Blissdom Conference Recap

Life has gotten away from me once again dear friends. It's been over 2 weeks since I've been back from Blissdom and I'm just now getting a chance to post my recap!

This was my first time attending Blissdom. I was anxious about going because I had heard that the attendance at Blissdom wasn't very diverse and I wasn't sure how I would fit in or how comfortable I would feel. I also was going to be flying solo since Ny and Jonesie weren't coming along. That said, I really wanted to go, not only to hang out with and meet new blogging buddies, but also to support Barbara Jones who has been a supporter of Blogalicious since the beginning. Also, Blogalicious was going to be a sponsor of the Blissful + Bubbles party hosted by The Clever Girls, and I wanted to be there for the event. And so, I went. And my trip didn't disappoint!

Everything was well done. The hotel was spectacular; the agenda had just the right mix of educational and topical discussions; the parties were fun; and the vibe was warm.

For me, the highlights of the weekend were:

- The Opening Keynote by Kevin Carroll of Katalyst. He was phenomenal. Why haven't I heard of this guy before?

- The "Striking a Balance" panel. It's not often that you sit in on a breakout session that touches you and resonates on such a personal level. All of the ladies on the panel were awesome, but I have to say that this was the moment when I knew I had to meet Carmen of Mom to the Screaming Masses in person.

- And I did. Which leads me to another highlight: watching hilarious YouTube videos with Carmen and Shannon of MomReinvented. Love those gals!

- Lunch with Isabel Kallman of Alpha Mom, Kim Moldofsky of Mom Impact; and Jennifer James of Mom Bloggers Club. As if I wasn't already impressed with Isabel and all that's she's done, at lunch I learned that on top of everything, she used to be an SVP and Solomon Smith Barney AND a dancer in Salt n' Pepa videos!! Loves it.

- The Final Showdown of the U.S. Potato Board's Tastemaker Challenge. OMG this was so much fun. A mashed potato bar; potato vodka; cheering on some of my fave bloggers including ModernMami; an impromptu cheerleading routine from Jessica Knows; WHOOMP! There It Is blasting over the speakers - I'm telling you, it was a ball.

- And last, but not least, my absolute most favorite moment of Blissdom was girls night out with Carrie of Bilingual in the Boonies; Modern Mami; Yoly of Cuponeando; Jennifer James; and Lizzie of LizzieB TV. These girls are the definition of "good peoples." We laughed, shared, laughed, dished, laughed, drank and dined. Then Carrie took us on a personal tour of downtown Nashville. What a fun evening.

The Closing Session of the conference was moving as well. MckMama recounted her experience of almost losing her son and how her blogging community helped get her through those difficult times. Top that off with a video montage of attendees giving their well wishes to Anissa Mayhew who is recovering (and finally home!) and it was no wonder that boxes of tissues were on each table.

All in all, it was a good trip. The level of diversity was still pretty sad, but I was expecting that so it didn't really bother me. Things got a little stressful towards the end because Snowmageddon hit the D.C. area and I learned that I would not be flying home as scheduled. But all's well that ends well and I got to hang out with Amy from Resourceful Mommy, Cecily from Uppercase Woman, and Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife. Eventually, I made it home safe and sound, with a weekend of new and strengthened relationships in my pocket.

Altitude Design Summit

{Jyl from MomItForward, Me and Rachel from Today's Mama getting our 1920's sultry on.}

Boy these blog conference sure do have me traveling to places that I would never have had the chance to visit on my own! Week before last I had the pleasure of attending the Altitude Design Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah where I spoke on one of the panels. Before the fly girls of Kirtsy (the masterminds behind ALT) reached out to me for about speaking, I had no idea that there was an entire conference especially for design bloggers.

And I quickly found that these were clearly my people.

{The panel I spoke on called "Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due." YES, I am paying attention. Ahem.}

I was a little uncertain about what a "design blogger" was at first. The early bird lecture on "How to Find the Best Design Sites" was very helpful in shedding some light on that question for me. Basically, I learned that design bloggers are those that find beauty in the everyday and post about it. That's it. Whether it be fashion, decorating, crafting, art, food, graphic design, or lifestyle, or a combination of all of those and more, those blogs are considered design blogs. All of the attendees were very stylish (myself excluded, ha ha) - I told myself that the conference looked like a giant ad for Anthropologie. The blogs I discovered were equally as breathtaking including some that have become my fast favorites: Mrs. Lilien and DesignSponge, among tons of others.

{Ok, so I might have a slight obsession with my MacBookPro. Cut me some slack, it's new!}

The speakers were great. The hotel was fabulous. The events were fun. And all very laid back and welcoming. Thanks Alt Summit for opening my eyes to a whole new side of the blogosphere! Something tells me I'll be joining you very soon...

{Me and Gabrielle of DesignMom on the red carpet. Let's ignore the fact that she is still smaller than I am even though she is pregnant with her SIXTH child.}

{Cheers!}

Nashville, Here I Come...

Tomorrow night I'll be leaving for Nashville, TN for Blissdom 2010. It's my first time going and so I'm quite excited. I'm looking forward to seeing some friendly faces of bloggers that I only get to see IRL every once in awhile and to finally meet others that I've only tweeted with! Barbara and Alli have really pulled out all the stops and organized a weekend full of great information and fun events. As a matter of fact, Harry Connick Jr. will be there performing on Friday night. How cool is that? I took another look at the conference agenda last night and it's going to be tough to decide which sessions to attend since they all look interesting. Blogalicious is sponsoring an event hosted by the Clever Girls on Thursday night called Blissful Bubbles + Bites which is going to feature lots of fun prizes, cool gals and bubbly drinks. Don't forget to attend to enter to win a free pass to Blogalicious 2010.

