Work is finished, it's time to (go to a) play!

Picked up discounted tix to see Cinderella last night.  It really is incredible that we only have to walk two blocks to see a Broadway show! It's so close we both wore our 4" heels! Did you know they charge $10 for a coke at the Broadway shows, and $5 for a bottle of water!  WOW!  Cinderella was absolutely fantastic.  Hoping to catch another show tonight if we can agree on what to see.  And if Catherine gets lots of homework finished!

And that's all folks! (Unless there's more.)

We wrapped up the last show this morning!  A nice runway show that left Catherine sporting black bangs and red lips!  I hardly recognize her in these photos!  She loved it!

The show was two blocks from Kleinfeld's Bridal, made famous by Say Yes To The Dress on TLC.  We stopped in to take a look.

The "end of fashion week" party for BMG and their clients was really fun.  A chance for Catherine to go clubbing with the safety of mom near by :-)  I enjoyed talking with the other moms.

At 3pm today I walked three blocks to the discount ticket place on 47th street at Broadway and got tickets to see Cinderella tonight.  We're eating up some of the food/snacks in the house for our pre-theater meal, then we'll head out about 7:45 to walk the two blocks to the show.

The moms

Catherine with her agent, Ricky

Bye Bye Subways!

Booked show # 7

While we were out exploring the Upper West Side we got word that Catherine booked another show, her 7th.   Very excited for everything except the 6:45 a.m. call time.  Tough to get your hair washed and dried by 6:30, eh? Not complaining, though! Walked around Lincoln center and had lunch across from Julliard.  Lots of paparazzi around Lincoln Center.  Always fun to see what people are wearing as they come to the shows.  Unfortunately almost all shows this week are "by invitation only" so it's impossible to watch a show except on line.

We hopped on the subway to go uptown because I wanted Catherine to see a less manic part of manhattan.  I loved it and think it would be nice to stay up closer to 75-90th streets, but Cath says she LOVES where we are.  She loves the craziness of Broadway and being able to look down 10 blocks to Times Square.

Tonight Cath has an 8pm casting, then we have to rush home, change, get glammed up and head back downtown to the BMG party.  That's gonna make the early call time tomorrow even tougher!

Today's agenda

Today is a homework day, with planned excursions to the Lincoln Center and to addresses of other apartments we may want to consider for future trips. Then we have a casting at 8pm tonight, and the BMG Fashion Week Party at 9:30.  A quiet day, "Unless breaking news changes everything!" (I miss my Fox News!) Found some pics of the Christina Yi show....

Love It / Hate It

I have developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with the subway.  It is sooo convenient and offers a great value.  We just purchased our third week of unlimted rides.  But man am I tired of the cold, smelly, wet, dark, loud underground.

And can you believe I'm starting to think I'd stay in this same apartment if we ever come back! Even though we can't use the second bedroom, from what I'm hearing about other people's hotels/apartments...we've got it pretty good.  Our location is excellent.  Far enough north of the not so glamourous Garment District, but still within 15 minute subway ride to most castings. Other folks are paying about the same amount, but are an hour away!

Gotta take the good with the bad...

Last night's show was top notch...Hope I can come up with some pics...The footwear was interesting and certainly had Catherine wondering if she'd be able to make it down the runway!  But she did, and from what I hear from her agents, did it well!  Check out the heel-less shoes and the dmage they did!

Monday morning Catherine had a "test shoot",  That's something that benefits both the model and the photographer.  Catherine gets some photos for her book, and the photographer gets a "free" model to shoot for his portfolio.  Being in New York  gives Cath a chance to work with photographers she doesn't see in Chicago.

Now for the less than wonderful side of things.  Catherine was cast for a show tonight along with a couple other girls she's gotten to know.  I dropped her at 3 and headed to the big Macy's to waste some time.  Have to admit, I was hoping the night would go well, but because I knew some of the people involved in the sat. night fiasco were also involeved tonight, I had some reservations.  At 6:00, after 3 hours, I got a call from Catherine that they had booked twice as many models as they needed, and even though Cath's hair and make-up was done, they didn't seem to have clothes for them.  She had already called her agent and he told her ( and her firends) to leave.  I jumped in a cab and met them at a McDonald's. In the McDs bathroom Cath took off her make up, worked out her hair and changed her clothes.  We had two castings to get to, so off we wnet to those locations, then arrived back to our apt at 9pm.

