June 18th-June 28th - Modeling Job & Visiting Home!

On Monday I worked during the day and at night I got a message from someone who had contacted my Mother Agent about needing a last minute model for a shoot the next day. I submitted some photos and finally received an e-mail of details of what to bring and where to go!

In the morning I took the subway to Brooklyn and met two other models Natalia and Olga who were also doing the shoot. They were really nice and we had fun modeling the coats all together and taking turns. The makeup was pretty natural and my hair started in an up-do, then a pony tail, and at the very end we took it down. There was a whole room filled with coats and we modeled most of them from morning until 9:30pm. I was thankful to have had this opportunity! .

Wednesday morning I woke up and Sarah and I saw a video on Facebook of a bus monitor from our hometown who was getting harassed by 8th grade students on the bus. 

I was so saddened watching the video and I immediately wrote to the president of the school that the students attended. I wanted to make sure that they realized what they did was wrong and also to make sure that something was done to help the bus monitor. By the end of the day the video had spread and many people were expressing their concerns. 

I found out there was a fundraiser made for Karen so that she could take a vacation for herself and already in the first day of the fundraiser it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars! This story has been heard all over the world now and I am glad that Karen has gotten so much support, as well as that efforts have been made to stand up against bullying.

For a late lunch Sarah and I decided to eat outside at The Penny Farthing in East Village. I had the grilled pear salad and it was amazing! I definitely want to go back just to have that again.

 

Later at work I recognized that a guest who came in was Joel Coen who is a famous filmaker with his brother. I was proud because I remembered from watching one of their movies at Mike's house a while ago.

The next day I went to yoga and it was a really good class (like always). I had been eating healthy and working out felt good so I decided to treat myself to some frozen yogurt afterwards. It was funny because the next morning Sarah felt like having frozen yogurt so we took Ernie her doggie with us and she showed me a place called 16 handles. 

They have a row of 16 machines that you can pull the handles to get different flavors of frozen yogurt and they have amazing toppings too. Ernie was not allowed inside so we had to sit outside and it was very hot and humid so they brought Ernie a cup of water which was cute!

That day was also the one year anniversary of my blog! I published a post showing the different countries that have viewed my blog and expressing my thanks! Thank you again everyone!

At night I had work until close so I got back to the apartment around 1:30am and Mike called me to see that I was back ok. My reception was really bad and he was trying to tell me something so I asked him if he wanted me to go outside and call him back and he said yeah. I walked outside and he was standing there outside of my apartment! He surprised me again haha!

We were both hungry so we went to Subway and ate but by the time we got done it was pouring! There were cabs going by that we could have taken even though it was a short distance but we just decided to run through the rain!

The next morning Mike, Tony and I met George, one of Mike's managers, at a diner just to eat breakfast together and talk. That was my first time meeting George and it was really nice to get to know each other and for Mike to show him some of his new songs. Unfortunately after the nice breakfast I realized that I did not have my cellphone. I was pretty sure I brought it with me but just in case we went back to the apartment to look for it... no where to be found! 

We tried calling my phone and it was off even though it was fully charged when I left the apartment. I was pretty sure it fell out of my pocket in the cab and someone took it :( Then Mike got a text from his family friend who is married to a young woman that is in a model in New York City. I had been wanting to meet with her and they said that they were free right then if we could get together! 

I decided to figure out my phone situation later and so we headed to where they were and the guys hung out while Sara and I went to a french restaurant to talk. It was great to hear about Sara's modeling experiences in the city over the years. She looked at my portfolio and said that she would refer me to her agencies! That was so nice of her to meet up with me and to help me out.

After the meeting Mike and I went to John's Pizzeria where we eat whenever he is in the city, then I had to head to work for the night. The next day him and Tony were going back to Rochester and I decided to go with them since I had a couple of days off and then I could get a new phone.

We heard that a new retaurant opened up in Pittsford called Village Bakery and Cafe so we tried it out and it was pretty good! I had a grilled cheese sandwich that was super tasty with gruyere, goat, and cheddar cheeses. Over the next couple of days I hung out in the studio while Mike worked and I tried looking for my old cellphone so I could activate that instead of paying for another phone.

Tuesday night Scott and Helen told us to meet them at 2 Vine and we had a wonderful dinner together! The restaurant sent us out a pizza with potato slices on top and it was so incredible. Undoubtedly very unhealthy but I could not get enough of that pizza. Then I had a cavatelli pasta with eggplant, ricotta and tomato sauce. We had so much great food I did not need dessert but they know me too well and were sweet to get dessert for us to share. Afterwards I headed home for a little bit.

