On Blogshop and the World of Blogging

As I mentioned on Monday, I attended Blogshop over the weekend. The two-day class is taught by the mega-talented Bri Emery and Angela Kohler (who took the photos below) and is basically Photoshop bootcamp created with bloggers in mind. It was so helpful and fun for someone like me who only knew the teensiest bit about Photoshop. Now I feel pretty comfortable with it and am eager to play around and experiment. My mom is also very excited about my new ability to remove wrinkles in photos.

For some reason, I always feel strange talking about blogging on my blog. I don't know why, but I have this "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" feeling about it. Whenever I talk about my blog with people, my inclination is to get very shy about it and say it's just a hobby, and while that's true, it's more than that. I love sharing photos and ideas and moments and things I love with you, and I love hearing back from you and seeing glimpses of your life. And while there are times when writer's block, bad lighting and that beast known as comparison creep in, creating this little space brings me a lot of joy as do all of you who take the time to visit it.

So I may spend more time editing photos, I may try to incorporate graphics and gifs and prettier fonts, and I may finally get around to that redesign I've been thinking about for two years, but all of that isn't really the heart of it for me. What I care about is The SoHo adding a little bit of brightness to your day with something that makes you smile or say "ooo" or occasionally makes you hungry, okay more than occasionally. That's the part of this whole blogging thing that keeps me inspired and motivated, and I thank you all for sticking with me. You're as wonderful as a chocolate cookie sandwich!

Weekend in Photos

It was  a weekend spent almost entirely at Blogshop, a Photoshop class taught with bloggers in mind. It was like two long days of school, but more fun, and my brain is full of ideas, tips and keyboard shortcuts. More on the class later this week! Aside from that, there was time for a little pre-trip shopping, apparently you need new socks before you go to Europe, and one rainy night out at Hampton Chutney Co. for dosas, curry chicken salad and chocolate chip cookies. So good!

Lessons Learned at Alt Summit

me, Old Sweet Song, The Lil Bee and You Are My Fave hit up the Smilebooth

I spent the last few days at the inspiring and overwhelming Alt Summit in Salt Lake City. After a canceled flight left me stranded in Detroit on Wednesday night, my arrival to Salt Lake was all the more anticipated. The conference is held at the beautiful and enormous Grand America Hotel. So much information, so many awesome parties and so many talented, sweet and funny people all in one place. I spent most of my time taking notes, collecting business cards, trying to dress cute and eating a whole lot of chocolate. Here are my takeaways:

1. Be yourself. It's about the blogger, not the blog.

2. You can never have too much sparkle or too many photo booths.

3. There's always more you can do, so don't be discouraged. Just make a list and start checking things off (with the new pencils and notepads from your Alt gift box).

Off to Alt

I'm heading to Salt Lake City today to attend Altitude Design Summit for a few days of all things blog. I'm packed, a lot of stripes and sequins are involved, and very excited. You'll hear all about it on Monday. Until then, friends!

This Little Blog...

(1. You. 2. Are awesome. 3. Rock 'n' roll yeah! 4. Thanks!)

is four years old today! I can hardly believe it. When I started The SoHo, I didn't really know what I was doing, but this little blog has become my favorite hobby, my creative outlet and my happy place. Thank you for your visits, your comments, your tweets, your emails and your kindness. You keep me coming back!

On that note, I'm heading to Alt Summit next week! Anybody else gonna be there? I'd love to meet up and become real-life friends. Have a wonderful weekend, you lovely things, you!

Weekend in Photos

It was a beautiful, busy weekend! On Friday night, Jonah and I had a dinner party. I served a pumpkin, pine nut and goat cheese salad, two stews and chocolate-hazelnut pudding, which turned out more like chocolate-hazelnut soup, but luckily, no one complained. Saturday was the highly anticipated, much orchestrated blogger party hosted by myself and Amy of Old Sweet Song. How cute is her apartment, by the way? It was a great time with fantastic desserts provided by New York City's best and brightest bloggers. On Sunday, I watched the New York City Marathon comfortably from the sidelines, apple cider muffin and latte in hand.

More on the blogger party tomorrow and a chance to win one of the awesome goody bags we gave away!

Boys and Blogs

My husband is convinced that blogs are just for women, at least all the ones I visit. And don't even get him started on Pinterest. So I went on a hunt for some man blogs, and I found one, just one, but a good one. It's called Emerald Son, and it's packed with guy-friendly design, fashion and art. It's run by Jeremiah Hagler who just so happens to be married to Jennifer Hagler of A Merry Mishap. A blogging super couple. I love it.

Have you come across any cool guy-friendly blogs or as Beyoncé would say do girls run the (blogger) world?