"'Celebrities" and Friends. We choose friends!

In spite of the chance to hang with Deena from the Jersey Shore, Hip Hop artist Lil Kim, Nicki Rae Walker (alright, how many of you actually know who ANY of these people are ???), last night's benefit runway show was less than fun.  Six hours of hanging around a very chaotic scene for a short time on the runway.  Oh well...we don't exactly get to choose whose shows Catherine is cast in.

Today's agenda was def better..with a trip to The Plaza and Central Park with Gina and Elizabeth Hoffman for Ebeth's 16th birthday! What fun to experience Central Park in the snow.  It was beautiful. And the company was wonderful!  Then lunch at our first Pret A Manger.  It seems they are on every street corner...and we will definatley go back!

With a 2:30 call time we were soon on the subway heading to 38th street for the Christina Yi runway show.  I dropped Catherine at the door, then headed home.  I'll hang in the apt. til it's time to pick her up at 7.  Sure hope today's show is better than last  night.

A lot of slush here in Manhattan, but not enough to keep us inside! Catherine's noon fitting was cancelled, so we decided to head out for brunch around 10.  We were both craving pancakes. Took a stroll past NBC and Rockefeller Plaza just in case Justin Bieber was hangin around before his SNL rehearsal! (He wasn't.) Satisfied our pancake craving at Burger Heaven (weird) , stopped in at the Free People store, and headed home.  Cath got busy with homework, mixed with watching live runway shows from Lincoln Center on line.

Around 3 we boarded the subway to take Cath to tonight's job, the Reality Fashion, Reality Aids Benefit.  http://realityontherunway.com/ Yup, she's gonna work the runway with "today's hottest reality TV stars"!  She's already tweeted pic of Lil Kim (hip hop artist and Dancin' With the Stars) and Deena from Jersey Shore.  wow. After I left her at the theater, I wondered around to get a sense of where I was.  Quickly surmised that I was in Chelsea, and remembered my friend Kim had mentioned a couple fun things to do in the area.  Found the highly recommended ABC Carpet and Home Store, which was REALLY fun to poke around in. Then found myself at the Chelsea Market near the subway.  Bought some fruit, bread and muffins at a bargain!!!

As soon as I got up top back home, a text came in...Catherine needed jeans, which they had failed to tell the girls.  Figuring her job is my job this trip, I came up to the apt, grabbed the jeans and headed back to 18th street (from 50th street) on the subway.  Dropped off the jeans and got back on the subway to home.  Decided this might be a good time to stop by the grocery store to pick up some cheeses for our Chelsea Market bread among other things. Really thought a glass of wine would fit well with the evening, but the thought of carrying a bottle, along with my other three bags of groceries, 6 blocks through the slush and cold put an end to the craving. Good thing.  Realized when I got back to the apartment that there is no wine opener here.  Of course. Truly, this has to be the worse stocked kitchen in NY. On a positive note, we have been able to find Skinny Pop popcorn here!

What Snow?

This is the view from our window.  Tough to say whether or not we got any significant snow, right?

Ann Yee presentation

Will post a couple pics of Catherine's presentation from today.  Crazy hair! Tomorrow night she will be doing a benefit fashion show with reality TV stars...oh my! The Reality of Fashion/The Reality of Aids http://realityontherunway.com/ Tonight we had wonderful dinner in Little Italy with Catherine's friend Elizabeth and her mom!  Joyful company!

Another Show! And a lot of Snow?

Catherine received the good news yesterday that she was booked for another show, Ann Yee.  She is over the moon! Yesterday we had a quiet day of homework, and one quick trip to Columbus Circle for lunch at Buchon Bakery and cafe. Highly recommend the pistachio macarons!

