My Blissdom Recap

I just spent the past two days at the blogging conference, Blissdom. I had such a wonderful time – way better than last year because I have made so many blogging friendships since then! It was amazing to spend some quality time with women who I have come to respect so much online. The takeaway – they are all more amazing in person.

Since I am a big list person, I thought I’d write my top 10 from Blissdom 2010 (in no particular order).

Meeting many of the writers from (In)Courage. Seriously, I knew I was blessed to be a part of this team of writers, but I didn’t realize how much I would really, genuinely, LOVE them. Here we are at Cracker Barrel for breakfast on Friday.

The Pleated Poppy – Lindsey is a part of (In)Courage, but she gets her own item on this list because seriously, I am officially OBSESSED with her poppies, notebooks and other creations. She generously gave me a poppy and I can’t stop wearing it. She is having a Valentines sale right now (through Feb. 14) in her shop – 25% off of everything!! Just enter LOVE in at the checkout. Tell your hubs that you want Pleated Poppies for Valentines- so much better than real flowers. Here she and I are before the closing session.
Savvy Blogging Dinner – Some of my favorite frugal bloggers hosted a fabulous off-site dinner to discuss how to become a more savvy blogger. It was such a pleasure chatting with bloggers who really do it right. I also finally met Jennifer (“MckMama“), which was fun. She was very down-to-earth and kind.
The (In)Courage Beach House Party – (In)Courage hosted a party Friday night where readers and writers of the blog could spend some time together. It was lovely getting to chat with so many kind-spirited women. I especially enjoyed chatting with Tsh from SimpleMom.net and Lisa Leonard (who, like the Pleated Poppy, I am obsessed with her work. I would be just fine with only wear her Lisa Leonard Jewelry for the rest of my life).
Andrea – Of everyone at Blissdom, I was most excited to spend time with my friend, Andrea from MommySnacks.net. I truly love her and have been so blessed by the friendship that started from blog comments and twitter and has blossomed into a real life, iron sharpening iron, friendship.
Gussy bags – The fabulously talented Maggie Whitley (aka Gussy) made each (In)Courage blogger an adorable purse/laptop bag. I can’t get enough of the cute ruffle. Check them out here.
1,000 pairs of shoes for Soles4Soles – My client Soles4Souls collected more than 1,000 pairs of shoes for people in Haiti. That is 1,000 people who will be provided with shoes that have none. I love how generous people were! Some ladies literally brought bags and bags of shoes. It was beautiful.
The opening session -The conference kicked off with Kevin Carroll talking about the importance of play and being opportunistic. I was so inspired. He was a great way to kick-off the conference.
The swag – One of the many perks of going to a conference like Blissdom is all the swag! We were spoiled by many great sponsors including ConAgra, Hallmark, Blue Bunny, Arnold, Hanes, Intuit, Lands End, Lifetime, RedPlum, Hersheys, Cover Girl and more. I especially loved my Lands End tote that everything was in. A girl can never have too many Lands End totes.
The sessions – I really enjoyed the sessions, especially the legal/accounting/FTC session. It is always nice to be affirmed in what you already know, as well as learn a few things. 🙂

Today I am back to the reality of work. 🙂 My sister and her fiance are coming visit this week (Thursday-Sunday), so at least I have another fun weekend to look forward to.

How was your weekend? If you were at Blissdom, what were some of your favorite moments?