Last month I entered a writing contest about "Living Life to the Fullest", and because of YOU, I got to do just that at the Blissdom Conference in Nashville this past weekend!
:-)
You guys are amazing, and I am so grateful for your friendship!
I started trying to figure out how on earth I could possibly thank you for helping me win the ticket right after I found out I won it. I considered hiding all of you in my luggage so I could sneak you into the Conference with me, but I think that would've been a little obvious.
"Who's the chic that looks like Judy Jetson, and why is she dragging all that luggage across the Opryland Hotel?"
So I came up with another (less insane) idea instead.
:-)
I brought my video camera into the Conference with me, and I interviewed a handful of fun and friendly women so that you could get a sense of what it was like to be there with them at Blissdom too!
The lovely ladies featured in my video are:
- Rhoda from Southern Hospitality
- AnNicole from Our Suburban Cottage
- Kate from Centsational Girl
- Kimba from A Soft Place
- Sarah from Thrifty Decor Chick
I hope you like it!
Okay, fine!
Those weren't really the questions I asked them!
But who doesn't love a good "mad lib" every now and then, right?
And of course I was toooootally kidding about the "favorite blog" and "The Lettered Cottage" parts.
:-)
Anywho...I hope you got a kick out of "being there" with me!
Thank you Rhoda, AnNicole, Kate, Kimba and Sarah for being brave enough to play along. I love you guys!
And thank you to all the other women who made my experience at Blissdom such a positive one too! I met so many new friends, and I will cherish our conversations forever! The fun began on Thursday night...
Among other beautiful and brilliant ladies, I fiiiiinally got to meet the gal who inspired me to start blogging, Kim, from Twice Remembered (on the left)...
The next morning I had breakfast with a whole room full of remarkable ladies. I managed to get one photo in between bites of fruit and bacon. Mmmmm!
(Traci, Rhoda, Kate and Edie)
Friday afternoon, I had a phenomenal free lunch...
(click on the photo for the recipe)
...in the coolest conservatory...
...with the greatest group of girls...
Sandy, Traci, Melissa, Kate, Rhoda
As we dined together under the giant palms, we talked about all kinds of things.
We laughed, we cried, and we bonded.
It was a fascinating sixty minutes and it's hard to put my experience with them into words, but in a nutshell, they're the kind of women that understand your past, believe in your future, and accept you just the way you are.
(Thank you guys! I miss you already!)
Look who else was there...
We didn't get too much of a chance to talk, but it was fun meeting Miss Nester and her sweet sister Emily too!
Friday night, we had dinner at an Irish pub with Sarah and AnNicole...
...and after seeing what Sarah ordered, I learned that I have to try Scottish eggs sometime.
After dinner, we bumped into Benjamin Franklin...
...and a few minutes after that, we bumped into a whole bunch of incredible and inspiring folks...
Look at that grin...
:-)
We spent the rest of the night hanging out with Rhoda, Kate, Sarah and AnNicole and we had an absolute ball! We shared ideas and forged everlasting friendships.
Oh yeah, we laughed until we cried too...
:-)
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I hope I can see everybody again (and you too!) at Blissdom 2011!
Layla
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69 comments:
Awesome. What an experience. Something your will remember forever. Thank you for taking us there with you. Great pic. Good friend..priceless moments..you lucky women you..~lulu
wow - that looks like so much fun!
Meet you there next year! So glad you were able to attend and that you had such a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing these memories!
You ladies are just lovely! How much I wish I had just a little chance to meet with you girls. Great! Van
It looks like you guys had a fabulous time! Thanks for sharing the video too, I wish I could hear it. I just spent the last several minutes trying to figure out why I have no sound on my computer.. I will have to leave that to my husband to fix tomorrow so I can actually hear the video.
You know I wish I could have been there with you all...to meet all of you fabulous ladies in person. Next year, for sure!
Glad you had such a great time!
Aaaaaaah, how fabulous ! You are PRECIOUS and I love your video, and it was such a great time ! Priceless memories, beyond words. Pink puffy hearts right at you my dear friend.
Lucky You... but you earned it!
All of you gals are such great bloggers. I don't know how you do it.
