BlogHer14 Recap: 1 sentence per picture

Absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder. I don’t get to see too much of The Guy, because during the week day of course I’m home alone as he works — but we both have our own fitness schedules. He has to train for his upcoming triathlons, and I’m always climbing, going to the gym, or doing yoga. The only time we truly get to spend together is on Saturday and Sunday, and this past weekend I headed off to BlogHer’14. It was a great event, but I definitely missed my husband. How cheesy do I sound right now? Tell me. C’mon.

I have a boat load of photos to show you from the conference, so instead of writing about it, I’ll show you mainly in photos with a sentence or two underneath each picture. That’s cool, right?

BlogHer-EppaSangria1 Eppa sponsored a yoga and sangria event outside the San Jose Museum of Art. White sangria is tasty.

BlogHer-EppaSangria2Whole Foods sponsored a bit of cheese, crackers and nuts. Also got a ton of Soybu hair ties. These ribbon hair ties are the best, so I got as many as I could.

BlogHer-EppaSangria3Sarah, Jessica and I showing our hair tie arm party. The event was hosted outside the San Jose Museum of Art, so it was a pretty nice area, downtown.

BlogHer-day2San Jose palm trees lit up. Photoboming Jessica’s selfie. A flower given to me by Yoplait. Hanging out in the Hairfinity booth.

BlogHer-Famous-PplSaw some famous people: Blogger – Jenny Lawson from The Blogess, and Actor – Kerry Washington.

BlogHer-Khloe-KardashianOh. Khloe Kardashian too, that was cool.

BlogHer14-Khloe-KardashianI was pleasantly surprised at how small she was. Tabloids must photoshop her larger, because she wasn’t bigger than me by any means. I didn’t line up for a photo with her, as I’m not a huge fan or anything. But still wanted to take a snapshot of her. I mean, she IS famous afterall.

BlogHer-CuisinartTruthfully, I’m more excited to see people I’ve made friends with throughout the conference. Including Dan, from Jersey. Having someone you can talk to, connect with, laugh and crack jokes with is far more fun.

BlogHer-Found-My-CanadiansI found my Canadians! Julie, Tiffany, Me, Christine and Sarah.

BlogHer-CDNsMore Canadians! Katie and I had a ton in common. Both lived out east (Her in Halifax, I’m from Newfoundland), both lived in the same area of Waterloo, Ontario. I mean – in 2010 we were living one street away. I know. Get out of town. Small friggen world.

BlogHer-More-CanadiansAnd Katie’s colleague, who is also a Canadian who I forget his name. I do recall it begins with a P. I get so excited when I see people from back home, even if we only met!

BlogHer-foodSome of the food I ate at BlogHer. You wouldn’t believe how many times I went back for a slush from Sonic. I won’t tell.

BlogHer-SonicMy outfits for one of the days. Sonic guy and I. Smiling for Skype.

BlogHer-SelfieBlogHer’14 is in its tenth year, which calls for a Selfiebration. The theme of the conference this year.

BlogHer-Red+WhiteI felt fancy. I’m excited to bring you a blog post soon, about my outfits I wore to BlogHer.

BlogHer-Outfit-shotsTook photos of Jessica too, along with our matching shoes.

BlogHer-McDonalds-SmileMcDonalds sponsored the closing party. Happy Meal face made out of roses? You betcha I was excited about this.

BlogHer-McDonaldsYes, I may have had more than one McDonald’s Happy Meal. I love McDonalds!! I’m yelling that out in the last picture.

BlogHer-McDonalds-ClosingPhotoboming Kelly, Sarah and Marissa‘s selfie. McDonald’s food truck x2, then Sarah and I posing again.

BlogHer-RevRunRev Run from Run DMC DJ’ed, taking us back to the 80’s and 90’s.

BlogHer-McDonalds-PartyMeeting new friends, thanks to McDonalds.

BlogHer-McD-eventModelling my new dress. Decorations. Carla & I (who I met at the Blog Party a few weeks ago).

BlogHer-McD-Jess-NancyJessica and I enjoying Rev Run DJ’ing.

BlogHer-BloggersNew blog friends Sarah, Kelly, Karen, Carla, Ashley, Alyssa (who lives in Tokyo!) and Jessica.

BlogHer-BayAreaBloggers

Alyssa and Carla, Jessica and I.

BlogHer’14 was a fun, and I’m so glad I met a few more local bloggers, network with companies, oggle at celebrities, and explore new-to-me products.

This post was created in partnership with McDonald’s. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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7 Things I’m Bringing to BlogHer’14

The tenth anniversary of BlogHer starts on Thursday. Being that it’s my 4th blogging conference, and 2nd time attending BlogHer, I’d like to share my thoughts with you on what to bring to a blogging conference.

This time, I don’t have to fly anywhere, or drive out of town. Luckily, BlogHer’14 is in San Jose — right in my (new) home town.

I try not to get too worked up, overwhelmed or anxious over the thought of a blogging conference. I’m going this year, to meet some local bloggers to become friends with, to chat with a handful of brands I’d ideally like to work with, and enjoy the experience.

Comfortable shoes1. Comfortable shoes — so important. I think that’s pretty self explanatory as you’re going to be on your feet for most of the days at the conference, so wearing something you can easily walk in, for hours. That, or bring a back up pair of flats.

nancy-button22. Business cards — No doubt you’ll be exchanging business cards with new blogging friends and of course, brands. I’m bringing my buttons, want one?

3. Battery charger — You don’t want to run out of cell phone, or camera battery!

4. Camera — I’ll be using my BlackBerry Z10 for taking pictures.

5. Dressing in layers is key — I tend to get warm and cold easily, especially in conference rooms if you’re attending sessions. Places like that tend to crank the a/c. Clearly I like to be overheated and dress warm at all times.

6. Gum — I like it when my breath smells nice at all times.

clutch7. Cash — Never know when you want to grab a quick bite outside of the sponsored meal times.

Bonus tip: Heard this one from my friend Jessica. Bring pre-filled out personal information (name/blog/twitter or even street address) for dropping into raffle/door prize boxes.

Ideally, less is more. Most likely you’re going to be carting around your expo tote bags filled with samples and goodies all day, so make sure to do multiple trips to your hotel room to drop it off. Of course, those coming from out of town would probably want to bring your laptops/ipads etc, for blogging on after you get back to your hotel room. However, last time I went to a blogging conference and stayed at a hotel, I didn’t update my blog until I arrived home.

And that’s it. I’m stoked about McDonald’s being the sponsor for the closing party on Saturday night. HOOOO Boy. Love me some McD’s. Remember that time the marketing rep for McDonald’s Canada said I was their biggest fan? He was 100% accurate on that.

Questions for you:

Are you going to BlogHer?

What’s your favourite fast food restaurant?

Have you met another blogger in person?

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