My First BLOG HER 11! Oh Boy! #CLEVERGIRLS #BLOGHER11

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Hey All!

So this is going to be a longgggg post recap of my experience at BlogHer this year! Brace yourselves it’s a long one! Let me just say what an insane few weeks it’s been! I had Comic Con and My 1st BlogHer convention back to back. And I still have D23 the Disney Convention to go next week!
I digress…

I just got back from a crazy weekend in San Diego attending my first ever BlogHer event.  It was a great time and I met so many people I’ve been hoping to meet for some time.  Aside from a few horrible hotel experiences and from being completely overbooked with meetings and not getting to see any panels since I was meeting with brands or attending special luncheons or swag booths or movie screenings or heck even learning how to cook risotto, I did have a great time.

I will say I did miss my family and friends. I was there alone since we couldn’t afford tickets for everyone and someone had to stay to watch the kids, dogs and cat. I know some fellow bloggers who were going, but they didn’t seem very interested in taking the time to meet up, and trying to find someone you know in 3500 people is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I will say I felt kind of lonely since I saw so many women there with friends and catching up. I really didn’t know anyone and everyone was very busy. It would have been nice to have someone there to experience it all with and have almost like a girls weekend with. I digress…

So first off, this was a last minute trip as I only got my ticket from another blogger who was selling hers since she couldn’t make it any longer. I got my ticket and booked a night at the Sofia Hotel. I didn’t realize events were taking place on Thursday until weeks before BlogHer and had to find a hotel last minute to stay Thursday and Sunday. It was a task since we are on a tight budget and we barely have any money to spare since we just came back from Comic Con. I managed to get a room for Thursday and Saturday night at the Hyatt at a AAA rate that included breakfast that was actually really good. So yes I had to keep changing and checking into hotels for my trip which wasn’t fun.

Thursday started with a bang as I had a Colonoscopy and Endoscopy done that morning under full anesthesia. I was not supposed to drive at all after these procedures and no one should, but I did a very bad thing and drove anyway since we can’t afford to lose the money we spent on hotels and the ticket. So I came out of anesthesia, My non hubby drove us home and I rested for a few hours. My family protested and said I should not go and there was a big fight, but I’m a stubborn Latin woman and I won’t change my mind.

I then put the bags in the car and prayed to god I made the 2 and a half hour drive to San Diego ok. I got to the Hyatt in about 3-4 hours since there was traffic, but I was just thankful I made it alive! I was so tired but I got dressed up as best as I could and walked over to the OC BlogHer Bash where I met with the fabulous Sarah and my Fellow MomsLa members.

The place where this party was held reminded me of Alice in Wonderland! It was amazing. I had a great time chatting with the girls from the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau and with the MomsLa Gals. They had drinks and some great food. I had lots of food since I couldn’t drink since I just came out of the procedures.  I was the first person to enter the raffle for an Ipad 2 which I later realized was a bad thing. lol. I had a great time! So glad to be part of MomsLa now.

I got my goody bags and then left the party a little early and headed to the Clever Girls Collective I’m with the Brand Party! I actually just got into this party last minute because I was chosen to be a volunteer, so I had to get there early for my volunteer duties. This was one of the hardest parties to get into at BlogHer! I was so happy to be able to go! It was hosted by Ubisoft and the Smurfs. Ubisoft makes some of the best games for the Nintendo Wii and I wanted to meet the PR reps so badly to tell them how happy I was to be chosen to be a UbiChamp!

As you can see in the picture below they had a Smurf Ice sculpture that was amazing and stuffed Smurfs and blue drinks and swag as far as the eye could see! We played Smurfs Dance Party on the Wii and I was super excited to play with my fellow Bloggers since I will be reviewing this game soon!

They even had a lady Gaga look alike who performed!

It was an amazing party and it was so nice to meet some of the amazing girls of Clever Girls like Edita! I called it an early night after that and went back to my room at the Hyatt. I got in at 10:30pm only to get to my room and the water on the bathroom sink wouldn’t turn off! Maintenance had to come and fix the sink to almost midnight and I couldn’t get to sleep. I was so mad since I had to be up at like 6am and I barely have gotten any sleep as it is! So I wasn’t pleased with the Hyatt to say the least.

When I checked out Friday morning I told them everything that happened and they were nice enough to take $100 off my bill! Thank god. So the Hyatt redeemed itself for me that morning. So I checked out and went to park at the Mariott. I went to the exhibit hall from like 8am-10am and met with tons of brands and got tons of swag!

I then met with the wonderful folks at Gatorade and attending the event called Gatorade Sports Moms and Fitness Enthusiasts Tackle Sports Nutrition at BlogHer11! It was amazing to hear about proper nutrition for our kids and how to raise athletes.

I then went to the Verizon Luncheon and met with some bloggers that I have been emailing with for some time which was nice. I also won a Samsung Galaxy tab at this event which was AMAZING! Thank you Verizon! It made my day! I screamed with joy when I won. People thought I was nuts! It’s a $600 tablet, that alone paid for the trip itself! I loved hearing about 4G and all that Verizon has to offer!

I then met with the fabulous folks over at the Shop at Home suite and after that I went to the Hilshire Farm Photography workshop. Needless to say it was a jam packed morning! By the afternoon I had to go check into the Sofia Hotel. LET ME SAY THIS ONCE, NEVER EVER STAY AT THE SOFIA HOTEL! NEVER!

For starters, the hotel is no where close the the convention center and the area it is in you have to worry about someone breaking into your car or worse. I took cabs to and from when I was staying there. It’s not someplace a woman should be walking alone late at night. I knew it was bad when the bell boy taking my bags told me not to leave anything in the back seat of my car because someone might break into my car EVEN THOUGH I’M PAYING $3O FOR VALET PARKING! I took down the names of the Valet’s since I had some of my swag in my trunk! I told them I didn’t want my car parked outside at all and went to check into the hotel.

It was hot outside and the hotel had no air conditioning on in the elevator or in the hallways of the Hotel, so it smelled and it felt like 100 degrees in the halls and in the room. I didn’t have time to really look at anything in my room as I had to quickly put the air on and get dressed for the evening parties. I went to the Chase Exhale Lounge party and Sparklecorn!

Sparklecorn was an interesting party that had everything from a huge unicorn cake…

To Darth Vadar Card board Stand ups!

 

 Random posters all over the walls…

And a DJ playing music until the early morning hours. It was interesting to say the least.

It was a party to just have fun and well…party. I wish I could have partied, but I was alone and exhausted, so I simply just took some food and a some pics and left back to my room that I had to take a cab to get to. I got back to my room and the air conditioner had done nothing. It was broken. Yet again at now this hotel maintenance had to come and fix the air conditioner. They fixed it and I go to get into the bed to pass out and I notice HAIR AND STAINS ALL OVER THE SHEETS. The sheets were dirty and were not changed as someone’s hair was every where. It was black hair so you could see it and the sheets had a spot that was hard from a dried up stain that I didn’t want to know what it was on the sheet. I had to wait an hour for housekeeping to come and clean the bed and bring clean sheets.

I then notice the chair to sit in at the desk had some white stains and spills everywhere. I honestly did not want to touch anything in this hotel. I was wishing I was back at the HYATT at this point. The bed and room were so dirty the cleaning lady said she was reporting it to her boss just so you get an idea of how bad it was!

I didn’t really want to stay there but I was so tired and had no place else to go. At least the sheets were changed so I went to sleep. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and get back to the Hyatt. I told the front desk what happened in the morning and they had the nerve to tell me they couldn’t do anything for me as I already paid for my room. They would only waive an $8 fee that they were going to charge me. They wouldn’t waive the $30 for parking or take anything off my bill after not even having clean sheets or a working air conditioner or for the horrible experience.  It was a horrific experience that no one should ever have to deal with especially when you’re exhausted! SO WORDS OF WARNING AGAIN DO NOT STAY AT THE SOFIA HOTEL!

I left as fast as I could and went back to the Mariott and parked so that I could attend Knorr’s Cooking Master Class with Chef Marco Pierre White!

It was so much fun to learn to cook from a world renowned chef and to see how easy it was to use the new Knorr Homestyle Chicken stock. It was amazing and I can’t wait to tell you more about that in a review post. 

To make a long story shorter, I then went to a whole bunch of other events and parties. I had so much fun meeting the California Raisin and the Brawny Man! I checked back into the Hyatt to finally get some sleep before the long drive home.

I will share these last quick thoughts that I realized and will keep in mind for next year. I need to remember these for next year and they just might help you too…

– YAY BlogHer ’12 is in my home town of NYC! If you get your tickets now before the end of August and use code AUGUSTHOLIDAY you save 20% on your ticket!

-GOTTA START PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR NOW AND START SAVING! NEW YORK IS EXPENSIVE. And even though I have family in New York we can all stay with, I still want to get a hotel because the idea of lugging all that swag on the train to Queens just makes me want to faint.  I need to get a SPONSOR!!! I need to have my HOTEL, AIRFARE, AND TICKET WELL IN ADVANCE!

-I need to try to see at least some Panels next year. You may have to choose if you’re at BlogHer to network or to learn. I want to try to find a balance next year.

-I realized No matter how hard I try I WILL NOT get to meet everyone I want to meet nor will I attend every party/event/meeting/screening/lunch/dinner/etc that I want to got to. I tried to do it all this year and it honestly was not possible for a number or reasons. If I planned better and if my blog grows more by that time maybe I can go to everything and meet everyone.

– I need to bring boxes of business cards. Not just one box. I literally ran out of a whole box by day 1! Next year I’m bring BOXES!

-You don’t need to buy any food or drinks! The amount of food, snacks, and drinks you get just by walking the expo hall will fill you up. The breakfast the hotels provide if you have breakfast included or the breakfast and lunch provided by BloghHer is actually good. There is also a lot of free alcohol! Sucks I couldn’t have any this year!

-Bring Cash for cabs especially since next year is in NYC! 

– No medical procedures when BlogHer is happening!

-At this conference it’s amazing how many brands do want to meet with you and chat. Try to get to the brands you really love first and schedule meetings with those first and foremost!

– I want to try and make some real blogger friends starting today and build relationships all year long so that when BlogHer ’12 comes around and we meet at this conference, it really matters and is a genuine connection. And I can have people to socialize with at the conference!

Feel free to share your thoughts and links to your own BlogHer’ 11 Experiences below!