Happy Monday Ya’ll!
Well, I’m back from Atlanta & trying to get back into a normal routine & schedule! The Haven Conference was SO MUCH FUN , but soaking up all the INCREDIBLE information that they give you over the course of two days & networking with 250+ bloggers is a bit exhausting!! I’ve been offline for the last couple days just trying to clear my head & organize my thoughts!! There are so many things I want to change & incorporate into my blog, but trying to figure out where to start is the HARD PART!! I’ve decided that I’m just gonna take it one day at a time & face the realization that I’m only ONE PERSON & I can only do so much!!!
Are ya’ll ready for a little (or rather large) recap?!
Sherry & John from Young House Love kicked off the conference with a FANTASTIC & very ENTERTAINING opening keynote speech. They talked about their blogging journey & how they one by one quit their full-time jobs to blog full-time. Their blog has been a HUGE success & they have received tons of press! If you haven’t visited their blog before, you should totally take the time to check it out!
After the opening keynote, I attended the “I Like Big Blogs” session taught by Sarah (Thrifty Decor Chick), Traci (Beneath My Heart), Rhoda (Southern Hospitality), Myra (My Blessed Life), & Beth (Home Stories A to Z.)
This session was very informative! They discussed ways to engage your audience, how to write a great post, elements of a great blog layout/design, the importance of social media, & how to balance life & blogging. It was SO GREAT to hear their perspective on these topics & learn from the pros!! 🙂
Later that day, I attended “All About Advertising” taught by Beckie (Infarrantly Creative), Julia (Hooked On Houses), & Sarah (Thrifty Decor Chick.) It’s safe to say that, this session completely ROCKED MY WORLD!!!
We learned about private ads, ad networks, affiliate programs, ebooks, & ad campaign programs. These ladies are a wealth of knowledge! The things I learned in this session were totally worth the price of my Haven ticket…..nuff said!
Probably one of the most entertaining sessions of the conference for me, was Thrifting 101 taught by Rashon Carraway also known as Mr. Goodwill Hunting!
Rashon talked about how thrifting has gone from being a thing that people were “forced” to do, into a thing that people now “choose” to do! He revealed all of his thrifting tips & secrets and made us laugh repeatedly throughout the session! He told us that we shouldn’t “look for anything at any time” but instead, “look for everything at all times.”
This session was so much fun and probably one of the highlights of the conference for me! I even managed, to get my picture taken with Mr. Goodwill himself….
At lunch time that day, I got to sit and eat with one of my favorite bloggers EVER…
You all know Traci from Beneath My Heart?! Yes?!
Traci is one of the sweetest women I have met since starting this blog! Even though she is a bit of a blogging ROCKSTAR, she is the most down to earth person you’ll ever meet! I was lucky enough to get to room with her at Blissdom this past February & she has been such a blessing to me! At lunch we talked about all of the crazy renovations they have going on at their new home! It has been fun to watch all of the projects they have going on & all of the progress they have made. They recently completed their kitchen & are now working on their master suite! Stop by, say “Hi”, and check out all of their amazing handy work!
I also met & hung out with these lovely ladies that day at lunch….
Rene (Living, Laughing & Loving) on left & Christina (Frugal Homemaker) on right. Although I was familiar with these ladies & their blogs, this was the first time I was able to meet them in person. They were both such sweethearts & I am glad to call them bloggy friends!
After lunch, I attended the Design Studio session taught by Darlene (Fieldstone Hill Design), Erika Ward (Blue Label Bungalow), & Sherry Hart (Design Indulgence). This session was great as a whole! Darlene talked about Defining Your Personal Style, Erika discussed Transforming your Home Into a SuperModel, & Sherry taught us how to mix colors & patterns in terms of fabrics! So much fun!
I got to sit with one of my new blog friends, Anna (Ask Anna Moseley) & Mr. Goodwill Hunting during this session & we took a moment to Instagram It! 🙂
The last session, was one that I was SO LOOKING FORWARD TO….
It was the Basic Photography & Photo-Styling class taught by Kevin & Layla Palmer of The Lettered Cottage and their friend Josh. Josh & Kevin have a photography site called Shoot Fly Shoot and they taught all of us Haven Mavens how to brave it off Auto & embrace Manual mode! Although I have been shooting in manual for a while now, I still really enjoyed this session & did learn a few new tips!
