I think I got more sleep last night at home than the previous three nights combined at BlogHer. Funny that I was excited to get away and be able to sleep and I ended up with less than I do with a baby next to me. That pretty much sums up BlogHer10: exhausting and non-stop… but tons of fun!
I started freaking out when I got on the bus to the airport on Thursday, crying as I left Ryan behind and thinking, “what am I doing?!!” But I’m so glad I went. I met some awesome people, put MANY faces to names and learned a lot (mostly about myself).
My roomies were wonderful: Tara at this military mama and Becca at mama b. And Christa from Little BGCG and Jenn from Baby Making Mama may as well have been roomies for all the time they spent in our room till the early morning hours 😉 Yes, it’s true, we missed the BlogHer parties at night because we opted for quality mom-chat time instead. And I loved it. I soooo needed it.
Thursday: I didn’t get to the hotel until about 3:15pm? Ended up missing the pre-blogher dinner with Lauren 🙁 mainly bc Hilton lost (momentarily) my roomie’s luggage. Christa and Kristine were in town and came to visit us at the hotel–so happy I got to meet them both! Missed the people’s party because we stayed up till 4am talking in our hotel room with @babymakingmama
Me and Jenn (Baby Making Mama) with lil J
Friday: lots of running around to suites and meetings and swag pick ups and the expo hall… went to a nice restaurant for a free dinner by Tavern Direct… and, best part of the whole trip, spent the evening (and early morning, haha) talking with Joe and Shari Criso. Two very awesome people. You really don’t get to meet many people as genuine and kind as they are.
Saturday: lots more running around. Before BlogHer, I won a makeover and spa giftcard from P&G. Celebrity makeup artist Bruce Grayson did my makeup… I don’t usually wear lots of makeup, it’s not my thing, but this was a lot of fun. He had some little tips and tricks for me and gave me a million compliments that made my day 😉 I also got a quick foot massage at the ECCO suite! Spent more time today in the expo hall connecting with companies. Again, we missed the evening party (the green affair) because Christa came back to visit again and we stood in line on the streets of NYC for 30 minutes to get a gyro (YUM!) and spent the whole night chatting again. It was perfect.
BEFORE makeover
AFTER makeover
Sunday: overslept… shipped a box of swag home and rushed to the airport. Made it to my gate just in time for boarding and finally got home to Rockford around 4:30pm!
Overall: I had a lot of fun, tried to do too much, learned a lot, and can’t wait for BlogHer next year in San Diego! Tips for next year: don’t try to sign up for EVERYTHING, you won’t make it and you’ll have more fun anyway if you aren’t rushing around. Don’t count on having internet… apparently the Hilton couldn’t handle all of us and I got maybe 5 minutes of internet connection the entire weekend. Prioritize what’s important to you–I skipped sessions to attend the expo hall and have other meetings because I figured I’d get more out of those. Have a plan on how to get home all the swag… there is a LOT of it. Have fun!
Making s'mores with Mama B!
Robeez--love the furry animal ones in the middle!
Upcoming posts: the babies of BlogHer and the Simplisse swag!
*Thanks again to Simplisse for sponsoring my trip!
Not signing up for everything is such a good idea. I tried to do WAY too much at BlogHer and was bummed I didn’t spend as much time with you and Becca as I wanted too.
I didn’t even know you had a dinner thursday night! I’m so sorry my luggage drama stopped you from going! I feel awful. 🙁
I wish we had gotten more pictures of us all together haha.
I LOVED being your roomie! The girl chat was amazing even if I couldn’t stay awake for all of it.
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babydickey Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Omgosh, don’t feel bad about thursday–I didn’t mean to make it sound like it was your fault! It was just everything going on + I got to the hotel later than I had expected, etc. No worries!!! I know, I wish we had more pictures too, I don’t have any on my camera of all of us… sad! I had a great time too, thanks for being my roomie 🙂
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Looks like a fun weekend even if it didn’t turn out exactly as planned. I do not do overscheduled and little sleep well. I am hoping to go next year but will definitely spread out what I sign up for.
How did you find a sponsor? Did they approach you or did you approach them? I’ve heard from other people they didn’t like having a sponsor because they felt like they had to spend the whole weekend promoting their brand. Getting a sponsor next year would definitely help me get to BlogHer 2011.
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babydickey Reply:
August 10th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I approached them. The rules this year at BlogHer were different than previous years… you weren’t allowed to hand out swag or promote your sponsor on conference grounds. I think that helped a LOT with not feeling like I had to promote them the WHOLE time (bc I couldn’t!). I set up certain times through the weekend where I’d be in my hotel room so people could stop by and I could hand out the swag and talk with them a little bit about breastfeeding and my sponsor. It worked out really well. Good luck finding one for next year! 🙂
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Wow! Sounds like a great time. I wish I would have gone. Maybe next year!
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