Everyone needs a Cinderella moment once in their life: a moment in which the stressors of life melt away and your realize that fairy tales really can come true. For me, that moment was Sunday, March 1. Before I tell you about my Cinderella moment, maybe it’s time to talk about why it came just at the right time.

Early last November, one of my children became very ill. He was out of school for a month. We lived at doctors’ appointments and the poor kid received diagnostic tests and imaging from every direction as we worked to find a diagnosis. It was by far the most stressful thing my husband and I ever went through. Not having answers for our son’s illness turned our lives upside down. We weren’t eating right–if at all–and getting any sort of good sleep had become a thing of the past.

He finally started to improve the week of Christmas and by Christmas day he was almost completely better. The problem is that during his illness I had stopped taking care of myself and the day after Christmas, it was as though someone removed my batteries and I went down… hard. I came down with a cold and subsequent sinus infection–the most painful I’ve ever experience. Once I started getting over the sinus infection, I got sick again… and again. In all, since December 26, I have battled that cold and sinus infection, followed by the flu, then a horrible case of strep (that spread), then a new throat infection and an ear infection and then bronchitis to cap it all off. To say being sick pretty consistently for two and a half months was a drag would be an understatement. I had gone from someone who worked out several times a week to someone who didn’t have the energy to leave the house for more than two to three hours at a time. I was sick of being sick.

The last week of February (almost a week to the day before my 40th birthday), I got an email inviting me to attend the red carpet premiere of Cinderella as a guest of JCPenney. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I cried with joy. Me? On the red carpet for the princess movie I had been so looking forward to? I was in disbelief. And then reality set in: could I make through the full day of events? Would my voice come back and my cough go away in time? Regardless, I quickly said yes and hoped to my Fairy Godmother that I would be well in time. I had felt so deflated for so many weeks and needed a moment to feel like I could get myself back on track.

When Sunday, March 1 arrived, my cough was almost cleared and while I still didn’t have my voice all the way back (I still don’t), I knew it was going to be an experience I would never forget. My coach (car service) picked me up at the stroke of 1p.m. and whisked me away to the Lowes Hollywood Hotel where JCPenney treated me to a “Glam Ball,” where I received my Cinderella transformation–celebrity stylist Joey Tierney who helped me accessorize my little black Calvin Klein dress with some glamorous jewelry from JCPenney’s accessory collections.

I was then treated to full hair and makeup, and with the rainy weather by beautiful blowout definitely benefited from some gorgeous big curls.

I could hardly believe the finished product! After living in yoga pants and sweatshirts for months, I felt like a princess ready for the ball.

Off to the ball!

After crossing a rainy Hollywood Boulevard, it was time to head to Disney’s historic El Capitan Theatre for the big moment: the red carpet. I felt like pinching myself. Was I really going to get to walk the red carpet? The same carpet being walked down by the likes of Lily James and Sophie McShera from my beloved Downton Abbey? I could hardly believe it was happening. I felt like Cinderella going to the ball.Everywhere I looked their were cameras flashing, famous faces and people dressed to the nines–all safely protected by a water-tight tent that kept the media and invited guests dry from the unexpected California rain.

This sheer size the carpet and the camera and then party going on at the end of the carpet had me feeling like I was in a daydream.

Invited guests were treated to delicious food and drinks, as well as a variety of fun activities like hand-cut silhouettes, mini-manis featuring Cinderella inspired nail polish by Morgan Taylor, a string quartet playing classic Disney songs and dancers.

A video posted by Babes In Disneyland (@babesindisneyland) on Mar 2, 2015 at 9:11am PST

Toward the end of the red carpet festivities, my heart stopped. The incomparable stars of the movie were there in the private party section of the red carpet for photos. I don’t often get star struck (because I live in L.A.), but for this Downton fan, seeing Lady Rose and Daisy was a moment I’ll never forget.

After the red carpet, my night was capped off with a screening of the movie (I’ve seen it twice and I adore it–my full review will be out on Friday) and my coach delivering me home feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on my 40th birthday, as well as the challenges and joys of being a mom. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been chosen by JCPenney for this wonderful fairy tale experience and will forever feel indebted to their makeup and hair artists who made me feel like a princess and for the jewlery that lit up my night. I would also like to thank Dylan Keith Salon for providing me with gorgeous new hair color so that my gray hair wouldn’t be the sparkle everyone noticed on during my special day.