The Elevate Conference Edition

Ages ago Liz and Erin mentioned attending Elevate, a blogging conference right here in Southern California. To be honest, I was a little hesitant to register. This space of mine is small. I wasn't really sure, what good would a conference be for me?

Then I discovered the conference landed on the day after Scott returned home from a two week work trip. I couldn't pass up the conference. A day dedicated to blogging, empowering women, and hanging out with two of my favorite ladies? It was exactly what I needed to recharge after two weeks of solo parenting. 

While I'm not going to give a fully detailed run-down of the day (Liz did an amazing job, check out her post for all the deets), I dowant to hit the highlights.

1. My Happy Place.

Blogging is kind of a weird thing to try and explain to non-bloggers - especially when I start talking about on-line friends. But this little space of mine truly makes me happy. It's something I pride myself on. For an entire day I was surrounded by people who got 'it'. I never felt awkward or weird saying, "I blog." And *that* is a special thing.

2. Inspiration.

Ok, so not everyone in this picture was a new face. But, Jenica and Lindsay were so sweet to oblige in a 5-person selfie.

Jenica, from A Slice of Style, was the absolute sweetest. Not to mention, she's due with twins (!) (after 3 round of IVF), and was one of our speakers for the day.

Though many of the women at the conference did so much more than blog (at lunch I was seated at a table with the creators/owners of Chatbooks, another woman made and sold diaper bags, another lady laser cut wood to make all sorts of great things) everyone was so positive and willing to share their story, along with encourage each of us to set big goals and go for them.

3. The Food and Drinks.

We ate some of the most scrumptious food and devoured sweets that were nothing short of mind-blowing. I also experienced my first Dirty Diet Coke - it. was. so. good. I only slightly kid that I'd like to attend next year just for the food.

4. The Swag

The Happy Planner ladies gave every one of us a brand new planner along with so many accessories and supplies for said planner. It was bananas!

The sponsors and shops that made the conference possible were beyond generous with the goodies. The amount of stuff I brought home was simply insane.

5. These two.

Never in a million years did I think documenting my life on a thing called a blog would lead me to people that I consider my closest and dearest friends. I'm pretty lucky to be part of this tribe.

So, what good did a blogging conference do for me and this little blog? It pushed me to meet new people, it brought inspiration I didn't even know I wanted or needed, and gave me a day to spend with some pretty phenomenal ladies. 

I'd say it did a whole lot. 

Have a great weekend!