Thursday night, we hit up the expo hall, where we were able to connect firsthand with tons of brands. Some brands were eager to take my business card and tell me about their product, and others, not so much.
I really enjoyed the expo hall, and throughout our two days at the BlogHer, we spent quite a bit of time there. We met some fun people, too!
Friday morning, the conference kicked off with the “Newbie Breakfast.” Right when I walked out of the ballroom, I ran into these ladies! From left to right is Gina from Running to the Kitchen, Kat from Living Like the Kings, and Courtney from Baxtron Life.
Meeting these ladies, and many others, was absolutely the highlight of my trip. To finally be able to meet these people, after they’ve literally lived in your computer for years, is just an amazing thing.
I attended one session that morning, Turning Your Blog Posts Into Publishable Essays. I enjoyed the session very much, but it was SO packed. I really feel that the sessions should have been held in a larger area, to accommodate more people. If you’re paying for a full conference pass, you shouldn’t be denied a seat to attend a session.
That afternoon we had a keynote speaker…MARTHA STEWART!!! I’m going to be honest, I really have never paid too much attention about Martha Stewart, but that didn’t stop me from being excited to hear her speak.
And let me tell you something. Martha Stewart is freaking hilarious! She was so down to earth! I loved every second of her interview. My favorite part was when she said that she cleans her chicken coops, she feeds her horses, she pets and cares for them each night. She could easily hire someone to take care of these, what some might consider “dirty jobs,” but she does it because she ENJOYS it.
After the keynote, I originally planned on attending a session, but by the time I got out of the keynote, and waiting in line for the bathroom, I couldn’t get in. A bit disappointing, yes. Jared and I headed back to the expo hall, and ran into Ree Drummond, aka: The Pioneer Woman!!!
Although I am the first to say I despise cooking, this was The Pioneer Woman, I had to meet her! And I’m so glad I did, she was SO unbelievably nice.
Afterwards, we headed to the Connecticut Bloggers meet-up. That was awesome. It was so laid back, and just the thing I needed after a crazy day, running all around the conference.
I think we collapsed onto our hotel bed when the day was over. That was, after we went through all the swag we accumulated throughout the day.
Saturday morning, we were invited to the Disney Junior breakfast.
It was like you stepped into a room, and you were at Disney World!! Jake from the Neverland Pirates, and Minnie were even there!
As much as I was enjoying the Disney Junior event, I had to sneak out of there early. Branding and Blogging Professionally, was the ONE session I knew I had to attend. And, because I knew how quickly seats fill up, I made sure to get there early. The panel was led by Jill from Baby Rabies, Gina from The Feminist Breeder, Charlie from How to be a Dad, and Mandy from Harpers Happenings. ALL BLOGS I FOLLOW AND LOVE!!!
I am just so happy I got into that session. It was engaging…and freaking hilarious! Mandy told us, “don’t poop out of your mouth.” As funny as that is, IT IS SO TRUE!!! The rest of the session was equally inspiring. And YES, poop was absolutely inspiring!
Jared and I decided to cut our BlogHer adventure a bit short, because my dad came home early from Florida. That and, I missed my sweet boy terribly. I think he missed his Momma too ๐
Now the big question is, will I be attending BlogHer ’13 in Chicago?
Honestly? Probably not. From what I hear the conference is being held 6 miles away from the host hotel, and they’re shuttling us bloggers to and from. To me, that sounds like an epic disaster. I was one mile from the conference this year, and I know what a pain in the butt that was! Maybe I’ll change my mind. But for now, I’ll just keep doing what I love doing. Writing. Sharing our every day life adventures with you.
Kat
Nice recap ๐
Melissa @ Growing Up Geeky
It was so great to meet you!! And the Disney Junior breakfast looks like it was a blast ๐
Suzanne
It was great to meet you at the CT Bloggers meet up – we definitely didn't get long enough to chat (although by that time I could barely talk!) I'm amazing we didn't run into each other more – we were at all the same places but sessions were so crowded it was easy to miss people.
I'm still debating Chicago too – friends in the city say the set up won't be terrible and the conference center is beautiful – so maaaaybe I'll see you there. Or, more likely, at a CT Blogger thing here in the state!
Phase Three of Life
I so wish I could have been there to hang out with ya!
P.S. So happy to hear your Dad is home – YAY!
Jill @BabyRabies
Looks like you had a great conference! I am SO happy you enjoyed our panel. Thank you so much for coming and supporting us!
Mindi @ Simply Stavish
Great recap. I'm so bummed I didn't have a real chance to chat with you. Just finding you guys at the lunch was a task in itself. Those tables were crazy numbered! Sorry to hear that NYC is not very accessible. Good thing you brought your hubby! ๐
Liz {Learning To Juggle}
I LOVE your recap – sounds like you had a great time!! I have to say I feel the same way about NYC as you do (well the not glamorous part not the slanted sidewalk part) every time I go I feel like it should all just sparkle – and maybe be a bit less dirty!!
I saw that you are a RI'er as well, congratulations on making it out of the state, there are few of us who do!! (I say that with love as I am RI born and RI bred…and I'll probably never leave!!!)
caitplusate.com
Thanks for the informative recap! So cool that you met the Pioneer Woman. You were way close to Martha! I missed her interview b/c the lunch line was too long for my impatient, hungry self haha. I'm not going to '13 either because Chicago is too far from me to a) afford a plane ticket or b) take enough vaca days from my "real life" job. However this whole shuttling-bloggers-to-the-conference thing REALLY cements it for me – not going!
lorrie
thanks for that good recap im going to blogher next year and im excited to go.