Suvudu Universe

Lovelies!!

It has been almost a WHOLE month since I’ve posted. July has been insanity for me, and the beginning of August isn’t looking much better. Any hoo, I needed to share with you an experience that I had yesterday (July 28th) at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN.

Now, I’m sure you can give an educated guess based on the title of this post. And I’m sure many of you are thinking “What the hell? This is a beauty/fashion blog. Why is she posting about movies, etc?” Well, my loves, this IS a beauty/fashion blog , but if you would be so kind as to indulge me every once in a while by allowing me to have my fangirl moments, then I’ll love you forever!

Yesterday was the ULTIMATE fangirl experience for me. I met the ONE man on this planet that has the power to bring me to my knees just by breathing… I met Jamie Campbell Bower. JAMIE. CAMPBELL. BOWER! And here’s PROOF!

If you don’t know what The Mortal Instruments is, then what the hell rock have you been living under??!

The Mortal Instruments (TMI, for short) is a book series that was written by the AMAZINGLY gifted author, Cassandra Clare. The series follows the life of a young teenager, Clary Fray as she, due to her mother’s kidnapping, discovers that there is more to her life than she EVER imagined. She is introduced to a world of creatures (demons, vampires, werewolves, etc.), angelic beings called “shadowhunters”, and powers that she, unbeknownst to her, possesses. Along the journey of self-discovery, she meets three shadowhunters (Jace Wayland, Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood) and other characters (Magnus Bane, Valentine Morgenstern, etc.) that will change her life forever.

It’s a beautifully written piece of work. Currently there are five books out; the sixth and final book will be released in 2014.

Any hoo, enough about that. On July 28th (yesterday), in promotion for the motion picture that is coming out (August 21st), the TMI cast made an appearance at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN. Needless to say, since I am obsessed with the TMI story, I had to make my way there.

It was a 7-hour drive. I left Kansas City on Saturday, July 27th at 6pm and arrived in MN early Sunday morning (around 1am). When I got there, there were already about 30-40 people in line. Some had been there since noon on Saturday!

But the line wasn’t too long for me to be concerned. The reason why people were camping out is because there were only a limited amount of wristbands available for public distribution. These wristbands were our ticket to meeting the cast.

The event consisted of a Q&A (which any and everyone could attend), but there were only limited slots available for the meet & greet and signing. I NEEDED that wristband!

It was about 48 degrees that night/early morning, so I decided to stay in my car until the line started to get a bit longer. So around 3am, I made my way over to the line to at least “claim” my spot. I sat out in the cold for about 30 minutes before I decided that I couldn’t handle it. I spoke to some people in front of me and behind me, letting them know that I was going to be in my car (which was directly across the street — I could see the line from the car).

I stayed in my car until about 5am, when the sun started to peak out a little.  Once the sun came out, everyone started to wake up a bit. The wristbands weren’t going to be distributed until 11am, so we had a while to wait. The physical mall opened its doors at 7am, so we were allowed inside for restrooms, Starbucks, and warmth.

As we waited on the time to pass, a lot of us started talking about other book series or our favorite TMI characters or even how far we came for the event. There was one girl who flew from San Francisco (with her dad)! Now THAT is some serious dedication.

We just sat around chatting, having a LOT of fun as a fandom. It was truly amazing!

Then. The wait was over. They began distributing wristbands to folks and sending us in bunches at a time. There was a while prior to 11am that we were concerned about not getting a wristband because they wouldn’t tell us how many they had available. But alas WE GOT IN!!!

Once we got inside, we started settling into our spots (anxiously awaiting 1pm — when the event started). The mall was fairly empty (security had blocked off the entire rotunda area).

My new friends (Suzanne & Cheri) and I sat together and just enjoyed being some of the older fangirls of the event! Age is NOT a requirement!

Then they were there!

Of course, my eyes were on Jamie the ENTIRE time, but I did manage to look at Lily and Kevin quite a bit as well. Lily is flawless as per usual. But I must say that Kevin Zegers has some of the most beautifully dressed arms I have ever seen. The man is a sharp dresser.

But Jamie is a sexy BEAST. In whatever he wears. And he gave us lots of LOVE!

They had a Q&A session. I filmed some of it (which I will link here). Feel free to watch the ENTIRE video, but I just linked it to the start of the Q&A.

After the Q&A, there was a signing. Where we could meet the cast and have them sign ONE item. They also had posters to give out (and have signed, should you choose). But it was ONE item. Either the poster OR a book (or something). I decided to have them sign my “Book of Quotes”. But I did take a poster. Just to have it.

Kevin was up first. And he was as nice as he appears. He thanked me for coming out to see them!

Next was Lily. She is JUST as gorgeous in person as she is on-screen. If you haven’t seen Stuck In Love, you are seriously missing out. She was awesome! She even personalized her autograph for me! <3

Then finally, the celebrity love of my life, Jamie Campbell Bower. Gracing his way into my atmosphere… Just looking all sort of sexy and delicious. He called me “love” and told me that he “liked my shirt” and “loved my bag”.

He was the ONLY one I cared to get a posed photo with. Don’t get me wrong, I love Kevin and Lily. But they don’t bring “it” out of me like Jamie does. So I leaned over and asked Jamie for a photo and he said “of course, love”. And in 5 seconds or less, my camera had this on it:

OH. MY. EVER-LOVING. FEELS.

There are NO words for this moment. There is NOTHING anyone can say to make sense of the emotions that were going on inside of me. That are STILL going on inside of me as I write this. I shared face space with JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER!! We were within hair whips of each other. We both have our nose rings on the same side. We’re both British (he actually is; I am, too, in my mind). We are in front of the store that introduced me to the TMI series. We were SUPPOSED to meet.

And we did.

As I walked off stage, I turned to my new friend, Suzanne, who was the genius behind the photo and started jumping and screaming. I really could not believe it!

It was an AMAZING experience that I will NEVER forget. They are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. But Jamie… Jamie is in another league. I talk about my experience in my video that I will link below. Mind you, I do get a little emotional but I also have a busted eye that wouldn’t stop watering.

Honestly, you guys… I don’t think I could have asked for a better day. Being around my TMI family, taking random photos like this one:

 

or this one:

 

…and meeting some AMAZING actors, who do things like this:

It was truly an out of body experience. One that I didn’t expect to get THIS affected by. If you EVER get the chance to meet someone that you admire, I really and truly wish a positive experience for you. I was lucky. Jamie, Lily and Kevin were amazing. Inside and out. I only hope that you guys get that same experience should the opportunity ever arise with someone you look up to.

Sigh… that’s it. Fangirl moment over.

I will be back soon with more fashion/beauty posts. And I thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you!

Until next time. Stay lovely,
Christina Marie

P.S. Cassie (Cassandra Clare) was sick and couldn’t make it to the event. So we signed a HUGE “Get Well Soon” card for her! I love my TMI Fam. We the bestest!

Disclaimer: All photos are owned by me, Christina Marie!