BlogHer'12

BlogHer’12: Frugal Fashion Recap

August 11, 2012 By Lena

It’s been one whole week since I returned from BlogHer’12 in New York City… and I just unpacked my suitcase. In my defense, I dumped the entire works into the washing machine and went on with my day. (Although, why that couldn’t be done six days ago… I’m pleading the 5th.)

Now I could do a post on all the connections I made, the newfound inspirations, yada, yada, yada – but I’d rather just break down how I managed to wear an entirely new wardrobe, consisting of four faboosh outfits, for under $200. Yes, I am a frugal fashionista.

Let’s Go.

Day 1: Thursday, August 2nd – on tap, a bunch of parties, including Mom Central’s Chevrolet Official Canadian Party. If you reside north of the border, the party is THE place to be. Situated on the rooftop of the Thompson Hotel, the consensus on Twitter leading up to event was to don a little black dress. However, since my resident LBD had seen too many private parties, I decided a new outfit was in order.

Dress: Le Chateau Outlet, $22.59 (after $50 Groupon)
Cross Body Purse: H&M, $2.59 (after $20 Gift Card)
Kitten Heel Sandals: Steve Madden, borrowed from Mom (= free)…

I’m off to BlogHer’12.

August 1, 2012 By Lena

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!

BlogHer: Three Totally Cool Things

June 20, 2012 By Lena

Kids, it’s that time of year again!

Ah, blogger conference season. When we bloggers make the very pained decision to leave our families behind while we come together for personal and professional development.

And, sometimes we attend a party or two (or twelve), toss back Cake Vodka shots and find ourselves crashing and burning in someone else’s hotel room. In a different hotel. And they’re not even attending the conference.

Yes, it’s time to don a fancy dress and flip flops (I learned the hard way last year – you MUST bring your flip flops!) and party among your peers. These are the women who support you, cheer you on and share battle scars – and sometimes, they happen to live on the other side of the country. To BlogHer’12, and the mass gathering of online friends: I’m so excited!!!

Now with the conference a mere six (6) weeks away, I thought of a few totally cool things that I just had to share. It makes the conference personal and special to me – so without further ado:

1. In my former life, I was a Customer Satisfaction Specialist for Honeywell. A large part of my role was to analyze satisfaction scores and create training modules/best practices to improve overall engagement, morale, and subsequently raise the level of service. Now not to toot my own horn (warning: I’m about to toot my own horn) – I developed a program that raised the satisfaction score from 6.2 to 8.5 in just six months. And it didn’t go unnoticed; MarketTools CustomerSat, our partner who provided the survey data, asked me to come and speak at their conference in San Jose, to share with other business leaders the success of my training program.

Now at the conference, in conversation with one of the MarketTools directors, she told me about her daughter, who had recently started a media company called “BlogHer.” I nodded politely, but I barely knew what a blog was – never mind this network based on a bunch of women who ranted online. She asked if I had ever considered starting an online journal – LAUGH! I had too much on my plate to find free time to blog.

The next year, when I once again attended the conference, the director and I had a great conversation about the success that her daughter had achieved and the immense popularity of blogs written by women. I offered heartfelt congratulations and was absolutely touched by the pride in her voice.

And years later, when I met Elise Camahort Page, Co-Founder of BlogHer in person – I had this very awesome introductory line:

“Hi Elisa, my name is Lena. I actually know your mother. Please give her my love.”

(Somehow, I think I stood out from everyone else’s intro that day. BOO-YAH!)

2. Last year, BlogHer’11 was in San Diego, which was both thrilling (I’d never been) and terrifying (I only had about two weeks notice to wrap my head around the fact that I was going). One of the articles that helped me immensely was Jen Taylor’s “What Should You Bring to a Conference?” post in her blog, Little Miss Mocha. It served as a soothing reality check, and I encourage all conference attendees to read it at at least once.

3. This year, BlogHer’12 is in New York City. And even though I’ve been to NYC more times than I’ve been to Burlington, I’ve never visited New York with a gaggle of bloggers. To say I’m excited is an understatement. Making it even more spectacular?

I’m going thanks to the good folks at Maple Leaf Foods!

LOVE this partnership – as you all know, my family is a huge fan of Maple Leaf Foods and their umbrella of brands, especially Dempsters, Olivieri, Tenderflake, and more. In fact, at any given time, you can see my boys munching on a slice of Natural Selections Salami (sooo garlicky but sooo good!)

I look forward the official countdown to BlogHer’12 and over the next few months, you’ll definitely see me paying delicious homage to my sponsor. The good news? There will always be something in it for you too – whether it be tasty recipes, fabulous giveaways or the chance to grab free coupons!

New York City, here we come!