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W-O-W!
BlogHer was…amazing and hilarious and exhausting and swag bags galore and blisters covering every inch of my feet and weight gain and cocktails and cheeseburgers and bittersweet moments and friendship building and competitiveness and bonding and a shitload of fun!
And the best part? I got to share in the tomfoolery with these kick ass ladies: Miss E of Miss E’s Misadventures, Lulu of the Dirty Martini Diaries, and Erin of Blue-Eyed Bride.
Wednesday:
Wednesday morning I stepped fresh off the boat {errr plane} into a magical world known as New York City. This was only my second time visiting the city, the first being five years ago for a mother-daughter trip.
Erin met me at baggage claim and our adventure began. After checking into the hotel, we headed over to Rock Center Café for lunch where I ordered the Strawberry Vanilla Mojito {got to start BlogHer out right!} and other delicious food.
It is obviously corn season in the city because at least two of every three meals I ate used summer corn in some way. You can imagine how my stomach reacted to this starchy vegetable {TMI??}.
After we did some fun NYC sightseeing and shopping. As my bad luck would have it, I found the turquoise shoes I’ve been searching for and lusting over in the Christian Louboutin section of Saks Fifth Avenue. For only $800, these beauties can be mine…or not.
We finished up the afternoon at Magnolia Bakery where we met up with Mrs. MMM {who, by the way, was so sweet!} and her adorable son, J.
Early evening brought CRAZINESS. We dolled ourselves up for dinner at Balthazar, where we almost missed our reservation because it took us 45 minutes to catch a cab and another 30 minutes to get to the restaurant.
This is Erin’s way of saying that our evening was a complete clusterf***.
After shoveling down risotto for me and steak for Erin, we hopped in a cab to head over to the Theater District to see Billy Elliott.
Scariest. Cab. Ride. Of. My. Life.
I think I saw my life flash before my eyes every time I blinked. By the time we reached Billy Elliott, I was running to the bar in need of sustenance and the calming effects of liquor. Only problem with buying alcohol before a theater performance? They serve it to you in an adult sippy cup and charge you $20 a GLASS. Yes, you read that correctly. I got 6 oz. of wine for $20!!!! Ridiculous.
After the show, we headed over to Whiskey Park to meet up with Miss E and Lulu. This was my first time meeting Miss E and after talking with her for only a few brief moments, she quickly became one of my very favorite people!
Wednesday ended with the four of us laughing and talking until the wee hours of the morning.
Thursday:
We woke up early Thursday morning and Lulu took us on a stroll though Central Park, around the Upper East Side, to the steps of the Met, and back to our hotel. On our leisurely walk, we ran into this fabulous group of rainbow people. Need I say more?
OMFG IT WAS SO HOT IN NYC. By the time we made it back to the hotel, my blue dress was dark navy and wet from being drenched in sweat. Have I mentioned that I “glow”?
While Lulu, Miss E, and Erin got ready for the day, I dried myself off and hopped in a cab over to Union Square where I met my brother for lunch at Union Square Café. This place was delicious. Did I mention my meal had CORN in it? It was so wonderful catching up with my brother. It’s been months since I’ve seen him! And so random he happened to be in NYC at the same time as me!
Then I made a vital mistake. Instead of catching a cab like a normal person, I thought it would be a GRAND idea to walk back to the hotel in scorching heat wearing a dress, long-sleeved cardigan, and Reef flip-flops. People, I walked over 50 blocks in NYC! And at no point did I ever think to get in a cab. I blame the wine at lunch for my stupidity. I finally made it back to the hotel and collapsed in an attractive puddle of glow. {Sorry, there is no picture. I have some self-preservation.}
After I recuperated, we picked up our BlogHer badges and swag bags! HOLLA for free crap! I wish I had a photo of Lulu’s badge. Somehow her badge was quotation mark central. Every word on her badge had quotation marks around it. Even now, that shit is still funny! {Though writing it now, it probably seems lame. I promise it was funny!}
We went through our swag where I got a Toy Story 3 Mr. Potato Head!! YESSSS.
Lulu was able to get us into the AOL Blogger’s Night out party where I had a major fangirl moment and met Chef Marcus Samuelsson, winner of season two of Bravo TV channel’s Top Chef Masters, earning the title of “Top Chef Master.”
This party was so fun! Where else can you take pictures like this? And, yes, I am holding a random picture of Audrey Hepburn. Don’t ask.
