This past weekend I played host to two fabulous UK bloggers I met online. Yes, I invited internet strangers into my home. When I write it as bluntly as that, it sounds incredibly dodgy. But in reality it isn’t and [thank god] it wasn’t. I think the internet is a very different place nowadays; if you’re actively on social media or if you’re a blogger, the idea of meeting up with people you meet online is now normal.
My first experience interacting with another person on the internet was in roughly 1995. I was about 10 years old and I was hanging out in my friend Megan’s kitchen. Megan was allowed to go on The Internet by herself – this was a HUGE deal. She logged on and directed us straight to a chat room that she frequented. A chat room. My mind was blown. She started messaging a guy she had chatted with before, but had never met in ‘real life’. It was insane. We all chatted for a while and then the guy sent us a jpg of a rose. A ROSE YOU GUYS. OH MY GOD.
I was so excited. When I got home I told my dad all about it.
My dad proceeded to give me the most undiluted level of stink-eye I have ever received. And rightly so because it was creepy AF. I pleaded to be allowed to use the internet, and I was met with a firm ‘NO‘. There’s really no better way to convince your parents to let you use the internet than telling them about a man who just sent you a heavily pixelated rose.
I was eventually allowed to use the internet by myself. But for years, I’ll be honest, I judged people for meeting other people online. It sounded so lame. What’s wrong with you that you can’t find friends or a partner in real life? I can safely say I have royally changed my tune.
This past weekend Maria of
Dinki Dots and Kimberly of
Swoon Worthy flew over for 3 days and I have to say, it’s been a long time since my face hurt that much from laughing. I had it in my head that I should be the ultimate Dublin tour guide and show them the sites, but the truth is we ended up falling from one place to the other, talking complete and utter nonsense. We were to meet with Hilda of
Hilda by Design on our first night, but we were too shattered and in stead retired to our onesies. Soon, Hilda.
SOON!
Just know that if I pick you up from the airport, I will embarrass you.
I had met Maria before at
Blogtacular in London last year. I knew she was alright because she didn’t fillet me with a machete in the hotel bathroom. But don’t let her sweet manner and posh accent fool you – she is as hilarious and inappropriate as they get; just how I like them. I hadn’t met Kimberly before, but the moment we met it was like we had known each other for years. Probably because we actually had, virtually. Kimberly is wild, hilariously honest and has stories that make me wish I could have built a camp fire just to listen to her all night.
I think the most surreal thing about this weekend was having Kimberly and Maria walk into our apartment and know where everything was, be able to recite projects back to me, and know so much about our home. It was so weird but hilarious. Like I had my own really polite stalkers.
That’s the wonderfully strange thing about bloggers – we put it out there. Not everything, but we get to know each other through our different styles and personalities. You find bloggers you click with. You realize you have a lot in common and you have a penchant for inappropriate comments. You follow each other for years and then sometimes you meet up and I’ve got to say, if the opportunity arises for you to meet an online friend, go for it. Make plans and make it happen because, as cheesy as it sounds, you only live once and you need a weekend like the one I had.
I consider Kimberly and Maria to be really good friends of mine. Yeah, we met online about a hundred years ago. They aren’t axe murderers. They are wonderful and they’re exactly how I thought they’d be. Bring on #DrunkInteriorsRound2.
