You know a conference has to be REALLY good for me to travel a whole 6 hours for it!
Here are some of my favorite personal moments from Mom 2.0 Summit 2018:
The Location
The conference was held at the beautiful Langham Pasendena Hotel. Pictures can’t even give this place justice, it was easily one of THE most beautiful properties I have ever resided in! First my room was on the ground level and included a beautiful shared patio (which was perfect because several of the conference events were only steps away from our patio). The grounds were perfectly manicured and there were even beautiful cottages all around the property that held sessions.
Each room was gorgeous. Chandeliers, architecture, design–all of it. Every room brought a new depth and delight to the property. I wish I had more to to explore, but what I did see was just phenomenal
Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen is a certified Auntie in my head. Even though I am a Grey’s Anatomy Super Fan, I’ve loved her since long time. I got to the ballroom a smooth 30 minutes early to make sure I had one of the best seats in the room. Being in her presence was such a blessing for me as we listened to her tell her story dealing with racism and being black in a predominantly white industry. Here is a little taste of what we got to experience.
The brands (and instagrammable moments)
Just like last year, the brands were phenomenal and some of them even had exclusive suites! The Dove suite was amazing because they were beautifying attendees, the Osh Kosh Suite was awesome because there was tons of photo (and relaxation!) opportunities, You could test drive cars from Kia, and try out the new kids echo from Amazon. There were tons of opportunities through booths as well, and all of the brands were super relevant and interesting. I met and fell in love with new products and look forward to working with them in the future.
The hugs and laughs
I didn’t take many selfies, actually I don’t think I took more than two? That is REALLY weird for me. I had a plan though, to enjoy my time with my friends from all over the country and not just make an insta-moment. I did just that. I had meals, short conversations, long ones and I hugged on so many. I know–it’s weird to remove myself from the internet and have real life conversations at a BLOGGERS Conference, but it was more rewarding to focus on the human, not just the picture with said human.
Brene Brown In The Flesh
When I was planning to leave my full time job almost two years ago (wow!) I spent a lot of time admittedly during work hours listening to the TED Talk and interviews of Brene Brown on YouTube. I was SO scared to make this huge move, and her words brought me immense comfort. She was the keynote speaker on the last day of the conference and she did NOT disappoint. She shared personal stories and emphasized that there is NO courage without vulnerability. How many times have I talked myself out of something because I was afraid no one would care? Too many times to count.
She also talked about joy. She mentioned that once we feel joy we start doing dress rehearsals of everything that could go wrong. This immediately brought on the waterworks–it was fast a furious too, like it took EVERYTHING for me not to open sob in the back of that ballroom. My anxiety has me in a constant state of worry most days and it’s crippling. When I heard her speak those words it broke something inside of me that I didn’t even know needed breaking.
The swag
Just like last year we walked away with a TON. I smartly packed this year into a little duffle bag so I knew that anything I got would be shipped home in a FedEx box and this year the box was full of amazing stuff! Fun goodies from Dove and all of the other sponsors. Usually swag can be super annoying and just clutter, but there is a use for everything I received and I appreciate that.
I really enjoyed my Mom 2.0 Summit experience and I’m happy I traveled to California to be apart of it. I learned a ton, but most of all I left with a newfound confidence in myself and my work. I have been spending SO much time overthinking, that it has pushed me into a place of paralysis aka NOT creating which is awful. I regained my confidence and love for writing and I’m even more determined to push forward.
Usually when I attend conferences, I have planned everything in advance -- this time I took a different approach to the @mom2summit and this is what happened! #blogconference #mom2summit
5 Comments
Everything about this is beautiful – YOU, the property you stayed in, the people you saw and listened to and the opening of yourself to being vulnerable! I have nothing but love for you!!
Aw, so glad this helped with your writing and truly looked like a fun and wonderful conference opportunity, too 🙂
I’ve only been to Pasadena once, and it was paradise.
Your purple dress is perfection. That’s one of my power colors.
I love Debbie Allen.
I wish I had gone.
As for most beautiful hotel, I don’t even know. It wasn’t Pasadena though. We had a yucky one there. Budget something. My dream is to stay at the Plaza Hotel in NY with Scarlet.
I’m so mad I missed it this year. I will attend next year plan on buying my tickets soon as I get the money up.
Brene Brown is such an inspirational woman! She just has a way with words that brings such amazing clarity to her talks/books. It sounds like you had a great time at the conference! Are you coming to San Diego for IDEA later this month??