Hello Listers! <--- Is that a thing? Happy Friday! I am currently hanging out at BlogHer 2015 in New York City! Where my conference goers at? For any of you who are unfamiliar with what BlogHer 2015 is, it is an enormous 2.5 day conference that brings bloggers and brands together. It gives bloggers an opportunity to mingle with fellow bloggers, build relationships with brands, learn new things, and have a good time!

After the week I've had I needed this. I arrived in NYC yesterday afternoon where I met up with my cousin for the day. We had lunch and then hung out with some fellow conference goers. The official kick off of the conference started last night at 6pm with The Expo followed by various parties. SO. MUCH. SWAG.

The next 2 days are jam packed with speakers, sessions, parties, and special events. I am hoping to learn some great new things to share with all of you here on the blog, as well as things I can apply to make this blog better.  I have a couple of opportunities to meet up with some brands while I am here and I am looking forward to building relationships for possible partnerships. Really excited about that!

Anyone else at the conference? If you're here, say hello! I want to meet you all :)

Have a great weekend folks! I'll be back Monday with more on how the full experience went. (Okay don't hold me to Monday as I may be sleep deprived, but I will get it out next week!)

I'm not sure if you heard the news, but... I'M GOING TO BLOGHER 2015! This will be my first time attending and my first blogging conference ever. With that being said, I am beyond excited and beyond nervous all at the same time. I put "attend a blog conference" on my bucket list for 2015 so I am beyond thrilled that I am crossing that off. Now onto more important things.. Because I have never attended any conference I do not have any advice or tips from experience, so I decided to put together my own "first impression" tips and advice from all that I have learned so far.



Conference: BlogHer 2015: Experts Among Us
When: July 16-18
Where: New York City (NYC)
Subject: Tips and Tricks from a Newbie: Comedy Style
*This list is meant to be funny and is not intended to offend anyone. I believe laughing through life can be the best medicine and at a time of being anxious or nervous, this is how I get myself though.

1. First and foremost make sure to pack wine. Lot's of it. If you are not a wine drinker, replace wine with your favorite alcoholic beverage. Consumption can not be avoided.

2. Pack as many people as you can into a hotel room. This will save you money and the hassle of lodging in NYC. It may also cause you extreme anxiety and turn you into an alcoholic as all potential roomies promise lots of wine. (See you will make lots of friends if you follow my first tip!)

3. Bring the largest suitcase and/or bags you own but leave them empty. You must save room for all of the free stuff you will get thrown at you from all the sponsors.

4. As far as the "what to wear" question has to go, make sure you just be yourself girlfriend (Or boyfriend)! But, make sure you read all of the outfit tips. You know.. so you make sure you are in "code" and are "in the know".

5. Make sure to stay connected (to the WiFi that is) at all times. Who are we bloggers fooling? We can't live without our screens and wifi. We must be able to Instagram, Periscope, and Tweet about everything we are doing.

6. Make a plan. There are about 70 million things to do (Okay I exaggerated a little) and it seems impossible to do everything. Between keynotes, sessions, invites, and parties, there is something for everyone, but don't plan on attending everything. That just leads to Stresstown, USA.

7. Meet new people! I hear the hallways are a great place to do this, as this is where the real parties happen. You know with the wine and lots of giggling. This again keeps you in the cool kids club because once again if you followed my first tip, you will be famous already :)

8. Bring business cards. Whether you hand draw your own or spend a small fortune on some professional ones, make sure to proof read them before ordering them/handing them out. The genius I am got so excited when making mine, I put the wrong Twitter handle. Yes folks, I will be advertising someone else's Twitter. (Who am I  kidding, I placed stickers over that mistake with the correct info. So fancy, I know!)

Well there you have it fellow conference goers. That is what I have learned so far in the amazing journey leading up to BlogHer 2015. Truth be told, if you are going.. the best advice I can give as far as someone who has never gone before is, just have fun. Make the conference about learning, socializing, and networking.  This is my plan. I am in introvert to the max but I am going to put myself out there and let the good times roll. I am so excited to meet all the fabulous bloggers, speakers, and sponsors who will all come together to make one heck of a conference.

