I’m off to BlogHer’12.

It’s a little blogging conference you may have heard of.

And, if you haven’t heard of it, that’s okay too – because Katie Couric, Martha Stewart, Christy Turlington-Burns – even Barack Obama! – have, and will be there. (Mr. President via live satellite feed, the others in the flesh.)

This year BlogHer is being held in New York City, so twist my arm, I’ll be leaving my hell-raising kids to go party into the wee hours of night.

And, I may just pick up a valuable tip or two from great sessions like Branding and Blogging Professionally, Vlogging Boot Camp, and more.

Last year, upon my return from BlogHer’11, I was inspired to give up the giveaway game, and severely cut down on the number of one-night-stand reviews.

(Excerpt: I embarked on the conference with an open mind and put much thought into the direction of my blog. And after a lot of soul searching, I realized that my true strengths – and desires, for that matter – lie in posts that aren’t necessarily tied to reviews and/or giveaways. Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE giving back to my readers, and will likely review many more products in my time, but have decided to transition away from a “review” blog and get back to Listen to Lena 101: shopping, family, recipes and fun. So after my final set of giveaways for the Summer Beauty & Fashion Guide, you’ll see more classic Lena posts; me just writing for the sheer pleasure of writing. To all my sweepstakes friends, thanks for stopping by! Hope y’all will stay for a good story or two.)

This year, I’m attending with the desire to find inspiration once again. I may find it during a keynote speech, a conversation with a fellow blogger, or at a rooftop party in SOHO. (Twist my arm!)

And so I’ll be off for the next few days, but do have some posts in the hopper that will keep my content fresh while away – so by all means, please visit again soon. I may not be as quick to respond to reader comments, but I’ll be toting my awesome Dell XPS13 laptop along, so I’ll stay connected for the most part.

With that, au revoir fair readers! Big Apple here I come!