Fangirling over Hannah Hart? Splendid!

I wrote a couple months ago about my girl crush on Hannah Hart, her YouTube series My Drunk Kitchen, and her Hello, Harto tour.  It was my distinct and absolute pleasure to meet her on Saturday!

She kicked off the Hello, Harto! tour in late April, rented an RV, and hit the road.  Most of her stops include shooting for the Hello, Harto travel portion of the show, shooting an episode of My Drunk Kitchen in a fan's house, and a volunteer event/meetup.  They even developed a smartphone app so fans can stay connected throughout the tour.

When the tour calendar was announced, I was sad to see that the tour wouldn't include my kitchen, but I was happy that they would be stopping in (somewhat nearby) Chicago.  It also happened that the Chicago stop was scheduled for Mother's Day weekend.  I immediately called my mom (who is also a fan of Hannah) to ask if she would be interested in volunteering and meeting Hannah for Mother's Day.  Being awesome, my mom enthusiastically agreed that it would be a great way for us to celebrate.  The hard part was waiting for details about the event.  Both of us checked the app multiple times a day in hopes of the volunteering signup being open.

In the meantime, my Grandma came up from Florida to visit and celebrate my cousin's college graduation.  When registration for the event finally opened, she asked if she could join us.  My boyfriend also agreed to go, which was fantastic since none of us particularly like driving in Chicago.  The event also included a food drive, so before Saturday, I went and picked up some things for us to donate.

Saturday we headed north (MUCH earlier than I've been awake lately) and enjoyed watching all the U of I Commencement traffic heading the opposite direction.  We met Mom & Grandma in the suburbs and headed for the venue.  It can be difficult to find a food bank to accommodate the number of volunteers Hannah was able to recruit.  Because of this, we weren't actually able to help at a food bank.  Our act of volunteerism was the food drive, and I think that turned out pretty well.  All the food was donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

The event was at the Catalyst Ranch in Chicago.  I had never been there, but I heard that it's used a lot for corporate retreats and to encourage creativity.  I can totally understand that because it is a very eclectic space.  In addition to colorful decor, the room we were in also had a bunch of different vintage dinette sets and fabulous chairs.  Waiting in line to meet Hannah was easier because there was always something interesting to inspect.  Before we could go in the room where Hannah spoke, I asked Scott to take a picture of my grandma, mom, and me, because it's not often we all get to do something together, especially something so awesome!

Unintentionally color coordinated and everything!

Since we weren't able to help at a food bank, Hannah was able to devote a lot more time to talking about the tour and answering questions from the audience.  She was so gracious and sweet.  She talked about how the tour was going, and her plans for the future.  She was warm and funny and absolutely charming.  One fan combined Hannah's show and her love of Doctor Who by creating a sonic spatula and presenting it in front of the group.  It was a replica of the sonic screwdriver David Tennant used as the 10th Doctor, complete with blue light and sonic sound effects.

The Sonic Spatula is in the top row.

After the Q&A session but before we could meet Hannah, Pearl (Hannah's friend and the tour's producer) took a panoramic shot of everyone who attended.  It was suggested that everyone Grace Face as an homage to Hannah's friend and excellent YouTuber, DailyGrace.  Hannah shared that her usual reaction to that request is to flash both her middle fingers at the camera, and those of us in the audience could choose which we wanted to do.  Not knowing what Grace Facing is and not wanting to flip off the camera, apparently my grandma opted to give the camera A finger instead of THE finger.  She just held up her index finger.  It was pretty adorable.  If you look closely in the Instagramed photo Hannah posted after the event, you can even kind of make her out.

It took us quite awhile to make it through the line to meet Hannah individually, but it was absolutely worth it to me.  When we got to the front of the line, I went first, she shook my hand, introduced herself (it was a very Harriet Jones, Former Prime Minister moment for me), and then gave me the best hug.  Seriously, home girl can hug.  Then I explained to her that I take 98% of my pictures with my mouth open, and I was wondering if she would do that in our picture.  She asked me to demonstrate and then was totally game.  After introducing her to my mom and grandma, she hugged each of them, and the four of us posed for a picture.  Hannah asked if we were going to take the picture with open mouths.  Again, in case you didn't catch that, IT WAS HANNAH'S IDEA TO TAKE AN OPEN MOUTH GROUP PICTURE WITH MY FAMILY!  And then I died.  No, really, it was so sweet.  Pearl noticed the three generations in our group and asked if we would mind being interviewed on camera.  I was obviously up for it (and therefore decided all three of us were up for it), and she sent us to see Sam the cameraman.  Sam asked a few questions about how we became fans of Hannah and what we love about her and similar things.  Hopefully we'll make the final cut in the documentary at the end of Hello, Harto!

Hugs and open mouth pictures with HANNAH HART!