Woke early this morning as she had a 7:30 am call time.  We took the subway to 39th st.  and I said goodbye in the lobby.  It was snowing when we left, but raining by the time I got home.  I stopped by The Today Show and joined a small crowd to mug for the cameras and try to get on TV.  Success!  Saw the lines of people waiting outside NBC in tents, hoping to get tix to Saturday Night Live with Justin Bieber.  Wouldn't it be cool if we got to see him somehow?  (well, It would be cool for Catherine!)

Time for me to get back on subway and pick up Catherine.(Photo below is one she texted to me from the show she's at today.  Crazy hair!)   Tonight we have friends in town and are looking forward to talking with them and having dinner in Little Italy.  I convinced them that it wouldn't be a problem to take the subway tonight...hope I'm right!

What have we created?!?!?

 "Best day of my life...I wanna do this the rest of my life!"...Catherine Leonard   That's how my baby's feeling after  doing two shows today.  One for Lauren Moffatt, the other for Suzanne Rae.  The LM show was in SoHo. Hair and make up (and nails!) took about 3 hours, then the "paparazzi " was let in to take photos back stage and of each girl. (Nylon magazine, Women's Wear Daily...) Then the invited guests arrived.  I didn't go in to the show at the request of my daughter...but I did walk by the site and got to watch the photographers hanging by the exit...hoping to catch celebs going in/out? (I did some shopping, had a long lunch with my book,  did some more wandering for the 5 hours she had to be there).  There were no other models from her agency there, therefore no moms for me!

Grabbed some food, then rushed from SoHo back uptown to the Philippine Consulate for the Suzanne Rae show. Rubbed off make-up and nail polish in the cab so she'd be a blank canvas for the next make-up artist. A couple other girls Catherine met were in the show, so that made it extra fun for her. I sat with another mom and read my book for the hair, make up , nails hours.  But This time I went up to the show and got to see Catherine.  Were able to walk home from the Consulate.  Not even the cold, windy weather could dampen Catherine's fashion show euphoria!

http://www.wwd.com/runway/fall-ready-to-wear-2013/review/lauren-moffatt

Booked!

Well this is a post I was hoping to be able to write...Catherine just got word that she booked two shows for tomorrow!!! One is in the morning in SOHO, and the other is in the evening in the Philippine Consulate on 5th Av.  Both are with designers she is excited to wear.  I think after the show I can post more details and hopefully cath will snap some pics.  These come after a busy day of castings today, but somehow we are quite invigorated now!  I know many of the newer girls feel like Catherine, they just want to book at least one show so they are not shut out completely.  So glad we can accomplished that milestone.

New Friends

Castings are almost always fun, even quick ones.  But yesterday was especially nice as many of the BMG girls were on the same castings and schedule, and it was fun to connect with the other girls and some moms!

Yesterday's trip to Brooklyn was to the DUMBO area, which I learned stood for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge (then they added the O so it wouldn't be the DUMB area!).  It's an area that has several art galleries and is full of loft apartments and studios.  Had a great lunch at the DUMBO Kitchen with another mom and daughter.  Later that night we connected again with our new friends and had dinner at their hotel.

 It's interesting to hear about where everyone has found to stay these three weeks.  We were able to take a peek at a POD Hotel room, which was a new concept to us. The Pod room is on the order of a European train sleeper car.  A narrow room with bunk beds and a bathroom.  Each bunk bed has a flat screen TV at the foot.  There is a rolling rack for clothes, and a desk and chair.  This hotel was pretty new and the decor was contemporary and clean.  Had a great view of the Empire State Building out the window.  A good thing to keep in mind for our kids who want to come to NYC for a weekend.

As nice as it is to connect with others who are doing the same thing we are, it also means we hear about other girls who have "booked a show," which can be disheartening to the rest of us who haven't yet.  But we try to stay positive.  It's very early still, with a lot of castings and opportunities ahead.  I often think of the "life verse" I have chosen,  Romans 12:12..."Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. "  And that is exactly what we try to do!

Today we have 5 castings so far, most of which just came in this morning.  Four castings seems to be about average for each day.  People tell us the Sept. season will be busier. As it is, we've gotten into the habit of sleeping til 7:30 or 8..not bad work if you can get it, eh!?!? School time will be an adjustment when we get back!  Time for a bite to eat, and off we go!

