You asked for it. {actually, you didn’t.}
And so I’ll give it to you. {this much is true}
My Thoughts on BlogHer13…Things that Made Me Smile
My sponsor, Sverve
Friends, BlogHer tickets aren’t cheap, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support of Sverve. I also love that a Sverve campaign made it possible for my girl Hillary of thehilljean.com to go. I nearly hugged that woman’s face off when I first saw her. {Not on Sverve? Click here and be whisked away to a magical land of community, blog know-how, webinars, and paid opportunities}.
My roommate, Kelley from Kelley’s Break Room
Kelley and I have “known” each other for four years and finally met for the first time on Friday. When I saw her across hallway at McCormick Place, orchestral stylings swelled in the background and we ran toward each other, arms extended, in slow motion.
We then proceeded to hit the expo and get ourselves some free fake eyelashes.
The Suniverse & Leslie Marinelli of The Bearded Iris
These ladies spoke on the topic of blogging anonymously. While I, myself, am not anonymous here, I try to keep The Cherubs’ identities on the down-low, so I found this session to be beneficial. Per their advice, I’m now going to call all of The Cherubs Blanket. Good idea, yes?
The BlogHer Shuttle System
I stayed at the Sheraton, which is approximately three miles away from McCormick Place. And did I ever walk there or hail a cab? No…Lordy, no! There was a shuttle that ran back and forth continuously between the two locales. Our drivers were super-friendly and accommodating. And this one time? I was even driven there all by my lonesome on that big old bus.
It made me feel rockstarish, so I duckfaced for the occasion. I won’t ever do it again. Promise.
The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond
Ree delivered a memorable opening keynote address that highlighted her initial bumblings before she truly found herself and her corner of the online world. Bonus: I met her and her lovely daughter after the keynote, and she was every bit as humble and nonchalant as I’d like the rest of the world to be.
Friends? She asked me for my card. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.
The BlogHer Voices of the Year Recognition Ceremony
It was a privilege to see and hear so many talented women reading pieces of their writing. My favorite, by far, was Ann Imig of Ann’s Rants and Listen to Your Mother. She delivered a seriously motivational piece that was two parts snark, one part Spanish, one part Wrestlemania and two parts Dr. Seuss.
It worked, friends. Trust me.
Anna of My Life and Kids
Anna held an impromptu, after hours skills demonstration that had those of us around her simultaneously blushing whilst feverishly taking notes. Let’s just say that the woman has skillz. Mad skillz.
The Parties
They were everything that I had heard them to be. There were cocktails.
And dancing.
And cocktails.
And food.
And cocktails.
And laughs.
And, um, cocktails. Which culminated in me executing a magic trick that involved a bottle of red wine, my white dress, a large crashing sound, and ZERO evidence on said dress.
No photo evidence on this one. But I do have witnesses. Just ask my new friend Michele if you’d like the lowdown.
Alexandra of Good Day, Regular People & Erin of The Gay Dad Project
These two talented ladies presented a session on shedding blogging facades and writing with an authentic voice. I truly loved this session. Life isn’t always failed Lego Cakes and Home Depot wacky hi-jinx, my friends, and I’m going to make a concerted effort to write a bit more from the heart and a bit less off the cuff in the future. You’d still like me if I did, yes?
Katy in a Corner
Katy taught me about overcoming vlogging fears. I’m proud to say that I’m no longer petrified by the thought of blogging and now am merely terrified. I now have plans to present a video post when the cows come home or when hell freezes over, whichever comes first.
The Swag.
Oh, the swag. Checkitout, friends.
Yeah. I told you. Since my return, The Cherubs have not stopped bickering and bartering over hand sanitizer, flavored water, breath freshener, ear buds, signed books, and Boudreaux Butt Paste. Don’t ask.
Anyway…I’m so very glad I went.
How about you? Have you been to BlogHer? Were you there? Want some Boudreaux Butt Paste?
Loved your re-cap. Also really wanting to know more about what you touched on; using kids names. I use my kids real names ( not last names) and I’m thinking this is not a good idea. What info was in that presentation?
It was touched upon, Debbie. To best protect them, “alternate identities” are recommended. My real life friends know who my Cherubs are, of course, but I’ve never referred to them once on this site by their actual names.
Hi Debbie! I would say if you aren’t comfortable using your kids’ names, don’t. But in my opinion, it is best if you change them to names that are real like “Dick” and “Jane” (or whatever) rather than cutesy names like “Blanket” and “Dust Ruffle”
And I learned this the hard way because my kids are “Bucket Head” and “Mini-Me” on my blog and I feel locked into that now. Good luck! Find @TheSuniverse and me on Twitter if you want to talk more about it. We’ve both been there. Thanks! ~@TheBeardedIris
Bucket Head and Mini me…hahaha! Great names!
I love PW! Glad she was as nice in person as she is over the interwebs.
Susan, she was absolutely darling…both in her presentation and at the expo. So very refreshing!
I thought maybe the shuttle would be annoying, but it worked out quite well and I never had to wait more than a few minutes to leave.
So glad I finally got to meet you! xo
Shell! Great meeting you as well! The pics that we took {all 29 of them} were too blurry to post. Sigh.
I vow to go next year! I’ve always gotten Blogher envy, but this year I felt like I really should have been there.
