Monday’s post was a little higher level, but I know many (some?) of you are curious about the more fun details of Alt Summit. Here’s a little behind-the-scenes scoop for you.
{roomies Karina in a fierce “fur” coat, me and Amber}
Ahhh, the dreaded White Party, source of much deliberation and drama for all attendees. I don’t think I’ve worn all white since my wedding. My best friend sent me a dress from H&M Kids (that should have been my first sign that it would not be an appropriate fit for a thirty-something) which I failed to try on until the day before I left. Fortunately I had ordered a cheap dress from Nordstrom as a backup, which was delivered at 6:00 the night before my flight (pictured above). Because a girl needs options, I also grabbed three cream items off the rack at Loehmann’s without trying them on (cranky, sick toddler with me didn’t care to browse) and asked Amber to bring an old dress with her, too. Long story short, I wore basically the same look as many women there: white short dress, black tights and black ankle boots. The small percentage of blogger rebels who came in all black cracked me up.
{clockwise from top left: my bags, me looking serious at a panel*, the toy store window, Ben of Pinterest, the first session bloggers* and a necklace Amber crafted}
The sessions were inspiring and incredibly helpful. Special shout outs to one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Joslyn of Simple Lovely, who seems exactly as cool, funny and thoughtful as you would suspect (bottom left, second from left, with Victoria, Bri and Danielle), Emily Henderson (gorgeous!) and Morgan of The Brick House who were a highlight on a home design panel, especially talking about “cheater” ways to style and shoot your house, and Jordan of Oh Happy Day who made the cutest and most useful slides to enhance her presentation on how to truly grow your blog. The keynotes were crazy: Pilar Guzman of Martha Stewart Living, Deborah Needleman, now at WSJ Magazine, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy, Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project and Ben Silbermann, creator of Pinterest. Wow.
In other crafty news, I took a sewing class on the last day and made three adorable little fabric bags! (This will be particularly exciting to my mom who is a master seamstress). I was incredibly (and a little overly) proud of my first time at a machine.
And for anyone traveling to Salt Lake, the hotel was gorgeous, the conference food was not only edible but delicious (especially the fries), and the toy store inside was maybe the best curated I’ve seen anywhere. Truly an amazing buyer. Another highlight was the abundance of rugged, outdoorsy guys in town for a convention. They seemed very intrigued by all of the women in white hanging out at the lobby bar 
And yes, there were parties. The White Party, the seven mini parties the second night, and the ongoing party in the lobby bar. A few takeaways: it’s not hard to make friends when everyone’s in a terrific mood, bloggers LOVE to have their photos taken in Smilebooths, and there is a blogger hierarchy when it comes to seating in small lounge areas. Also, if a Utah man buys you a drink at a dive bar called “Cheers to You,” it will probably be a doctored-up Shirley Temple. You don’t see that too often in California! And lastly, every woman should have the opportunity to share a room with female friends for a weekend every so often. There was much champagne, girl talk, flat-iron sharing and outfit deliberation.
All in all, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That is, unless I return next year.
I came up with a few great ideas for more regular features to run here, as opposed to the mishmash of topics I tend to cover at whim, so stay tuned for those starting later this week! Happy Tuesday, friends.
*photos via justinhackworth.com
Haha! Love the last paragraph here! It also looks like you took away some valuable tips from the Photoshop workshop?
NO!! I tried to do this in PS Elements just like they taught me and I forgot literally everything. I will need to sign up for their review class. This was all done in Picnik, the sadly-closing site I love.
The pictures portrayed Alt being a lot of fun with useful and inspiring information. Great combination.
I have been thinking of some topics and directions for your blog (and life). We can talk in person about these
Also, I am always happy to post unhealthy recipes in addition to your great healty recipe suggestions
You have three weeks to prepare your list. Get on it
And I found the recipe I want you to make me for my birthday… in the Mozza cookbook- the butterscotch budino with salted caramel sauce!
You are such lovely ladies – Cheers To You!!
ha ha. Right back at you
And was there also hair braiding and whispered conversations in bed and giggling? I miss being a girl. Most days I’m just a mom. Having someone around with better eyeshadow who can also “get the back of your hair” for you….I dream about stuff like this
Not so much braiding but plenty of giggling
I miss it, too. It definitely is a different kind of energy.
Looks and sounds like you had a blast!
It was such a pleasure meeting you and your friends, Erin!! That night in the lobby was insanely crowded but fun, wasn’t it? I just wish I had more time to talk with you! I felt a little frantic at Alt because I wanted to have a significant conversation with so many people but the timing was never right. I would love to get together for a coffee next time I’m in SD or when you are in the Seattle area! xo-k
Thank you- I know, you were on my list of who I really wanted to meet in person at Alt. I’d love to get together in person anytime. It definitely felt rushed there with so many people and so little time outside of sessions!