"Oprah's Favorite Things 2017 party was last Thursday and I had the unbelievable opportunity to attend and reveal a very exciting secret I've been dying to share. Here's a look at what it's like to be a guest at the best holiday party ever!....  As an OMagazine Insider I get invited to participate in some pretty cool experiences. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be invited to Oprah's Favorite Things party! Ya'll, I'm still completely in shock and covered in bruises from pinching myself about a million times. Oh, how I wish you could have seen the happy dance that I did when I opened the email invitation. It would be a viral video for sure. Something comparable to lottery ticket winners or Justin Beiber fans who find out they're going to get to meet the Biebs backstage. There was screaming, lots of screaming... and even tears of joy. Maybe wails of joy, sobs. Ok, I was a sobbing, wailing, ecstatic hot mess. It was truly that exciting! Here we are in the elevator on our way up to the party. I adore my  OMag Insiders tribe! It's such a wonderful group of inspiring ladies from all walks of life. They are creative, brilliant, funny, strong and successful as hell. But what really makes them special is the love and support they so generously share with each other. I'm so blessed to be a part of this family! My heart was racing as we made our way into the room. You could feel the buzz of excitement walking in, a mix of media and marketers, executives and a few celebrities too! Our fabulous elf Cara guided us to our table by the stage before giving us a mini tour of the party. A cocktail bar featuring Oprah's favorite tequila, Casa Dragones was serving up drinks at the back. Guests were taking pics with the life-size replica of the December O Magazine photo stand-in. I grabbed a cocktail, some nibbles from the delicious food spread and a cupcake (or two!) and mingled a bit before the show began. Gayle King and Adam Glassman were our hosts for the evening, taking the stage to reveal the list of holiday gifts Oprah hand selected for this years list. They uncovered the first box and explained why Oprah chose this gift and how she goes about choosing all the gifts. And then Adam said the magic words.... "" And you're all going home with one of these!"" Elves in fur hats and plaid shirts appeared, arms full of gifts to pass out to the cheering crowd. A gorgeous Pandora ring, a Citizen watch, a gift certificate from NYDJ! Shop all of Oprah's Favorite Things on Amazon Oprah's Favorite Things And more fabulous gifts kept coming! Plaid shirts from Land's End just like our festive elves were wearing. Lark & Ro cashmere sweaters and a Vera Bradley cross-body bag. But the greatest gift of all was a surprise that had everyone squealing... Oprah is in the building When Oprah came out everyone completely lost their minds, myself included. It was so unexpected and such an awesome surprise, we all just went wild. After she managed to get everyone calm and quiet she proceeded to thank everyone for coming and jumped right into sharing a few of gifts from her Favorites List that she loves most and why she chose them. The Gratitude Jar is a beautiful hand blown glass jar that comes with a set of cards meant to inspire you to share the things you are most grateful for every day. It's something you can get your family involved in and I really love the whole idea. Oprah explained that if you focus on what you have each and every day you begin to manifest more. That's me snapping selfies with Oprah, lol! I was so moved by Oprah's speech about getting in touch with your spirit and following your intuition. It's hard to explain, but it was truly such a powerful, inspiring moment. She has this amazing presence and ability to make you feel her words on a deeper, emotional level. I was so wrapped up in the excitement and trying to capture it all, but for a second I looked away from my recording. As she spoke about the importance of telling your story and dreaming bigger her glance landed on me and I honestly felt like something inside of me changed in that instant. In Oprah's new book, the Wisdom of Sundays, she talks a lot about spiritual connection. In the opening she says: ""I believe part of my calling on Earth is to help people connect to ideas that expand their vision of who they really are and all they can be. All of us are seeking the same thing. We share the desire to fulfill the highest, truest expression of ourselves as human beings."" In that moment I feel like so much of what I've struggled with made complete sense, and I suddenly felt this overwhelming sense of purpose. I've spent the past few months wondering why me? Why are all of these amazing things happening for me. I'm not the best writer, I'm not the best photographer or blogger, or anything! ..... I'm just a mom who shares stories and inspiration, who loves to take pretty pictures and connect people with ideas. Who am I to deserve this huge following I have and these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. It would be easy to say it's all just a matter of luck, but then that would make me one of the luckiest people in the world. Oprah's words put so much into perspective and I completely believe that this moment happened for a reason. ""I believe part of my calling on Earth is to help people connect to ideas that expand their vision of who they really are and all they can be."" --Oprah And I believe that meeting Oprah changed me. Her energy, her presence, her words were so impactful I truly felt an awakening. Like my soul opened up to a higher purpose and the confidence that it will all unfold in time if I just follow my heart and listen to my intuition. After all, that's what lead me here in the first place. But back to the party. After Oprah shared a few more of her favorite things she brought out her favorite bottle of tequila and we all did a shot. Yes, we did a shot with Oprah! And that's why Oprah is everyone's favorite. She can touch your soul and keep it real at the same time. Taking a shot of Oprah's favorite tequila, Casa Dragones.  After Oprah shared her wisdom and did a shot with us all she said farewell and turned the spotlight back over to Gayle and Adam. More awesome gifts were revealed and more presents were passed out by our wonderful elves. Everyone's biggest question about this experience has been, "" but did you get all the things?"" And the answer is we got almost all the things. Many were handed out and others we received gift certificates for. There were only a few favorites that we didn't end up going home with. Thankfully Oprah and her elves had arranged for helpers to carry our bags out for us and Uber was kind enough to escort us home as well. My five bags of gifts filled three extra large duffel bags! Best Christmas ever!   I can't wait to try out all my new goodies and share my opinion on the one's that top my personal favorite things list. I'm so overwhelmingly grateful for this experience, and so thankful to Oprah, O Magazine and the whole team of people who made this possible. It's a dream come true! More importantly, it's inspired me to live bigger. To keep pursuing my purpose, to share stories that inspire and uplift others, to help create change and elevate the good in people. Because it's never too late to start. ""What I know for sure is the most valuable gift you can give yourself is the time to nurture the unique spirit that is you. Your life, just like mine, is unfolding according to your own truth. "" -----Oprah Winfrey, from The Wisdom of Sundays  Disclosure: I received many of the items shared here as gifts. All thoughts and opinions are my own.  More pics from the Favorite Things party..........."
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