Miss E, Erin, Lulu, and Me
After the AOL Blogger’s Night Out Party, we went to Babbo for dinner and had one of the best meals of my life! {And there was corn involved!} NOM NOM NOM.
I ate my weight in pasta but it was SOOOO worth it. And let’s not forget about the strawberry bellinis.
Downside of the meal? I thought it would be a good idea to take my shoes off underneath the table. When I tried to put my shoes back on, my feet were so swollen they wouldn’t fit in my shoes.
Cue CANKLES. Awesome.
Friday:
Erin and I were lucky enough to be selected for the ShopAtHome.com Shopping Spree through NYC’s Garment District. Let me tell you, this was hardcore shopping at its best. The Elegant Tightwad, Pamela Parisi, took our ShopAtHome.com group to various designer showrooms, where clothing, handbags, jeans, evening wear, lounge wear, etc. were sold to us at wholesale.
On the bus on the way to the Garment District.
We were asked not to reveal which designer showrooms we visited nor were we allowed to take pictures, but I can tell you that I walked away with a gorgeous new handbag, dresses galore, several silk and heavy cotton tops, and items that would easily grace an Anthropologie catalog. LOVE. And all for under $150, which ShopAtHome.com provided to each shopper. YAY.
We met up with Miss E and Lulu after lunch and immediately hit the BlogHer expo hall. This expo was, hands down, the best one I’ve ever been to!
We played Just Dance on the Wii, met Mrs. Potato Head, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Jimmy Dean Sausage Sunshine Guy, Tamra Barney of the RHOC {who, by the way, looks PLASTIC and so skinny}, and Marmaduke. We got so much great swag including a Jimmy Dean alarm clock and free Spanx. Padma Lakshm, host of Top Chef, was also there but I didn’t get to meet her.
I look like a HOUSE next to Tamra in this picture. Hella sexy.
We finished off the afternoon with BlogHer’s Voices of the Year speeches. SO FUN. We sat with Kristabella, Slynnro, and Regan! I’ve been looking forward to meeting Kristabella and Regan for over a year. My dear friend, Slynnro, says nothing but awesome things about them, and they did not disappoint.
Instead of attending the BlogHer Voices of the Year Charity Art Auction and Gala, we had drinks in the bar with the lovely Amy of ABCD Design. LOVE HER. It was so great to put a voice to someone I chat with regularly!
After, we met up with Millitini and Paisley Pearls at The Stanton Social for dinner. Great food. Wonderful company. Tons of laughs.
Saturday:
Saturday morning we decided it might be a good idea to actually ATTEND a BlogHer session since, ya know, that’s why we came on this trip in the first place. We scoped out our options and thought the writing lab was our best bet. We had the pleasure to sit next to Whitney from the Glamorous Life of a Housewife and her family {who were all so wonderful and sweet}.
The writing lab, on the other hand? LAMESAUCE. I felt like the session was a big egofest and the tips they provided weren’t that helpful. Also, since it is a WRITING LAB, I thought it would focus more on WRITING and less on general advice and what other bloggers do to find inspiration.
Seeing as how we weren’t that impressed with the morning session, we decided to frolic around NYC for the remainder of the afternoon. Lulu took us to her old stomping grounds and checked out her old apartment and neighborhood. I also bought some pashminas from a street vendor.
Then we met up with Slynnro for dinner at Pure Food and Wine, a raw food restaurant. This was my first experience with raw food. Let me tell you, my corn and cashew tamales were THE SHIT. So good. And it was nice to end the trip with a clean dinner that actually made me feel good and not weighed down.
Before the BlogHer parties started, we went to happy hour at Robert on the 9th floor of the MAD Museum, which gave a striking view of Columbus Circle.
We made it back to the hotel just in time for the end of Sparklecorn and the start of Cheeseburger. Immediately upon walking into Cheeseburger I met Julie from Angry Julie Monday. I LOVE her. This party really needs no more explanation than these pictures. {Can we talk about how ridiculous I look? And no, I was not wasted when this was taken. Shocking, I know.}
Whew. Are you all still with me? Those of you that made it this far, I commend you!
BlogHer was a blast. I met so many amazing bloggers and had the time of my life with some of my closest friends.
I already miss them all so much!!
But life is funny that way. One minute I can be hundreds of miles and thousands of moments and countless memories away from my best friends, and in the next breath, I am transported back to BlogHer and an overcrowded expo hall, jammed inside a photo booth with the three best women in the world. I love you all.
See you all at BlogHer 2011 in San Diego!!
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