Meeting Hannah has definitely been the highlight of 2013 for me.  It's hard to meet someone you look up to so much, because the higher the pedestal you put them on, the more likely they are to disappoint you.  Hannah Hart did not disappoint.  She was absolutely as lovely and welcoming as I had hoped she would be.  On the trip back home, we decided the best single-word descriptor for her would probably be delightful.  She really is just so delightful.

If you have the opportunity to meet her, definitely take it!  And call me so I can go with you!

A Strong Female Role Model? Splendid!

I have a girl crush on the late Nora Ephron.  Admittedly this crush came about somewhat recently, but that does not diminish its intensity.  I had watched many movies Ms. Ephron had a hand in well before I knew who or how important she was.

The eldest of four daughters in a family full of writers, Nora began her career as a journalist at the New York Post.  In 1976 she married journalist Carl Bernstein who is well-known for two things.  First, he was one of the journalists who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.  Second, he had a well-publicized extramarital affair with British politician, Margaret Jay, while he was married to Ephron.  Nora used her divorce as the material for her 1983 book Heartburn.  The book was turned into a film starring Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson in 1986.  Ephron and Streep worked together on numerous projects over the years, and of Streep's role in Heartburn, Ephron famously noted "I highly recommend having Meryl Streep play you.  If your husband is cheating on you with a carhop, get Meryl to play you.  You will feel much better."  I think it took a lot of courage to turn her personal misfortune into a book and film.  It allowed her to take something terrible in her life and turn it into something wonderful.

Ephron continued writing books and screenplays throughout the rest of her life, but there are a few specific ones that will always hold a special place in American pop culture history.  In 1989 she wrote and co-produced When Harry Met Sally.  The partnership between Ephron and director Rob Reiner created one of the most memorable and beloved romantic comedies ever made.  This also marked the first time Ephron worked with America's Sweetheart of the 1990's - Meg Ryan.  Ryan went on to star in two more of Ephron's biggest films, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail.  Working consistently throughout the 1990s and the early part of the 21st century, Ephron's last film was 2009's Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

While her legacy may be mostly rooted in American film and literature, that's not the basis of my girl crush on Nora Ephron.  As a graduate of Wellesley College, she was invited back to her alma mater to give the commencement address to the class of 1996.  You can find a copy of the address on the Wellesley College website.  In my opinion, it is magnificent.  If I ever have daughters, I will read this to them.  It is a reminder of how far women have come in the last 50 years and also a reminder of how far we still have to go.  Despite the fact that this speech was delivered 17 years ago, so much of it still resonates with me, a (relatively) young woman trying to make my way in the world.

There is one specific line in the commencement speech that speaks to me above the others. Looking out on the graduating class of 1996, Nora Ephron said to the women of Weselley College, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."  I like that line so much that I decided I wanted to hang it on my wall.  I made an extremely simple design of it in four different colors.  This way I can hang whichever best matches my mood!

I want to pass this sentiment along to every woman in the world.  It's a reminder that you should be the protagonist of your own life story.  In the spirit of sharing this reminder, you can download the image as a jpeg or pdf here.  The image is designed to print on 11x17 paper.  

Hello, Harto! Tour? Splendid!

Do you know about Hannah Hart and My Drunk Kitchen?  If not, you should totes pay attention to her, because she is great.  My Drunk Kitchen is a series of web videos wherein our host, Hannah, drinks while cooking.  So simple but oh, so funny.  The series started in 2011 when Hannah (or Harto as she's often called) made a video for a friend that consisted of her drinking whilst making grilled cheese.  Spoiler alert: there is no cheese.

The videos quickly gained followers, myself included.  MDK videos are hilarious and full of puns, so of course I'm a huge fan.  Not only is she super funny, but it's obvious that Hannah really appreciates her viewers.  This morning she launched an Indiegogo campaign to take My Drunk Kitchen on the road.  That's right a My Drunk Kitchen Tour!  She plans to travel across the US in an RV and do My Drunk Kitchen episodes in the kitchens of viewers across America!  In less than 6 hours, she's already reached 100% of her goal.  She's offering perks based on the amount of each donation.  Am I getting a postcard from Hannah Hart on her journey in response to my donation?  Hell yes, I am!  Since she's achieving this initial goal so quickly, she's already talking about extending the tour to Canada and Europe.

I stole this image from her Tumblr.

  One of the other really cool things about Hannah is that she used her "internet celebrity" to give back in December.  She organized Have a "Hart" Day to involve her viewers in community service.  She spent a morning with 200 of her viewers sorting food at a Los Angeles Food Bank.  One of her hopes during the MDK Tour is to organize similar events across the country, and that's just plain awesome.

So this Hannah Hart girl?  I think she's pretty splendid. My favorite MDK episode is probably the one where she makes ice cream.  Check it out here.  She's such a doll.

How do you end a blog post that is essentially comprised entirely of fangirling over a YouTube star?  Probably with a picture of a t-shirt available in her online store: