Friday – BlogHer’11 in San Diego recap day 2

Since Thursday night was a little bit crazy {*ahem, Clever Girls Collective*} I started off the day with some friends by the pool and then I was off to the newly opened BlogHer expo hall.  After that, I met some new and old friends for a beautiful lunch at the Marriott.  We talked about gardening, going green, blogging moms, and how we all started our sites.  It was a lovely break from the craziness of the expo hall and a great way to connect with some wonderful new friends like Amanda, Shannon, and Yolanda, and, as a bonus, I got the cutest little miniature garden from Twig Terrariums to take home with me.

After lunch, I joined up with the Sofa Summit with PepsiCo WIN to bear-hug Etosha, one of my absolute favorite PR reps ever.  After I mauled her in the lobby, she invited me in and I got the pleasure of hearing Sarah Brokaw {you may have heard of her dad…} talk about her new book, Fortytude.  As well as a great conversation and Q&A from Sarah, we also heard about Pepsico WIN and what it is they do to empower women.  If you were at BlogHer, you probably saw the Pepsico WIN team everywhere – interviewing spokespeople, conference attendees, and even superstars all over the hotel, private parties, and the expo hall. Speaking of the awesome WIN team, do you think you have what it takes to become a WIN Correspondent in 2012?  Let them know here!

After a quick meeting with Sarah Brokaw after the event, I headed back to the expo hall to tackle the most popular booth there – the Dr. Scholl's custom fit orthodics – where I stood in line to get a pair of these awesome little orthodics myself.  Standing in the long line didn't leave me much time to browse other booths since I was already late to another party, but walking in my new orthodics the few blocks to the Corner Bar was so worth it.  Yes, I've been wearing them for weeks now, and yes, I still love them immensely.  A big, huge thank you to Dr. Scholl's!

Even though I had over 35 events that filled my calendar throughout the BlogHer weekend, I must admit that the event I was most looking forward to throughout the conference was the flipflop wine party at the Corner Bar.  Not because I'm a lush or anything, but because I simply love their wine.  Seriously, I was so not a wine drinker before I found flipflop wines, but even after the first glass, I was a huge fan.  Know what else?  The guys behind flipflop wines and their partner, Soles4Souls, are some of the coolest guys anywhere.  The event was so laid back, so fun, and was just the best way to spend a Friday afternoon.  But, the coolest part is that everyone was so approachable and friendly, it was impossible not to have a blast. 

The vintner of flipflop wines, David Georges, is one of the nicest guys, and he spent quite a while telling us about the different varieties and what his vision was for the company while pouring us glasses of wine.  It's not just any party when you can learn a new handshake, make a new BFF {I'm referring to Stephen Mitchell, who is, apparently, everyone's BFF}, and drink as much wine as you'd like.  Totally unexpected, but much appreciated, was their seriously awesome swag bag they handed out while leaving, which accounted for 80% of my BlogHer swag I brought home.  We're talking jewelry, sunglasses, snacks, gifts, etc.  A big shout-out to Nicole's Nickels, Koupon Karen and She Saved for putting together the awesome-ness that was the flipflop wine swag bag.  Seriously, if you don't already love flipflop wines, head on over to the flipflop wine Facebook page and join in the conversation.  Those guys are hilarious and I'm proud to call them BFFs.  

Next party was the Groupon Meetup and then Swagbucks Swagnation party where we snacked on mini bonbons and got a chance to win Swagbucks and other big prizes.  Since I've cashed out a ton in Swagbucks gift cards since I signed up, I just wanted to head there and thank them for such an awesome program.  If you aren't already searching via Swagbucks.com, you're missing out because they literally PAY YOU to search the interwebs.  That's right, you search online and by doing so you rack up "Swagbucks".  These bucks can then be traded in for Amazon gift cards, goods, services, you name it.  It's a great way to save up some money for holiday shopping!  If you haven't already signed up, you can use my referral code here and start earning money today.

From the Marriott, I hopped in a Pedicab from Travelzoo and headed to the One2One You-Phoria event.  I must admit that the main reason why I wanted to go to this party so much was because I thought one of their sponsors, Dollie&Me, would be there but once inside I was really glad I made it.  I got to have yet another drink with my new BFF Stephen, mixed my own perfume {which, incidentally, is really super easy – let me know if you want the recipe}, and even made a screen printed T-shirt.  Unfortunately my Blackberry had fully died from a whole day of tweeting, emailing, and posting, so I wasn't able to take part in any of the awesome giveaways they were hosting at the party, but I so would have been trying for some of the awesome prizes they had up for grabs.  The best part about the event was getting to hang out and just be party guests – pose for pictures, toast to new friendships, and watch people get eyelash extensions.  Oh, wait, your parties don't normally include eyelash extensions?

It was Friday night at BlogHer, which only means one thing to BlogHer attendees – glitter and glow sticks… um, I mean the Sparklecorn dance party.  At the point that I dragged myself up to Sparklecorn I was so tired, so hungry, and just ready for a fun night before I headed back to collapse into bed.  Thank goodness the party included light snacks, cake, and more free booze, just as any good party should.  I can't believe it, but I actually didn't take one picture at Sparklecorn, which may or may not be a good thing. You see, it's hard to take pictures when you're dancing, and that's exactly what you should be doing at Sparklecorn.  I did, however, manage to snap a picture of my daughter wearing the glow stick crown I made for her once I got back to the room.  Yes, she waited up for me at the hotel with hubby.  This may be due to the fact that I normally don't go out very often {or, at all}.  It pretty much blew her mind that I was not going to be with her in the evening, which really, is all the more reason why I needed to go to Sparklecorn!

Stay tuned for the last two days of BlogHer recap {which will be only one post… taking a week off after BlogHer has made me lazy}