Wow, it’s seriously INSANE to think that one year ago today I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep, and had this crazy idea to start writing this blog thing.  I can still remember exactly where I was sitting when I wrote it, and you can even go back and read my very first post if you’re interested.  I was now the author of a blog.  About shopping.  Oh, and wouldn’t it be cool if people would like, READ it and stuff?  My friends were constantly bugging me to know where I found these awesome products, accessories, pieces of clothing – you name it – and I was even getting stopped in the grocery store on a regular basis so that people could inquire about my shirt/baby carrier/necklace/shoes.  So I just thought – maybe if I wrote it down in blog form (blog form?  Is there such a thing?) then I could just give my friends the URL and they could read about it for themselves.

The First Design of Chic Shopper Chick

You know what’s funny?  My friends didn’t read it.  Nope, not one of them.  And they STILL bugged me about where I got my cool stuff.  *Sigh* Is there no rest for the chic?

You know what else is funny?  Other people did read it.  Like, people I didn’t know.  Isn’t that crazy?  I was so excited just to get my first comment!  And no, it wasn’t from my mom.

Things took off.  I had my first custom design done on my Blogger blog and I found my now-signature Chic Chick up there at the top.  When I eventually moved to WordPress and had another redesign done in October, I asked my designer, Emily to incorporate the Chic Chick into this design too – I’m sure she’ll always be around.

Oh, and people were still reading Chic Shopper Chick!  A little ole blog written by lil ole me.  Who woulda thunk it?

Since then…

I’ve run countless giveaways, written hundreds of posts, and responded to thousands of emails and comments.

I made the most amazing lifelong friends in the process, women I would have never met otherwise became close friends, partners in crime, and confidants.

I attended Blog World Expo in Las Vegas, and more recently SxSWi in Austin.  If I hadn’t started blogging, I would have never had that opportunity.

I kicked myself for creating a name like “Chic Shopper Chick” which so many people struggle to say, but is great to make a joke out of now!  You’d be surprised at how many people can’t pronounce “chic” (sheek), for the record.  I’m ALWAYS called the Chick Shopper Chick.  But hey, you can’t win them all.

I’ve received emails addressed to Ms. Chick — those always make me laugh.  Especially since my name is on my About page.

I was asked to be a Wal Mart Eleven Mom!  (More on that soon, I promise!)

I was asked to join Frito Lay in their “Only In A Woman’s World” campaign as part of the Fabulous 15.

I became addicted to Twitter.

I was featured on 100 interviews!  (Go check it out!)

I even recently started co-hosting a weekly radio show with my close friend Audrey called Feel Good Fashion!

….all of that, in just a year.  I can’t wait to see what exciting things this year holds.  A huge thank you to everyone who reads or has ever read Chic Shopper Chick for your love and support!  Keep reading, and I promise this year will rawk even more than our first year!

xoxo,

Gossip Girl

Erika

Ok, well, so that’s not ALL it means.  But I did fall in love with the French language when I was in the 6th grade – back when I thought it was cool to learn a “secret language” that my parents wouldn’t understand (ha!  take that!) – and I’ve never looked back.  I went to college and graduated with a degree in French – and after spending all 5 years of my college experience insisting that, no, I did NOT want to teach – I became a French teacher.  Funny how having a kid will change you in that way, right?

I no longer teach French, though I do still love learning it, teaching it, and practicing  it.  When I stopped teaching I eventually began blogging, and discovered that I had a passion for that as well.  So, you can imagine that when I heard about a book that involved both French and blogging–I could hardly keep my credit card and Amazon account at bay.  The book is called Petite Anglaise– taking it’s name from the blog that spurred it’s creation.

The story of Petite Anglaise is this – English girl lives in Paris, meets French boyfriend, has half-french child, starts a blog on a whim, meets a man through the comments box on her website, falls in love, and struggles to find her way though it all.  It’s actually a true story that was brought to light when the author of the blog and book, Catherine Sanderson, was dooced.  The story made international headlines and Catherine (who had been writing anonymously) suddenly found herself thrust into the spotlight.  I’m sure hard times followed, but so did a book deal

The book itself did not disappoint me.  I devoured it in less than 24 hours.  Bits of the book made me uncomfortable, but to me a book that can make me squirm or take me out of my comfort zone is a book that has completely pulled me in.  I felt like I enjoyed Petite Anglaise even more knowing that it is a true story, though it read like a fabulously crafted work of fiction.  It is a modern story set in a historical town, and the city of Paris serves as a main character.  Best of all — when I finished the book I just headed over to her blog, Petite Anglaise, and started reading the archives beginning in mid-2006 where the book left off.  I really loved the book and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes chick-lit — but especially bloggers (or Francophiles) as I think you will have an extra vested interest in it.  You can grab your copy of Petite Anglaise on sale right now on Amazon.

]]> http://www.chicshopperchick.com/2009/01/petite-anglaise-book-blog-catherine-sanderson/feed/ 7 http://www.chicshopperchick.com/2009/01/a-chic-chick-in-nyc/ http://www.chicshopperchick.com/2009/01/a-chic-chick-in-nyc/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:32:25 +0000 Erika http://www.chicshopperchick.com/?p=1054 If you noticed I had been MIA (more than usual) last week, it was because I was on a mom-cation in NYC with some of my favorite people and closest friends – who just happen to be fellow bloggy-types.  These are some of the most incredible women that I have ever met, and I am so very grateful to have spent even a few days with them!  (Yeah, yeah.  I’m a complete sap and I’m totally fine with it.)

Let’s see…hmmm…oh yes!  Seeing as how I agree with the idea that a picture speaks a thousand words, I’ll shut up and leave you with some photos.

Christine, Me, Katja, and Lori

Photo courtesy of Lori Falcon

Lindsay, Me, Katja, Audrey, Colleen, Jessica, Arianne, and Nikki

Christine, Audrey, Me

Me and Christine

Katja, Tara, Arianne, Me, Alyssa, Audrey, Lori, Chris

Yeah I know, the color in this one is all wonky.  It’s ’cause the kid who took it decided to be fancy and take two pictures with two different cameras at the same exact time.  Heh.  Though it might look like it,  this is not a photo from the 70′s, rather from 2009.

* * *

I am a crazy picture-taking chick, so this is just a few of them, because I figured pictures of me with every girl there would have gotten old.  If you want to see some of the other ones, you can visit my NYC Flickr Stream.