Layla & Kevin taught the photo-styling part of the session & discussed things that they take into consideration when shooting photos for their blog & magazine features. This was the part of the session I learned the most from! I can’t wait to start incorporating some of these things into my blog photography!
I even got to meet & take my picture with Layla at the end of the session!
Another blogger I was looking forward to meeting was Sarah, a.k.a.Thrifty Decor Chick!
Sarah’s blog was the very first DIY blog I came across in blogland after her feature on The Nate Berkus Show! She introduced me to the world of home decor/DIY bloggers and was one of the main reasons I was inspired to start this blog! I learned so much in all of the sessions she taught & admire her even more after attending the conference & meeting her in person!
I also got to meet Bonnie & Trish from Uncommon Designs….
I’ve been talking online with Bonnie & Trish for several months now and it was so awesome to finally meet them in real life! They are both so talented & have a beautiful blog! Stop by & check it out!
The conference wrapped up with a little Q&A session with all of the Haven coordinators…
This was an opportunity for us to ask questions that we were still seeking answers to & discuss the possibilities of Haven 2013!!
These women did such a great job of putting this conference together….
Even though this was the first year for the conference, everything ran SO SMOOTHLY!! You would have thought they’d planned several conferences!!
Ladies, I can only imagine how many countless hours went in to planning this conference!! Thank you so much for all of your hardwork & dedication to Haven 2012!! We all had such a great time & learned so very much!!
Looking forward to Haven 2013!!!
Will you be there?!
Tonya,
It’s so funny to hear you talk about the other “big” bloggers, since YOU are one of the main reasons that I started blogging!
Maybe I’ll be fresh off Haven next June and be talking about how awesome it was to meet you!
Aww! Thank you SO MUCH!! So glad to know I inspire someone! LOL! I would love to meet you at Haven next year!! XOXO!
Great recap, Tonya! It was so inspiring to be there and soak up all that blogging savvy!! Thanks for sharing — you got some wonderful pictures. 🙂
Heidi 🙂
Tonya, that was lovely — I am SO happy we finally got to meet!!! Miss you all already.
Girl….LOVED finally meeting you in person! You are one of the reasons we wanted to go! 🙂
Great recap! You are so photogenic….the conference was awesome!
What a great wrap up, Tonya! Funny, TDC was the first blog I came across after her feature on Nate as well. Such a small blog world for sure. So nice to finally meet you. 🙂
So happy for you Tonya! It sounds like an amazing time and that you learned so much. Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
Love your recap! You and your mom are so sweet! It was great to meet y’all!
Debbie
Great recap Tonia! So nice to meet you and your mom 🙂
This looks like such a fun time. Sure hoping I can make it one of these times. Thanks so much for sharing.
Oh, This was so much fun to read. So many of my favorite people all in one spot. I am penciling this in for next year, for sure!
OOooh! Thank you for sharing your Haven experience! I was thinking about it all weekend….maybe next year I will get to go. Love all the pics and glad you enjoyed it!
Tonya,
I didn’t get to meet you at Haven and this is my first time to visit your blog. I really enjoyed reading your recap, but I am really loving your hair!!! I know, this is a little weird, but I’ve been looking for something diferent to do with a bob. I’m downloading your picture to take to my hairdresser!
Tonya, It was so great to meet you – you are as lovely as you are sweet! Next time we will have to get some time and talk! I felt like I met so many people and then I read everyone’s recaps and realize how many people I didn’t get a chance to meet!
Take care,
Laura
Tonya….loved your wrap up…and I am with Jane…I LOVE your hair!
It looks like you had an amazing time! I’m hoping to go to Haven or even SNAP 2013, but we’ll see. I’m still new to this whole blog thing. 🙂
Great wrap up. I loved meeting you and love your hair! lol
Loved the recap girl! I can not wait to hear ALL about it tonight at dinner! I am still sad that I didn’t go with you!! It looks like you had an amazing time!!
Awesome recap! I loved meeting you in real life and chatting it up with you! Let me know if you end up coming to Indy for that conference. I’d love to see you again! Oh, and I mention you in my very first vlog today. You should totally check it out. 🙂
Great recap. Looks like you all had so much fun! Wish I could have been there this year but it just didn’t work out. Hopefully, next year!
Hugs,
Bj
This looks so great. So far Haven seems like the Conference I want to attend next year. 🙂