So the flight to New York was as I expected – Nerve racking. I am terrified of flying and for an hour and a half or so, I remained that way. However, I knew this experience would be worth it and these last two days have certainly proven it to me.
With such a tight schedule, every minute spent in the city counted. It began with a lunch at the HGTV offices, where a portion of the attending “Nate Day” bloggers met in a group for the first time. Once we were all in and sat down, the magnitude of this gathering really began to sink in. I was in a room with so many inspirational writers, stylists, designers and friends, several with whom I tweet with or read their blogs on a daily basis. At last, there we were, all under one roof, at one table, at one time, no cables or wireless connections between us. This had to be good, and it was.
We were then treated to an evening gala at the New York Design Centre to celebrate the launch of Rue Magazine. Crystal and Anne were sparkling and with such a successful campaign promoting their new online magazine now under their designer belts, the sky is the limit for them. Their “Rue Crew” as they like to call them, comprises of such talented, down to earth and personable individuals, which made meeting some of them so very memorable.
Highlights also included meeting more fantastic fellow Tweeters and the terms “surreal” and “amazing” were used to describe the experience of our real-life reunion in such beautiful surroundings. Conversations flowed easily and I can honestly say it was a true honor to be in the company of those who attended that night.
The next day we all arrived for the taping of the Nate Berkus show, the reason behind our trip to New York city. Incredible enough, it became a reality with the help of a simple idea and a tweet from Julieann and the Moggit Girls to the man himself. Everything went smoothly, each segment rolled into the next. Nate worked the guests, made us giggle here and there yet the most engaging part to us all there truly only started once the cameras stopped filming.
We were able to ask him anything. The lines of communication were finally open and we all took turns to pick his brain on several different subjects from whether or not I should keep my original metal kitchen cabinets, to what inspires him on a daily basis. Here are some of his answers to some very smart questions.
Nate talks inspiration, books, and blogging in HD from Holley & Gill on Vimeo.
Nate talks social media and Twitter in HD from Holley & Gill on Vimeo.
All in all, the two days came and went and I couldn’t have been any more refreshed, renewed and revitalized from this experience. Thank you Julieann, the Moggit Girls, HGTV, Rue Magazine, their team, and The Nate Show. Thank you to all my friends who I met in New York. Without you all I wouldn’t have been there and I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you.
Who’s who in these photos from top to bottom: Will from Bright Bazaar, Joy & Janet are The Moggit Girls, Jade from Flip Flops & Pearls, Karen from Hammocks & High Tea, Anishka from Ishka Designs, Nicole from So Haute, Cassandra from Coco+Kelley, Emily from Emily Johnston Anderson Photography, the restaurant shot has so many of my fave people in it notably our gracious hosts who brought us there Susan and William Brinson of House of Brinson, Michelle from Design Evolution, and Kerry from First Time Fancy.
Amazing!!!!! Soooo jealous! You look great, btw.
How spectacular!! You look fantastic and very comfortable in your ‘element.’ So happy that you just did it! What incredible courage you have to hop on plane (yikes) and take advantage of this opportunity! I’m sure good things will come from it.
Wow – looked like an awesome trip!
Looked like an awesome time! Fun to meet Will too I bet!
Wow. Michelle. Wow. What an amazing opportunity, you sooooo deserved every minute of it
I had no idea any of this was even going on, which is why I had to google NateDay when you tweeted about it (nothing came up though, but now it’s all crystal clear!). I’m so happy for you and can’t wait to hear all about it in person!!!
xx bess
sounds amazing michelle! You’re a lucky girl to have such an amazing & inspirational experience. harness the energy and use it wisely. It could be the gift that gets you going … so very very pleased for you
Oh Michelle! First off you look amazing! So relaxed and totally comfortable. Your re-cap is lovely! And I love the videos ~ what a great addition to your post so we could see a little ‘behind the scenes” action. Sounds like a phenomenal trip and one you will never forget. I’m so happy it worked out for you to go!!