On Wednesday I went to lunch with my Mom and Mike since my Dad was in Connecticut helping my Grandma. We went to Aladdin's Mediterranean Restaurant that I love and I tried a new fruit dish with walnuts, yogurt and honey and it was so good! Later at night Mike's family had a nice birthday party for our friend Michelle who is one of the head hair colorists at Mike's parents salon. We hung out and had a great dinner at Mike's house that Scott and Helen made.

The next day I went to Verizon and decided to get a pre-paid phone for a month. I suspected that the person who stole my phone was waiting for me to give up and cancel my service to my iPhone and then when they turn my phone on I would not be able to locate it. I did not want to give up on finding my phone because there were sentimental pictures on there from my Las Vegas trip, and on top of that it is an expensive phone. I got a very simple flip phone with a new account in hopes of finding my phone within the month!

At night Mike took me to Osteria Rocco and we had such a delicious dinner. We started out with fried squash blossoms with lemon and salt and they were so unique and perfect for a summer appetizer. For our entree we shared an amazing pizza and fried polenta. Last but not least we had frozen chocolate mouse with pistatios that was scrumptious.

Later we went to the a premier of the movie Ted. We like the television show Family Guy by Seth MacFarlane and he did very well on the movie too. There was humor, romance, bromance haha and I even got teary-eyed a couple of times! Then I had to go to bed to leave for the city the next day!

June 7th-June 17th - Mike Surprises Me, Graduation Party, and Father's Day!

The morning after getting back from the trip I got up early to work. That day Academy Award winning film producer William Joyce joined us and I thought that it was neat that he helped create the characters and design of Toy Story and A Bug's Life.

 

(PS I can't believe these movies are from 1995 and 1998, time flies!)

Friday night I worked and when I got out Mike called me to see that I was getting back to my apartment okay. I told him I was walking back now and then he replied "do you want compnay?" and he walked out onto the sidewalk in front of me!! I had no clue when was going to be the next time that I would see him so it was such a surprise that he was here, I started crying! We were both hungry so we went to Fridays for a late dinner.

The next morning we ate at Pastis (Mike's favorite place for breakfast) with Tony and then we went to Guitar Center so that they could check out a synthesizer that was there. Then we walked around Soho until we were hungry and at at John's Pizzeria (Mike and my favorite place for pizza).

Later we went to Starbucks so that Mike and Tony could meet with the manager of singer Stan in Greece who is becoming an artist in America. Stan wanted Mike and Tony to work on a song of his so they met to try to work something out.

Then Mike and I went to the movie theatre to see The Dictator. There were funny parts and I was glad to go to a movie with Mike, but I am a little conservative for that type of humor haha. Afterwards we went to one of my favorite restaurants La Follia where we dined right in-between sitting inside and outside which was so nice! The food was amazing as always.

June 10th was my cousin Trisha's wedding and I wish I could have gone for her special day and to see my family from Texas. With just getting back from Las Vegas and work I was not able to but after work on Saturday there was a good-bye party for my manager who was leaving Maialino. Sarah and I went to Penny Farthing where they had the bottom floor rented out and there were a lot of people there but I had to work the next morning so we stopped by for a little bit.

The next day at work a young woman came in and told me about a place near by called Bedford Cheese Shop that was opening up soon and they are already offering different classes. There was a class being offered that night which paired cheese, pickled vegetables and beers. She said that since we work in the industry near by, instead of paying $75 to go that we could go for free! I called downstairs to my friend Lauren who was working in the office and she said she wanted to go so we went later that night!

We walked in and there were so many cool jars and packages of foods and condiments. The cheese cases were empty since they have not opened yet but the young woman directed us to another room where there was a table with the pairings. There was another couple there and the four of us learned about how different cheeses are made and how the different vegetables were pickled.

I did not try any of the beers but the pairings were very tasty and they let us take home jars of pickles and pickled asparagus. Once they open I want to go back to buy some of the cheeses and some things on the shelves like chocolate peanut butter spread for bread!

June 13th was Massimo's 2nd birthday! Massimo is Mike's dog and they made him a little birthday hat that was so cute and I made a little collage of pictures! I wish I could have been there to celebrate and see him eat his doggy ice cream.

That night I worked and Rob Stringer the Chairman of Columbia Records called to make a reservation which is cool since Mike is in the music industry. When I went up on the floor I saw Uma Thurman and her husband leaving and she was still pregnant and expecting in the next month!

