What better way to wrap up a great weekend at BlogHer than with a video blog?

Especially if it is a drunk* video blog with Jessica, Katelin and myself**.

There is talk of being classy, stealing babies***, meeting Tim Gunn and loving people.

BlogHer 09 from jamie lovely on Vimeo.

* Basically I won’t shut up when drunk if you haven’t caught on to that. But I very, very rarely get drunk.
** I promise my boob is where it should be. I’m not quite sure why it looks like I pulled a Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. Boobs are in check.
*** For the record, we don’t really want to steal people’s cute babies. Just borrow them for a bit because they are adorable.

P.S. Our BlogHer08 video blog can be found here.

Dude.

This was a whirlwind of a weekend. But it was absolutely amazing.

Last year was my first year attending BlogHer, but I’m not going to lie, I was still pretty overwhelmed. Thursday afternoon, I walked into the Social Luxe party alone, did a quick run around the room and had to step out to take a breather. Lots of women, noise and so much going on. I was freaked for a second. The lack of cell and internet reception made it hard to connect with other people I might know to get a little more comfortable. But I sucked it up and made some friends!

I attended a few sessions but I walked out of some because they didn’t seem like the description. Or a lot of the ones I wanted to go to were too crowded or you couldn’t hear. I think last year may have had some better sessions. But I really think they need some bigger rooms, especially for sessions you know will be popular like those about branding or humor.

The exhibition hall was way bigger than last year. There were some really great booths there this year. I particularly liked Suave and Disney because duh, hair product and Mickey Mouse ice cream bars are the way to my heart. The food this year was a major upgrade. No crappy boxed lunches in 09. Woo! But the lack of water was awful. Tons of Pepsi products, which I love, but a girl needs some water too! (Note to self, bring water bottle next time.)

I got a massage in the MicroSpa. That dude worked the shit out of my shoulder. He told me he could tell it was jacked up so he spent extra time on it. And really? I’m going to have to work massages into my budget every now and then because I just felt so amazing after.

There was the Wienermobile which was fucking awesome. Tara and I got to take a ride around Chicago and harass tourists with the intercom thing and horn. It was amazing and so is Tara. I’m so happy I met her!

I met Tim Gunn. I’m pretty sure I literally squealed right before our turn. I was so scared and excited but he was probably the nicest person ever. We discussed Project Runway Allstars!

It was pretty great having BlogHer in Chicago. I got to do a few things that I’ve never done in my 25 years here. I took a carriage ride down Michigan avenue to the Hancock for a Nintendo Enthusiast dinner. Went up 95 floors to the Signature Room where we had an amazing dinner. The view was amazing. My table was amazing and watching lightning from 95 floors up was amazing.

Then I met Edward at the MamaPop party all decked out with my glow sticks and twittered about it and all you bitches went nuts. So here is my proof, me and Edward:

(dazzled drunk Jamie kissy face)

The next night, I walked the red carpet with my BlogHer crew at BowlHer (not BLOWher), rocked a hot pink boa and hit the open bar hard.

As if that wasn’t enough? It was time for the CheeseburgHer party in the Presidential Suite. This meant more wine and cheeseburgers. And of course, McDonald’s bag hats. For the second year, this has been my favorite part of BlogHer.

(this was taken on my iPhone but is pretty accurate. That night was hazy, blurry and filled with McD’s bags and hot pink boas)

My favorite part about blogging and BlogHer is the connections I make and the relationships that are built. My two partners in crime for the weekend: Jess and Katelin (stay tuned for a video blog from us soon!). New friends: Beth, Heidi and Tara, let’s all move to the same city. The best date ever, Maggie. Chicago gals that I don’t see enough, Allie, Suz and Angie. Yvonne is probably the coolest person ever and I love her so much. I wish we could have chatted more. Some official BlogHer ladies: Jeanne, Elisa and Jenny who I’ve been talking with for a long time so it was great to finally meet. And Gwen Bell was so so great even though I was totally awkward and didn’t know what to say around her. It was just amazing meeting people I admire and respect so much.

Everyone else I stumbled upon, drunkenly talked to, excitedly introduced myself to, speed dated, everything… I could go on forever and link everyone in the world but it was great meeting everyone! You know who you are.

Best part of a weekend with 1200 women?

No drama. No bullshit. Just respect and fun.

I was not interested in any of nonsense and just had the best time.. So thank you for that, ladies!

