ALONG COMES MARY

This past weekend was easily one of the most anticipated of the year. Especially if you are a blogger r female entrepreneur.  The place to be was Downtown LA at The JW Marriott as BlogHer took over the house and LA Live to give like-minded women a weekend of amazing tips and tricks from the top people in  social media, a chance to make new connections with brands, meet new friends and see old, get inspired  and maybe, snag a little swag.

As some of you may know, I have been extremely excited for BlogHer16 since I bought my early bird ticket on New Year’s Eve. My goal? Spend as much time as possible at THE conference to be at if you are anyone in the blogging and/or social media world. I was going to create my ultimate agenda, see all the speakers I wanted (Sheryl Crow? Mayim Bialik?! Hell yes!), connect with brands I love like Garnier and Aldi.

Then, life kept happening. After looking forward to the Saturday night finale party, I decided to opt out as Mike got us Weezer and Panic! at the Disco tickets. No worries! I will just have fun in the AM before we head out to the show in Orange County, and cram in a full day Friday. Then, it turned out i’d be visiting my Mom, too. Getting a little busy. No biggie, right? Well, guys, Yes. It was a biggie. After having a run of feeling pretty good, dare I say, mighty, I came a bit crashing down. Joint pain and aches up the ying-yang (Thanks, rheumatoid arthritis), sniffles, blood sugars reacting to all the yuckies….I did my best to make Friday happen. I may have not done my full day as I had hoped, but, here is what I did take away from BlogHer:

Theres  A LOT to see, hear, do and eat…..

One thing is for sure: BlogHer and their sponsors know how to feed a crowd. I heard Thursday night had a 3 course dinner courtesy of Ford’s Filling Station, and on Friday, we were treated to a beautiful breakfast buffet while we awaited Opening Keynote Speaker, Sarah Michelle Gellar. When I headed over for an amazing, informative panel from The Responsible Nutrition Council, all the fixings you need for a sandwich (including gluten-free bread!) were at the ready for you.

If you are looking to get crash courses on everything from SEO to social media, BlogHer definitely has your back. With so much to see and do in just 2 days, definitely take advantage of opening night which is mainly to get in time at the expo with the sponsors.

The expo is *not* huge……

While I have heard the stories of years past being non-stop swag coming your way, they certainly have cracked down on the amount of brands and sponsors throwing themselves at you. As someone who has received A LOT of complimentary products at brand sponsored events, I know first hand that more IS more and it’s not always a great thing. I was really pleased at the size of the expo; it was not over kill, and I walked away with several business cards from brands I hope to work with on Along Comes Mary. Stay tuned 😉

No, I skipped Kim Kardashian….

Nothing personal, but, since I felt very low on energy, I stuck to my must-see’s, and Kardashian was not one of them. I understand that several of my friends adored her chat, and many gained a new respect for the reality star and social media mogul. Me? I had a luncheon appointment with The Responsible Nutrition Council, and cannot wait to write about it.

But I did see Buffy!

I was extremely interested to see what  Sarah Michelle Gellar had to say about her latest project, Food Stirs. Food Stirs is all about empowering kids and their families in the kitchen, while skipping on some of the harsh ingredients often found in baking goods. While they’re not gluten-free (Please get on that, Sarah!), they are Vegan and all products contain natural, whole ingredients.

Gellar really understands the importance of bloggers and social media influencers. I loved hearing how she balances this new venture with her acting career and family.

Why was I not in the know about the brand suites?

I stumbled upon a sign that said Aldi Markets had a “baby shower” suite in the hotel. I quickly hopped on that train and had a fabulous time visiting with the health food store chain and learning about their new line of baby goodies coming to their stores. Brand suites were a really great way for me to connect and take a chill pill with some great brands. (Psst, I may have even made my own body scrub!).

So, I may have not felt my best or made it to BlogHer as much as I’d liked, but, I made it! I plan to share more about the brands I met in the coming weeks, and I enjoyed my time while there and hopefully I will return next year in great health and eager to do all I did not this year! xo