Just got back from the Windy City...

...that's NZ's own windy city - Wellington. Some of you may have been wondering how I got on with being glamorous for a day...er..."thank you for asking!" (I have noted that there is not one comment on my previous blog!

Winning a flight to Wellington for the Red Carpet World Premier of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" with 20th Century Fox definitely rates up there as one of the coolest prizes I've ever won. I can certainly get used to this kind of lifestyle. I was born to it! Living in a hotel room with a giant bed suits me well. I took full advantage of the bathroom and made sure I wore the bathrobe (twice), brought the bath gel and lotion home and smuggled out numerous tea bags and jam samples.

No, it's not Weta animation. Beloved really is dwarfed by the bed.

There was just one thing I didn't understand about the hotel room:

What's with the mirror being dropped to eye level from the bed? DODGY!

Sadly there was no straightening iron in the hotel room and I'd forgotten to bring mine so for that reason I'll give the Amora Hotel in Wellington a mere 4 stars instead of the expected 5.

Being a girly-girl type of woman I couldn't decide what to wear and ended up putting photos of my frocks up on Facebook. It was put to the vote and the navy and black sequins won out.  It cost me all of ten bucks in the Red Dot Sale at Farmers but when Big Gino from Weta Workshop complimented me on my "beautiful dress" I knew that all my friends had made the right decision. Since it was a little short I'd opted for a pair of "cellulite buster" knickers to preserve my modesty and hold my tummy in. They cost more than the dress!

 

Once again, I have cleverly disguised my true identity

So naturally I was poised and sophisticated when I made my grand entrance onto the red carpet. On our approach, Beloved spotted photographers flashing their huge pieces of equipment at the powerful and glamorous and we were up next. I'm afraid to say that I panicked. I still had my glasses on and having spent the last two hours applying makeup I was determined that my blue eyeliner would be seen:
"I haven't taken my glasses off yet!"
Beloved didn't seem to think it was important.
"Leave it. You haven't got time."
I should have listened. Instead, I attempted to juggle my $20 clutch and glasses, dropped them both and ended up scrambling about trying to retrieve them with my cellulite busters in full view of the movers and shakers behind me. Thankfully the paparazzi are a lot kinder to mere mortals such as myself than they are to Brittany, and Beloved and I were able to regain some composure for the next shot.

I think Beloved scrubbed up rather well.

The food and drinks flowed at the pre-premier event and then we were escorted into the VIP Gold Class Seating area to watch the World Premier of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Gold Class Seating always seemed a bit decadent to me but having done it, I have to say that kicking back in a lazy boy with free munchies is the ONLY way to watch a really cool movie.

After the movie it was off to some flash bar where the lovely young man on the door ASKED ME FOR ID before I was allowed in!! I could have kissed him! Okay...admittedly I TOLD him to ask me and but it was very nice of him to humour me. It was just a shame that I'd forgotten to put my Drivers License in my clutch. Once again the drinks flowed and I indulged in some fancy non-alcoholic cocktails that I'd never heard of before. Beloved on the other hand, ensured that he used the open bar tab to the fullest advantage. I think he may have worried a bit when he looked at the walls and saw this:

No...it wasn't the drink

Yup, that was a fantastic night away. I think I could handle this overnight jet setting on a more regular basis. Any of my friends want to go on a weekend shopping trip to Welly sometime? I promise that next time I'll try not to leave a trail of blue sequins everywhere I go.

Schmoozing with the stars in Wellywood

Well it looks like I hit the jackpot this week. I've been entering daily giveaways and competitions online and thought I was pretty nifty when Vodafone topped up my prepay with $50 credit after my name was pulled out of the hat. But yesterday I had a very nice surprise in my inbox:
"Congratulations! You have won the draw for the trip to Wellington for the NZ premiere of Rise of the Planet of the Apes..."

Nice! I had some vague recollection about filling in an online form and figured that I had won movie tickets. The only trouble is, I live in Auckland, not Wellington.  Turns out that my big prize consists of more than just a couple of passes to the latest movie:  

Ummm...is this movie going to be scary??

"The prize is for ONE winner and their friend to attend the red carpet NZ Premiere of 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' at Reading Cinemas Courtenay Wellington on August 1st with VIP seats and tickets to the exclusive after-party at the Hooch bar.

The winner and friend will then be given a room at Amora Hotel Wellington for the night. You will be flown from Auckland to Wellington on August 1st and return on August 2nd with the fabulous crew from Grabaseat.

Errr...have I ever mentioned that I'm terrified of flying?

Beloved received a phone call confirming that all was kosher and was told that we'd be met at Auckland airport on Monday and that we're to "dress to impress". My boss has kindly let me have a couple of days off work to go swanning off with the "it" crowd and our friend in the school office is going to have 7 y/o C for the night so she can get her to school.
Great!
SO WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR??? At this stage, all I have is that fancy clutch I bought for the school ball and possibly a pair of shoes. I think I'm going to need a little more! Not wanting to break the budget, I've had a look in my own wardrobe and have come up with this:

Dog not included

And quite possibly this: 

Got this last year for 10 bucks in Farmers Red Dot Sale. Do you think anyone would notice?

Umm..borrowed this off Zeeb (who is a size 8). I'm a size 10(ish!)

Opinions???
And what does a Wellywood schmoozer wear over her posh frock to keep warm?? Meanwhile, Beloved isn't allowed to look scruffy so it looks like we're off to the shops tonight. Hmmm....somehow I have a feeling that this is going to turn out to be a slightly more expensive project than the school ball.