BlogHer 2011 Recap- Day 1

This was my very first BlogHer and before I even arrived I was booked solid for 3 days. It was insane!

Thursday morning, I decided to take the train after some changes and confusion about the original method of transport. I was SO TIRED cause my blog not only had I just moved hosts, but my sidepanels just wouldnt keep still!! I literally had to take my blog apart and put it back together piece by piece. I was up til just about 4am and had to be on my train by 9:30am because I was meeting friends for lunch and wanted to be in San Diego by 12:30.

ANYWAY- crisis solved, I slept like 3 hrs and boarded Amtrak to San Diego from Los Angeles. If any of you get a chance to head to SD from LA, I HIGHLY recommend this gorgeous view along the coast. I passed out myself, but having done it before, it’s amazing.

When I finally woke up we were about 15 mins from our destination and I started talking to the woman sitting next to me, only to find out she was Kristen Beveridge, the CEO of Itemize.com. Itemize happened to be the brand that was throwing one of the most sought after private parties at BlogHer so I was floored, and a bit embarrassed that I was knocked out, possibly snoring, definitely drooling in my over exhausted state, next to a woman I hoped to actually form a working relationship with. Oops. (little tip- get some sleep the night before. yea.) But she was wonderful and cute, in awe of how gorgeous the ride and SD was, since she was from NYC. We parted ways, and I jumped in a cab to head to the Marriott Marquis and Marina in San Diego to meet up with Jennifer of Makobi Scribe and her sister, Jamie of Jamie’s Precious Peas for a lovely, albeit overpriced, taco lunch at the hotel’s Tequila Bar. Jamie was being sponsored by Loveable Labels, and came equipped with a ton of labels, which I thought was genius as she and Jennifer never had to fill a form out. They just stuck their labels everywhere. Next year– note to self, order labels!

me, Jennifer (Makobi Scribe), and Jamie (Jamie's Precious Peas)

Next up, I headed to my room and got about an hour to veg and relax before I went back to to meet with Jamie and Jennifer to register and grab our badges and BlogHer’s swag bag. I still have yet to go through everything, but from what I saw, we got some awesome stuff. They had to head to a dinner, and I headed up to take a quick shower before heading to my first event being thrown by iFabbo.

iFabbo’s event was focusing on beauty– and since I LOVE to talk about beauty and skin care this event was allllll me. For my 3 pampering treatments, I choose Dermalogica’s Microzone Skin Treatment, follower by Makeup by Stila and ending with Hair Styling by Paul Mitchell. They made me feel FABULOUS and that, in turn, made me LOOK fabulous. Here’s a little peak at how fab they made me look!

After iFabbo, I walked over to the Hard Rock for the Big Toy Book Party. Oh my god, this suite was SWEET. So many toys, so little time. Got a chance to check out the upcoming LeapPad (will retail about $99 at Christmas) and it’s cooler than my tablet!

I know my daughter will go nuts for that. Also, saw some cool toys from

XBox                        Penguin Group      Shainsware
BriarPatch                Charisma               Hasbro
HexBugs                  Thinkway               Corolle
Imperial Toys           Crayola                  Shoulder Buddies
Jakks                       Tolly Tots                Best Pals
Jungle Speed          GrowUms               TechnoSource
Zing Toys                Activision                FunGoPlay
LeapFrog                Wowee                   Fresh Feet
BananaGrams        FyrFlyz                    Fisher Price

My favorite that I got to play with was the Xbox Kinect. Which I really didn’t think I would since the Xbox is so “guy” focused but they have produced a few new games that have started to change my mind. It will take a lot more checking out, but I think Xbox may be onto something here. With the Sesame Street game I played, I saw more interaction and story than most Wii games I own. We shall see, I suppose. The gift bag from this party was incredible. In fact… my daughter already choose her favorite…

 So, after the Big Toy Suite.. I lugged my big ol swag bags and walked on over to the Clever Girls Collective RockStar party. This party kinda had a double theme- Rockstars and Smurfs. The music was awesome, the “Smurfette” drink was delicious and everyone was doing the Smurf in various areas with the video game. By that point I was exhausted but I rocked my outfit (dress by Eliza Parker, necklace by Stella and Dot(Tricia Rizzi), hair by Paul Mitchell and makeup by Stila)

I didnt stay long, and then ended up heading back to the hotel and meeting my other roommate Anna of Moana Saves. My roommates themselves were so diverse and unique, I am happy to have met them I knocked up… and wondered what Day Two held…