The next day was Flag Day :)

Before work went to the allergist because I had been having a bad reaction to something so they pricked my arms with pins to test for different things. On one arm they used 30 pins to test for indoor and outdoor environmental factors and the other arm did 30 pricks to test for food allergies. I tested negative for any allergies so they wanted to me to come back another day for more testing.

While I was in testing Mike was back home signing a management contract to have someone manage him which is really exciting! I am so proud of him and I know incredible opportunities are to come!

Afterwards I ran to work and when I got out my Dad picked me up since he was driving to Connecticut to help my Grandma and I wanted to see her and go to my cousin's graduation party the next day. We stopped at a diner on the way to eat which was open 24 hours and then we got to my Grandma's late at night.

The next morning I ate breakfast with my Grandma and Dad and then my Dad and I went to my Aunt's house for the party. My Mom drove there that day since she could not miss any work and we helped finish setting up and then tons of family and friends came to celebrate!

There was a bunch of great food for everyone to eat and they also had a cotton candy machine that was very popular!

I got to spend some time with my little cousin Kylie and I gave her cotton candy for her first time and naturally she wanted more haha

My Uncle made a grand entrance when he came with a beautiful wooden chest that he helped put together and polish so that my cousin can put her horse riding equipment in it for shows and competitions which is really nice! 

Then the kids had fun hitting a pinata that they hung up in a tree. It was nice to celebrate Abby's graduation and it was so good to see my family! <3

Since the next day was Father's Day and I was going to be going back to the city and we did a celebration dinner with my Grandma at a place that we love called The Painted Pony. We sat on the patio and it was so nice!

On Father's Day my Mom headed home to be at work the next day and my Dad drove me back to the city. My mother agent Chantale was having a get-together of her models in the city so my Dad hung out in the area while I went into Bistro The Tea Set and hung out with everyone. It was good to see Chantale and meet some of her other models. She treated us to iced tea and hummus which was delicious and sweet of her. 

Afterwards I met my Dad at a bar nearby and we went back to my apartment where we went out to the lawn and played catch with a huge flying disk that I gave to my Dad that morning since we usually play catch with a frisbee or football. He thought the disk was cool and we had fun!

Then we went to eat at La Follia that I love and I tried a new cavatappi pasta with ricotta on top that they have for the summer which was amazing and I want to go back to get it soon! After dinner I had to go to bed soon because I had work early the next day and my Dad was driving back to my Grandma's to help her.

I was so happy to be able to see my Dad for Father's Day, I have the best Father in the whole Universe and I love him so much!

May 31st-June 6th - My Birthday, Miss USA in Las Vegas, & Grand Canyon!

On Thursday I took the train home to be with everyone to celebrate my birthday before we left for Las Vegas! Mike picked me up from the train station and we went to the mall to look for shoes that I could wear to the pageant. I bought a pair of black heels by Jessica Simpson that were fancy enough to wear with a cocktail dress but are casual enough to wear with other outfits.

The next day Mike's family planned a dinner for me and they made eggplant parmesan that was ridiculously good! It was Mike, Helen, Scott, Allie, and our friend Jorge all celebrating together which was really nice. They also got me a scrumptious cake and ice cream that we all shared!

June 2nd was my birthday!! That morning I went to the mall to look for a pair of shorts I wanted to get my roommate Dennise for her birthday which is the same day as mine! Afterwards I went to Scott Miller salon and Allie blow-dried my hair and put a little curl in it which was so nice of her. Then my parents, Mike, Liz and I went out to eat together at Benuccis Ristorante and had a great lunch! My parents also surprised me with an amazing birthday cake after we ate! It was good to celebrate with them before we had to head to the airport to go to Las Vegas!

We picked up our luggage and flew to Nevada! Sarah was meeting us there since she flew from New York City so as soon as we landed we met her at baggage claim. Then we all took a shuttle to where we could pick up our rental car. There was a huge line of people using the same car rental company and so we had to wait there a while until we could pick ours up. Then we drove to our hotel and checked in and got a little bit to eat at Manchu Wok since that was the only thing open that late.

Afterwards Mike said he wanted to give me my birthday present and he pulled out a Tiffany's box! I was not expecting a gift like that and when I opened it up and saw a beautiful necklace with a bright yellow gemstone, I was speechless!

I had a great birthday with family and friends and was looking forward to the rest of the trip!

