My Family Takes Manhattan: Day 3 (The View, CNN and Family Time)

CNNAhhh, here we are, friends!! The last big day of our Manhattan adventure!! If you’ve read the last two posts and looked at all the photos up until this point, you’re aces, so thank you!!! Our last full day was another action-packed one that included a stop at CNN to meet my amazing editors, but more about that in a bit…

First up: Remember when I teased you with talk of making my ABC television debut?? Yes, I admit that perhaps it was sort of clickbait-y, but it’s still mostly true!!

Guess who went to a taping of The View?!?!?

CNN CNNYESSSSSS…I practically couldn’t believe it either!!! I still can’t believe that I got to go to THE VIEW…such a cool experience!!! It was SO surreal to see all my favorite hosts up close…can you believe how close I was to the stage??? Totally fangirled, but guess what?? #SorryNotSorry

CNNAnd look…you can see my front wheel. Does this mean I can check off my bucket list item of being on the show??

CNN CNNAfter working with editors Jane Carr and Yaffa Fredrick on nearly 20 op-eds over the last two years, it was an honor to meet them in person!! They’ve made me a better writer and I can’t thank them enough for the wonderful tour of CNN studios today!!

After our tour, we enjoyed some outdoor time at The High Line…

…and explored the sweet deliciousness that is Dylan’s Candy Bar; as you can imagine, I was in heaven surrounded by all those sweet treats!!!

And, just for fun because I couldn’t resist posting this adorable photo of Ms. Bear.

Allow me to caption this photo as if it were a celebrity candid in the pages of Us Weekly…

NYC, July 26th
Sharon Blake stops for a bite of street food while exploring the city’s Upper West Side.

The very best part of the trip, though, was getting to spend some quality time with family! I don’t get to see my mom’s family nearly enough and it was wonderful to catch up on each other’s lives. They truly are the BEST family in the world and I really wish we all lived closer so we could get together more often!!!

Whew!! We made it!! I have a few other NYC-adjacent posts that I’ll be doing in the coming weeks, but I was so excited to show you all photos of our adventures!! As always, thanks for reading and being so awesome!!!! I love you… xoxo

My Family Takes Manhattan: Day 2 (Central Park, a Beauty Editor and a Broadway Show)

Central Park Central ParkHappy Wednesday, friends!!! Well, if you read yesterday’s post, then you know that we didn’t waste any time getting settled in! As soon as our plane touched down, the fun begin right away. After all, we only had three days to explore the wonderful Big Apple. There was certainly zero time for our (OK, mostly mine…) slow-poke ways! We got right down to business, taking a leisurely stroll around Central Park; it was so nice because Mona’s apartment was within walking distance and the weather was beautifully sunny and warm!!

We’d walked around Central Park AND explored a bit of Columbus Circle…all by 11 a.m. Remember, I’m typically still snoozing at this time, so this was a pretty big deal for me!

Central Park Central ParkI felt hip. I felt chic. I felt like I was part of the in-crowd — you know, those Manhattan movers and shakers who cross those busy NYC streets with a sense of purpose and determination!! Honestly, it sort of felt like my Carrie Bradshaw moment, but more about that in a separate post!!

Confession: I about died during this next part of our trip. It’s not an understatement to say that I became a complete fangirl, even though I tried to hide it well. Are you ready for this?

Really ready?

Because IT’S BIG…

Central Park Central Park Central ParkI entered the hallowed halls of Hearst Tower!!!! Yes, the epicenter of magazines and sacred ground for us writers!!! It was everything I thought it would be — a beautiful building, in-the-know editors going up and down the escalator. The energy was inspiring and palpable.

Central ParkMy favorite part of being a writer is the friendships that I’ve made over the years!! I was honored to meet April Franzino in person. As Good Housekeeping’s Beauty Director, she continues to inspire me!! Thanks so much for the wonderful tour, April…

The afternoon saw another “first” on our trip: SEEING MY FIRST BROADWAY SHOW. As I said on social media…Ain’t too proud to say…I’m seeing my first Broadway show!!! You all know just how obsessed I am with all things The Temptations, so seeing their remarkable, decades-long story come to life on the stage was such a thrilling experience. Plus, all the songs were even more toe-tapping and infectious than they were in the classic made-for-TV movie from the late ’90s. 10/10, I highly recommend spending an afternoon at the theater…wish I would have done it years ago!

After the musical, we walked around Times Square, and, yes, in case you’re wondering, the place was as hopping as ever. So. Many. People. Everywhere.

We walked a total of 6.5 miles that day and traversed some 20 blocks just to get back to Mona’s place from Times Square. But good news: My battery kept its charge all day! Just like me!

Tune in tomorrow for more city fun and I’d love to hear all about your travel adventures too! What places have you visited lately? What’s your favorite vacation of all time? xoxo

My Family Takes Manhattan: Day 1 (Airport Fun, Writer Friends and Lincoln Center)

Lincoln CenterOoooh, friends!!! As I’ve been fond of saying lately, “That was a time!!!” And nowhere is that phrase more appropriate than when talking about our amazing trip to the Big Apple!!! As you can probably imagine (and especially if you were following my adventures in real time on Twitter!), our time in NYC was pure magic and better than anything in my wildest dreams!! Allow me to recount all the tales all this week because this trip of a lifetime deserves more than one post! First up: Day one includes airport fun and Lincoln Center…

We were up bright on early on that first day! If you know my sleep schedule, you know that getting up at 7 a.m. is practically the middle of the night for me. But, we were about to jet set to the big metropolis, so this was no time for snoozing! We made it to the airport and, of course, had plenty of time to spare! Ms. Bear believes in getting to the gate VERY early, which is fine by me because…

Lincoln CenterLook…our gate was right across from the CNN newsstand!! It’s fate!!! I must admit that I felt a surge of pride when I saw the newsstand — I thought, “I’m so proud to be a regular contributor for CNN.”