Talk to you soon ;)
Bunny Jean
I'm SOOOOO glad you had a great time..wish I could have been there! Isn't the convervatory there amazing!!?? We went on a choir retreat there a few years ago and we were all just amazed by all the lush greenary and the flowers! It's just beautiful! Looks like you had a fabulours time. :) Oh, by the way, you make a cute Judy Jetson! LOL
Sounds like an incredible experience.
What a great post, Layla! It was so much fun eating lunch with you and getting to know you. A highlight of the weekend for me! You are a blessing!!!
I'm so glad that you had fun! Thank you so much for the pictures....I felt like I was almost there for a minute! And, hopefully, I will be next year!
Have a great week getting back into life at home...
Looks like you all had a blast, and loved the video you shared. Thanks!
Too fun! So glad that you got to attend. I know you had a blast.
Jennifer
wow, looks like an incredible experience...how fun! Glad you got to go! thanks for the video!
So was Kevin the only guy there? He obviously didn't seem to mind if so. Who could with all you wonderful women!!
Looked like a lot of fun!
Looks like you had a blast! Glad you won the ticket.
I am so happy for y'all!! Hearing the excitement in your voice (I mean typed words) made me smile :)
bahaha i love your video! Looks like you girls had so much fun!
What a fun video! It was great to meet you guys! :-)
Layla.
I am so glad you won the ticket and got to go.
It was like all of us winning just to see you there.
LOVED THE VIDEO.
geri.
LOL so fun! I miss you, GF! You described our lunch that we had together perfectly! :)
Glad you had such a wonderful experience and that video was too cute!
Kat :)
Thank you SO much for posting this! So fun to see the real personalities of people I read about all day. Who knew that not only are they crafty, but funny little entertainers (like you!) too! Looks like you all had a blast!
OK - You are officially hilarious. I have a warm place in my heart for the beloved Mad Lib. Thanks for giving me my fix. :)
Amazing pictures Layla! Just loved hanging out with everyone at Blissdom! Next year, we'll have to talk! :)
Oh how fun!! I wish I could have been there! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!! You are the best! :)
Run by and check out my WEEK LONG
GIVEAWAY if you get a chance. I know you will love it!!
Ha-ha!! How funny this turned out. So glad to be included in this one. You funny girl! What a blast it all was, I had a fantastic time with YOU and all the other wonderful girls. Truly a cherished time for me. xoxo
That pic of me laughing was hilarious! I haven't laughed that hard in years.
Ok, so not having an actual long, relaxed conversation with you is one of my biggest regrets of Blissdom.
Ugh.
So now you are invited to come to my house at any and all times.
That's too funny! I'm so curious to know what question you asked for the "last time you brushed your teeth?" responses. haha!
A couple of years ago in Nashville, I bumped into Little Richard (for real, it was really him!) and Abe Lincoln. We were too nervous to asked for Little Richards picture but we got Abe's.
Oh! How fun!!! It's so great to see all of you together. I really wish I had been there.
How stinking fun!!!
Sarah had on a necklace from me in the video. Yay!
Lots of the other ladies there had my jewelry as well...
Great video, Layla!
You soooo crack me up!
Did you forget to bring your toothbrush, girl? I spit my coffee on my keyboard when I heard you say "sorry my breath is bad!"
LMAO!
That was fun and I felt like I was there!!
How fun! So glad you had the chance to go!
I love how you made us all feel like we were right there with you..
oxox
Jennifer
You look like you all had a really great time and with your shared love of blogging you have probably made some good friends. Wish I could go but unless they ever decide to host it in Wales there's probably not much hope!
Thanks for sharing!
Looks like a wonderful time, times you will never forget! Thanks for sharing with us :)
What a cute video!! Looks like you all had so much fun!
~TidyMom
Oh how I miss Nashville!!! LOVE the Opryland Hotel and the mall!! Did you go to the Jack Daniels Bar? That's my fav ~ fun past times there LOL Looks like you had a blast! So glad you got to go!!! Thanks for sharing the fun : )
how fun was that! ;) Thanks for sharing!!
