random blogher awesomeness

I'm going to allow myself 3 post-BlogHer posts, and I'll stop myself there. If you have absolutely zero interest in hearing more about the conference that every other woman on the internet is talking about, I completely understand. I promise to be back to regularly scheduled blogging by the end of this week.

But, first! A few shots & more than a few words on some of the random particulars that made this trip So Awesome (yes, capitalized Awesomeness) for me.

First, the location. San Diego, I love you. This city is gorgeous, and I completely fell head over heels in love with it. Helping San Diego win my heart were a waterfront hotel room with a balcony, perfectly sunny skies, and the friendliest people in service professions that I have ever met. I absolutely will be headed back to San Diego on a family vacation in the next few years--the place is made for sightseeing and walking and kids.

Next on my Random Awesome List is, hello, Sparklecorn. You can see gorgeous pictures of the gorgeous women in attendance here. I don't have words for the fun that was Sparklecorn, truly. It was exactly the way I needed to spend a night after Day One of the conference blew my mind to an oblivion. Drinking & dancing & a massive 3-foot tall dueling unicorns cake & bumping sweaty hips with Blair while dancing on-stage alongside DJ Skribble & somehow ending the night with cardboard cutouts of the Hogwarts kids in my shower? Yes. More of that in my life, please.

The most fantastic random bits of awesome were in the interactions I had with other bloggers. Bloggers who insisted that I just must allow them to make me the subject of an impromptu photo shoot against the gorgeous red lighting at the Social Fiesta party on Saturday night. I plan on using one of my upcoming BlogHer recaps to introduce you to a bunch more of the fantastic people I met (in not nearly as cool a way as Reb does here, but, still, Imma try to do some of these other women justice).

Obviously. Highlight, for sure. That's Mandy, and I love her. I am among the legions of readers who have fallen in love with her words and adorable family and want to be her pal in real life. I almost slapped her right in the mouth when we met at Sparklecorn and she knew who I was. Yes, highlight, for sure. And she is just one of the many bloggers I follow religiously who I got to meet in person (Emily! Jenni!). It was a trip. Thank-you to each and every one of them for making me feel welcome and like I belonged.

The (sideways!) swag. Oh, the swag. I didn't even go overboard on the free stuff, but I still managed to have a full extra bag to check at the airport come Monday morning. Other swagtastic booths treated me to massages and consultations with nutritionists (and I'm still sad to have missed out on the manicures). Being part of the masses that sponsors wanted to reach out to was ridiculous and completely fun.

All that awesomeness took its toll, to be sure. This is me, sunburned & tired & hungry on Sunday night, post-conference and post-sightseeing, trying to wrap my head around what to do with everything I saw and experienced.

Up next: What I learned from the BlogHer sessions I attended!