As promised I'm here to give you a run down of my experiences at BlogHer'12! Over the past couple of days I've had the chance to read a few posts from others who attended and can see that each person really had their own unique and authentic experience with the conference. I've read both good and bad (as well as some ugly.) I'm going to share how I felt - what I took away and whether it was all worth it to me.
I think the easiest way to explain it is to go day by day, with so much to cover, I'm going to plan a couple of posts, so come back later in the week for the 2nd (and maybe 3rd?)!
Thursday / BlogHer'12 Kick-off
Highs >>
I was invited to attend
Avenue Q Musical (with a guest - I chose the hubby) via
MamaDramaNY. The musical was hilarious - highly inappropriate at times - but incredibly funny nevertheless. The cast was amazing - our favorite hands down was:
Darren Bluestone! It was nice to see a show, because, regrettably, it is not something we often get the chance to do - even though we live a short way from Broadway! I think the best part of the experience - apart from the show itself - was discovering MamaDramaNY - a consulting group that connects theatre & moms (mom bloggers!?) I'm excited to partner with them again!
Prior to meeting up with the hubs to attend the show - I snagged up my conference badge at the Hilton and then headed off to the first "private party" I had been invited to: "
California Dreams" presented by
Single Edition Media & sponsored by
FootPetals. The party was at the Terrace Club - a rooftop deck near Rockefeller. Cotton candy and cocktails were served, and party-goers were invited to spin a wheel for FootPetals surprises. I nabbed up a couple packs to try out and look forward to seeing how they work. They CLAIM to solve the "finger toe" problem - you know - when you slide in your stilettos and your toes are like fingers gripping the outer edge of your shoe to keep your foot from falling out? Anyway - I left the party with a bit of swag - provided by AVON and a few other brands.
**Side note - all my single ladies, all my single ladies - make sure you check out Single Edition Media - they are into connecting brands with bloggers who are single and share from that perspective.
At the end of the night - hubs and I headed to Times Square in search of ice cream. We settled on Coldstone. Both of us picked outside our usual flavors - him indulging in a chocolate chip mint brownie and I, quite brilliantly, choosing coffee lovers (at near midnight!) If you've ever wondered if the chocolate dipped waffle cone bowl is worth it - I'd have to say absolutely not - I'm not even sure what that stuff is that they call chocolate - its more like flavored wax and its nasty.
Lows >>
If I can gripe about anything it has nothing to do with BlogHer at all. First thing - I arrived at the theatre for the show - and I was starving. So I decided to "eat on the cheap" by grabbing a chicken skewer and water bottle off a nearby cart. Let me just say that typically we're talking $3 for those items...in most places in the city. But at this cart -
$8!!!! I about died. I wanted to curse out or hit the guy for robbing a fellow Manhattanite! After I stopped stewing about it - I was able to laugh and move on.
Then - the last low point was the parents who decided it would be okay to take their young son to see Avenue Q. Friends, can I be honest with you? I try very hard not to be judgmental of other parents and their decisions...but this! It actually took away some of my experience in the show because as certain explicit jokes and language and adult situations took place - I couldn't help but think (and gasp in horror) at what that young boy was being exposed to. To put it in perspective - how about sitting down to watch a family porno with your 8 year old? That is just about how bad it was - doesn't matter if they were puppets - no child should have been permitted. So you see how hard it is not to judge in this situation!?
I ended the night exhausted, and excited for the day ahead!
To be continued...