The next day we went to lunch at the Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay. Sarah and I were so excited by their milkshake selections and we got a nutella milkshake and a cookie dough milkshake with chocolate frosting and they were the best milkshakes ever! I wish that I could have that cookie dough milkshake every day.

Right after we did a little bit of shopping and then Sarah and I got ready to go to the Miss USA 2012 Pageant! I decided to wear a simple black satin dress that I had and Sarah wore a black dress with gem accents. My Mom drove us over the Planet Hollywood and we walked up to a huge crowd of people waiting to get in just like I remembered from the year before.

When waiting to get in I saw Georgina Vaughan who was Miss Nevada Teen USA my year at Miss Teen USA and later became Miss Nevada USA 2009. We said hi but could not meet up because the line was moving. Sarah and I got in pretty quickly and found our seats. The show began and it was so exciting to be in the crowd cheering with everyone and seeing the amazing lights on the stage!

The opening was a fashion show of each contestant wearing different kinds of dresses by Sherri Hill which was really neat. Then the hosts Giuliana Rancic and Andy Cohen announced the top 16 and I was sad that New York, Kansas (Miss Kansas Teen USA my year at Miss Teen USA), and Virginia (Miss New York Teen USA 2004) did not make it but there were many contestants who placed that I predicted based on their interview videos and the preliminary competition.

Then the top 16 participated in swimsuit competition while Cobra Starship performed "You Make Me Feel" and "#1 Nite" which was fun to watch!

Afterwards, the contestants were narrowed down to ten who then showed off their beautiful dresses in the evening gown competition. There was also a nice tribute to Dick Clark who had hosted the pageant in the past for a few years, as well as the videos to get to know more about each contestant in the top ten.

Everyone was holding their breath as the contestants were narrowed down to five!

                                  Georgia!                            Nevada!

Rhode Island!

                                Maryland!                                Ohio!

(photos by Fadil Berisha taken for the Miss Universe Organization)

Each contestant answered a question about themselves and then it was time to have the judges ask the final questions. The judges were Marilu Henner, Arsenio Hall, Ali Fedotowsky, Rob Kardashian, Dayana Mendoza, Joe Jonas, Cat Cora and George Kotsiopoulous. It was time for the final look before announcing who the new Miss USA would be and while each contestant walked down the runway Akon performed his new song "America's Most Wanted" which was pretty fitting for the occasion.

And the new Miss USA for 2012 is...
                                Olivia Culpo Miss Rhode Island USA!

We were right by a group of Olivia's family so it was so exciting to see them watch their loved one become Miss USA and they were so ecstatic, obviously! I congratulated them and Sarah and I stayed around for a little while Erika, who was Miss Delaware Teen USA at Miss Teen USA with me in 2006, and I were texting to find each other. 

Out in the lobby Sarah and I found Erika and it was good to see her since we had not seen each other since 2006. Then we saw Morgan Woolard who was Miss Oklahoma Teen USA our year, later went on to be Miss Oklahoma USA 2010 and was first runner-up at Miss USA 2010! I talked to her for a little bit which was nice and then I saw Johanna Sambucini, Miss New York USA 2012, who I had not met yet so I introduced myself to her. She said that she knew of me from the pageant and she was really nice! 

(Myself and Erika, Miss Delaware Teen USA 2006)

After visiting in the lobby, Sarah, Erika and I ate at P. F. Changs right near the pageant in Planet Hollywood. There was a long line but we walked around and got seated pretty quickly. The three of us had such a nice dinner catching up! Sarah and I walked back to the hotel and my parents were in the casino but I was tired and went to bed.

The next day we ate lunch at Max Brenner in Caesars Palace where I had made a reservation and it was yummy! We started out with hummus, then I had a pasta dish and finished with lava chocolate cake and chocolate, peanut butter, banana pizza!

We were stuffed but we went into some stores around there in The Forum Shops.

Then we decided to do something different and go to an outlet mall. My Dad and Mike went to an outdoor mall that had Guitar Center and my Mom, Sarah and I went to a nice outlet mall and bought a couple cute things. Then I found out my friend Gloria who was Miss New York Teen USA 2001 and Miss New York USA 2007 was stranded at a motel by the airport because her flight was overbooked. We went and picked her up and headed to the Ballagio to see the water show!

We walked in the Ballagio and looked around and then decided we were hungry so we found a place called Yellowtail to have a little something to eat.

After we ate we went onto the patio and watched the water show from the Ballagio rather than from the street which was really nice!