P.S. We will be hitting NYC for the conference in 2010 and I’m determined to have an even stronger 20 something presence there. So if you’re interested, let’s get the ball rolling and make this happen!

P.P.S. I was awful at taking photos. Once everyone else get some uploaded, I’ll steal some and make a BlogHer photo post.

* For the record, I don’t say it’s Christmas just because of the insane amount of swag. Everyone is all “wah wah BlogHer isn’t about the swag, you greedy bitches”. It’s the one time of year, your other (blogging) family gets together, learns things, has a big party, shares stories and gets drunk. Just like your normal family gatherings. AND the presents don’t hurt but swag is obviously not the reason why I go to BlogHer.

BlogHer last year was a great experience for me. I met so many friends and amazing people that I respected so much for putting themselves out there. I learned so much and realized that maybe I could do this, really do this. I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience I had in San Francisco last year. This year BlogHer is bringing it back to Chicago. I’m thrilled that everyone is in my city!

Tonight we kick it off with a couple parties and dinner with some favorite girls and tomorrow the conference starts.

Are you attending BlogHer? Shoot me an email or DM to make sure we connect while I’m there. I can’t wait to meet everyone!

If you want to know what I’m up to while I’m there, what sessions I’m in, who I’m hearing speak, who I’m drinking wine and eating cheeseburgHers with and if I successfully stalked Tim Gunn make sure you follow me on Twitter.

@jamielovely

P.S. You can keep up with the conversation by using #BlogHer09.

Well I haven’t just yet. You see, I’m in quite a predicament here.

What do you do when your dress is adorable but too short to wear on it’s own? What do you do when in the past you’ve repeatedly screamed from the rooftops that LEGGINGS ARE JUST NOT FUCKING PANTS. STOP WEARING THEM AS PANTS.

Do I stand on principal and refuse to wear this cute dress even though it’s has pretty purple print and shows off the girls quite nicely? Or do I suck it up, throw some leggings on under that bitch and rock it anyway?

All while eating some serious crow.

(and wearing my adorable new sandals)

I mean they definitely won’t be worn as pants. The dress is just a bit too short like if I were to bend over, it would be all OH HEY JAMIE’S ASS, THANKS FOR COMING TO BLOGHER. And then I’d have to make a blog for my ass since everyone will obviously see it and duh, if you’re going to BlogHer you need a blog.

AND

Tim Gunn will be there. Do I really want to face a “this worries me” from him once he catches a glimpse of my outfit? I mean it’s Tim Gunn. What he says goes. Or maybe Tim would say MAKE IT WORK. But would I have made it work, with leggings? Does Tim Gunn look down on leggings? Or maybe he would be like, THIS GIRL IS WEARING LEGGINGS! FASHION MAKEOVER ASAP! and then he takes me shopping and we become BFF.

Obviously, this is serious business.

To legging or not to legging?

Help a girl out.

BlogHer ‘09 is coming up super fast. I know some of you Chicago ladies will be hitting it up for the first time this year. Or you might have missed out on getting tickets but that’s okay.

I’m helping put together a Chicago-Area BlogHer Group. It’s to help all of us connect pre-event. I know I was super intimated last year when I was headed to the conference so we are using these groups in various cities to hopefully help ease people in. This way you walk in knowing some people there and don’t feel that initial awkwardness like I did last year.

We’re attempting to put together a meet-up for June 13th. All BlogHers are welcome, whether you have a ticket or not. Come hang out and meet some amazing women.

Join our group here and throw in your two cents on date and location. Don’t forget to introduce yourself. And spread the word!

You definitely don’t want to miss out on this awesome meet-up.

Not in Chicago? Check out the Groups page to see if a BlogHer Group is launching in your city!

(P.S. I’ve moved hosts and domains with the help of Nico. Change the link in your blog roll? Feed should be the same so no need to resubscribe. But if you haven’t yet added me to your reader, do so here.)

The other day I received an email from BlogHer letting me know about this campaign that Tide has going on right now. I’m under no obligation to post about this but I just think it’s a great cause so I wanted to share.

Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Partnering with Feeding America, they travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope trucks or vans, their free mobile laundry service.

The Tide Loads of Hope truck:

• 32 high-efficiency washers and dryers stationed on the truck
• Can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day – equal to one year’s worth of laundry for a single family
• Will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period
• Leveraged during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable in the region

The Tide Loads of Hope vans:

• In partnership with a local laundromat, the Tide Loads of Hope vans provide free laundry service at the same load rate as the trucks
• Leveraged during disasters where neighboring communities still have a source of electricity

To date, Tide Loads of Hope has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we’re equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country.

