Mom 2 Summit

I'm not good at conferences because even though I can plan my time, it doesn't come naturally for me. My true nature is to throw calendars to the wind and just show up with my party hat on (literally). It mostly works out. But when it doesn't, my 36 year old self morphs into an 8 year old new kid looking for a seat in the cafeteria. So this year when it was time for the Mom 2 Summit, I tried to plan ahead. And by plan ahead, I mean frantically email my friend Karen the day before and beg her to send me an itinerary of my life. She is amazing like that. And her itinerary made me feel safe, because we all know that you can't be socially awkward when you're busy. 

And turns out I was busy, just not doing much of what I'd planned. Most things turned out better. Some things were worse. Okay just ONE thing was worse. It was the photo booth Epiphanie was supposed to sponsor for the pajama party at the Ritz. How fun right? I've done it many times in the past and thought, what goes wrong with a group of women + wine + pajamas and wigs? Right? In fact, I took it so lightly that I didn't remember to ship my equipment until the day before which meant I had to overnight my gear for a thousand dollars. So when the situation got all thousand dollar serious, I went into This Is Going To Work NOMATTERWHAT mode. No matter that the delivery was late.

No matter that I spent hours in my hotel room waiting for it. No matter that I couldn't get the brand new printer to work after 3 more hours of working on it. No matter if I had to decide we didn't need a printer. And no matter if New Orleans was trying to kill me. 

Searching for a costume shop five seconds before the earrings blew off my head.  

AND IT DIDN'T MATTER BECAUSE NOW THIS WAS SERIOUS AND IT WAS GOING TO WORK NOMATTERWHAAAAT.

Then I burst into tears. 

A few minutes later Karen called and said, "Do you want me to come get you?" And the idea sounded so lovely, I couldn't give in to my normal reflex which is to resist help at all costs. All I could say was, "Yes. Yes I do." And so she did. And it turns out that Jenny had been feeling the same way. And I felt better immediately after seeing them. 

Never underestimate the power of friends and a red wig. Also, how much does Karen look like Naomi Campbell here?

This is where you think the story's going to end all happy. But the real ending involves the wind promptly knocking over and murdering my light as soon as we got to the party. Yep. Turns out the photo booth was NOT going to happen NOMATTERWHAT.

And it was okay because there was so much awesome everywhere else. 

Laurie and I hosted a photo walk on Bourbon street. It was such a sweet group, and my earrings didn't blow off once. 

Cat and Mae

Linda and Sarah

Rachel

 There was so much more. So many amazing, accomplished, articulate, deep-thinking, hilarious women. It's kind of overwhelming to try to explain it all. And this is getting long so I'm going to wrap it up with my favorite shot from the weekend. Because it makes me think about laughing until 2 am, and it reminds me about how grateful I am to know her. 

One last thing (on a lighter note), if you haven't been to New Orleans, you should go even if just for the food. 

 and the bloody mary that comes with your morning coffee. 

BlogHer 10 in NYC

Bike doily anyone?

Remember the first time I went to New York with DD and Katy when we morphed into Tourists On Crack? LOOK! The Statue of Liberty! Central Park! Soho! Noho! The Piano! The Brooklyn Bridge! Hot dogs! Pretzels! Ridiculous Caricatures That Look Nothing Like Us! Let's do it all NOW!

Well, this time wasn't much different, except that I brought my friend/assistant Lauren with me. And she put our previous adventures to shame. Turns out Lauren is The Sightseeing Champion of the World. Oh you might think you know how to explore a city. You, with your little guides and google searches. I think we were there fifteen minutes when Lauren had memorized the entire map of Times Square. Hungry? There's Chinese on 48th, Korean on 37th or the best take out in Manhattan on 23rd. Okay, I'm exaggerating. But the truth is that I was truly amazed by the amount of activity she was able to squeeze into our short time. Even on her last day before she had to be at the airport. It's 9am and I hear the hotel door open. It's Lauren.

Groggy-eyed Me: "Where'd you go?" I'm thinking Starbucks, to make a phone call, maybe she was sleepwalking in her street clothes...

Lauren: "Oh, I just got back from St. Patrick's Cathedral."

She is a rock star. 

Lauren and I are always texting each other like 12 year olds during Housewives, so you can imagine our joy when we saw this. No way! 

Way.

We also celebrated her birthday while we were there. Here she is saying that Facebook is so good for your birthday ego. Happy birthday Lauren! We love you!!

We also roomed with my friend since Houston, Meredith. She had multiple images displayed at the Gala event, which wasn't surprising because her talent is phenomenal. And so is her heart. I adore her.

Have you guys seen the Grayson Chance video yet? Apparently, I was the only one who hadn't. He became a YouTube sensation after singing his version of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi. Well, at that same event we got to see him in person. And for as skeptical as you (okay I) might be about another Justin-Teenie-Bieber, I had to admit that he's pretty spectacular. 

