Build Your Blog Conference 2014

I was so excited about attending the Build Your Blog Conference and it was certainly a very busy two days.  It started with this:

My wonderful husband surprised me with a brand new ipad the night before I left.  I couldn't believe it!  He said it was an early Valentine's present and he wanted to make sure I was prepared and had everything I needed for the conference.  He even got a blue case because he knows blue is my favorite color.

It was an early start to get to the airport and catch a flight to Salt Lake City.  I missed all the shopping during Friday, but was able to catch the book publishing presentation from Deseret Books on Friday afternoon.  I sat next to someone who said to me "you look familiar."  Turns out it was Britney from A Princess and Her Cowboys!  We both laughed and said "I know you!  I've been to your blog!"  I got to say hi to the sisters at Made From Pinterest too.  It was so nice to actually meet the the authors of blogs that I visit and admire!  This was my very first blog conference and I had no idea what to expect.  I was feeling a bit nervous, but everyone was so nice and friendly it really put my nervousness and jitters at ease.

Saturday started with an opening from the Six Sisters.  They are pretty amazing.  They started their blog three years ago and now their blog is HUGE!

I'm sure everyone in the audience was thinking how they could get their blogs to grow as big as that.  Then Meg Johnson gave a really inspirational talk about how important it is to be able to really connect with just one person with our blogs.  If we can inspire and make a meaningful connection with just one reader, that's something worth celebrating.  (It also helps to keep the whole blogging thing in perspective, too!)

There were four different sessions to attend and so much information to take in!  One of the sessions was on using Google+ and I'm still so confused about it!  Am I the only one?  Looks like I'll be reading "Google+ For Dummies."  There was also a panel of bloggers who discussed different aspects of blogging.  One of them was Cassity from Remodelaholic and after the discussion, I got to personally thank her for featuring my laundry room makeover on her blog!  She even remembered me!  That was pretty cool!

There were so many creative and talented bloggers attending the conference and so many people to meet and talk to!  There was a table set up to exchange cards and it was like a feeding frenzy!

There were so many cards and it was fun 

to see all the clever and creative designs that everyone had!

I came home with a great swag bag full of goodies!
This is just some of what was in the bag.

I realize now I wish I had taken a lot more pictures!  There was just so much packed into a few short days and this post doesn't even begin to cover it!  I'd love to know what you thought of the conference.  Please share you blog posts about it.  I'm looking forward to reading them and I'm sure other bloggers would like to hear about your experience as well!