birmingham bloggers: one year

i talk all the time about birmingham bloggers, how the community got started and how much it means to me. i get asked frequently if birmingham bloggers is my full-time job - and no, it is not. and though the work to keep the community running as well as it does is essentially a second full-time job, i wouldn't trade it for the world. i like the hustle.

in a year of experimenting with this community, i have learned so much, not only about myself but about the amazing people who live, work and create in birmingham, alabama - and i've learned that we have an incredible stock of fabulous, talented people here. browse the birmingham bloggers members for only a few minutes and you'll find a vibrant, thriving voice that represents birmingham so well. i am honored to be able to give these folks a platform to connect.

the future holds a lot for this community and i am thrilled to see where it takes us. we've got events planned through august, and so many ideas for late summer and fall going forward.

tonight, at the nest in avondale, we're hosting the birmingham bloggers one year anniversary bash. we've been fortunate enough to work with a handful of wonderful sponsors for this event to put together a delicious spread of food, cocktails and goodie bags for our members. everyone was asked to wear purple - so of course, i went and got a purple gel manicure and spent way too long trying to find the perfect purple dress, which are surprisingly difficult to come by...

this party is about rewarding y'all for being awesome folks. i cannot wait to give away these prizes. and don't worry, there will be plenty of photos and a recap post very soon.

my friend and co-founder, beth, made this beautiful birmingham bloggers birthday cake, so check out her blog for the recipe! and though we won't have it at the party tonight, we loved having our own little mini celebration. having co-founder molly in athens has been a bummer and we miss her so much (you should see our group texts...) - but we are so happy she'll be joining us for the one year celebration tonight.

countless meetups, 160+ members, new friends and many fun collaborations later - birmingham bloggers is a year old! here's to many, many more. see y'all along for the ride.