I love Blissdom. This was my third time at this now famed blogging conference and I have to say, I thought this was the BEST ONE ever.
I enjoyed Blissdom for many reasons this time, including these blogging girls who hung out with Nester & me for a Home Blogging Round Table Discussion on the floor of the Opryland Hotel in Nashville (the bloggers on this list signed their blog addresses on my paper during our discussion, I know there were many more at Blissdom!):
Bradford Avenue
High Heels and a Hammer
Take Off With Katie
Pretty Handy Girl
Two Story Cottage
Honey We’re Home
Decor Chick
Pink and Polka Dot
The Year of Hope
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Miss Mustard Seed
Lean Remodeler
My Cottage Love
Beneath My Heart
The Cottage Chick
Frugal With a Flourish
The Borrowed Abode
Casabella Project
House of Hepworths
The Pennington Point
I hope you’ll visit all of these girls, befriend them and encourage them. They are all unique and inspiring, and were so eager to learn from and share with each other.
Oh, and of course, Julie from HGTV was a part of our circle too! What a great contribution she made, loved having her be a part of our niche group!! You just never know who might be sitting next to you at these things.
One of my favorite inspirational quotes (originally from someone named Barbara Cook) is:
“When you are able to be yourself, you will have no competition.”
I shared this quote at our Blissdom home workshop and it is SO true, we need not look at these home blogging women as our competition, they are our friends and peers who can challenge us and help us grow our blogs and reach our dreams in ways we never dreamed possible, and we can give that gift right back to them.
Nester & I had a wonderful time leading the Blissdom Home Blogger Tribe and presenting at the Home Blogger Niche Workshop. What a privilege to rub shoulders with so many wonderful women bloggers, and even a couple of yet-to-be bloggers. You are so AWESOME! We are going to be recapping our Home Blogger Workshop soon, if you missed it or want to review!
But for now, I want to let you know, that wherever you are on your blogging journey, this home tribe rocks. You can reach for the moon and these girls are going be right beside you cheering you on so make them your BFF’s!
I’m so glad I have always had a great group of friends to keep me going in blogging! I was honored to meet these lovely ladies and hope you’ll keep me posted on how things are going for you!
I really want to thank Alli for the privilege of being a part of this amazing conference and for your confidence and support over the years. You are an inspiration and I’m so honored to call you my friend. xo Muah.
There is so much more I want to say about the conference, but I’ll have to put it out in bits and pieces.
And now, for my 10 Ten Referring Sites for The Inspired Room in January:
These girls are insanely talented, kind, generous, and I’ve met all but three of the ten in person. GO ME! Love and admire you girls in a big way. Thank you for sending your readers over to little ol’ me, and for being my fabulous friends. January 2011 was my BEST month EVER thanks in great part due to your support. I owe you lots of chocolates.
1. The Nester
2. Censtational Girl
3. Simplemom
4. Thrifty Decor Chick
5. Life In Grace
6. Hooked on Houses
7. Cote de Texas
8. Holly Mathis Interiors
9. Reluctant Entertainer
10. Meg Duerksen – Whatever
Did you do a Blissdom Recap Post? You can link it up here so we can see what you learned or who you met or how much fun you had! If you haven’t done one yet, go write one and link it up here so we can find your post! This linky will be open for a week!
Happy Blogging!
I wish I was able to attend what looks like a truly inspiring conference. I have enjoyed learning about all the bonding and activities which went on from you and other bloggers. Love this quote. This is what makes blogging so special.
I so wish I could have gone and met you all. It looks like you had a wonderful time :)
Great idea to have a link up! I can’t wait to see everyone else’s posts! I love the pictures you did of our little home group! And it was just wonderful to get to meet and spend time with you!
Thanks Melissa for chatting with me over breakfast. It was so good to meet you finally and hear how your blog has evolved. :)
– Jessica
Sounds amazing! Thank you so much for sharing the quote by Barbara Cook, “When you are able to be yourself, you will have no competition.” Truly empowering!
It definitely sounds like a wonderful time! So many beautiful people…inside and out. I have enjoyed reading the many posts about this conference. Haven’t found a negative word yet…and that says a lot!!
melissa,
i’m so glad i got the chance to sit next to you at lunch and chat. you are an inspiration and i love love love the quote! i will take that to heart!
Now, you know I would have stopped by if I hadn’t been so busy with the foodie bloggers, right?
It was so good seeing you ladies, if only in passing, at the conference.
Sounds like you had the best time! I love your quote, it reminds me of what I love to remember: there is enough to go around!
Janell
Enjoyed getting to see you there!
Melissa,
What great energy, Blissdom must be so inspiring and provide the encouragement we all need from time to time.
As a relatively new blogger I hope you share some of the tips you know of or have learned from this conference.
