Thanks to Trop50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 Fabulous Wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous!

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I am friends with some bloggers I met because of my website.

It seems a bit odd — but great at the same time to me — because I used to make friends only through the workplace or school. But now because of the Internet, I have actual friendships.

Here is the list of five of the bloggers I would start a drink tab with -

1. Vera Sweeney

Vera first allowed her daughter to walk in a fashion show I put together for CBS News The Early Show. Years later we hung out in Nantucket and haven’t stopped. Vera is good people — plain and simple. And so is her husband. And her cousin. My guy and I have hung out with her, her husband and cousin countless times and have had a great time.

The reason I know Vera and I will be friends until she is old and gray and I am just old and still the same hair color — she will tell you like it is and you don’t have to be afraid to tell her what you really think. Now that is a friend.

2. Stefania Pomponi Butler

I gravitated toward Stefania after seeing how much of a fan she was of cooking awesome food. And we both come from multi-cultural backgrounds that we are proud of. She rocks because we were pregnant at the same time (she with Dash, me with Fox) and both thought of each other when leaving our OB appointments. (Trust me, our babies were causing us to eat some trashy food. We absolutely had to be concerned for one another.)

I find Stefania to be such a genuine person. When she started a new company, I signed up. When she asked me to stop by to hear about one of her clients at an off-site BlogHer party, I knew I wouldn’t miss it. She says what she means and means what she says and that’s awesome. I wish more people were like that.

3. Liz Gumbinner

Liz and I have kidlets born a few days apart. But our friendship started when she passed me a cookie (see I’m always eating!) when we were at a meeting for an advisory board we both sat on. She “knew” people from Urban Baby I “knew” and we clicked right then and there.

I’ll always feel bad I missed her daughter’s 1st birthday party because I was working with a bunch of jerks that day. Yes, years later that has truly stuck with me. And I think it will because she is a friend … not some random person who invited me to a party. If we lived closer to her, my daughter and her oldest would be good friends. There have been times I have said something and she agreed. And other times, she smacked my hand in disagreement. It goes without saying, Liz is a good person.

4. Issa Mas

I feel like Issa and I are sisters. And our four year olds behave identically. Heaven help us both! Issa handed me her card one day at an event and we’ve been friends since. I love Issa for her candidness. Because of it, I always know I can tell her how I really feel about whatever it is we are discussing. Oh, and she’s hilarious.

5. Liz Thompson

Liz and I met the same day I met Liz Gumbinner. I haven’t stopped giving her hugs since. Liz is the kind of person you want to sit by the pool with and chat. She’s a person that when you scan a room and see her, you get excited to know you can spend some time with her. I’ve been on conference panels with her and she’s just a delight to be around. The kind of person you want to make sure you introduce to people close to you.

Want to chat with me throughout my crazy day? Follow me on Twitter! I’m @VeepVeep

Don’t forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to celebrate a friend with a refreshing attitude about looking and feeling fabulous. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.