My last day at the 2014 Haven Conference – Atlanta’s hottest hangout for home decor and DIY bloggers – was a little bit of work and a whole lot of play!
First, I joined my awesome team of co-presenters for our second presentation of “Blogging Trade Secrets – What We Wish We Knew Then.” It was another packed room of awesome, smiling faces! I had the pleasure of meeting several great bloggers afterwards, including Anna and Spencer (that cute couple pictured above) – photographers with a DIY desire to renovate their modern home. They’re new to the blogging scene, and their blog Building Modern is definitely one to check out.
Our 2nd session of “Blogging Trade Secrets.”
After our session, I joined Bridget and Casey from DIY Playbook (a couple of fabulous girls that I follow on Instagram, so of course I feel like I know them), and met the adorable Michelle from Iron & Twine. I’m pretty bummed that I didn’t get a pic with these lovely ladies, but also slightly relieved considering I was in serious zombie mode at this point: running mascara, smeared lipstick, tired as hell – you know the look.
I decided to sneak away for a power nap before the afternoon sessions and, on my way, ran into someone who informed me the vendors (all the brands and businesses who come to meet bloggers to partner with) were packing up at 2pm. I thought they were here until 5pm and I’d barely talked to any of them at this point! I ran upstairs, freshened up, ran back downstairs, and spent the next hour having conversations that were way too short with vendors that were way too wonderful.
OnlineFabricStore.net, Ryobi, and Modern Masters – just a few of the fabulous brands I got to meet and learn more about at Haven.
After vendor visits I attended my friend Beth‘s session on how to edit photos in Lightroom. (Again, this is a great time to remind you that all my Haven pics were taken with my iPhone. Photo fail. And apologies.) She did such a great job walking us all through it that I’m not longer intimidated by Lightroom and am going to give it a try. Expect phenomenal photos coming soon. (Except for Haven photos which will likely always be iPhone photos.)
Next up? Nap!
I crashed and burned and napped the rest of the afternoon so I’d be all perky and recharged for my hot date – my friend Katie from Bower Power! Katie lives in Atlanta, and I was so excited to squeeze in some girl time (and squeeze those cute little cheeks of her baby boy, LJ) while I was in town.
We had a delicious dinner with these delightful girls:
Dinner Date! L to R: Rachel from Shades of Blue Interiors, Susan from Between Naps on the Porch, Lucy from Craftberry Bush, Beth from Unskinny Boppy, Katie and Baby LJ from Bower Power, and Me.
After dinner, Katie, LJ, and I went back to my hotel room for some girl talk. It’s been a year since I’ve seen her, so we had a lot to catch up on! Oh yeah – we raided the swag bag, too:
Katie’s got a great idea.
I could’ve chatted with that girl (and kissed on LJ’s cheeks) all night, but LJ was getting sleepy so we said our goodbyes, and I joined the tail end of the Ryobi Dance Party.
Just when you think you’re about to call it a night, the night hollers back, “Oh, I don’t THINK so!”
Getting down with Jacque from The DIY Village.
What they might’ve said was “last call” but what Jamison from Rogue Engineer and I heard was, “time to double-fist it!”
Fun in the (midnight) sun with Jamison from Rogue Engineer and Ashley & Whitney from Shanty 2 Chic.
Another unforgettable year, Haven! Thank you so much to everyone I got to see, meet, hug, teach, learn, dance, and laugh with. I hope to see you all again next year!
So fun! It was so good to see you and squeeze your neck! Much love friend! Keep on doublefisting…it’s treating you well
xo kb
The same to you! Kate LOVED her gift – thank you again, sweet friend! She is working on a thank you card for you but being a little pokey about it. We will hopefully get it in the mail soon!