Brilliant! It looks like you had a great time in NY – how lovely to put faces and literal voices to the great people you read and tweet every day. And Nate day….ahh that must have been a real treat – when will they air the ep you were there for?
I hope this trip was an inspirational platform for you to jump to your next big thing!
I never had a chance to formally introduce myself but we had our photos taken together (at the bakery)! The HGTV lunch and Rue party must have been amazing. We flew in on Tuesday morning for the show, so missed out on that. The positive spin in this post is so refreshing.
Forgot to mention – the videos are brilliant!
I’m so glad you made the trip Michelle. It looks/sounds like you had a great time. I can only imagine how inspired you must be to have been surrounded by such creative men and women.
Can’t wait for out trip out there in May.
it was so amazing and you captured it beautifully, wish I had been able to stay late Mon and go to dinner.
Michelle, It was nice meeting you in NY and spending some time together. Love the post and really enjoyed the pics and the videos.
It was such a delight to meet you, Michelle! Fun to be able to relive those moments again through your post.
Michelle – thanks for sharing your trip it looks just fantastic! What a whirlwind!
)
(and love your dramatic bob
Hi Michelle,
It looked like great fun! You looked fantastic and I am thrilled you have a passion for what you are doing!! I don’t know where you get the energy from…what with work, being a mommy and a wife!!!!
Nate is a dream……..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………. Oh yeah… btw I loved your outfits!!!
You go girl!!!!
Antoinette
So glad we had a chance to meet and hang (over gnocchi!). Come back to NYC soon!
xo
It was so great to meet you Michelle & happy we had so much time to chat (since they had us trapped in the weird room for so long). This post is so great, I’m glad you recorded those two responses because I know now whenever I need a boost I can refer back to Nate’s comment about the work you’re putting out in the universe. And it will also help to remember that there is someone reading it.
What a fab post, Michelle! I can see that you had a blast in NY! welcome back! xo
So great to meet you in person. Can’t wait till next time.
It looks like an absolutely amazing trip! I loved hearing Nate’s comments on blogging. It must have been incredible to meet all the other fabulous bloggers in person. Thanks so much for sharing it with us!
wow, michelle this looks like an amazing trip. you must have just been giddy the whole time!! wow. i am so excited for you that you were able to go, and so glad you had such an incredible time.
btw, love love love that dress you’re wearing at the Rue party! so gorgeous.
I cannot tell you how truly touched I am by all of your comments. It was an experience I’ll definitely never forget. For those of you that have been following this journey from the beginning, I wanted to thank you for your dedicated and unwavering support. And for those who are new to this blog, thank you for taking the time to get to know it. My passion is here, on every page and on every post, and I hope everyone continues to enjoy it as much as I do. xo
Love this post,Michelle! It was so great to meet you finally. I only wish we had more time to chat….the whole trip flew by way too fast.
oh how exciting – i wish i could of went and met everyone – i live so close too!
PS – come visit my first GIVE-AWAY – $45 worth of fabulous! – don’t be shy – pass it along!
)
*kiss kiss*
Erika
~Tiptoe Butterfly~
Looks like an amazing time! Also very jealous! Must be nice to finally have some face to face contact with so many of the people you tweet and blog with everyday.
Michelle, it was SUCH a pleasure to meet you in NYC! Thank you so much for your kind words about and support for Rue! Having you at the launch party was so special for us.
Can’t wait till our paths cross again….have a lovely weekend!
xo,
Crystal
Thank you for the videos — it was great to read everyone’s story. (Slowly but surely making my way around.) I saw you on TV during the airing as well. It was wonderful to meet most of the fellow bloggers…we really must do this every year. Have a great day!
Michelle, this was such a brave and exciting thing to do! You are amazing for making it happen. I can barely imagine the high you must have been on the entire time – making new connections and finally meeting people you’ve been interacting with and creating bonds with. Not to mention, looking absolutely fabulous while doing it!! This experience will charge you and nourish you for a long time to come. So happy for you
xo