After a fantastic trip to Pasadena for Mom 2.0, I’m (mostly) happy to be home! I say mostly because it was a truly great conference and I had quite a lovely time! I am happy to be back with my boys though. :) Even if it means I have to work with a napping baby in my lap.
Here’s a little recap of my time away:
I headed to the airport bright and early Wednesday morning for my easy flight to Burbank. I had a stop in Vegas but didn’t have to get off the plane, so that was nice! Both flights were less than half full which is always appreciated too!
I had a quick ride from the airport to the hotel with a couple of other conference attendees and quickly got settled into my room in the beautiful Langham Huntington. This hotel is so stunning! Since I had a few hours to kill before the first sessions started I decided a nice hot bubble bath was just what I needed to kick off my trip! (I know, there are a lot of anti-bath people in the world. I am NOT one of them!)
Cleaned up and refreshed, I had lunch in the hotel restaurant before heading off to Wednesday afternoon sessions. I listened to some amazing speakers on branding, career manifestation, and pitching brands. The sessions ended and it was time for the opening night party! I had the pleasure of sitting next to some wonderful women during dinner. Some were bloggers, some were authors, and some were with non-profits. I made a quick lap or two around the party, said hello to a few people I know, and was in my bed by 8:30. :) (I’m on Oklahoma time, you know!)
Thursday started with a keynote from talented choreographer/actor/director Debbie Allen,
followed by a networking break and crazy-informative session on how to work smarter and not harder (my goal for this year)! For lunch I met with other BabyCenter writers and staff at one of the hotel restaurants and it was nice to put names with faces! I’ve really enjoyed working with BabyCenter this year and hope to continue this relationship!
More sessions and networking with brands followed lunch and we had the closing keynote of the day with Natalie Morales and Kristen Bell.
I’ve heard Kristen speak at a conference before and she’s exactly as funny and honest as you’d expect. After their discussion, everyone headed out to the party on the lawn. I made another lap or two, and headed back to my room to enjoy the rest of my evening! (I’m a total introvert and need some downtime after days of “mingling”!) Room service and another bubble bath were on my agenda. Once again, I was in bed by 8:30!
Friday brought more informative sessions, networking with brands, and a definite highlight – the closing keynote speaker was Brene Brown! She was as wonderful in person as you can imagine and it was a perfect way to kind of wrap up the conference.
The rest of my afternoon was spent at more sessions, networking with brands, and driving a brand new Kia Sorento to In N Out Burger (Kia is a conference sponsor).
Friday night was the Iris Awards, a recognition of the best in parenting blogging. I debated skipping it this year (since I’m not really part of that community), but made a last minute decision to go. I’m always glad to be there once I’m there and it’s always fun to see who the celebrity host is (this year it was Taye Diggs!).
I skipped out on the after party and opted for, you guessed it, another bubble bath!
I was up bright and early to head home and was holding my baby by the afternoon! Another great trip in the books!
I get so much out of this conference, from the amazing people I meet, the information I learn, and the incredible speakers they bring in. Next year’s conference is in Austin, and I’ve already bought my ticket!