Weekend News

Just one casting yesterday, for a main show at The Lincoln Center.  Unfortunately, the casting went too fast to give us any hope for booking it.  Oh well.  Two castings today, one for a Lincoln Center show, and one...well ..... We were excited for the fine address associated with the casting.  And ready to head to the 36th floor.  Imagine our surprise when we arrive and the casting is taking place IN THE LOBBY OF THE BUILDING!!!!! Near the elevators to the 36th floor!!! What a laugh.  Fortunately there were other models there and we could all share a laugh together.  And yes, Catherine did walk for the audition.

Spent the afternoon exploring the upper east side, specifically Dylan's Candy Bar! with the main goal of stocking up for our Super Bowl viewing.  What a fantastic place Dylan's is....they've got everything sweet you could ever imagine! Then a quick subway ride, and we're back in the apartment watching the game.

Four castings tomorrow, including another trip to Brooklyn.  Here we go again with week two!

Water Main Breaks, Taxis and Fun Castings

We knew we had a busy day ahead of us today with 8 castings.  We mapped it all out last night and were ready to go at 9:15 this morning.  Decided to cab it to the first casting....the book cover which was postponed earlier in the week...so Cath would be super fresh.  Turns out that really didn't matter, as they were looking for only redheads and Cath wasn't quite ginger enough.  Calling all Madden girls!!!!

Into the next cab..cuz the next casting was a call back and "we" REALLY want it.  (Plenty of opportunity to ride the subway later.) Once we arrive to a casting, we step into the lobby, Catherine removes her flat boots and slips into her 5 inch heels, brushes her hair, and up the elevator she goes.  My job is to stand in the lobby and wait.  and wait.   and wait.  For this one I waited an hour and almost did the stage mama nono and went upstairs to see what was going on.  Turns out Cath was trying on lots of things.  A hopeful sign... While I was waiting in the lobby I heard someone call the concierge and say there was no water on the 4th floor.  Then on the 2nd floor.  Turns out this was foreshadowing to our next subway adventure.

Off we went to the Q line to head to our next stop.  As we get to the platform (after we've paid of course!) we're told there has been a water main break and the Q line is no longer available.  Nor is the R. Or the N...all of our familiar routes.  Net, more taxis (and more time and money cuz it isn't easy to drive around the city!)

Next stop SoHo.  A couple castings and a stop for lunch at our favorite chain, Le Pain Quotidien (Who can tell me how to pronounce this?) We finally ordered the giant meringue we'd had our eyes on since day one!  SWEEET!

Another long cab ride to several more castings, including one at The Out Hotel, billed as the only straight friendly gay hotel.  A very nice hotel with lots of room for me to wait, and a really fun casting for Catherine.  Fingers crossed...

End of the day, getting very cold, subway still down, cabs everywhere...but all full.  Ugh, long walk til we decide to stop at a starbucks and check our subway map for a new way home.  Decide to try the F line, and soon, we're back at Rockefeller Center and into familiar territory.  We stop and order up a couple of pizzas at The Duke and head home.

Soon the castings for the weekend start coming in and we get excited again for what's ahead. We actually have a couple of A list castings on the agenda.  By that I mean shows that are listed as official Mercedes Benz Fashion Week shows at Lincoln Center. (A lot of things being cast this week are ancillary shows and presentations, plus other modeling opportunities). So, off to bed we go with visions of runways dancing in our heads.

Calm, but nice day...busy day tomorrow.

The day started with a sketchy casting...a yucky building off broadway.  We weren't alone, but I'm glad it was quick.  I would not be sad to not get a call back for any of their shows.

On a good note, we did discover a REAL grocery store on the way home from there.  The Food Emporium.  Grabbed some apples, cheese and crackers for lunch.  I heard someone on the Today Show broadcast this morning say she wanted to learn to cook because she hadn't had anything but restaurant and take out food  for 29 years....In this city, I believe it!! Also discovered that in our apartment..there are NO dinner plates..only a couple small plates and bowls.  Cooking was not meant to happen in this place.