Layla...thanks for this fun post! The video was the best and made me laugh! What an incredible group of ladies...I will be saving my pennies for next year. Thanks for sharing and making those of us not able to go, feel apart! You're the best.
~Amanda
You're welcome! And thanks for sharing the fun. Maybe next year I'll be there, too...
I'm sure glad you got to go. You too Kevin! (I'm sure all those women where happy to meet you too!)
Thanks for the video. It was so cute and funny!
Looks like it was so much fun for all of you! Great video. I thought about it too late for this year, but look-out next year. After we all read the blog stories about the weekend, they'll need a bigger place for everyone that will want to come!
Just saw your comment. You are so sweet. I had so.much.fun with you and Kevin. You just seem so amazingly kind, genuine, and funny on your blog, I wasn't sure someone could actually live up to that in person...but you did...and then some!
Love you to death girl...and that wild and crazy Kevin too :).
Good to see you all having a FUN time :)
What a great video and pictures! It was fun to see everyone's personality (and what they were wearing- what a stylish bunch!). Thank you for sharing.
Heidi D. in WA
Thanks for sharing the video with us Layla! It looks like everyone had a wonderful time!
that looked like way too much fun!! I am sooo jealous! Maybe when my blog grows up it can come and play too!!!!!!
AmyD@ halfbakedcafe.blogspot.com
It was so great talking with you and Mr. LC at Blissdom!!! You are both adorable and I'm glad to say I know ya in real life now!
xo
I am so envious!! BUT! I am thrilled you had a wonderful time. I feel like I was grounded or something and missed prom. GRR!! I am crossing my fingers for next year.
Cheers~
e
Thank you SO MUCH for the video of those lovely women (and your handsome husband). I read the blogs of those women daily and it really makes it seem like we are all friends in this big ole digital world. So glad you were able to go Layla and Kevin.
Argh! I thought I commented earlier! Just had to say this was so stinking funny and cute and funny and adorable. You two are the sweetest. I am SO so SO glad I met you and we spent so much time together my friend!! (We did miss you at the line dancing!)
Wow...looks like a wonderful time...I love all your pictures!
sandy toe
I'm so glad you won and shared your victory with us through video! Lisa
wasn't it awesome? i loved seeing everyone and meeting some wonderful ladies that i have admired from afar for so long. you house ladies are so good at what you do, making beautiful places.
You are too fabulous! Looks like fun!
Aw, how fun! I loved seeing everyone on the video. Thanks so much for taking the time to put that together!
Hi Layla and Kevin-
How clever of you to make a video to show us what it was like to be at Blissdom. What fun you must of had. I enjoyed it throughly.
Thanks for bringing it to us.
Diane
Layla~ LOVE the video! It kind of makes me feel like I was there, but it kind of sends daggers because I wasn't, but you are all beautiful and look like a ton of FUN! Welcome home~so glad you were able to go!!
Melissa
I was smiling the whole time watching your video and reading the comments! I know there were lots of moments when all of you were laughing so hard you couldn't breathe. Aren't those some of the best times?!? Having just stayed at Opryland in NOV and seeing all the cool bloggers you featured, I felt like I was there with you -- wish I could have been. -- Blessings from Dorothy B. in TN
No fair and soooo stink'n fun!!
You are completely adorable and charming Ms. Layla! I am so happy I got to hug your neck. And what a treat to meet Kevin too. I wish I would have had more time with ya!
hugs and lots of love,
edie
Gosh, was Kevin in Heaven? All those beautiful women!!!
Thanks for sharing a little piece of the weekend Layla.
Looks awesome! That video was hilarious. Thanks for sharing.
looks like you had a blast!
First of all, this was my favorite blissdom recap post! Nester said you are coming to NC (?!) and she's totally gonna let me come hang out with you guys too, if that's true.
And you and your husband are suuuuper cute. So super cute.
It was so fun watching the video to get to "meet" some of the ladies out there. Perhaps I'm glad I didn't meet them in person...the whole tooth brushing thing (or lack of) is really gross. :)
I'm considering going this year! Your post made it seem so fun!!! Maybe I'll get to meet you IRL. :)
~Allison @ House of Hepworths
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