Monday, September 23, 2013

Blog Elevated 2013

Morning friends, and happy Monday!  We had a great weekend and I hope y’all did as well.  Friday we had dinner with some of our best friends, and on Sunday we watched football (duh!) and got a new desk for the guest room (I can’t wait for my sister to be able to use it in October when she visits).  But I’ve got to tell y’all about my Saturday.  Over the weekend I told y’all that I was headed to Houston’s blogging conference, Blog Elevated.  This was my entire Saturday and it was totally worth it….plus when I got home my husband had completely done all of my housework for me.  I’m talking sweeping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes…. I was one happy lady!

After last year’s blogger symposium, I knew that I just had to attend again this year, and it did not disappoint.  I was a little upset that I didn’t get to spend all three days there (because I had to work), but I did get there on Saturday, and it was a fabulous experience. 

I took four really great classes: branding, social media tools, making Pinterest work for you, and working with props and lighting in photography.  The branding course was really inspiring and encouraging; it was a new way of thinking in a streamlined fashion to make the dots connect better.  The social media class? Well let’s just say I used to think I was pretty decent at social media….I was wrong.  I still have A LOT to learn; I was humbled. In fact that session was so overwhelming to me; so many websites I had never even heard of lol My favorite two sessions were on Pinterest and making my photos better.  I really enjoy this aspect of my blog so learning about them was so much fun.  I have to say that all of the speakers were incredibly well-versed and I gleaned so much from each session.  I am very grateful for what I learned at this conference.  Being a student at heart, I took pages and pages of notes and I can’t wait to work my way through them to make this space the best I can.

Yes the courses were great, and the location was fun (and super convenient for me), but it wasn’t my favorite part.  The absolute best part of the conference was getting to see my friends who started out as blogging buddies but have become some of the best friends, and finally getting to hug my new friends.  At the very end of the day, all blogging is about for me are relationships.  Of course other parts are really fun, but it’s about the people for me. 

And now for some pictures, right? Isn’t that what everyone wants to see?  Here are my un-edited blogging conference photos (which is probably not something I learned in my photo class, but I’m feeling lazy)DSC_0003The only place where it’s perfectly acceptable (and encouraged) to be on your phone while at the table? A blogging conference :-)7b62ce7e22d711e38fec22000aeb222c_7DSC_0006DSC_0009DSC_0010DSC_0013DSC_0015DSC_0017DSC_0018DSC_0022It was so much fun working with a bunch of new equipment.  Also learning that some of the things I have purchased were actually great purchases!DSC_0023DSC_0026A cupcake….get it? lolDSC_0030Check out all of this swag!! Seriously, so awesome….and a Rooney photo-bomb lolDSC_0032
Overall it was an awesome experience and I’m looking forward to next year.
What did y’all do this weekend? Fill me in!! 
xoxo Darby
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