Frickin' Fabulous at 40: Could Be Considered a Grand Slam???

On Tuesday, I went to NYC with my girlfriend to The Nate Berkus Show. The weather was so-so, a little drizzly, but unseasonably warm for a December day, which was nice. We got into the city early to enjoy the sights for a little bit before heading over to CBS Studios. We walked past Macy's Herald Square to enjoy the Christmas windows and through Times Square to do some people-watching.

A Macy's window display

After that we stopped for a drink at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. and relaxed. We then took a cab to the studio to stand in line for about an hour before we were coralled inside to wait some more.

We had pretty good seats and LOVED the fact that the studio was decked out for Christmas. Donna and I were hoping that was a good sign for some audience gifts!

Donna and I in the audience

Christmas trees in Nate's studio

Christina Ferrare was a guest for several segments of the show. She co-hosted The Home Show and The Home and Family Show on ABC many years ago. She demonstrated several of her favorite easy entertaining tips. I was REALLY hoping for the food processor she used to make her bean dip! No such luck. However, Nate showed off his favorite table settings and there was a beautiful flower arrangement adorning the table. He then gave us all a $75 gift card to Teleflora! YAY! Then, Christina helped bring attention to many dogs that need good adoptive homes. A representative from the ASPCA was there and Nate presented her with a donation from Petco and we all got a $25 gift card as well! Molly will be so happy this Christmas!

After that, there was an expert on frugal fashion finds and she bought 2 women outfits from head-to-toe for under $25 each! One woman had a faux fur coat on that cost $.50!!! Finally, the beauty editor from Self magazine was there to educate us on some beauty hangover tips. She had the entire table covered with beauty products like toothpaste, eye cream, lotions and the Clarisonic Facial Cleaning System. Nate then told the audience we were all going home with a beauty rescue basket! We got the $200 Clarisonic!! YAY ME! Goodbye fine lines and wrinkles!! Maybe then people will stop assuming I'm a grandma? Doubt it!

OOH! AAH! A prize package valued at $370!!

So, my talk-show swag dry-spell has finally come to an end! Now I have plenty of fun products to pamper myself with after the craziness of the holidays is over with! You think that the high from our goodie bag would have been enough and we would have called it a night, but we decided to hang out, see some more sights and grab dinner. We headed down to Rockefeller Center to see the most famous and beautiful Christmas tree (in my opinion) in all the world. Fifth Avenue is a holiday light spectacular and it makes you feel like a kid again. I really wish my husband and kids were with me to see it. I think we'll be making a trip in together (if I can convince my husband) between Christmas and New Year's. There really is nothing like New York at Christmas-time. I could do it every year. With the hustle and bustle of this season, it's nice to just stop and gaze at the wonder around you; soak it all in and appreciate the simple yet glorious things in our world.