Chicago Take Two.

So where did I leave off about Chicago...oh right Thursday night (here's part one). So let's have some more recap shall we? oh and a quick warning, it's going to be a long one but I have tons of pics if that helps :)

Thursday night: After checking into the hotel and relaxing briefly I headed over to the SocialLuxe Lounge party across the street. I basically mingled a bit, hung out with Tara, had some drinks and got a fabulous swag bag. After the party I headed out and finally got some Chicago deep dish pizza with my cousin Jason. And it was delicious! Seriously I don't think pizza can even be bad but this one from some Lou's place was quite scrumptious. After dinner I headed back to the Sheraton where I met up with Jamie and Jessica (my partners in crime all weekend) and we went to the People's Party and 704 Party which were equally awesome. Got to do some drinking, some dancing, some chatting, met some other lovelies and had a grand ole time before calling it a night.

Friday: BlogHer officially commenced! It was so exciting to be back again and see everyone and meet new people. I went in and out of a couple panels only because they weren't all what I thought they'd be but I still enjoyed myself. After the morning session was an awesome lunch break sponsored by Ragu.

the amazingly awesome centerpieces

Seriously, it was such a step up from lunch last year, I loved it! After lunch were some afternoon sessions and got to meet tons more people which is definitely one of the best parts of BlogHer. To the first day there was the community keynote where different bloggers read posts of theirs from the past year. I heard several that were funny some that were sad but all were amazing and I can't wait to see the videos of them again when they go online. After the keynote we went to a fabulous EnergizeHer party and got some manicures done along with some delicious food before heading on over the Brand About Town Nintendo party.

Jamie, me and Jessica showing off our purdy nails

To get to the Nintendo party we rode in horse drawn carriages to the Hancock's Signature Room (which was on the 95th floor, wowza!). Dinner was all sorts of fabulous, I'm pretty sure we had the best table in the place. And ummm I got to meet Rachel and Doni was even there so of course that made the night superb. And Jenn was even there too! Basically it was a party full of rockstars.

heart these ladies

To top of the night we saw a lightning storm that took over all of Chicago and got some fabulous parting gifts. All in all a great way to spend a Friday night.

However the night was far from over. After we got back to the Sheraton we headed to the MamaPop party which was all sorts of amazing. There were movie posters everywhere, a unicorn cake, a RPatz cutout, glow sticks...yeah sort of hard to go wrong there.

oh yes a unicorn cake, so awesome

I thought Rob might be thirsty

and the girls just wanted to show him some loving, haha

Basically a great way to end to the night, haha.

Saturday: Woke up fine and dandy ready to go for a day of panels again. I did go to one panel that I absolutely loved and it was the 'Women in Color and Marketing' themed one. It was amazing. The women were amazing, the interactions were amazing, I feel like everything about it was amazing and I'm so glad I went. After that I went in and out of panels most of the day and roamed around the exhibit hall (which was so cool and so much bigger than last year, seriously ridiculous). Basically it was another great day at BlogHer.

After the closing keynote the ladies and I headed to the BlogHer sponsored cocktail hour which was pretty fun. However I gotta say that the most fun of the night happened afterwards. We all headed over to BowlHer across the street for what was most definitely an amazing time.

Maggie, Jess, Allie and Ashley embracing their new boas


the fabulous Heidi and I showing off
our matching rings, love it


Jess and I were getting a little frisky
by the end of the night, haha


all the ladies of the evening
I sort of heart them all like wo

Although there was no bowling done on our parts there was lots of silliness and drinking and eating delicious appetizers (I'm pretty sure I had like seven mozzarella bites, haha). After BowlHer we made our way back to the Sheraton and headed up to the Presidential Suite for the Cheeseburger Party! (recall I went to it at BlogHer last year and at the Mom 2.0 event in February). I don't even think I need to describe it really, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Heidi, me, Jessica, Tara and Beth rockin some fabulous headware, haha


with the oh so awesome Sizzle


me and Jamie with one of the Cheeseburger hostesses, the fabulous Yvonne


I'd say this sums up the night alright

After the fabulousness of the cheeseburger party Jamie, Jess and myself made a video blog that will surely make it's way to everyone soon and oh man it's a winner alright. Pretty much it was another awesome night and a fabulous way to wrap up the weekend.

Sunday: Ended BlogHer weekend with a lovely breakfast sponsored by Starbucks with nice goodies and treats and it was lovely to see everyone before heading our own merry ways. Got to hang out with Jamie and Jess a bit while I packed my bag (and oh boy was that a feat) and got ready to go. And before I knew it I was in a cab to the airport and on my way home.

And that my friends was my Chicago adventure, whew what a trip. But oh so amazing and I loved every minute of it. So thank you to all of my new friends, my old friends and everyone in between. I seriously heart you all and cannot wait to see you again!



Oh and as if this post wasn't long enough and picture filled I put all my pics up on flickr so check it out!


happy tuesday!