When I won the Mabel’s Labels BlogHer Correspondent contest, the first thing that went through my mind was, “OMG, I HAVE TO CALL JENNIFER AND TELL HER”.  The second thing that went through my mind, was that I wanted her to come with me.  She is my best friend, my honourary sister, my sounding board, and one of my only friends that really gets blogging.  She gets it so much, she has two blogs.  

So, as you can imagine, I was thrilled when she decided to join me in Chicago for BlogHer, because it really would not have been as much fun without her.  At lunch today, the Mabels ladies announced that they had already decided what their BlogHer contest would be for next year – the Wish You Were Here?? Come to BlogHer’10 in NYC contest, I couldn’t wait to spread the word.  If you are at BlogHer this year, and have a friend that you wish was here, you should enter.  It’s totally easy, and who knows, you could win a trip for you and a bosom blogger to NYC next year!

Yes! It’s true! We are so in love with our BlogHer’09 experience that within 10 minutes of the NYC announcement we bought tickets! And we have one for you and one for your friend.

If you are at BlogHer’09 right now, think about which blogging buddy you wish was here. If you are wishing you were here, contact an pal that is here!

If you do not have access to a webcam or vidcam, find me! I am shooting videos on the Ballroom Level this afternoon (Saturday). I’d love to meet you!

Rules:
The “submitter” = a registered participant of BlogHer’09
The “wish-ee” = a non-registered participant of BlogHer’09

- Both parties must reside in the continental US or Canada.
- Prize includes: Full conference sponsorship, transportation (up to $800 each), one shared room at the Hilton (BlogHer location) for 3 nights.
- Videos should be 1minute or less.
- Videos can be hosted wherever you like, simply provide the link to @mabelhood
- Once submitted, you will be directed to a form to provide further details about your submission.
- Mabel’s Labels has the right to republish the submissions for purposes related to the contest.
- The winners will participate in the contest as Mabel’s Labels representatives (you know, hand out swag & stuff).
- Videos will be accepted through @mabelhood (twitter) until Tuesday July 28th, 2009 at 12am est.
- Mabel’s Labels will choose 10 finalists. They will be notified on Friday July 31.
- The final winner (and wish-ee) will be chosen at random at the Mabel’s Labels Headquarters in Hamilton ON. The announcement will take place on Tuesday August 4th, 2009.

We have been incredibly inspired by our BlogHer experience and look forward to next year!

Incredible. Overwhelming. Mind bending. The first day at BlogHer ’09 blew my mind. I have had my horizons expanded and I do believe there is no turning back. The sessions have been really strong, with great panels, and thoughtful, respectful debate. The keynotes left me wiping mascara from my cheeks and so incredibly proud to be a part of this creative community of women writers. I am surprised at how intense this experience is for me. After the keynote I felt like I needed to clear my head, so Jennifer and I went out to Big Bowl for an incredible Thai meal.

After dinner, we returned, ready to get our party on. These ladies know how to have a good time, as you can see by this shot of Julie, Caitlyn and I wearing tiaras at the “Mommy Needs a Cocktail” party. There were also many drunken tweets and a very odd unicorn cake.  I added another 50 blog cards to my collection of sites to check out, and had some rather personal conversations that may or may not have involved me giving women I have just met underwear.  Yeah, it’s that kind of conference.  Bring on Day 2!

Mabel’s Labels was featured on a Fox 25 morning show Thursday morning in the Boston area. The PTPA Media presenter starts to talk about Mabel’s Labels 2 minutes and 32 seconds into the clip. Enjoy.

Katrina Carefoot, Mabel BlogHer correspondent, from Fickle Feline, will be blogging throughout BlogHer ’09 about her experience in Chicago.  For updates by the minute, follow her on twitter!Eight hours door-to-door from Toronto to Chicago. Not bad, right? I suppose so, if you were driving! But Julie and I were flying, with her 12 week old baby boy Finian at that! After circling above Chicago for 30 minutes due to a crazy rain, our little pond jumper plane needed to refuel so we diverted to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lucky for Julie and myself (and all the other passengers), Fin was an angel baby, and kept his cool. As the minutes ticked by, we texted like mad with our BlogHer counterparts already in Chicago and let them know that we were going to miss (BIG SIGH) the SocialLuxe party. I am still recovering from missing this event (and don’t even talk to me about the swag we missed out on).

Once we landed, it was fairly smooth sailing to the hotel. Except that President Obama is in town (maybe Michelle will speak at BlogHER?!) so traffic was a nightmare. When we arrived, Fin was starting to fuss (I didn’t blame him, I was tired and hungry too), so we dumped our stuff and found food and “beverages”. I somehow managed to be late to all of the parties (People’s Party and Room 704 Party) so I continued to miss out on the awesome swag getting doled out! I need to get on top of my game! I did get to meet some of my favourite bloggers, Cecily, Deb, Lotus, and Heather, all on the first night, so that was a real thrill. And of course, I met a bunch of other awesome ladies who I will now be reading up on.

What’s in store for today? Breakfast and lots of coffee first, then sessions all day! I think I’m going to check out:

Room of Your Own 1: Realllly Personal Blogging – How much info is TMI?

Room of Your Own 2: Blogs & Body Image: What are we teaching our kids?

Identity/Passions: PatientBloggers – You Are Not Your Disease, You Just Blog About It Every Day

Time to go – the ladies of BlogHer await!