Simon says

Tonight something special happened.

Tonight I shared a moment with Simon from "Real Housewives of New York City."

I've always considered myself fairly anti-celebrity, which is why I was surprised at the surge of delight I felt in making sweet eye love with a man who doesn't even count as one.

For those of you who are not familiar, Simon hails from a Bravo TV show that is the infinitely superior spinoff to "Real Housewives of Orange County." And he is the star of the program. Married to housewife Alex (who was also there, both pictured above), Simon is an arrogant Frenchman whose love of shopping and prissy mannerisms lend him an "is he or isn't he?" air. Unfortunately, I was unable to solve the mystery tonight, since our interaction lasted only about a second or so. Still, it was intense.

This all happened at the Eco Chic fashion show at the Natural History Museum, which Andrea graciously invited me to. (Those mag connections are already paying off!) It was a fantastic venue for the show, with a runway set up directly under the giant whale. We wandered with our complimentary glasses of wine and discussed how the stuffed walruses would make wonderful couches (and conversation pieces). THe show itself was also cool. We didn't realize the model squad was made up of celebrities until we watched the little nephew from "Ugly Betty" appear and wave adorably to the crowd. I only recognized one other model--Alek Wek--but apparently Dominique Swain and Lauren Hutton were also there.

I made eye contact with Simon before the show, as we were bee-lining it to the bar. Seeing him made me reflect on the fact that even NYC socialites with reality TV shows are just people, same as any other NYer cruising down the sidewalk. (Of course, this was after I gasped, "Oh my God! It's Simon!!!)

The best part of the show didn't happen until we were leaving. Swag bags, as I now call them, are a consumerist's dream. I cannot let myself get used to this.