It's a rule: you can't fly to New York City and spend your entire stay at a conference. So Friday afternoon I slipped away and took the subway to the Soho/Nolita area. I walked around, had an overpriced cup of Pinkberry (Chicago, I'm staying true to Starfruit) and found a fashion boutique holding a going out of business sale. I bought a cute blue floral dress with a lot of detailing for $29 and headed over to Uniqlo, my favorite NYC shopping destination, where I picked up a lavender cotton dress shirt, a merino wool cardigan, socks, a black long-sleeved V-neck and a green and white striped tank top for under $100.
I got back to the Hilton in time to hear the BlogHer voices of the year (typically my favorite part of the conference) and changed into yet another floral dress for the evening's festivities, a cocktail reception at the Hilton, wine and a surprise author signing with other members of the From Left to Write book club and the Mouthy Housewives party (where I got to talk to the incredibly funny friend of a friend Wendi Aarons.
As I was stumbling back to the Hilton (I'd had a few glasses of delicious Prosecco), I texted Shannan from Mommy Bits, one of my oldest, bestest blog friends so that we could finally meet face-to-face.
Heading back to the Gala now. Be there in a few.
We just left. Going to get dinner.
I looked up from my Blackberry just as two women--one who looked a lot like Shannan--walked by. Then I got another text.
Are you wearing a floral dress?
Yes, coming back now.
We both turned around and I joined Shannan and her roommate Susan (another virtual blog friend I've been following on Working Moms Against Guilt for years) for Italian food. It was so great to connect with them IRL.
Then there was Saturday. I already wrote about the session that spoke to me, so let's skip right ahead to dinner, which another of my bloggy besties, Whitney of Rookie Moms, organized. Thanks a general aversion to Thai food (yes, I was one of the whiners), we gathered at the Aspen Social Club, a mostly deserted bar with tasty food and completely outrageous cocktail prices ($60 for a pitcher of margaritas!) Fellow Rookie Mom Heather was there, as well as their Bay Area buddy Wendy, Meagan Francis, Asha Dornfest of Parenthacks (I turned into such a fangirl meeting her) and 2 or 3 other lovely bloggin' mamas whose cards I either didn't collect or simply lost.
After plunking down $40 for a margarita, a mac and cheese appetizer and my portion of the passed dips, we headed back to the Hilton for the final party of the conference, CheeseburgHer. I wore a McDonald's bag on my head, but I passed on the new cheeseburger "wraps." Blech. Instead, I guzzled a giant glass of red wine (the Hilton offered very generous pours to drink ticket holders) and hung out on a giant cheeseburger bed. 'Nough said.
Photo courtesy of Yvonne Marie