As you can see, this is a pretty great thing. If you want to help out and show your support, you can do so by purchasing one of these neat Tide vintage tees. I’m eying the red or blue one myself!

You can purchase your own here for only $20.

Think of the good it will do!

Have a great weekend and check back Monday to hear all about my Nintendo party I’m hosting on Saturday!

Word on the streets is there is less than 200 tickets available for this year’s BlogHer Conference. Hearing made me shell out a bunch of money I don’t really have for this because I was hoping to get sponsored this year.

But you do what you have to do because I sure as hell wouldn’t miss this. Last year was amazing (check out my posts about it from last year here) and I’m expecting this year to be as well. Plus, it’s in my city, bitches! You better believe we are going to have a great time.

If you’re planning on attending, I suggest acting fast before tickets are gone. They are selling out much sooner than last year.

Get on it and come hang with me!

Saturday night was the Macy’s party. It was good in theory, I mean, you’re in Macy’s (still not Marshall Field’s though!) and they gave you coupons! They also stuck you in the handbag section with plenty of champagne. It kind of hurt seeing champagne flutes next to Marc Jacobs bags, bags that could be ruined by champagne and never have the chance to be in my possession!

But yeah, load em up with alcohol, make them spend all of their money but not before they spill red wine all over your furniture department. Oh and give them a hot chocolate shot, which actually when you think about it, sounds amazing but when you taste it – YOU WANT TO DIE.  We did not know it was chocolate liquor and pepper vodka. Seriously, pepper vodka?  WHO THINKS THAT WOULD BE GOOD?! I can’t think of any way that would taste good in any drink unless you like torturing yourself.

Then they cut us off.

Yes, that part was not cool because I put down my wine to go the bathroom that makes you want to break out in song, as Leah said.

This was the crazy mirrored and marble bathroom and yeah, we took pictures inside the bathroom so shut your face!

While in the bathroom, we ran into Amalah. Literally – she ran in screaming.  Then I barely let her finish washing her hands before I ran up to introduce myself. Amy is awesome and didn’t mind, I think she was just happy to find a bathroom.

Macy’s then kicked us out but I don’t care because I had an effin’ cheeseburger party to go to. Y who is my favorite blogger in the world, commented on my blog a few weeks ago and told me I had better introduce myself so I could come. I really took this as “introduce yourself and I’ll be your best friend forever” because seriously, Yvonne is ridiculously awesome and I would have followed her around like a puppy. I may or may not have tried to, which is how I got this picture: (more…)

BlogHer wasn’t all fun and games, I actually had to earn my keep. Well not keep, but at least my free pass.

I had to get up far too early to go work the registration desk on Friday. I guess it wasn’t too bad because I was still on Chicago time but I left the hotel at 6:30AM to go flex some muscle and play bouncer.

See that? Staff. S-T-A-F-F. Respect, bitches! (even if my last name is spelled wrong)

Yes, so registration was a mad house for a couple hours. I may or may not have fangirled out a couple times. I got more swag and attended a few great sessions. I tweeted a ton, met more people including Katie, Emily and Ashley. I attended a 20 Something Meet Up. (Note: holier than thou attitudes are a total turn off. Don’t insult me and then try to play nice. Not cool.) There was a small Chicago Meet Up that turned so mommy-centric, we had to leave because it was like we were invisible.

I really wish there was a session, party or more time in the meet up for 20Somethings at BlogHer. I feel like we aren’t really recognized in the blog world yet. 20Somethings recently got added to Alltop, which is awesome step, but others to realize that we can be just as strong of a force as the mommies and other types of bloggers.  There are so many different types of blogs in the 20 Something community and some people might call that unfocused or that we “haven’t found our voice” but I think that diversity is exactly what is so great about us. I’m working on some stuff though, going to send out some emails and hopefully, that will change!

There were a lot of sessions I really wish I could have attended, but there were people there live-blogging. If you weren’t able to attend, you can still check out the live-blogs of each session here. There is a ton of really helpful information, something for everyone.

There is still more – the parties. That will be for tomorrow. The pictures alone are worth it!

Previous BlogHer posts:
- BlogHer (part one)
- video blogging starring Katelin and Jamie

Starring Katelin and Jamie!

BlogHer 08 from Katelin on Vimeo.

(I don’t normally sound like that, shut up!)