oh my....

Hello my dears!!!  So sorry I didn't get to report back to you about my Sofia Encounter on Friday.  I got pretty ill on Thursday AM (due to my excitement of seeing Sofia on Wed!) and was out of commission for the next two days.  Very unfortunate, but would do it all over again if I had to.

OK--Here's what you've been waiting for.  First off, no autographs(sorry, katie!) because Ms. Coppola only wanted to do the interview...Apparently some celebrities/guests agree to do signings, but she wasn't one of them (one of the show managers told me she didn't want to do a signing).  Oh well, that was kinda bummer (since I'd painstakingly taken my Laduree cards with me (2!) and even brought my Sharpie, just in case). 

BUT the whole evening kinda made up for it.

I was early to the show.  2 1/2 hrs early.  See what a fan I am?  B. calls me "her #1 fan!" because I was the only one to show up that early. I actually showed up in the morning to stake out the place and an employee told me that I didn't need to show up earlier than 5:30pm (one hr before the show) because folks don't bother coming in early for the shows during the winter months... (BTW, it was the coldest day of the whole week..not more than mid 20s--maybe).  But you know me.... I'm paranoid so we showed up at 4: 10pm.  Turns out the employee was right. There was noone there.  I guess I overestimated the crowd.  Maybe I am  the #1 fan!  B. was great because he patiently waited w. me inside the Times Building, which is gorgeous btw....and we basically hung out at the lobby. 

While hanging out, guess who I see?

Yes, my dear friends: Bill Cunningham!

Can you believe my luck???

He's practically a fashion icon in my book and I absolutely adore him.

I tried taking pics of him and his photo assistant, but it's kinda hard to be inconspicuous when you're standing in a lobby w. a camera pointing at Bill Cunningham.  So I did the next best thing: I just stared at him from afar.  :)

He's so so cute!   What a highlight and a bonus!  I couldn't believe my luck....

Finally 5:20 rolled around and we headed back to the next building, which is where Times Talks was held (Times Center)....They let us in (probably felt sorry for us because I'd been going back and forth in front of the building for the last 2 hrs!)...and we picked up our tickets and stood in line. 
Care to guess who was the first in line?

Yup...Moi!

It wasn't until well after 5:45 that people slowly started to show up. 

Finally around 6:15 or so they said we could start to head towards the theatre.  It turned out that they let B. & I go first and for a long while we were the only ones near the front doors.  So we chatted w. the usher and one of the guys who was managing the event.  They were both super sweet and commented I must be a huge fan...which of course was an understatment! 

Finally it was time to go in and I had my pick of seats!

See this stage?  I was right in front of them!!! That's how close we were. Right in the center too!  SO so exciting!  We tried to guess who'd sit where and B. was right on when they walked in....!

It was so strange to see her in person. Kinda surreal...but I also felt as though she was exactly how I imagined how she'd be, if I ever met her in person.  You know when you see a celebrity in "real life" and they somehow look very different from glossies or in movies?

Well, Sofia looked exactly like all her photos, interviews, etc...

It was almost comforting to know she was the same...and her mannerisms were exactly as she exhibits during interviews.  I have to admit she did seem somewhat uncomfortable being on stage and seeing an audience.  She even commented something to the effect when she was asked her first question....I'm sure I'd feel the same if I were being interviewed, but w. a huge audience in front of me for 1.5 hrs!   I tried to memorize exactly what she wore, but thank goodness I found photos!...She wore a very casual cashmere sweater dress with black ribbed wool tights and great black fur trimmed booties (now I want booties just like hers!).  Her watch (which I'm assuming was a lovely delicate Chanel...It had a rectangle face w. a skinny black leather strap) was gorgeous.  She also wore what looked like a diamond tennis bracelet and the best pink nail polish!  I stared at her nails a lot!

Stephen Dorff was fine enough.  No need to go into detail about him...

As far as the interview goes she answered questions about the movie, her other films, etc...but in some ways I felt like I already heard the answers before ( I've read so many interviews lately and I almost felt as if I knew how she'd answer!)....

I'm not sure if I'm doing a great job of describing this event...I was just so fixated on her presence... I just stared the whole time. I probably sound like a nut case by now...right?

All in all, I had one of the best evenings of all time!   She didn't disappoint at all, which was something I was afraid of, if that makes any sense.... Maybe that speaks to how genuine she really seems....She is what she is and nothing less and nothing more.

I love her!

{here are the pics from the event}