My Blissful Weekend in Nashville....

So, I realize that Blissdom was SO three weeks ago....

And, I should have probably done a recap post by now,  but somehow...I am just now getting around to it!!

I think it's because, I am in denial that it has actually come & gone and now I am in some sorta post-blog conference depression! I've been De-Blissing if you will......and to be honest, it kind of blows!! 

This was my first blog conference, but one that I will NEVER forget! For those of you who have never attended a conference before, until you do, it's hard to understand where I am coming from.

To be with over 700 women who all share your same passion, who can talk "blog talk" for hours & hours on end....well, its kinda like paradise!! 

I don't know about you, but when people ask me what I do, I usually tell them I am a nurse & a stay-at-home mom and depending on what kind of a relationship I have with that person, I may or may not tell them about my blog. Mostly, because when I tell people that I blog, they kinda look at me like I'm CRAZY! Most of them don't even know what a blog is, and those that do....they don't really understand why I would put so much time & effort into something so silly!

So, to spend an ENTIRE weekend with women who "GET YOU" ......well, there is a reason why they call it Blissdom....

It's because it is total BLISS!!!

And of course, having fabulous roommates, just adds to the Blissfulness!!!

This is Cyndi, Traci, & I the morning of the opening keynote speech.....

If it looks like my eyes are about to pop out of my head, its probably because I was just a little pumped after hearing Jon Acuff speak....his opening keynote speech (which I will do another post on later) was FANTASTIC & for me, kind of set the tone for the entire conference!! I am also just a wee bit excited about being in between these two fabulous women!! I met Traci & Cyndi (my roomies) online, not long after I started blogging & we've been online friends ever since! They are sisters....Cyndi blogs at Walking in Grace & Beauty and Traci blogs at Beneath My Heart. Traci has helped me out in more ways than one on my blogging journey & she continues to be a blogging role model of mine. She blogs about all things DIY, but also shares stories about her life & how her faith has helped her to overcome some difficult times. Cyndi has a fashion & beauty blog, but also writes about her love for Jesus. Their faith inspires me to be a better Christian & reminds me that I should put God before everything else in this life!

Myra, my other roomie, blogs at My Blessed Life. Again, she is a home decor/DIYer, but also writes about her faith & her relationship with God. After reading Myra's blog for well over a year, it was such a pleasure to meet her in person!! She is such a sweetheart & is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to blogging!!

I rode down to Nashville with one of my dear IRL friends, Mandy from House of Rose....


Words can not explain how much I love this girl!!! She is the definition of a TRUE friend & has been there for me through good times & bad. We have a lot in common being that we are both mommies to little boys & that we both LOVE to blog! It was so nice to spend an entire weekend with her! We hang out quite a bit, but rarely get to spend time together without the kiddos or our husbands!

The conference was loaded with great sessions on building your brand/business, writing, life, & photography. I attended a few of each! I took away a lot from the sessions and if I went into detail about what I learned at each, this post could get really lengthy! Just know that the conference, as a whole, left me feeling inspired, encouraged, & refreshed! Part of those feelings come from what I learned while I was there & the other part comes from just meeting & just being around so many wonderful & talented women!

And while the conference is loaded with learning.......there is a good amount of pampering that goes on for the bloggers as well! There were ton of sponsors for this year's conference which meant lots of free stuff for all of us!! In addition, the conference has events that go on at night which includes dinner & entertainment. And boy, did they deliver in terms of entertainment at Blissdom 2012.....

On Friday night, we had a "Girls Night Out" party & were serenaded by young & talented, Joe Jonas.....

And the AMAZING country music group, Rascal Flatts!!!!

How FUN is that?!?!

And because they were playing for such a small group, I really was this close to the stage!! It was AWESOME!!

I took this picture during the concert, and I would LOVE to tell you that we have our hands up for Rascal Flatts, but this was actually taken during Joe Jonas' performance....LOL!

Keep in mind, most of us are married women (with children), but here we are swooning over one of the Jonas brothers!! Ahem.....

You gotta admit....HE IS pretty cute!

We also had the opportunity to get our pictures taken with the singers after the concert.....

(source)

It was such a fun night!!! It was so awesome getting to meet Rascal Flatts in person, and after reading this post on Traci's blog (you gotta read it).......I kinda love them even more than I did prior to meeting them!!

I had to leave the conference just a few hours early on Saturday because prior to buying my Blissdom ticket, my family had already purchased tickets to go to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night....

Me, my hubby, my parents, my aunt & uncle, and a few of my cousins all had tickets to the opry that night! It was a fun & relaxing evening with family! The opry was also loaded with great entertainment!!

Being at the opry & hanging with my family Saturday night, for me, was just kind like icing on the cake to my Blissful Weekend in Nashville!! It's such a FUN city!!


Did you go to Blissdom this year?! If so, what was your favorite part?!

If you haven't been to a blog conference.....what prevents you from going?! Is it money?! Is it Fear?!

I would love to hear your opinion!!

For more insight into Blissdom & to meet some of the Bloggers that attended, you can visit the House of Rose blog & watch Mandy's terrific video recap as well!! 

There may even be a couple appearances from yours truly!! :)

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