The Amazing Wonderful Fabulous & Kind Team—Photographers: Amber Marlow Photography, Hart & Sol West, Katie Jane Photo (Roll over the pictures to see the photographer’s name.) * Event Coordination: La Vie En Rose Events * Event Design: Michelle Edgemont * Catering: Mexicue * Dessert: Sun In Bloom (gluten-free cupcakes) & Robicelli’s (full-gluten cupcakes)*
First of all, before we even get into talking about Brooklyn, I want to say that it was a super personal event for me, precisely because of the picture shown above. When I looked around the Brooklyn after party (more on that in a second) I saw more people than I could possibly talk to one on one (waaahh), and I also realized that it wasn’t a problem because everyone was talking to friends, old and new. The APW community is not the tiny community that it started out as, and it’s spawned all sorts of connections and real life friendships in a really powerful way. And that means… well… everything. If that’s what the work I’ve done here has created, that’s work I can be proud of. And for me, on a really deep level, the Brooklyn event was about getting a handful of the (now) long time girlfriends that I’ve met through running the site all in one room, and wrapping them in a giant hug. When you get P., Kimi, Lily, Me, and Amanda at a party (other close girlfriends made through blogging were dearly missed)… you are very close to perfection. When that party is in my favorite city in the world, celebrating the launch of a book I’ve been working on for what feels like ever, and my husband is there? That might actually be perfection.
So Brooklyn. Let’s discuss. The funny thing about the book tour is that it keeps going. Each event seems huge, and each event is The APW Event for everyone in that city. And for me it’s just today’s event. Which is wonderful and confusing, and in New York City got totally baffling. Because in New York, we didn’t just host an awesome, packed to the gills book talk with questions. In New York we hosted that and a whirlwind of amazing party at a bar. So, by the end of the night people were asking me how “My Big Day” felt (which is doubly hilarious, given that we never use the term Big Day here, right?) So, by that point I was so tired I was barely standing up, and I was like, “It was great. And I did it on Wednesday, and I’m doing it again on Monday, and also on Thursday.” Which might mean that I am a totally crazy person, y’all.
Or. I’d think I was a totally crazy person except that each of these events is so damn wonderful, in an “I want to wrap all of you guys up and put you in my increasingly crowded suitcase and take you with me,” kind of way. And because Brooklyn is home for me, and the event was so personal, I’m still sort of emotional about it being over.
So Brooklyn. When I showed up at the Barnes & Noble, I was a nervous wreck (and I’m never a nervous wreck at these events). Something about it being on my home turf just made it feel like it mattered. But then when I came out, and saw all you guys hiding behind bookshelves because there wasn’t enough space, playing with your babies on the floor (Liz!) and ready to have a good time, I got really happy. Plus, I was wearing this crazy backless hipster ice-skating dress that I’d bought on sale for $40 the hour before the event, so I mean, you can’t lose in that situation, right?
And of course it was awesome. The perpetually fascinating thing about this tour to me is how every stop has a totally different vibe. I somehow expected Boston’s boisterous and hilarious vibe to carry over to Brooklyn (they’re close, right?). But maybe because the Brooklyn event was in the afternoon, the vibe was thoughtful. For the first time on the tour, most of the questions were about the creative process, and writing (and you know, feminism, because that’s how we roll).
And then there was the party. After I signed books for an hour (An Hour! OMG!) we headed over to the party. By the time I got there, a whole bar in Brooklyn was absolutely packed with all APW faces. Which is totally nuts. And totally amazing. And totally… awe inspiring. And, let me just put this out there. Someone needs to have exactly this party as their wedding reception. The event was at The High Dive, which basically every good friend of mine in Brooklyn told me conspiratorially was their “favorite bar” at some point during the night. Michelle Edgemont (who is a whirlwind of awesome that’s going to take all of us by storm, hire her now) did all the wedding decorations. And when I say amazing, I mean amazing. She made banners made up of nothing but wedding graduates faces. And yeah, that’s totally going to go up in my apartment at home, don’t judge me. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her crafty and affordable decorations. She made drink stirrers with mini APW books on them, with APW book quotes inside. I know. And then! The High Dive let us roll up a taco truck outside the bar, so we all got to enjoy Mexicue tacos and pulled pork sliders. Then, Other Meg of La Vie En Rose Events (who planned the whole thing so seamlessly I never had to think about it, holy crap hire HER) arranged for gluten-free cupcakes for me (snifff) from Sun In Bloom, and you guys, they were so good that the gluten-full crowd was gobbling them up. And then there were Gluten-full Cupcakes that looked amazing from Robicelli’s. Oh, and did you notice the AMAZING PHOTOBOOTH PICTURES? Yeah. That photobooth was made by Michelle Edgemont, with help from Hart & Sol West, and manned by Amber Marlow Photography. I love those ladies. I love every one of them.
So. What am I left with? Gratitude. A small sense of what we’ve created here. An amazing party. A book. And a tour that is just getting started… see you tonight, Atlanta. Let’s do it. (And if I’m wearing the same dress again, well, you’ll cut me a break, right? Because how often do you get to dress like a hipster ice skater?)
To see all of the photobooth pictures, visit the APW Flickr Pool or check out the set on Maddie’s Flickr Stream
