BlogHer 08: Oh. My. Stars. The LINKS.

by Marilyn on July 24, 2008

I hope you all enjoyed the virtual landslide of photos I had from BlogHer this year (*cough*). I’m really rather upset with myself that I didn’t take more. But it was SO hard to do anything when I had Evie with me besides just deal with Evie. See, looking back, it would have totally rocked to have had a personal handler with me the entire weekend. Someone to help me deal with Evie, to bounce her when she was fussy and work their voodoo on her, make her calm down. I could have handed Evie off to said personal handler and maybe even taken my laptop out. Shoot, forget the laptop, I could have actually gone to sessions! But if I had had this mythical other pair of hands, I could have also taken out my camera and taken pictures.

Oh, hindsight. Why are you always so clear?

Anyhow, the point of this post is to highlight everyone that I got a totally awesome business card from. I have a respectable pile (as you can see), but I wanted MORE. Next year, I SWEAR.

We’ve got a beautifully designed card from Christine at watchmenowatchme.com. I didn’t know her before BlogHer, but after a lunchtime interlude where we got to watch her bitch out her bank on the phone, I feel as if we’re bonded somehow. She truly was a cool gal and I’m totally stalking her now.
Then there is Dawn from kaiseralex.com. Like Christine, I didn’t know her before BlogHer but I know her now and I think she’s pretty spectacular (and not just cuz of the bewbs on her card).
I have an adorable little card for Carly of andsosheblogs.com. I knew her beforehand, even met her at last year’s conference but I was so glad to spend some extra time with her this year. She is truly a wonderful, beautiful gal.
I also got to meet Mary Ostyn from Owl Haven. She is one of the people who says she recognizes me (or rather, my blog) and I get all bashful-like. Shucks.
I got to briefly meet Minnie from screamything.com and thankyoufornotbeingperky.com. She was absolutely beautiful. What is with all the beautiful women at BlogHer?
I also ran into Fausta at BlogHer and got her card which went into my pocket and got totally wrinkled up but I flattened it as best I could because I like order that way.
Who can forget the incomparable Loralee of Loralee’s Looney Tunes? Everyone is talking about her, post-BlogHer. I’d say she was a hit. And you know what? She was even MORE wonderful in person than she is online. Which is quite a feat, mind you. LOVE HER.
I met Christine (aka YoungMommy) from From Dates to Diapers and almost didn’t realize it was her at first. And she? IS BEAUTIFUL. Why I’m surprised at this point, I don’t know. But also a total sweetheart.
I have the most adorable card from Sizzle and can I just say she is STUNNING in person? And I can tell she’s the sort of gal that everyone must love to be around. She’s got a gorgeous smile and she seemed to be everywhere at this conference.
Of course, I have an adorable pink card from Rhi in Pink. She was absolutely awesome to me at the conference and even gave me a pair of pink sneakers (I wear them all the time now). I’m proud to share Mini Owen with her.
I even managed to score a card from Megan from Velveteen Mind (who is just such a sweet and lovely woman in person, even moreso than on her blog). She had a lot of balls in the air this conference and she seemed to handle them with the utmost grace. I want to be her when I grow up.
Another absoutely gorgeous woman, Stephanie from metropolitanmama.net. If I’m remembering correctly, she sat at my table at one point and I had to make a point not to stare because she was seriously GORGEOUS.
I got the cutest little card from Nicole from Apron Strings Aflutter. I didn’t know her or her blog before, but I’m definitely checking it out now. And that is the power of a sweet woman and a cute card at BlogHer.
I met, thanks to Carly and Rhi, Sallie Boorman of APCO Worldwide at our table (I think it was breakfast?). She was so sweet and so pretty (are you sensing a theme here?) and so not one of the Evil PR People you always hear about. She truly was a fabulous person.
Speaking of PR and Sponsors, I also talked to Shannon at the Sprout booth and she was so sweet. Sometimes these conversations can feel so manufactured, but I got the feeling this gal and her co-workers were nothing but genuine. SO SWEET. AND SO PRETTY. (and I totally want Sprout now)
On Day 1, at breakfast, I met Julia from idealist.org, where she’s a community outreach coordinator and blog manager. She was very apologetic about her corporate card and made sure to jot down her NYC blog on there as well. I’ll definitely be checkign her out, she was a super nice gal.
I got an adorable bookmark from a lovely gal known as “Sugar” (how sweet is that! pun is TOTALLY intended, btw) for her blog Living… In Theory. She was seriously a darling gal and (do I even have to say it?) totally gorgeous.
I scored a card from the fabulous Michelle Mitchell of Scribbit. She is seriously stunning in person, with her blonde hair and tallness and just simply oozing grace and professionalism. Another gal I wouldn’t mind becoming when I grow up. I need to take notes from her, seriously.
I briefly met Annette Tonti who works for a company called mofuse and I’m seriously going to look into it because now that I’m getting an iPhone (details to follow), I’m extra interested in having a mobile version of my blog.
I got to meet Missy! Seriously, I was so glad when she hopped down from her makeover chair MID-MAKEOVER to come over and say Hi to me. That was so awesome. And her accent? ADORABLE. And she? GORGEOUS. I think I pretty much adore her.
Surely by now you’ve all been hearing about Brian at papatv.com. He was pretty awesome (and hot) and his card made me laugh. I wish I could have hung with him more like Carly and Rhi got to. But seriously, there were a LOT of guys there this year and I thought that was awesome.
Kelli, aka Cagey, handed out the most adorable business cards, which were actually bookmarks, styled after her blog. This was in order to hand them out with the “Sleep is for the Weak” book in which she is featured (*coughbuyitcough*). I love Cagey. I love her and I love her adorable little daughter and intensely wish I lived closer to her so I could go over to her house for playdates.

