Baby's First BlogHer: Day 1

Ho. Lee. Moly. My friend Kim and I drove down from San Francisco this afternoon to go to my first BlogHer. We checked in to the Marriott that's connected RighToTheConferenceHall! and dove right in. So far, here are the ridiculous and amazing things that have happened:

5:27pm: We officially check in to the conference and immediately get a bag of free swag that includes 100,000 coupons.

6:03pm: I go to the Sangria Sundown Soiree hosted by Eppa and Soybu -- a party where the key elements include both white and red sangria, yoga, and free Whole Foods nibbles. I walk away from the event with 2 glasses of sangria and not enough food in my belly, and a free bottle of Eppa sangria and a yoga shirt from Soybu.

7:27pm: We make it to the Expo hall and participate (with just a leeeetle bit of snark) in the Selfiebration. (Here's Kim's photo of me taking a photo -- you should listen to this song for the full effect!)

It's a #selfiebration (ugh) @SaysHelen nails it at #blogher14 pic.twitter.com/31xVT6zC6m
— Kim Rohrer (@kimskitchensink) July 25, 2014

8:01pm: After milling around the Expo hall for a while drinking my complimentary champagne, I find the Bridgestone tires booth, which is apparently the hottest place to be since they're giving out mimosas, cake pops, massages and manicures. (Kudos to the Bridgestone marketing team!) I go for a manicure in Bridgestone orange ("sessay!" says my orange-obsessed husband after hearing this).

8:17pm: As my orange nails are drying, I see that I won a $100 Soybu gift card (!!!) for posting the following photo at the earlier Sangria Sundown Soiree:


8:54pm: The Expo hall finally kicks us out almost an hour after posted closing time! We get seated for a late meal at the nearby Johnny Rocket's right before closing time and proceed to have one of those "boy I'm tired and buzzed and just need a patty melt" kind of meals:


11:56pm: I finally finish writing this blog post after singing through a litany of 90s Nick and Disney TV theme songs with Kim.