Cram

Emily, Lisa, Amanda and Merl. These kids were top notch. I didn't know Lisa before this weekend but I knew if she could handle a road trip with these ladies, she was cool beans.

If I were to describe my week in Texas and the weekend participating in the TSCC in one word, it would be fun. I spent two days after that week recovering at home, thinking that this might be the most massive hangover of my life but I was relieved to find out I was just sick. Yes, I was relieved to be sick because massive hangovers can only be the sign of one thing... I am getting older.

The Skeens. They are real sweet... I can't say real now without Kendi's accent getting in the way.

This last weekend was the first time I ever met another fashion blogger. I have been doing this fashion blogging thing for two years and it is only now that I have proof that this most special breed of humans exists. I met Kendi and Bryan the first night that Matt and I got to Texas. Kendi and I gabbed our faces off, fell in love and had our first fight within 24 hours (she tweeted my most hated words, nom, nom, nom at me just to set me off). The second night we headed off to the swap and as we drove by the location before finding a parking spot, we caught a glimpse of Suze and Erin's noticeable and fantastic hairs and had that moment of panic. Are these Internet relationships going to pan out in real life? In real life my forehead wrinkle is more pronounced, my language is saltier and my opinions are stronger. But it didn't matter because by the time the whirlwind of the swap was over, I felt like I belonged. Isn't that so sweet that you have a toothache? And meeting an awesome group of women was, hands down, the best part of the whole weekend.

Lisa and Merl. Surprisingly we didn't do a lot of this... you know, taking outfit pictures.

Matt and Merl talking politics for a long time. I told Matt that opinions were for losers and his role was simply eye candy but then the conversation turned to unions...

I wanted a picture with the pedicab driver, OK?

I have to say that no one really surprised me, which was good. I certainly met some awesome new people (and their patient husbands...) and I was excited to check out their stake in the www universe but from the people that I followed beforehand, I got exactly what I expected. And because we already 'knew' each other from our blogs, we didn't waste a lot of time on polite words but skipped right to the sarcasm and deep conversation. I am thrilled to call such stylish, smart and sassy (haha...sassy is a funny word) my friends. And be it negative or positive, people were represented pretty accurately by their blogs. And that's the beauty of fashion blogs... though there are things that bind us together (namely pigeon toes, cupcakes and twitter), there are many things that set us apart. There is room in fashion blogging for the angsty, the over-sharer, the sweet, the snarky... The thing that attracts one person to my blog may be the thing that turns others away.

Awww... I love this girl. She is fearless, sweet and has a garage full of clothes. We are picking a sunset to run off into together.

I have been following Erin's blog (and by extension, life) for about 2 years. She is crazy fun! And rocks at karaoke! Elissa is also a newer find but she loves sequins so I knew we would be cool... The photobombing is pretty good too...

Jen and Kendi in the pedi-cab. Even though it kinda looks like Jen is giving me the finger, I assure you both of these ladies are super.

The conference itself was well-planned and casual. I haven't been to any of the other fashion blogger conferences but the casual vibe led to conversations that went past the business card exchange. Personally, I found the panel day a little frustrating. Not like the panellists weren't well-chosen or well-spoken but the focus of most of the day (not all of the day... don't jump on that) was skewed towards taking your blog to a professional level. That was frustrating because I think many people start a blog thinking about sponsorships before they think about content. There are certainly successful and talented bloggers out there who can make it a full time gig and it is good to aspire to their success but figure out your own voice first (getting preachy here). There are also certainly many great fashion bloggers who have no plans on ever becoming professional, and what fashion blogging means outside of getting free clothes and side bar ads is not often discussed. And though up until now, I have been sponsor free, I can't say that it will always stay like that...who knows what the future holds and what opportunities may arise... However, that doesn't mean that my last two years of unpaid Internet yammering has meant nothing. Meh, maybe it is meaningless..:)

I am sure I could go on and on about the TSCC events but I am trying to be concise and wrap it up within one post. I didn't take enough pictures (at all!) of all the days and nights and the wonderful people, so I just tried to give an honest post of the overall weekend. It's hard to say all you want in one little post; to give opinions on all the panels, to tell the funny stories and inside jokes, togush over some people but I don't want to be still writing the wrap-ups in July. Most of my spare time in July has already been pre-booked with cat snuggling and full leg shaving (as opposed to this) anyways. But if you are a fashion blogger, know this... there are some pretty awesome girls in your peer group.

Amanda, Jessie, Merl, Emily, Kendi, me, Rach and Amy . Like how I just mentioned a group of awesome girls and I then post a picture including myself?