 After lunch we headed to a couple castings.  Cath thought they went well....And, she was right! She already got a call back from one of them. Then we stopped at the big Macy's on 34th St.  Ginormous!

Hung out at home for the evening.  Were excited when a bunch of castings came in.  Tomorrow we have 7! Now that's what we're looking for! I ran across the street for a couple salads which we ate while watching TV.  Woo Hoo..crazy night in Gotham City!

If any of you have seen Romeo, let me know how he's doing.  Would love pics when you're with him!

Wednesday Night on Broadway

Got Catherine out of her pajamas to head out to dinner. Decided to head one block west, which brought us to BROADWAY! How could we pass up ellen's STARDUST DINER? Where the waiter staff are all singers, hoping to make it BIG on stage.  Many Broadway stars started at The Stardust.  It was a hoot.  What a neighborhood.

Wed., a bit of a slow one

Today we just had two castings on the books. Took the subway a short distance to the first, then stopped at The Cake Boss Cafe after.  Apparently Buddy is capitalizing on his fame and has moved into the Manhattan market! After a brief stop at home, we walked to the second casting.  Had a bit of a scare when our phones stopped sending or receiving emails, as they are our lifeline to the agency and new castings.  Unfortunately (fortunately?) we didn't miss anything important. Did a bit of 5th Ave shopping (read, looking!) then just came home and napped.

Woo Hoo...emails coming in.  The castings Catherine had to miss were able to be re-scheduled!  I woke her up with the good news.  Hope a few more come in tonight...but this has certainly put us in a better mood.

Tuesday...An All Day Job

Got up early for our subway ride into the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn...home to most all of your favorite hip hop artists....Notorious B.I.G., Mos Def, Lil' Kim, and Jay Z...to name a few.  Wish we hadn't left so early. Arrived after a 50 min subway ride (with a change of trains no less!) to completely foreign territory.  In spite of the supposed gentrification of the area...there were no Starbucks to be found.  We walked for a mile trying to locate a safe place to sit and wait for our 9a.m. appointment.  I will say Ms Dehlia's cafe was an oasis.  Enjoyed a scone and tea before we trekked the mile back to the photographer's apartment.  We were the first to arrive, but the photographer was a nice young guy from Alabama.  Soon another model came, as did the hair stylist, make-up artist and the two clothing designers.  They graciously allowed me to stay (Thank goodness! Where on earth would I have gone for 9 1/2 hours???)

Catherine spent two hours getting her make up and hair done...two hours to make her look fresh and un made up!  (Have to admit I like that better than overdone/extreme make-up)  Then she spent the day changing into darling outfits and modeling them in front of a neutral background.  Imagine what you see when you go shopping on line at say, J Crew, and view an item of clothing.

Let me just say, as much as I knew it, it WAS interesting to sit there and watch how the clothes are manipulated to look just right for the shot.  They are steamed, pinned, and clipped.  Then the models are posed "just so" so the clothes wrinkle at just the right place when a knee is bent, and no more.  Of course it helps when the clothes are worn on a 5'10", 120 pound frame, vs. mine!

I stayed in the back hair and make-up room for the first half of the day, trying to stay out of the way.  But when they decided to take my chair and use it as part of the set, I moved to a bench in the hallway and positioned myself so I could see the shots as they appeared on the computer screen wired to the camera.

By 6:30 Catherine was worn out.  Her feet were killing here from wearing various super tall shoes that the designers purchased for the shoot (and then were going to be returned!) And she was just plum tired from getting up early and staying busy all day.  They really don't want the models to sit down when they are wearing the clothes, for fear of wrinkles...but by the end of the day, she was sitting when she got the chance.  While it was great to get this job, the length of time it took meant she was not able to make it to two castings that she really hoped to get to. Perhaps, that, in the end, is what made the day seem so exhausting.  Such is life, always a bit of give and take.

 No subway for us on the way home.  We called a cab and relaxed for 30 minutes back to the apartment.

Couldn't get Cath to move once we got home, so I brought home a little pizza from Duke's and we ate it, then went to bed at 8:30.

Photos below: Ms Dehlia's , Eating lunch while in make up, Photographer in action

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