Sometimes indulging takes the form of making time to make new friends.  At the BlogHer 2011 Conference in San Diego, CA, I had the opportunity to meet Elisa Camahort-Page, who along with three other women, started BlogHer, a community and media company created in partnership with women in social media.  When Elisa mentioned she’d be in Portland for a Vegan Food Conference, I offered to host a BlogHer Portland gathering at my house.  We called it BlogHer, Backyard Chickens, and BBQ.  (And no, we didn’t BBQ our backyard chickens.)  We had a great time talking about blogging, our sites, social media, and life.

BlogHer in the  Backyard attendees:

Asha Dornfest from ParentHacks

Bethany Rydmark of Sustainable Food for Thought

Carri Bugbee who is a social media strategist in Portland

Carrie Minns of La Pomme de Portland

Corrine Tippet a local author who writes and publishes at The Westchester Press

Dawn Foster, Geeky Girl Dawn who also cooks and blogs about it at What Dawn Eats

Elisa Camahort-Page who is from BlogHer and contributes to many blogs here

Katy Wolk-Stanley who is The Non-Consumer Advocate

Kim Demmon who runs Today’s Creative Blog

Kirsten Hope who can be found at Kirsten Hope and has an alter ego Hair Care Girl

Lisa Zuniga, who is not a blogger but an editor at Harper Collins, and a good friend

Maggie Maggio of Smashing Color who is a color specialist and author

Mindy Lockard who can be found at Mindy Lockard and her blog at The Gracious Girl

Indulging your desire to meet new people, make connections in person, and make new friends takes effort but is always worth it.  I even learned a new term from all of this: IRL, in real life.

In real life is always so much better, don’t you agree?

Thanks.

Thank you to all who attended!  Special thanks to my favorite “Grill Master” who BBQ’d up all the veg.  Also, a big thank you to Maggie for lending me the neighborhood dessert group container of plates, utensils, and cups so we wouldn’t have any throw-away from this event.  A final BIG thanks to my daughter, who I hired to help serve and clean-up for the evening.  She did a fabulous job and received a bonus for a job well-done.

Sara Tetreault

Sara Tetreault writes and speaks about living well on less with thoughtful spending, smart use of resources, and efficient use of time. Sara loves good food, travel, and cashmere. With home swapping, cooking at home, and buying items second-hand, she hopes to inspire you with her stylishly frugal ways. Sara keeps a home, one husband, two children, and three chickens in her backyard.

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