Sears ShopYourWay Round Table Blogger Event {#SYW12}

Before I had kids, I never wanted to go shopping alone. I just felt weird walking up and down the aisles by myself... and besides, who would I ask when I needed an opinion on which shirt looked better or if the jeans were too long (I'm short, so they always are)?

Fast-forward to today and if I can run to the grocery store, department store, craft store or more by myself, it's almost a mini-vacation. No one is complaining about how long I'm taking and there aren't any whines about being tired of walking or if we can get candy out of the machines when we are ready to leave.

However... the peace and quiet of shopping alone comes with a price: no husband or friend to ask if I should buy the turquoise or the maroon t-shirt or if we need more strands of white Christmas lights (I never feel like we have enough). Fortunately, it is now possible to bring along not just a pal but a whole network of shopping buddies thanks to Sears and ShopYourWay.

More than just another app for shopping, ShopYourWay is an entire community of virtual friends that can answer questions or help you out with the touch of a button.

Even better, you can automatically collect points (which equate to money, of course!), receive custom deals just for you, make returns without a receipt... and much, much more. Who doesn't want to save their pennies while also feeling like a rock star when they're out shopping?

To find out more about this innovative new app (and more), I was fortunate to be invited to Chicago by Sears to learn firsthand about the ins and outs of the social shopping world that they have created.

We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Felix, where the comfort, silence and darkness of my room was the perfect setting for a luxurious afternoon nap and a great night's sleep...

...and we had a scrumptious dinner at the drool-worthy Zed451, an out-of-this world experience of soups, salads, vegetables, breads and meats that were served table-side. They were even so gracious to have a stunning vegetarian plate put together just for me (and the two other vegetarians in our party) so that we weren't at all left out!

After a short stroll over to the Sears Craftsman Experience workroom the following morning, we had a tasty breakfast and were treated to a visit with a photographer from Sears Portrait Studios who took new head shots for anyone who was interested. Considering I've always used a random photo that I've had on hand, I can't wait to see my new professional results when they're ready!

When it came time to get down to business, it was great to hear about all of the various features of the ShopYourWay app and how it works. I loved that Sears really wanted our opinions and thoughts and that they were able to look at the positives and negatives and know that they were working to make as many improvements as possible.

Sears brought in bloggers from every different genre, so I really enjoyed hearing the viewpoints from bloggers that focus on deals, reviews, humor, tech, parenting and more. We all want to save when we shop (and with Shop Your Way Rewards, the more you shop, the more points you'll earn!), so bringing together minds from across the blogging spectrum provided lots of thoughts on the whole social shopping experience.

We also had the chance to take a peek into the Kenmore studios (where videos are made), get up close and personal with great appliances...

...and have a tasty lunch provided by a program that was new to me, mygofer.com. If you haven't heard of mygofer yet, you'll love finding out more about the next generation in shopping and the way that it makes it possible to combine the convenience of online shopping with the ability to receive your purchases the same day.

mygofer.com knows that we're all busy, busy, busy, so they created a shopping experience that helps you get what you need, when you need it. If you need groceries, they'll bring you groceries! If you need diapers, lawn furniture or cleaning supplies, they'll bring those to you as well... they'll even go to a store other than Sears or Kmart! How cool is that?

Are you ready to start shopping and saving? As well as the great features of the Shop Your Way Rewards program, Sears has made it even easier with their Personal Shopper program. Who doesn't want someone else to do all the legwork in finding the best products out there?

And that's where I come in! I have a Personal Shopper account and all you have to do is join me! It's free to join and completely free to use, but now you'll be able to send me out looking for the best gadgets, tools, toys, apparel and much more that are on your shopping list. Let's shop!

My travel expenses for this trip were covered by ShopYourWay, however, all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.