bring me down from the clouds, EXCEPT for a delayed flight!!!  I was flying out of Ft. Lauderdale when I boarded the plane and sat at the gate for 2 hours. They couldn't figure out what was wrong. So they then proceeded to deboard the plane. At this point, I was freaking out that I would miss my connecting flight into Charlotte.

So I made my way to the desk where they were rerouting passengers. Fortunately I was one of the first people in line. After sitting on the plane that long my phone was starting to die. I luckily got a direct flight to Newark, but I had to walk to a totally different terminal and go through security again. Once I was at my gate, I plugged in my phone and made some phone calls. And waited to board my new flight. It was smooth sailing until I landed in Newark.

xoxo .:TMarie:.