*like why my recent post title no longer shows up when I post a comment to you (it always says, “No last blog posts to return) when there are new posts. :-)
Thank you,
Karen
I couldn’t decide between the home bloggers and the crafty/DIY tribes! When I looked around to ‘tribe hop’ I didn’t see you in the room (now I see you weren’t in the room LOL) and I thought there was a tribe meeting by the fireplaces on Saturday morning but didn’t see anyone there either. Next year!
I loved your Wednesday workshop with Nester- truly informative and empowering! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge and being so kind! It was lovely to meet you!
I too wish I were able to attend and sit alongside you sharing blogging tips, wisdom and smiles however I realize I get all of that by reading your posts. Next year I will be there for sure!
I will visit the blogs you listed above.
Your Friend,
Deborah
i so wish that i could’ve made it to Blissdom, but atlas there’s always next year. right?! next year? thank you for sharing these awesome home blogs. can’t wait to check them all out!
Looks like such a fun time. Looking forward to your recap.
I wish I could have been there to soak in some of these great bloggers knowledge. Hopefully next year. It looks like everyone had such a wonderful time. I love that quote and thank you for always being inspiring and supportive.
I have made it my goal to come next year!
Fondly,
Glenda
Thanks for the awesome links. I am always scouring for new fabulous home blogs :)
GREAT quote!!!!
Definitely learning to do what I love and just be me.
Hoping to go to Blissdom someday!! Looks like a BLAST!
Hugs!
Fi
It looks like you had a wonderful time and made some wonderful memories. Glad you made it home safely!
Well, I’m not really a Home blogger, but all of you beautiful HBs made me feel…right at home. :)
Thanks for hosting the linky!
I really enjoyed our tribe meeting on Thursday, and I wish I’d been able to make the second on Saturday. Thanks so much!
I bet each year gets better as you connect with more women and on a deeper level each time. Already looking forward to next year! It was great to meet you face-to-face:)
Melissa, I’m a home blogger only part of the time, so I guess I’d technically be in the “Lifestyle” tribe. But you know what? The most wonderful, nicest women are in the Home Tribe!
You and Nester did a fantastic job with your workshop. I was so glad to be there. I really appreciate the work y’all put into that. And I sneaked into the back of your big tribe meeting out in the atrium, too. The two of y’all just make me feel at home–both online and in person. So I think you’re exactly the right people to lead the Home Tribe!
My Blissdom post is a little different. I loved Blissdom, and I was so impressed by how well we were treated. So I’m giving away my swag bag. I hope that doesn’t sound dorky! But I remember last year feeling so wistful that I couldn’t go. Maybe someone will win my swag and feel like she got to participate at least in a small way.
I appreciate you so much!
melissa! a great idea- thank-you for hosting this linky party! i’m not a home blogger and really struggle with my house, but i am such a wanna-be! i think reading your blog will draw me in quickly! :)
so glad to have met you and gotten the few minutes we had to chat…
Melissa,
Great recap! You & Nester are great mentors. I wish we could have talked more – maybe next year. Thanks for everything!
Erin @ Two Story Cottage
Thank u dear Melissa! I’d like 2 think me begging for pix b4 u left helped,but silly me, u ALWAYS take gr8 care of us! The linky was genius to a pixbeggar like me :D And I *GREAT BIG HEART* that quote. (sigh) I needed that…as my twin greatnephs always sed “Lub you TOOOO much”. ;) -s-
Well said Melissa! Always a delight to hang with you and all the homies! Such an inspiring group of ladies!
xo
Kate
I’m just disappointed we didn’t get to spend time together! However, I did spend time with MANY of the women in your tribe! What an amazing group of women!
Thanks Melissa, to you and Nester for your great tribe leadership. I appreciate your encouragement and wisdom. It was great to meet you! Lisa~
It was soo great to see you at Blissdom. I love all the photos you included in this post. I umm haven’t written a recap yet because I am still editing photos from the conference…LOL
It was SO nice seeing you!!!! Wish we could have had more time to hang out. :-)
Sounds like it was a blast…how fun. It’s like getting your “batteries” recharged being around very creative women…Happy Day, glad it was a good time for you.
Melissa, it was so good to meet you in person, if only for a brief moment! Love your blog about the home bloggers. how great! ;)
it was a pleasure meeting you!
i think we all enter in with hopes to meet as many as possible, only to realize there’s just not enough time.
i treasure meeting so many, but wish it could be a litte longer.
thanks for the party!
i linked up!
kellie
I am loving reading everyone’s recaps of Blissdom!
What an awesome quote…
well….here i am reading all about blissdom and there is my name!
you are so kind melissa.
i have to get myself to blissdom one day.
or somewhere to meet you!
how are we going to arrange that?!