Is BlogHer12 a possibility? BlogHer11 Recap

With BlogHer11 being held in San Diego this year, it was doable for me since California is my home state and it's a quick flight down to southern California.  How could I not go?

At opening session on Friday morning, BlogHer announced that BlogHer12 will go back to NYC next year!  Exciting right?! 

If you've never been to a BlogHer conference and are thinking about attending BlogHer12, here's a recap of my experience at BlogHer11.

This year over 3,500 bloggers from across the world {I met someone from Brazil!} converged at the San Diego Conference Center and practically took over the San Diego Marriot Marqui and surrounding hotels in downtown area.

Someone accurately described this experience via Twitter as "a summer camp for women".  Yes, most conference goers were women but there were a few lucky {smart} men in attendance as well.  During the conference we were kept busy from 7 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. the following morning on both days.  There were parties-a-plenty to attend, sometimes three in just one evening.  All the BlogHer hosted parties were included with our event ticket!

My roomie, Katie who authors the blog An Authentic Life, currently living in Montana and who I went to high school with, reconnected in person at BlogHer11.  It was such a pleasure to catch up with Katie face to face.  Although it's not necessary to know anyone when attending a BlogHer conference, it was certainly comforting to hang out with someone I already knew.

One person I didn't get to meet in person was Alexandra from Good Day Regular People who was one of the bloggers chosen to read at the Voices of the Year presentation.  But I know we'll make an 'in real life' connection in the future.

As I said, there were parties and dancing galore if that's what you're in to and if not, people watching is always entertaining.

Trainer Bob from the Biggest Loser was at the event.  You could have signed up to work out with him one morning.  Other celebertiy sightings included Riki Lake and Giulianna Rancic.

With your BlogHer conference pass, your meals are included, but you can choose to sign up for different breakfasts, lunches and dinners given by different sponsors.  Katie and I were lucky enough to get on the list for the poolside luncheon given by California Raisins.

Raisins were incorporated into all things on the menu at this luncheon.

Including dessert.

Pureed raisins were included in these VERY moist brownies.....recipe soon to share!

I had the chance to take a little break in the Daisy suite where they served cottage cheese with various toppings.  They also had massage chairs, make up artists and manicurists available for a quick pick-me-up.  I LOVED the Daisy suite.

BlogHer was not all parties and eating.  For two full days, you were able to sit in on panels of your choice.  I felt there were tons to choose from and difficult to pick sometimes.  I've been following Jadin Hare from Steamy Kitchen ever since I began blogging so I really enjoyed her tips and what she had to say on her panel, "How Blogging can make you a Local Hero".  Even though I felt like I missed out on some other informational panels, BlogHer announced that the transcripts would be available to us, word for word, on their site.

All in all, I think the thing that most resonated with me, were the in person connections made. I believe I exchanged around 100 business cards, which means 100 introductions and conversations. 

Katie, myself and Lynn attending the McDonald's sponsored 'CheeseburgHer' party.  Oh, and all meals and party food included a vegetarian and gluten free option.

Carrie, from Carrie with Children and Karen from Jane Nation at the Social Soiree Party.

After attending BlogHer11, my thoughts on attending BlogHer12 in NYC next year are definitely positive!  If you're a blogger that blogs for fun, as a career, or to keep a home journal, I believe attending a Blogher conference will give you an invaluable experience.

And if you decide to go next year, be sure to bring an extra suitcase to pack all your SWAG {stuff we all get}.

If you attended, what are your thoughts on the conference and will you go next year??

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment, I love to hear from you! Have a fantastic day!

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