I also got to spend time with Ms. Chookooloonks.

The best way I can explain her is by what I told Jason on the porch the morning after I got home. Drinking coffee I said, "She's a dichotomy... like a force of creative, positive energy which makes you feel like you can conquer the world, mixed with the calming sense that you can stop performing. She recently wrote a book called The Beauty of Different, which you can pre-order now. I can't wait to get my copy.

And because I really do think she is that rare person who believes everyone is beautiful, I decided to get over my neuroses and ask her to take my portrait for her 1000 faces project. You have no idea how hard this was for me. 

You can see the result here (and gorgeous Lauren too). Thank you, Karen. Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone even when I did my best to bail at the last minute. 

As usual, I didn't take nearly enough pictures. But the other highlights of my weekend were finally getting to meet some of my favorite online people like Rachel, Amber, and fellow Shutter Sisters Kristin, Stephanie and Jen, and Kate. Thanks for a great time everyone!

Tomorrow I'll be posting my life list (finally!) as well as one of my favorite family sessions ever, plus a fun contest on the Epiphanie blog! So stay tuned!

Also, thanks to everyone who was rocking their Epiphanie bag at the conference! I can't tell you the joy it was to see people sporting something that used to be a figment of my imagination... just right on there shoulder as a part of their normal day and routine and life. AHHH! It was awesome and you guys rock.

More soon. xo 

Rachel

A whole month without blogging. I don't think I've done that in four (or has it been five?) years. I've been photographing like a maniac, thinking about everything I wanted to say. Then the days would pass, and it was all old news. It stacked up and became overwhelming. BUT I'M TURNING THE SHIP AROUND, because I miss it.

Being away for so long made me realize how much this whole thing has become an integral of my life, in large part due to the incredible friendships I've stumbled on because of it. 

Not the least of which is my new blogger-but-also-real-life friend Rachel. 

We met at the Mom 2.0 Gallery Showing in Houston. And I first intended to tell you about her when I was writing this post. But that was the night of DD's birthday party. I was late, and wound up having to end it abruptly. But if I'd had time to finish, I would have said that meeting Rachel was a huge highlight for me that weekend. In the midst of the awkwardness of not really knowing anyone or where I fit in, here came this sweet girl from Texas with a huge heart to match. She writes a crazy-popular food blog called A Southern Fairytale. And she has one of my favorite qualities that a person can possess. Which is when people who are really good at something have the ability to describe it so simply that it makes you think you can do it do it too. She is so passionate about cooking, that it's contagious.

So a few weeks after we met, she emailed that she was going to be Austin and asked if I wanted to meet up for lunch. Since New Braunfels is in the middle, we went to The Huisache. And I'm not kidding, we talked, laughed and cried through a three hour meal. There are not that many people in this world who can reach into you and find such real emotions in the span of three hours. But that's Rachel. I feel really lucky to know her. 

*The necklace she's wearing is from her friend Lisa Leonard, who I first learned of through Kal. How crazy small is this world?!

You know after three glasses of wine we had to have an impromptu photo shoot...

Can't wait to see you again soon missy! :)

Tomorrow thanks to Jason and Kal, I'll be checking something off my life list (yes, I wrote one too). So should you. :)

Have a great day! It's nice to be back. 

xo

Which would you pick?

A new Canon 5D Mark II or a $2500 gift card to Southwest??? Please come over and play!  :)

Mom Part 2.0

So after my netted palm tree hat debacle, I realized that life could get much worse than room service at the Four Seasons. And then it did get a million percent better. The first person I met was Meredith (my roomy, and fellow Shutter Sister). She is poetry. She speaks the same way she writes. She paints pictures with words, and has a way of seeing the world in a way that makes you want to live in it. I adore her.

Somewhere along the way we met up with Tracey, who I've been following online for gosh, maybe 4 or 5 years. We've worked together on Shutter Sisters and other projects, so it felt almost as if I'd just seen her last week. And I think that's what amazed me most about online relationships turning three dimensional...they are completely lacking in uncomfortable formalities. And if you've never met Tracey in person, she is immediately engaging and comfortable to be around. This is us playing around in the lamp in her room.

Seeing ourselves in each other. 

Their versions are here and here. 

I know this is blurry, but I love Meredith's expression here. 

Here's one of my images. Seeing it framed with all the other beauties felt surreal. It was an honor to be included. 

Karen is another one who I felt like I'd known a million years. Ten seconds after we met we were sitting on a hotel bed talking about life and people and the beauty of different. Her insight is fascinating; her passion is contagious. And her reaction to Lola made the last two years of stress and late nights and tears TOTALLY WORTH IT.

 I think it's safe to say I'm totally in for BlogHer 2010. Counting down, in fact.