And then there was my most favorite “card” of all:

This was from Brit at Running Stitch and she MADE THEM HERSELF. Seriously, she had a whole stack to pass out. And I thought that was the coolest thing EVER. She even had the url to her Etsy shop on the back and I thought that was just damned genius. She is mad talented and has made me so many wonderful things I can hardly keep track. I love her. She is a salve on my soul. And she makes me laugh like no one’s business because she’s funny as hell. It would NOT have been BlogHer if I hadn’t gotten a chance to hang with her for the short time that I was able.

Then there were all the people that I talked to that I didn’t get cards from (and, one can safely assume, I didn’t give cards to either. Like an IDIOT.). But I want to mention them because I did meet them and they do deserve a link. I’ll just have to see if I can remember them all!

There was the lovely Kerry from Crunchy Carpets who I happened to see walking down the hall while Loralee and I were chatting and I hollered out to her (as if I have confidence or something!). This was on Saturday, shortly before I had to leave so I am SO glad I got a chance to talk with her. And her accent? DARLING. Scottish AND Canadian. Too cute.

There was also the amazing Kristen from better now. I’m sure I never would have had the guts to speak to her had I not been with Loralee at the time. This woman is drop-dead gorgeous and so sweet and tall and lovely and smart and… well, even her beautiful blog doesn’t do her justice. And her blog is beautiful. So go read it.

Let’s not forget Michelle (aka sparksfley) from Sparks and Butterflies. She watched my baby for me during my panel and didn’t even miss a STEP with it. She also started the whole “disclaimer” thing pre-BlogHer to prepare people for the real thing and can I just say? I think she exaggerated. She is a lovely person, beautiful and sweet and I’m sure I didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked.

I also (almost literally) ran into Y just before we left on Saturday. I got a chance to hug her and tell her that she made me cry during the community keynote the day before and can I just say? Y is simply lovely in person. I know she’s lovely on her blog (which I enjoy like no one’s business), but in person? SO MUCH MORE. She is a true, genuine heart. Take it to the bank, people. It’s true. I adore her.

I spoke with Monty and Mamacita on Friday morning and never got their cards! Shame on me! Well, I’m here to tell you that besides being completely lovely women, they are funny and sweet to boot. I am so glad I got a chance to interact with them while I was there, because now I sorta love both of them.

I also (so briefly) saw Califmom and she was awesome. I mean, I sorta knew she’d be awesome from all her Twitters pre-conference, but in person? Awesomer. It’s totally a word, look it up. I didn’t get to talk to her long, but trust me. She was awesome. I’m sure someone else can back me up on this.

I did meet Backpacking Dad on Friday morning. He was talking with Loralee and I managed to get to say hi, but neglected to give him my card. This guy was a total rockstar of the conference. I think I can count on one finger the number of times I saw him NOT surrounded by adoring women.

I got to say hi to Redneck Mommy too! OMG. She’s so pretty. And so nice too! I was pretty much entirely intimidated because she is so… well, COOL. But she really came off as entirely approachable and sweet.

It was very brief and totally in passing, but I also got to say hi to Crystal from Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper. Another gal who was completely beautiful and so sweet and friendly. I wished I could have gone to her session, so I could have heard more from her. I really admire her quite a bit.

Whew. I think that’s it. If I missed ANYONE, please let me know. See, even with all these people I got to see and say “hi” to, there are so many that I didn’t and that is what haunts me. I am starting to wonder if it is even POSSIBLE to see everyone you want to see at BlogHer. I’m starting to have my doubts.

But at any rate, this is my list of Awesome People I Saw at BlogHer. Now go visit their sites! Because they are Awesome!

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