Two and a half hours later, following a complimentary Diet Coke and trying to read a celebrity weekly without getting nauseous (no success there!)…

Lincoln CenterPost-flight hair, don’t care because…WELCOME TO NEW YORK. “I can’t believe I’m actually here,” I thought as I rolled off the plane and took in the sights and bustle of LaGuardia Airport!! I could feel the pulse of the city already and it was my first time in Queens! My heart started to race at the mere thought of all the excitement that awaited us!

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center Lincoln CenterWhew! Just our first HALF day in NYC had lots and lots of fun firsts. First time taking an Uber. First time at Lincoln Center…complete with a pretty water show!!

But my absolute favorite part of our first day?? Getting to meet a dear writer friend in person for the first time!! Laura and I became fast friends two years ago after she edited my essay in Good Housekeeping, and I’ve admired her ever since!! It was such an honor to go out to dinner (we went to indie food and wine, a really interesting restaurant close to Lincoln Center!

and talk about everything from writing to our fathers — so grateful to know this exceptional writer and kind soul.

I also want to mention just what going on this trip means and how important it is: All three of us are really proud of ourselves for getting to the Big Apple! Special thanks to my mom and Janelle for helping me so much and my cousin Mona for being a wonderful host/tour guide!!

Be sure to check back on Wednesday and Friday for more photo fun from our adventures, including my ABC television debut, my first Broadway show and the thrill of meeting a true beauty guru!! Like I said, friends, IT WAS A TIME… xoxo

Umm, It’s My 38th Birthday!

38th BirthdayUmm, wow!! My 38th birthday, friends!!! Wow is such a simple word, but, really, that’s the only way I can describe it right now!!

Do you ever try to put your age in context? It can be a VERY eye-opening exercise, believe me!! For example, it just hit me recently that I’m now older than the characters on Thirtysomething. Remember that show? It followed a group of — you guessed it! — thirtysomethings as they navigated work, relationships and raising children in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Basically, they were the OGs when it came to work-life balance — that much-analyzed, abstract, does-it-even-exist? concept that people will probably still be struggling with in a thousand years.

But, anyway, back to my age and my birthday. How on Earth did that ever happen? How have I surpassed the age of those fictional characters? I mean, I used to watch that show with my mom, who actually was a thirtysomething at the time, and I remember thinking, “Whoa! Those people are such ‘adults’ and they’ve got their lives all figured out!”

38th BirthdayI also often wondered what my life would look like during that exciting decade. Would I have everything figured out too? Would I face the same problems and struggles as Hope and company? My young mind seemed to think that everyone’s life followed the same trajectory and that we all experience the same things on the same timetable. Looking back, that now seems incredibly naive, doesn’t it? But it’s still something I find myself struggling with sometimes. As much as I hate to admit it, I still get caught up in the comparison game, where I look at my thirtysomething peers and wonder why I’m “not like them“; never mind the fact that I can’t even define what “not like” even means. So maybe it’s more like a feeling? A feeling that I’m somehow behind everyone else on this life journey and I’m just forever trying to catch up, you know?

OK, that’s about as philosophical as I want to get on my 38th birthday! I took that selfie of myself in Central Park while we were in NYC last week and I noticed that it’s the first time I’ve worn a polo shirt in a loooooong time!! It felt great to wear one of my trademark garments again…remember Polo Shirt Season??

38th BirthdaySpeaking of NYC, I’ll be sharing tons of photos from our trip this week! Each day of vacation gets its own post because this was the first time I’d been on vacation in nearly a decade and the ENTIRE wonderful experience deserves to be documented to the fullest! Here’s to living life on your terms, even if it doesn’t follow the same path as everyone else!! xoxo

P.S. My last TEN birthdays: 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th!!

New York City, Here We Come…

New York City New York City New York CityYes, friends!! You read that post title correctly!! We are leaving on a jet plane bound for New York City!! The Big Apple! The city that never sleeps! The city so chic that you feel like you’re dripping in diamonds!!

Alright, so I may have made up that last one, but it’s probably an accurate description. I mean, this is the same city that is home to the one and only Carrie Bradshaw, and she’s about as chic and fashionable as they get, so I’m pretty sure New York City is just waiting for me to soak up all the culture, charm and sophistication its five boroughs have to offer.

As you may remember, this isn’t the first time I’ve entered a New York state of mind — pun intended! I’ve been there once before, all the way back in 2002. In fact, it was the last family vacation that we ever took before my father was diagnosed with cancer; that bittersweet notion certainly isn’t lost on me. I wonder if all the memories of that trip will come flooding back as we walk through Central Park or cruise around Times Square.

New York CityHere’s a photo from that trip, when my #1 requirement was paying my respects to the MTV studios!! Even in my early twenties, I was a woman who knew her priorities!

There’s no doubt that it may be a bit emotional, but I’m so excited to see my family! It’s always a wonderful reunion when my mom’s family gets together, and my cousin Mona is the perfect New York City tour guide — she’s got lots of fun stuff planned for us, including taking in a Broadway show! Can you guess which show we’re seeing? Maybe this post will give you a hint!

We’ll be gone all week, but I’ve scheduled some posts for your reading pleasure! And don’t worry, a huge blog post (or maybe several…) is coming up when I get home!! After all, I’m sure I’ll have lots of stories about my adventures and tons of fun photos to share! Can you imagine little old me in the bustling metropolis? Ooooh, this is going to be the trip of a lifetime — I can feel it, and we haven’t even left yet!

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Really, let’s just state the obvious right now, shall we?? I’m going to overshare the heck out of this trip!!! New York City, get ready for me!!!!! xoxo