This weekend, I tried to keep up with the big girls and attend a couple of BlogHer events. Allow me to tip my hat to the ladies who attended the conference sessions, along with the pre- and post-parties. You all deserve some type of medal! On Friday evening, I joined bloggers at the Blogalicious/LUSH Experience in the LUSH Cosmetics section of Macy’s. The private event took place after store hours and was amazing! I am NOT exaggerating. There were drinks, desserts, and complimentary beauty treatments. Guests enjoyed arm massages, hand treatments, facials, pedicures, and more. I grabbed some pictures on my Blackberry (for Twitpic purposes).
Blogalicious Event
LUSH Goodies
Blogalicious is a conference for women bloggers of color. The inaugural conference will be held in Atlanta from October 9-11. You can learn more or sign up at www.blogaliciousweekend.com! At the end of the night, I walked away with some great goodies courtesy of LUSH. Huge thank you to my fairy Godbella, Afrobella, for inviting me to this great event. I had a blast!
Chicagonista/NY Metropolista Writers
On Saturday, I joined some of my Chicagonista gals for a sushi lunch celebrating the launch of our sister site, NY Metropolista. I must say that the founder of both sites, MJ Tam, is so amazing. She is not only sweet but she has a vision and is making it happen! MJ gathered us at Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge and we gabbed while dining on some amazing rolls! By the way, the food at Niu was delicious. I highly recommend the Sexy Mexican roll.
Pictured (Smiling L to R): Carol of NYCityMama.com, Jen of SecondCitySoiree.com, MJ
I didn’t register for the conference so I had no idea how busy BlogHer ground zero (the Sheraton) was. That was until I ventured over there post-sushi to meet up with my Red Pump Project co-founder, Luvvie. I found her gorging on Molly’s Cupcakes in the Brand About Town suite. This company identifies key influencers in the blogosphere and links them with companies and great campaigns. The Sheraton was buzzing with women, men, babies all moving in and out of sessions and gifting suites. It was incredible to watch. Did I mention that there were roughly 1500 bloggers in attendance? Let me tell you now…In case you haven’t figured it out by now, blogging is a huge business.
To end the weekend, I joined the Bright Pink ladies at BowlHer. In addition to bowling and having a blast, we were there spreading awareness about breast and ovarian cancer, Bright Pink, and the new text messaging campaign launching in October. A novel way to combine technology and healthcare, Bright Pink will launch the “Underwire Alert,” an alert system which will send women a monthly text message reminding them to conduct their monthly breast self-exam. How cool is that?
Me at BowlHer
Whew…So, there you have it! My BlogHer experience in a nutshell! All in all, I had the opportunity to meet so many great bloggers and individuals, in general! I feel like I spend so much time talking to Twitter IDs and blog screennames, so it’s good to have that human connection. I’m still going through my business cards and checking out the bloggers that I met during the weekend because definitely want to keep in touch 
While there were a significant number of “moms who blog” and not enough bloggers of color, I felt that everyone was there to learn, network, and mingle. Other than the few catty situations that I heard about, I thought BlogHer was very beneficial for attendees. Next year, the conference will be held in New York City. I’ve already marked the date on my calendar and am looking forward to being in attendance!
-kb
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