NYC BlogHer 2010 Recap

I Came… I Saw… I Mingled… I Connected… I Home!

Where do I even start? Such a great experience in NYC participating in the BlogHer 2010 conference. I thought last year was a great event, but this year was even better if that could even be true.

Let’s walk through the journey Jen went on from Thursday to Sunday!

Hanes put out the red carpet for such a great welcome event Thursday afternoon. My first event right off the plane. I didn’t even have time to go to the hotel and get all dolled up but Hanes you know… they believe in comfort so I was welcomed right on in. It was there that I had my very first bra fitting and now know why my bras never FIT. I was wearing the wrong size OH MY. Hanes to the rescue and oh what about the hottie Michael Moloney from Extreme Home Makeover. It is true, he is a super saavy organizer and finally brought me to my senses that I need to quit hoarding clothes from the 90s.

The clock striked and it was time to zoom back through the streets because I had a hot date with Samsung Home Appliances. I will say hands down that this was such an awesome PR event put on. It was so well done that it will get its own blog post coming really soon. The PR connection here was just over the moon and the explanation of their products and where they plan to go in the future with their modern products was just hit out of the ball park. Awesome evening for sure.

I had to unfortunately tell my hot date with Samsung Home Appliances that it had been a long day and Jen needed a little sleep if it was meant for her to carry on to the next day.

Rise and shine Friday morning. I hit the ground running with my partner in crime over at BabyCenter. Have I mentioned how much I love this gal named Dina? NO? Well, just let me tell you. She is all that and then some. We made our first stop at Starbucks of the BlogHer weekend and goodness gracious knew we needed it since we were full speed on the whole weekend.

After I downed my Starbucks, it was time to go get pretty at Audrey’s and Vera’s Getting Gorgeous event. What a true event for women! This was such a well planned event to get us women more gorgeous. They had clothing brands, technology brands, make-up brands and more there to connect with us. The highlight of the event and well pretty much the whole weekend was meeting Audrey’s family. I have been talking with Sharon and Jane for around 3 years online now and I was so giddy to meet them. They are the most sweet and genuine people you will ever meet. Sharon is one of my hero’s that I look up to when I think back to raising my girls. I so want to have that relationship with my girls when they are adults. Sharon and I shared some teary eyed conversations… she is just an inspiration. LOVE Mom Generation gals!

It was on to have a quick bite to eat. I was so thrilled with BlogHer this year for having such great healthy lunches for everyone. Way to go BlogHer planners!

Since my belly was all filled… it was time to go check out the Expo Floor. It was two levels this year and no I did not get through the Expo floor but I did try my best to make connections with most everyone. I do have to say that it was well organized Expo floor and plenty of room this year to maneuver through all the brands. It is here where I had a one on one chat with a Dream Analyst that Proctor and Gamble had on the floor. We spoke about the dreams I have about my Grandma and I just started crying right there on the floor. Thankfully Amy Hodges was there with me the whole time to offer hugs and smiles!

I gathered my heart and put it back where it was suppose to be and ran back to the Hotel room. It was time to get all dolled up for the Wine in the City Event. I could only stay for the reception but I was so happy that I went. It was in the limo ride there that I met a super fab group of food bloggers and one in particular Rhody Girl Tests. I so can’t wait to begin reading her blog and getting to know her more. She was a real charm! Shannon and Erika put on a great event and I was so bummed that I had to sneak out early.

It was time to get in the Christmas spirit and do my sleigh ride over to the Hallmark Party. They are coming out with some awesome products for this Christmas season. I will be writing more but just let me say, you will WANT these products in your house or to use for this upcoming Christmas season. You know it is in like 4 months right…. YIPPEE 🙂

Santa agreed to drop me back off at my hotel if I would give Rudolph some reindeer food so I agreed and was off to the hotel. It is here that I met up with the ever so fab Dina again to head over to the Savvy Sassy Mom’s Ciao Bello Penthouse Party. The party was so jamming up on the 53rd floor and the views were just out of this world. The Gelatto was simply amazing… you must try it if you have it in your area! It was here that a group of the BabyCenter Momformation bloggers were just having a blast hanging out in the fancy bathtub… you know fully clothed in all but with that view of the city and great friends… you couldn’t resist.

My internal alarm clock was telling me that I really needed my pillow and fast so we cruised on back over to the hotel and I had a date with my pillow.

Saturday morning started out with Starbucks of course. They have Starbucks on every street there I think. There were no withdrawal problems in NYC for Starbucks. I started the morning with having an on air TV interview with Yahoo Shine! The Yahoo folks were so courteous and generous with their time for interviewing us and publishing us really soon. Will share details soon.

The rest of the afternoon I visited a couple of BlogHer panel sessions and made my way through the Expo floors. I sure did get up on stage and dance my heart out with the Just Dance team. Just Dance 2 is coming out next month and I will be first in line to get it :). It was just so much fun and who cares the whole world was watching me shake my booty… as long as I was having fun that is all that matters right? HEHE!

I grabbed little conversations with bloggers that I haven’t met, brainstormed with PR brand leaders, and shared my Southern Jen charm to finish out the Saturday afternoon.

As soon as it was 5:00… all hats were off and it was time to go have fun in the city. Times Square on a Saturday night was crazy. Who knew it was shoulder to shoulder? I ended the night with falling in the road and slicing my foot open. But Prince Charming aka Police Officer rode up on his horse to call an ambulance… I graciously declined as I had my bloggy friends Carolina Mama and Deb Mom of 3 to help me across the street to Walgreens to be doctored up. There was no way that I was going to be causing a big scene in the middle of Times Square with an ambulance coming to fetch me up HAHA!

And that is a wrap folks. Sunday was a full day of sight seeing that I will give its own post.

It was a blast… See you in San Diego 2011 🙂