Last month, I visited Los Angeles for a few days for #BlogHer16. BlogHer conferences have been going strong since 2005, and this is the second time I’ve been to one. They are multi-day celebrations of women content creators, including bloggers, YouTubers, and podcasters.
This post contains affiliate links.
And speaking of podcasters, that’s actually why I was in L.A. to begin with – to be part of a podcasting panel with (from left) Jessica Kupferman and Laurel Moglen. (That’s me on the right!) Jessica took this selfie of us moments before our presentation started.
While I was there, I also had the chance to meet up with some of the staff from BlogHer’s parent company, SheKnows Media, about joining their ad network. I even got a super awesome set of gel pens/spoons from Wee Chicken, who blogs about knitting AND works for SheKnows.
I also had the chance to sit in on several special events, including a breakfast chat on women and leadership by Alison Gutterman, the President and CEO of Jelmar; a Lamps Plus luncheon focused on home trends; an inspiring #DisruptAging panel hosted by AARP and moderated by my friend, Lorraine Ladish; and a screening of One Mississippi (a new Amazon Prime tv show), followed by a chat with producer and star, Tig Notaro.
But it wasn’t all work and no play for me while I was there. I had plenty of fun, too!
I got an autographed copy of Freddie Prinze, Jr.’s new book, Back to the Kitchen: 75 Delicious, Real Recipes (& True Stories) from a Food-Obsessed Actor, at the Best Buy booth. I’m looking forward to checking out a few recipes and reporting back! (You may remember that I picked up an amazing cookbook at last year’s BlogHer.)
I also brought home a ton of free stuff from sponsors and exhibitors. (We all know how I feel about free stuff.)
I was introduced to Bai drinks, naturally sweetened and extremely tasty beverages, and discovered that Molokai Coconut is my favorite flavor. I even got an awesome Maize Pink Chandelier Night Light (lower left corner) from Lamps Plus during their luncheon.
I got to explore two RVs that were set up outside of the conference by Go RVing, including this Retro RV. (Have I mentioned my secret dream of getting my license and then taking an RV trip to the national parks? Or, better yet, getting MC to do the driving? Not sure how the cats would feel about it…)
The most useful freebie award goes to this awesome LG whisk that I picked up at the Best Buy booth. It twists open and closed to make it easier to clean.
And, when I got home, I learned that Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water is something that my friends and family love (so too bad I only brought home one bottle).
But the actual highlight of my trip was meeting up with Dariana from Dari Design Studio. We met earlier this year at the #WeAllGrow Summit by Latina Bloggers Connect. Dariana was kind enough to pick me up at the hotel after the conference, drive me to an awesome local restaurant, and then drop me off at the airport. Now that’s hospitality! It was great to visit L.A. (even if only for a few hours) with a local and get away from the conference area for a while. Now, if only I had taken pictures of that!