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| {Photo via Mamapop.com} |
Ok… So, I’ve been talking quite a bit or Blah Blah Blahing about BlogHer ’11 for the past couple of days nonstop (especially on twitter). BUT, that’s only because it was seriously an amazing and lovely experience for me.
Yes, of course there were weird parts or times that I didn’t really love (like BlogHer’s second morning’s breakfast of oatmeal… lame)… BUT, I barely even remember these lame moments. 😉
Since my brain is normally pretty scattered, unorganized and loopy… I will just list out some memorable BlogHer ’11 moments/highlights for me…
– Landing safely in San Diego… I may or may not have a wee bit of anxiety about the take off/landing portion of flights….
– Arriving early. It gave me a chance to settle in and prepare myself for the craziness that is BlogHer.
– The first day in San Diego. We all gathered in Mandy, Erika’s, Mae’s, and Beth Anne’s room for some wine time…. 😀 It was just so relaxed and fun… with lots of wine!
– Finally meeting all the Clever Girl ladies! ::hi ladies!::
– Winning some free cash at the RetailMeNot booth. Word.
– The first session I went to: Change Yourself | Your Perfect Imperfections: Blogging Your Way to Self-Acceptance with Gretchen Rubin (Happiness Project) moderating. This is where I found out about the lovely Gluten Free Girl. Very inspiring.
– Sparklecorn… seriously. See the 2 videos below.
– Having a chance to hit up the Queen Bee Market!
– Talking about blogging with people who love it as much as I do!
– Really…. just having an amazing time where I took care of ME! I missed my baby girl a ton… but, I forget what it’s like to just do my own thing sometimes. It was a nice little break. 🙂
What I will do differently next year:
– Talk to more people! I talked to MANY bloggers. MANY. But, I still let my shyness pull me back in a few situations. The reality is: 99% of these blogging peeps are amazingly nice and welcome a hello and chat.
– The swag situation: So… I’m going to bite the bullet and check my luggage full of clothes (and pay the lame baggage fee)… and then bring an almost empty suitcase to carry on… for the swag. Yes, you will probably need it.
– Hang out with more bloggers. Of COURSE I loved hanging out with the 2 ladies nonstop. LOVED it, but I wish I had hung out more with some other sweet bloggers that I only really managed to say “hi” to a couple time. 🙂
– I am going to do a TON more research about the events and parties. I sort of just flew into it all laid back with the “whatever” mentality… I wish I knew exactly what each and every session was about before I arrived (of course… I don’t have to go to all of them… but, researching a session moments before it starts: hard).
Tips about your future trip to BlogHer:
– The trip will be what you make of it! I’ve read and talked about this with MANY-a-bloggers since the trip. You wont enjoy yourself if you sit in the corner and hide. If you’re worried you’ll be alone during the conference… you probably wont. UNLESS you hide yourself from everyone. Most likely there are more than a couple lady and guy bloggers that are feeling alone and need a buddy to walk around with! Throw yourself out there! Sit with the loan blogger at lunch. You may make a friend! I sent many DM’s on twitter to some bloggers to swap numbers so we can meet up. 🙂 Don’t let your fear of rejection hold you back (I know I do this a lot in my normal life).
– Like I said earlier: Check your luggage full of clothes… and, carry on an empty suitcase for swag. You’ll need it. Fer shizzle.
– Be realistic about the shoe packing situation…. being a bit of a shoe hoarder (yup) I had a VERY hard time limiting the amount of shoes I packed. AMAZINGLY: I kept it down to 4 pairs. WTF! Wow. I recommend packing a pair of sandals, cute/dressy flat shoes, a super comfy walking pair (my TOMS), and possibly one cute pair of heels… I wore those to Sparklecorn and kicked them off my feet after an hour. 😉
– Pack Moleskin, cushy Dr. Scholls inserts and bandaids and keep them in your purse. Just in case all that walking kills your tootsies (aka feet… Ruari calls them tootsies).
– Don’t over-pack on the clothes situation. I think you might regret having too many clothes. I planned out my outfits and made sure I had 2 for each day (because you will get sweaty and stinky) plus one extra… just in case. 🙂
– Pack some vitamins… if you drink, like me… you may want some vitamins to keep you fit and healthy. 😉
– Just relax… it will be fun!
Yeah…. I’m the one with a unicorn horn on my head… I may or may not be dancing with a cardboard cutout around 1:50…
Some photos from Sparklecorn:
♡ Chelsey