This was my first one, Leigh Ann. It was practically in my backyard…how could I not? Would LOVE to connect with you in ’14!
Sounds like you really got a lot out of it…and not just swag-wise! I haven’t been to one yet but next year for sure!! Thanks for the re-cap…:-)
It was pretty amazing, Allie…highly recommended.
Ah my love, this is so awesome. You are big time (as if you needed this to know that!!1) I am one part jealous of you and one part excited for you. I can only hope one day I have my schmidt together enough to make this happen!
Congrats and enjoy your schwag and fake lashes…
xo T
Next year, Thea! Pretty, pretty please? The Spin Cycle and The Lint Trap. LOVE the sound of that!
I loved you at first eyelash sight! So happy I got to meet you! Thank you for linking up!
Awww…thanks, lady. The pleasure really was mine. *flutters lashes*
Even more jealous now that I read this awesome post! Maybe next year! (I’ve been saying that for four years…did you know, four years ago, Kelley and I had tried to be roommates? I had a kingsize bed for us and everything!) But maybe next year…Great post! I do have to say, based on the swag, bloggers must be notorious for their dry skin…?
And our bad breath. Puh-lease come next year, my friend…and I *don’t* say that to just anyone.
Man I so wish I had gotten the fake eyelashes! I did get the gift set that has them but since I can barely do my eyeliner I do not see that in my future. Thanks for such a wonderful recap too:)
Oh, they were outstanding. Kelley’s were WAY more major than mine were…but still…good times.
I knew who you were in an instant! So glad we got to talk Friday night and give hugs. We’ve known each other since waaaay back, and you are a darling. Thanks for your love, and kind words here. I’d ‘love to read anything you right here, and if you ever need support to push publish, just let me know.
SO GLAD YOU WERE THERE.
It was so good to see you in person, Alexandra…one of my all-time favorites for sure. {but you knew that already, didn’t you?}
So great meeting you and putting your gorgeous face to your fabulous blog name! And also, the fact that you love all the amazing peoples I love too, makes me love you more.
Fruuuugiiiiieeeee! I just want to hug you all over again. You were such a delight to meet…glad we had the chance to chat!
Dude, you were so fun. I’m so glad we met in the last 35 seconds of BlogHer. And the duckface? Perfect bitch face. I mean …. don’t you usually want to kill those chicks anyway?
Thanks for playing Ketchup with Mel and me today. Keep in touch!
You know I will, doll. So glad to have met you!
I am STILL kicking myself that I didn’t lay myself down in front of the Shuttle Bus and declare, “I’m not moving until you bring me Sue Coates!”
Although, a weekend in a Chicago loony bin doesn’t sound like much fun. I doubt they’d have the buffet, the booze or the swag, eh?
So, I’ve now added you to my “I will find you one day” list. At the top. But it’s not creepy or anything
Ditto. On all counts, Kimberly. How can we be at an event like that…LOOKING for one another, and not connect? Boo.
How is it that I didn’t realize you and Kelley were roomies? I must’ve been busy with the cocktails – er, I mean, Trojan swag – er, I mean learning opportunities. Anyway, it was great to meet you, and congratulations again on the ass.
I still laugh when I think of that, Robyn. I’ll be sure to back my way up to you at the next conference. SO good to meet you!
Anyone who can pull off a duck face like that must vlog.
Ha! I’ll need four more sessions with Katie and a bottle of something SUPER persuasive before that happens, Poppy.
I have never been – but really hope to make it there one day. Sound like an amazing time!
Kim, you need to! Must hug you one of these days, my friend!
GREAT recap!! Loved meeting you Sue and looking forward to getting to know you better. Ann Imig’s VOTY piece is my new manifesto. She was brilliant!
Wasn’t she? It was so good, I almost needed a cigarette afterward. Will be contacting you soon about all things Sverve-y.
It looks like you had an absolute blast! I’d love to go someday! I’m now your newest follower on Facebook. I’m stopping by from Bloglovin’ blog hop & I’d love a follow back!
Swinging by your Facebook page now…thanks for stopping by, Carrie!
“The Spin Cycle” has been included in the A Sunday Drive for this week. Be assured that I hope this helps to point even more new visitors in your direction.
http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-sunday-drive.html
Well…color me flattered. Thanks, Jerry.
I so want to go next year!! Love reading all these recaps! I’m really liking Swerve too!
I’d love to meet you one of these days, Michelle…until then, we’ll always have the blogosphere and Sverve, yes?
Oh how I love Erin and Alexandra! I would have given anything to go just to be there for their session!
I am glad to hear you had an awesome experience.
Agreed, Andrea. They did a fantastic job, as did all the presenters. I count myself as fortunate to have been there.
Great recap of the conference!! Isn’t it great when you meet someone and they are as nice and down to earth as you hoped they’d be!! (And you’ve totally got to spill the beans about Anna’s skillz!! Intriguing!!)
–Lisa
I was sworn to secrecy, ladies. We had to all put our cameras and phones away during the demo. But, seriously. She’s talented.
Sue I would have LOVED to have gone, but at least your post made me feel like I was there in spirit. And I loved using the Boudreaux Butt Paste when Mo was a baby. LOL
I KNOW, right? That stuff is pretty much magical.
glad to be one of the visitors on this awing website : D.