Hope to see some of you there!

Martha and Me

I'm so glad that I went. Even though common sense and my already-hectic life weighed against it, two Thursdays ago I ventured to Manhattan to be a part of the audience on the Martha Stewart Show. She was having a special show dedicated to blogging and I was lucky enough to be invited to hang out with blogging buddies that I rarely get to see IRL like Niri and Prissy Mommy and StyleMom and Sunkissed Mommy, The Broke Socialite, and Jeanne - I could go on.

Martha's studio was fantastic (really, was I expecting anything less?). It was bright and spacious and perfectly decorated. The test kitchen caused this wannabe-foodie to gasp when I walked in, as did the kitchen set, which was bigger and more glamorous than my actual kitchen. Martha's definitely doin' the damn thing.

As for the domestic diva herself? She was much better in person than I expected. I don't know what it is, but when I actually (try to) watch her show on TV, I immediately get bored. I don't know if it's because I don't really care for crafting or gardening or if its the monotone nature of her voice, but I just can't get with it. I'll buy her cookbooks and magazines all day though. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only does she have a personality, she's actually a firecracker!

Her show guests included "The Whatever Girls" (her daughter Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman-Hutt), food blogger Chez Pim, journalist Brian Williams and actor Jeff Blumenkrantz. An awesome-smelling pad thai; postively gorgeous Orange-Almond cake; and some random craft later (see? I told you); the cameras turned off and Martha turned it on for a fun Q&A session. It ended with a roar of laughter and applause as she hiked her leg up 'pon the table to show us her 6-inch, gold, Yves St-Laurent stilettos. She's the real deal.

Oh and I must note that the music in her studio was live and direct. I mean they were playing hip hop, reggae, rock and it was pumpin'. To top it all off, on our way out we each got a copy of Pim's new book: The Foodie Handbook (yes, I almost died). In fact, I read almost all of of it on the ride home to DC. It's now next to my bed where I can catch a glimpse of the wonderful goodness that lies inside right before I go to bed and first thing in the morning. Yes, I realize that I have issues.

After the show, I had a lovely lunch with StyleMom and SunKissed Mommy - at a Thai place of course - since we had Thai on the brain after smelling Chez Pim's creations on the set. All in all it was a great trip, well worth the 4-hour ride each way.

The Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New...

I'm headed to New York City tomorrow and will be in the studio audience of The Martha Stewart Show live taping on Thursday! She's doing a show devoted to bloggers and the lovely ladies of Mamalaw were fortunate enough to be offered tickets. Of course Jonesie and Ny are being LAME-Os and have all kinds of excuses as to why they can't come - they say it's because of work...I say it's because they ain't 'bout it.

Tee Hee.

Anyway, I'm super excited for a few reasons: (1) I've never been to a talk show taping before! The college television production major in me is chomping at the bit; (2) Each of us is asked to bring a tech device so that we can live blog and tweet during the show. What's the big deal? I get to bring my spankin' new MacBookPro!! It's fresh out of the box as of last night. Woot!; (3) I get to spend the night at my college best friend's house. I haven't seen her since her wedding in 2008...and she's pregnant. I can't wait; (4) Finally, I am looking forward to seeing some bloggy friends. Word on the street is that Jeanne from Yahoo! Moms will be there, The Broke Socialite, SunKissed Mommy and a bunch more.

There ain't no party like a blogger party!

(What is with me tonight and the "ain'ts"?)

Anyway, look for me on Twitter on Thursday to hear all about MARTHA. Should be fun, yes?

Wednesday Special Event! Nickelodeon's ParentConnect Online Baby Shower

What are you doing tomorrow between 10am and 8pm? Nothing? Well, now you have plans. You're officially invited to attend the World's Biggest Online Baby Shower!

All day, from 10am - 8pm, this interactive online event will have shower games, parenting advice and a huge treasure trove of fabulous prizes. You can come and go from party throughout your day as you please - the prize giveaways will be going on all day.

Take a look at the stuff they'll be giving away - an UppaVista Baby Stroller ($699 retail), a bloom fresco loft highchair ($500 retail), a Medela Freestyle breast pump ($379 retail) - this one weighs less than one pound! (where was that when I was nursing!?), $300 Diapers.com gift certificate , Britax car seats and tons of stuff more like bouncy seats, jewelry, edible treats, baby monitors, kids' books, baby carriers...the list goes on.

The online party will be hosted by The Shower Diva Susan Newton, the guru of baby and bridal showers that are actually a blast...because you know we've all been to some stinkers.

So my Mamalaw friends, here's how you join the par-tay:
1) Log In or Register for ParentsConnect.

2) Head over to Pingg, RSVP "Yes!" and then use the "Share Invite" feature to invite everyone you know! The person with the most guests wins a $650 stroller!
RSVP here.

3) Come to parentsconnect.com on December 16th anytime between 10am - 8pm ET for all the fun stuff about baby showers - the gifts! the games! - without any of the suck!
Click here.

Get your party on!