If you are going, please reach out! I would love to meet you! I promised myself I would come home with a new tribe and friends for life. If you are on that same mission, get in touch! We can do it together! These are the events I am planning to attend:

When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I always wanted to have a respectful blog where you wouldn't have to shield people away from it. I rarely if ever use swear words, I don't attack people or post controversial topics, and I always get permission before writing about anyone when it comes to using their full names, ages, or photos.

This is a space where I write about my life, my journey, and tips and tricks along the way. I enjoy sharing the things I've learned and experienced with all of you. Sometimes that is going to include a small glimpse into those not so great moments. While I rarely write about negative topics on this blog, as a human being there will be days when I just want to vent about something in my life.

I have never intentionally sat down and wrote a blog that would hurt or upset someone. That is not what this space is all about. I also understand that putting yourself out there for the world to read may cause some unwanted attention at times. Not everyone is going to like you or the things you choose to write about. I am okay with that. You should be too.

Have enough respect to walk away from something you do not like or take a moment to send an e-mail to discuss the issue you have with something I have posted here. Lashing out and and being cruel is never the answer. Almost all conflict in given time can be resolved in an adult manner without trying to hurt the other party. 

Lessons are learned, people move on, and content is created.

The weekend before our move into the new house, I surprised R with a weekend getaway. It was also his Birthday so that was part of the inspiration to where we went. I knew the next few weeks would be crazy (and they are!), so getting away for a few days was just what the doctor ordered. I searched the internet high and low for cabin rentals that wouldn't break the bank. I never took into consideration that R's birthday fell over Father's Day weekend. That made it a bit more tricky.

I searched places like Groupon and Livingsocial hoping to find a deal. All I really knew about what I was looking for was, R wanted to go camping and I wanted to go glamping so we had to meet somewhere in the middle. This is when I came across a cute little property 2 hours north of us called Wellnes:ste (Pronounced wellness stay). It was located on a river with 4 cabins. It looked perfect for what I was envisioning for our weekend away.

I immediately inquired about the Leopold Cabin, which I received a response from Jessica that it was booked for the weekend already.. booo. She also suggested another cabin, Thoreau that was available. I accepted and we were booked for 2 nights! I was so excited I could barely keep it a secret from R. One thing I had to plan for was food. Shopping secretly here and there was fun. The cabin did not have running water, so I didn't want to make anything that was to messy.

2 days before check in, I received an email that Leopold Cabin was now available, and wondered if we wanted to move in that cabin. I decided to stick with Thoreau and I was glad I did. We arrived on the property just before 8pm on a Friday night. It was beautiful and really set back from the road. The cabin was super cute and Jessica and her family were really welcoming. We enjoyed some lounging outside by the river before we settled in for the night in our loft bed.

We explored the property and did some hiking. We also explored the neighboring towns and visited a fort in Rome. We had a really amazing time and I would go back again in a heartbeat. The property is pet friendly and has so much to offer. 2 of the 4 cabins do not have bathrooms. We stayed in one of those. The bathroom is a full bathroom with shower that is attached to the main house. You share it with the other cabin without the bathroom. We lucked out, as no one was in the other cabin, so we had it all to ourselves.

All in all it was a great trip, and I see myself going back in the future!

Our Cabin

Guard chicken?

I don't know about all of you, but I had a pretty amazing 4th of July weekend. We caught a bunch of sweet spots to watch fireworks and went to the most American place we could think of to celebrate Independence Day: A winery called Americana Vineyards! We have been to the winery in the past so we knew we would love the wine. The winery was hosting an all day bash complete with live music, BBQ, beer, fireworks, and of course wine. It was a win-win.

I couldn't wait to celebrate, and when we celebrate we have to play the part. I wanted to be patriotic so I was even more stoked to debut my beautiful custom dress from eShakti. With its bright red with navy accents and a white cardigan, I was all set to go. The dress fit like a glove, and I felt confident and comfortable my whole night out. Being a shorty, it can sometimes be hard to find the perfect clothing, especially when it comes to dresses.

Nothing can beat being patriotic like the good ol red, white, and blue, good friends, wine, and fireworks! I hope you all had a fantastic one too!

Gorgeous fireworks at Americana Vineyards

eShakti custom dress

My eyes are closed but this is my favorite photo from the shoot

No night is complete without that grainy cellphone picture!