The VMW Blissdom Recap 2013 (part 2)

Yesterday I wrote about my experience at Blissdom, and it was so lengthy that I broke it up into 2 parts for y’all.

So here goes part 2:

Sponsors

• There were tons of sponsors, but I wish there could have been even more. Just because there is such a long time between each session, going to the same sponsors for 3 days got a little old.
• HOWEVER, the sponsors were HIGHLY generous (VO5 gave us like 7 things) and had fun things like getting your hair and makeup done with One2One Network, taking head shots, free drinks from Carnival, pet toys from Petsmart, and random stuff like a free mattress set!
• So many people won prizes from the sponsors. I was lucky to win a sound machine from The National Sleep Association and Office Candy from One2One Network.
• I saw so many shops that I was and wasn’t familiar with, but I felt like Blissdom did a great job of choosing the shops that were there. I got to meet Ashley from The Shine Project and Lindsey from Pleated Poppy. Both were extremely sweet and I couldn’t help but go back to their booths over and over just to talk.

Social Events

I have a thing for celebrities. I get starstruck easily and get way too excited about them. So when I heard Chris Mann, Amber Riley, Ana Gasteyer, and Jeremy Sisto were going to be at Blissdom, I just about died.

• Girls Night Out was amazing. I NEVER get a girls night (mainly because all my friends live in different cities now) so this was so much fun. I honestly didn’t know what to do. I sang my heart out during Chris Mann and Amber Riley, and seriously was excited. I forgot though how much heels hurt after dancing for hours. I’m old now.
• Neely’s birthday party was before Girls Night In and was at Texan Station (a restaurant at the hotel). I bought a bunch of cheesy tiaras, streamers, and balloons for it. We had dinner, drinks, and ended with yummy ice cream cake. I was glad Neely enjoyed her birthday with all her friends from around the country.
• We got to Girls Night In a little late, but it was fun sitting on the dance floor just listening to Jeremy and Ana talk about Suburgatory. I’ve never seen the show, but now I’m going to have to get it on iTunes. After they left, a TON of us went on stage and did karaoke to Spice Girls. It doesn’t get better than that!

Community

• I got to meet a LOT of new people. People that read my blog, people that I read their blogs, people that I never heard of (in a good way!), and so much more. I stayed with my friends a lot of the time (hey- I’m social, but I’m a scaredy cat too! I’m the girl that doesn’t even like going to the bathroom alone haha), but I always talked to the people at my table. I met a lady that works with Disney, one that works with eMeals, and even the One2One ladies that I’d heard so much about! 
• Blissdom did a good job in helping me get out of my comfort zone on the first day. They had a newcomer meet up and basically forced everyone to meet new people. Yeah, at first I wanted to stick by my roommates, but eventually, I left their side and met people I’d been following for months now and even saw some bloggers I’d met at past blog meet ups (like Allison of HoH and Taylor from PHPT!) It was a great way to get people to branch out.
• I found it easy to strike up conversation with lots of people. I’m an ambivert, and somehow met bloggers that were randomly waiting in lines with me for swag. I met Amber by standing in the Petsmart line, and honestly, I couldn’t wait to see her in the halls every day just to say hi. I also thought the Blissdom twitter hashtag was helpful in finding people. I saw people who posted frequently and it made me want to see who they were.

Bottom Line

• I hope Blissdom is in Dallas again next year. I only drove 2 hours and that was a huge perk. The tickets + hotel are expensive, so it was nice not to include flight.
• I put myself out there and met a bunch of bloggers. I can’t wait to go through my business cards and connect this week.
• I got good insight on how I can better my blog through telling my story and really focusing on that.
• The speakers are motivational and will make you laugh. They’re great for inspiring, but not step by step information.
• The swag is legit- but make sure you bring another luggage. You’ll need it.
• If you love meeting celebrities and talking to them face to face, you’ll love Blissdom.
• The women who work for Blissdom work their BUTTS off. A huge thanks to them and the sponsors who made it possible. I’ll DEFINITELY be going again. I honestly had the time of my life.

I hope my post helped give you insight on my honest opinion of Blissdom! I had a blast 🙂

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