Phew. Holy crap you guys. What a complete whirlwind.
So I woke up on Tuesday morning to a message from Taylor Nation sitting in my Twitter inbox. It was vague. The word ‘confidential’ was used.
I was being called up. I knew it was New York.
A lot of things had to transpire in between me getting from my new town to New York City — a place I had always dreamed of going.
I don’t even know how to begin this, really.
I think you all know the story by now. You meet at a location to talk to other likeminded Swifties. It was amazing being able to talk to so many wonderful people who were meeting their idol for the first time and had waited years for it to happen.
You get placed onto buses and then driven to her apartment where food and drink awaits you.
I wandered around her apartment in complete and utter shock, trying to absorb everything as readily as I could. The rustic cabinets filled with old, faded vintage books, various baseball paraphernalia, old vintage cameras, a birdcage filled with books and a lit up flashbulb ‘love’ sign. That was my favourite piece in her living room. Her Grammys for country album of the year and for “Mean” sitting up on her fireplace mantle in between old fashion clocks sitting on yet more vintage, faded and worn books.
All of the candles that fill her entire house. Some in singles, some in giant waxy turrets on wrought iron stands. Like candle castles. Some of them were custom created for her from a candle shop in Soho. According to the label, they were made for “Taybeca”. I couldn’t stop laughing.
The dark burgundy velvet drapes offsetting brick walls painted the same rustic brown-red that her walls are and the oriental dark red rugs on the floors. So many armchairs and comfy couches and a pool table.
A poster headlining her and Ed on tour together hangs behind one of the rustic cabinets against her walls.
Beyond her kitchen, there’s a hallway decorated with black and white pictures of friends (including a certain flame-haired singer with his middle finger up). I loved her television room which was overflowing with comfy couches and more velvet throw pillows than I can even handle.
She has Frozen on DVD and the walls were decorated with four-square framed blown up Polaroids. One was captioned something along the lines of how hardcore cross-stitching is. Another with her dancing amongst Victoria Secret angels at the VSFS.
A certain Meredith Grey was at the bay window of one of the rooms and is almost as soft as powder puff Olivia Benson. Who I got to hold in my arms after Scott Swift handed her to me.
Then there was Taylor herself. Who came down the stairs and we all promptly screamed our faces off. About a minute later, Karlie Kloss bounded down the stairs.
More screams.
Taylor and Karlie embraced, Taylor said she had just stopped by for a quick visit and then she was gone.
Taylor took to an armchair that we had all crowded around on thef loor while sitting on mass amounts of cushions and throw pillows. She talked to us. Recognized some of us. I made a few a sassy comments at some of the descriptions of the songs (that I can’t talk about) while she played us the songs and gave us descriptions about each of them. I think you’ve read enough experience stories to know how that goes.
Before she could play the album, I was sitting on the floor and I was this || close to screaming “NO SPOILERS” and running out of there. Of course, I didn’t. And, of course, I’m totally joking.
I’m probably not going to be much help by saying “I don’t know what to think of the album” right now. I’m not allowed to share lyrics, song titles, track listing or descriptions that Taylor gave us regarding how she came about to writing the songs.
All I can say is that, yes, it’s true. There are only two slow-ish songs on the album and they’re not in the slightest ‘traditional’ Swiftian ballads. The production on the album is more different than I have ever heard. It’s a mixture of exactly what you would expect on pop radio, but also more of a throwback to the 80s mixed in with something I didn’t expect and was very thrown from. It’s different. Very very very different. A lot of great one liners are on there. A lot of repetitive liners are on there, too.
She played “Shake It Off” last and we all had a dance party. She threw off her Louboutins and danced around with us in her party dress.
During the intermission, she herself handed out a tray of cookies that she had baked. They tasted like fall and angels.
After the album played, Taylor went upstairs and we Swifties talked amongst ourselves.
A lot of people came up to me and told me that they loved TSS. I can’t even tell you how that made me feel. I know that I teared up several times and hugged many of you many more times. I honestly just can’t express how grateful and completely crazy that is to me. To talk to actual people with actual lives in PERSON who appreciate and know and follow this blog. Like? That? Is? Insane??? And I’m BEYOND floored at the kindness of so many of you. It truly means everything to me. I hope that got across when we met.
Finally, much later on that evening, it was my turn to talk to Taylor.
Previously that day, I had written a very long letter on the back of a map of New York that had a bunch of tourist attractions written on it that me and my best friend had visited earlier that day. I wanted to make the most of New York while I could. It was an exhausting day.
I wasn’t allowed to give it to her herself but that letter was meant to detail a lot of feelings and emotions I’ve felt over the last eight years. As I knew that when I came face to face with someone who has near single-handedly changed my life and informed my opinions and philosophies on love that I wouldn’t be able to fit everything in during a five minute stammering, babbling conversation.
When she called for me she did an adorable little shimmy and said HIiiIiiIIiIiiiIIII. I walked up to her very slowly and carefully then burst into tears and said “I’m going to CRY” and she said, “Awww no you’re not. No. You’re fine. It’s okay” and she enveloped me in a tight hug.
Taylor is extremely engaging, extremely present. She looks deeply into your eyes, she purses her lips, she twirls her fingers, she bursts out laughing, she grabs your arm when you make a joke, her brows jut right up when you surprise her and she asks you questions sincerely about your life and how you got there.
I told her that my first concert ever was hers. That I was in the nosebleeds and 14-years-old and that she was “a flailing teenager in a disco dress hitting a garbage can to ‘Picture To Burn’”. She burst out laughing and said, “YES. And you knew and saw that someday I would have real garbage cans to bang on, didn’t you?” And I said yes, I knew she was something special.
I told her that me and my best friend woke up at “balls o clock” that morning to get to see the sights of New York. Her eyes basically popped out of their head and her perfectly lipsticked pout made an ‘o’ in shock and said “Oh my god what did you say?” I repeated myself. She said, with great exuberance, “THAT. IS. THE BEST THING. THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD. THAT IS AMAZING. I am going to use that in conversation ALL THE TIME. I cannot even believe that.”
We talked about how I got there. We talked about the blog. She called me a “pro” and that she had chosen me about seven to eight months ago and she couldn’t believe how dedicated I was. I’m extremely grateful I gave her that letter because it went into so much more detail about my love life and what she’s done for me.
We then took some polaroids. She said, “Do you want to do something fashion related?” and I said “Sure!” so she went into that adorable little bow/curtsy thing that she does on tour and tugged out the hem of her skirt. I followed.
She gave me another huge hug and I said thank you and I love you and she said she loved me too.
And then I died.
Taylor Swift Style 