Gloria had to get up the next day to fly out so we brought her back to her hotel after but I was glad that we got to spend some time with her. We wanted to visit the Wynn so we went there and first saw their Ferrari dealership and then walked around.

We found a cute cafe to sit down and get a snack and we wound up getting a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting for us to share. Then it was time for bed so that we could get up the next morning and go to the Grand Canyon!

In the morning no one wanted to eat except Mike and I so we went to Paris and ate at a really cute place where you feel like you are eating outside with the cloud painted ceiling and old-fashioned street lights.

Afterwards we got picked up and we all headed on our big adventure! I have always wanted to see the Grand Canyon so I was really excited that we were finally going!

Shortly after driving everyone was saying that they were getting hungry so we stopped in a small historic town called Boulder City and had lunch. It was a cute town but definitely small and with random stores. Then we were on our way again until we reached the Hoover Dam where we drove around there to take in the cool sight. I had not visited there since I was about 10 years-old so it was definitely neat to see it again!

Then we drove on and on in the dessert, which I thought was really interesting but Mike and Sarah fell asleep haha. I thought the Joshua trees were cool and I liked spotting cattle that were resting on the side of the road.

All of a sudden we got to a part where the road turned to all gravel and it was really bumping to drive on for about 45 minutes. There was one big hill that we saw buses trying to drive up and they were sliding backwards and causing a big cloud of dust from the wheels turning in the gravel.

We finally made it onto a smooth road that was near where we were trying to get to! I started to see what looked like part of the canyon and it was neat to see the layers in the huge rock with some bright red hues! We were directed to park in a lot and go inside to purchase tour tickets. A big bus took everyone to the first stop to see the Grand Canyon which was called Eagle Point because part of the rock looks like an eagle with it's wings spread!

Seeing the Grand Canyon was breathtaking. It was something I have always wanted to see, walking up to the edge and looking out across the horizon with the on-going carving into the massive rock of Earth.

It was a dream come true that my parents and I got to experience this together and on top of it having Mike and Sarah there was so nice. 

We enjoyed the view for a while and then my Mom took out her telescope that she brought. Being the Scientist that she is she wanted us to be able to see the Transit of Venus where Venus was passing in front of the sun. This is something that will not happen again for another 115 years so my Mom wanted to be sure that we got to see it!

She bought us each solar glasses to wear and set up the telescope with a solar lens. It took a while to get it working and focused but then we finally saw the black dot of Venus in front of the sun! I am glad that we all got to see it and it was interesting to see some of the sun spots too.

Then my Dad spotted little animals that seemed like a cross between a squirrel, chipmunk, and prairie dog and they were so cute! I wanted to take them home haha

Nearby we saw a little performing area where there were demonstrations of Native American cultural music and dancing. I remember seeing demonstrations in Onondaga, NY when I was younger so it was neat to see one again. We also walked around and went into the different native dwellings that they had there which was interesting. After, we got on the next tour bus and went to another stop to see more of the Grand Canyon.

I am glad that we decided to explore this stop because it looked really cool! We walked up a small hill and when we got to the top we saw a giant pyramid of rock with people standing at the top of it!

Of course my Mom went right to it and beat us to the top haha It started to get really windy the further up I went and I knew that Mike was waiting by the bus stop for us to come back so I did not go all the way to the top. It was really neat

I cannot express what having this experience with my loved ones meant to me. Thank you Mom and Dad for making this trip happen, I love you!

We went back to the van and started heading out of the desert. On our way it was so cute seeing cattle walking alongside the road and even standing in the road where we had to drive around or wait for them to move haha

When we were close to Las Vegas I made a reservation at Rainforest Cafe in MGM Grand Hotel. Dinner was great and I love the experience that goes along with dining there.

After getting back to the hotel there were only a few hours until we had to bring the rental car back and get to the airport for our 6:00am flight. I had to pack all of my belongings and wound up pulling an all-nighter (good thing I can sleep well on planes)! 

We boarded the plane, said adios to Las Vegas and headed to Detroit, Michigan. Sadly we had to part ways there because Mike and my parents were going back to Rochester, New York and Sarah and I were going to New York, New York. 

PS I would have had more and better pictures from the trip but since then my iPhone was stolen. :(

Everyone made it back safely and Sarah and I unpacked and I went to bed! I had such a great trip and was spoiled that everyone could come with me since I was going no matter what to watch the Miss USA pageant! I am so thankful for the great experience! :)