southern blog society's 3rd annual conference [part 2]

for part 1 of my sbs con experience, click here!

after the wonderful sessions at the conference that morning, it was time for the brand networking sessions! the curtains in the riviera theater were pulled back to reveal a ballroom full of brands, rangning from moon & lola, lilly pulitzer, vera bradley, physician's formula and so many more!

we grabbed a vera bradley tote bag and got to work on networking while we enjoyed snacks and mimosas. i made my way to every table, swapped business cards and handed out my media kit - which i'm so, so glad i got printed.

after the brand networking sessions, we were free to explore for the night. first, we ventured up king street and ended up at the moon & lola store (because clearly, we didn't get enough moon and lola at the brand networking session!). next, we ended up at cumberland's smokehouse for some good old fashioned carolina bbq. i actually really, really enjoyed the carolina sauce, which is vinegar/mustard based.

after that, we ventured to the gin joint for cocktails and s'mores, and man, were they amazing! the place reminded me a lot of collins bar here in birmingham. the menu was, of course, mostly gin drinks, but you could tell the bartender two adjectives - i went with "tart" and "refreshing" - for a custom drink. bloggers love cocktails!

Bloggers love cocktails. This is a fact. 💁🏼 #SBScon #charleston #ginjoint #sbsatbelmond @thesbsociety

A photo posted by Meredith Davis (@meredithnd) on Jun 27, 2015 at 8:18pm PDT

on sunday, we woke up and had a farewell breakfast at the charleston grill, and then promptly got to exploring downtown because we hadn't really had a chance to take in the scenery. we walked from the belmond all the way to the battery on the water, taking in charleston charm along the way.

all in all, my first experience in charleston was one for the books. i cannot wait to go back. the conference took up a huge chunk of our time, of course, so i would love another opportunity to go back and explore the city. the culture, the people, everything is incredible.

thank you so much to jessica, cathy and the southern blog society for putting on this amazing event. i can't wait to return next year!

until next time, sbs con!

some photos by kim graham photography :)

southern blog society's 3rd annual conference [part 1]

finally, i'm sharing my wonderful experience at the southern blog society's 3rd annual #SBScon in charleston, south carolina. the conference, which took place june 26-28, was my second SBS Con, and i am so, so happy i returned this year. where do i even begin?!

thursday night, beth, rachel and i drove to athens, georgia to meet molly. on friday morning, we started off to charleston super early, and arrived just in time for lunch at sean brock's mexican eatery, minero. i basically died and went to heaven. it. was. amazing. after we loaded up on tacos, magaritas and queso fundido, we were ready to take on the day.

next, we met up with my dear friend whitney and got to exploring charleston. but first, it was time for blowouts at tease blow dry bar! despite the crazy charleston heat, we were determined to get our hair done for the party that night, and we crossed our fingers it would last the humidity. a relaxing afternoon at tease was very much needed after trekking around.

then, we finally checked in to our wonderful hotel, the belmond, and began getting ready for the friday night cocktail party on the terrace. we brought a little champagne along with us and had a little pre-party in our room, too!

then, we made our way to the terrace for a night of drinks, snacks and networking. we were greeted with a gorgeous peronalized notepad from swoozie's (which now serves as my 'to do' notepad on my desk!) and ushered to the terrace. it was such a beautiful setup! i loved seeing whitney's graphic design expertise come to life. the logo was even on the cups! isn't it adorable?!

man y'all, it was hot. we were dying. my wonderful blowout from tease had fallen by the time the party came around, and my makeup was sweating off my face... but we powered through. i pretty much had to accept that i was going to be a sweaty mess the entire weekend - whoops, my bad, a glistening mess. we are southern women, after all, and glistening is an acquired skill. if i bump up the exposure on photos just enough, i look like i'm not fresh out of the bath tub. ;)

the next morning, it was conference time after breakfast at the charleston grill. we trekked over to the riviera theater from the belmond - and it was right across the street with our own personalized marquee! i was excited for all the speakers, but especially to hear my friends beth and rachel chat about photography and taking your best photos.

first, we were greeted with some (HAND SEWN) bags with blog planner notebooks from whitney's heart & arrow. next, jessica & cathy gave us the scoop on the state of SBS - and we learned we're going national, ah! soon, the blogging societies will be available for bloggers all over the usa. i'm so excited to watch sbs continue to grow.

the sessions this year were amazing! i really enjoyed hearing from amy northard, cpa about taxes, money and all that pesky stuff bloggers often don't think about it. so, so informative. the brand panel at the end with lilly pulitzer, the real real and kendra scott was also great.

i was so happy to see beth and rachel kill it talking about photography! way to represent alabama! beth wrote a great post on some of the tips she shared about shooting in manual, and you can check that out here.

stay tuned next week for part 2, featuring the brand networking session, our saturday night adventures and the hallmark farewell breakfast!

some photos by kim graham photography :)

2nd annual southern blog society conference {part 1}

WOW. i had to do this post while everything was fresh on my mind! i just got back from the most incredible weekend in atlanta to attend the southern blog society's 2nd annual conference. i learned so much, met some amazing women & got some incredible swag bags!

friday: i got to atlanta around 4:30pm & immediately headed to buckhead where i met whitney & her mom! we settled into the hotel, and then promptly went across the street to lenox square to check out the mall & the sprinkles cupcake atm. we had dinner at true food kitchen just as molly arrived!

that night, we ventured to whiskey blue at the w hotel for the welcome party, complete with champagne, macarons & a gorgeous rooftop view. 

saturday: what a long, crazy day! we got up bright & early around 6am to get ready for the coffee talk at the w. we had a gorgeous spread of fruit, pastries & coffee ready for us! this talk featured experts from ahalogy & shopsense, who gave us some insider blogging knowledge on pinterest, marketing & monetizing your blog. next up was the brilliant amy flurry of recipe for press - i quite literally hung on her every word! i cannot wait to read her book, which she so generously included in our coffee talk swag bags. 

afterwards, we got a chance to mingle & interact with the brands - kendra scott, intimacy, pla beauty, asos, dermalogica & dress up. (psst... a kendra scott is opening in birmingham soon!) asos had a gorgeous clothing rack full of tons of floral goodies... and y'all know how i feel about that. we also got to preview kendra scott's fall 2014 line!

jessica & cathy truly outdid themselves on the swag bags (just wait till you see part 2 of my recap, it gets crazier!) we received the most adorable notebooks, pens, jewelry, clothing and so much more! my favorites from the coffee talk gift bag were these gorgeous kendra scott earrings & this moon and lola hashtag necklace! adorable!

stay tuned for part 2 of my sbs weekend recap later this week!